Research Magazine February 2012

Financial Blogosphere Must-Reads

By Gerald Burstyn

The Internet has spawned a brave new world of market reading as important to investors as The Wall Street Journal.

Fear of Flying: Jumping From Wirehouse to Independence

By Jane Wollman Rusoff

The career kick-offs of two successful wirehouse advisors were as different as the countries where they were born.

Unconventional Methods

By Ellen Uzelac

What does terrorism possibly have to do with the future of investment management?

How Much Can Your Clients Afford to Lose?

By Robert Tyndall

John Paulson is a hedge fund hero, and deservedly so. In 2007, he anticipated the collapse of subprime mortgage securities.

Gompertz’ Law of Mortality: How Long Must Your Money Last?

By Moshe A. Milevsky

Benjamin Gompertz has joined a very small distinctive group of scholars with an actual equation named after him. The equation has been used by researchers in demographic studies, the world over, for almost two centuries now.

The Annuity Puzzle

By Bob Seawright, Madison Avenue Securities

Since at least 1965 and the seminal research of Menachem Yaari, economists have recognized that retirees should convert far more of their assets into an income annuity at retirement than they do

The Warren Effect

By Kenneth Silber, Research

Elizabeth Warren presents a conundrum for Wall Street. She is a forceful, well-prepared critic of the financial industry.

Time Management: The Key to Boosting Revenue

By Bill Good

I consider this article one of the most important I’ve written for Research magazine since I came on board in May 1990.

Tax Hike Needed

By Alexei Bayer

We’re conditioned to regard taxation as bad for the economy.

Facing the Storm

By Bill Miller

Being a financial advisor can be a tough gig.

Equity Funds Rose Nearly 9% in ‘Q4; They Declined 6%, Though, in 2011

By Janet Levaux, AdvisorOne

The last few months of 2011 entailed sovereign-debt issues in Europe, partisan gridlock and other tough scenarios, but the average equity fund still improved 8.73 percent in fourth quarter, according to Lipper.

UBS’ Santucci on Training, Recruiting

Paul Santucci is COO of the UBS Wealth Management Advisor Group for the Americas, which includes about 6,900 FAs.

Merrill Lynch Boosts Asset Minimum

By Janet Levaux, AdvisorOne

Merrill Lynch is raising its minimum asset level for client households to $250,000 from $100,000 this year, the Bank of America unit said in early January.

Raymond James to Purchase Morgan Keegan From Regions

By Janet Levaux, AdvisorOne

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James Financial said on Jan. 11 that it would buy Memphis-based Morgan Keegan from Regions Financial in a $930-million stock transaction.

Fidelity Prepares Rollout

By Ronald Delegge, ETFguide.com

For too long, Fidelity Investments has been criticized for not aggressively pursuing the ETF market by rolling out its own funds.

Fund Lineups Shift

By Ronald Delegge, ETFguide.com

ETF managers are reshuffling their investment menus to better reflect investor interest and demand. And ETFs with too few assets are on the chopping block.

Mastering Volatility

By Ronald Delegge, ETFguide.com

Although the u.s. stock market took has taken investors for a wild ride over the past year, it has largely remained unchanged

Unprecedented Growth: Opportunities for MLPs

Delivering Results in Volatile Times

By Ed McCarthy, CFP

The financial markets’ movement in 2011 led many investors to seek stable income and steady business models; midstream MLPs and other partnerships benefitted from that interest.