Research Magazine May 2007
Cover Story
A Tale of Two Retirements
Life, as one learns soon enough, rarely rolls out according to plan. A stroke of luck, good or terrible, can change things in a flash....
Features
-
Blogging for Business
Financial advice is all about client communication. A weblog, or "blog" for short, is about communication too. Is there a place, then, for blogging in...
-
Income Solutions
For the last few decades, financial advisors have gotten to be very good at wealth accumulation. It's what you do. It's where you live. But...
News
-
401k Firestorm
Regardless of what you've read or been told, the usually calm 401(k) marketplace is facing a barrage of scrutiny that it's never experienced in its...
-
Rating ETFs
Having trouble making sense of the ever-growing ETF marketplace? Asset management firm XTF has introduced a free rating service intended to help financial advisors to...
-
Mortgage ETF Comes to Market
Despite a quiet 2006, the bond-based ETF category has picked up this year with the addition of another new fund to the fixed-income universe. Barclays Global...
-
SSgA Shuffles Structure
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has reshuffled its sales and relationship management team that serves financial intermediaries. Its newly renamed Intermediary Business Group comprises multiple...
-
Vanguard Adds International Offerings
Although early 2007 saw previously ebullient overseas equity markets start to look a bit less secure, the more balanced environment has yet to deter the...
-
Putting A Human Face on Retirement Investing
As this letter goes to press, a bank will be wiring to my mom's account a sum representing her entire life savings. I've been involved...
-
Positive Returns Continue, Despite Weak Fund Flows
Even with the market declines of February 27 and the resulting swings, more than 90 percent of all equity funds posted positive returns, according to...
-
Advisors Are Having an Impact on Income Accumulation
Though Americans appear to be saving more for retirement, there's still much more work to be done with investors, according to the latest findings of...
-
IN BRIEF
Lord, Abbett & Co. has announced that Robert Morris, the firm's chief investment officer, has retired effective March 31 with 35-plus years of investment industry...
-
Morgan Stanley's Q1 Margins Are Up; New Designations Win Approval
Change continues to be the name of the game at Morgan Stanley. On April 1, some 10 years after Morgan Stanley merged with Dean Witter, Morgan...
-
Wachovia's New Bonus Makes Customer King
Wachovia Securities gave its 8,000 advisors a new "lucky" incentive for expanding their fee-based business on March 13: the "4front" bonus plan, which aims to...
-
Smith Barney Shares More Details on New Comp Plan
Smith Barney has been tweaking its new compensation plan a bit, since rolling it out in December 2006. "It's generally been well received, says Kevin...
-
LPL Adds New Exec to Research Team
With the planned purchase of three Pacific Life broker dealers with 2,200 advisors, LPL is on track to include more than 10,000 FAs. To better...
-
Retiring MSC Chief Reflects on LPL, Future of Small Broker-Dealers
Retiring MSC Chief Reflects on LPL, Future of Small Broker-Dealers Mutual Service Corporation, the largest of the three Pacific Life broker-dealers being acquired by LPL with...
-
Payouts Up, Fees Down at Commonwelth
"This is the first year in which fees are exceeding commissions for us as a firm," says Wayne Bloom of Commonwealth Financial network. As a...
-
Sustainability Goes Mainstream
Sustainability has evolved from a niche issue to an established feature of the investment landscape. As part of this transformation, the concept has expanded from...
-
Built to Last
Research: If the price is right, does it matter which company guarantees an annuity? Stout: My opinion would be yes. Price is really not even the...
-
At Ease with Expertise
When Bud Kasper began developing his practice, he targeted corporate employees who were preparing to retire. "As so often happens, your clients direct you to...
-
Systems and Solutions
Trust a Massachusetts Institute of Technology grad to perceive estate planning as "an engineering problem." "It's how you put the pieces together to best serve families...
-
Lesson 4: Inflation Rates and Retirement
Growing up in Latin America during the 1980s, I quickly learned how to adapt to the impact of inflation in daily life. With annual inflation...
Voices/Columnists
-
I Love to Sell - Part III
Once you have completed a profile of a new client, your next step is to prepare a set of written recommendations. This is where 99...
-
Training Days
To train or not to train? That is the question -- unless you happen to be a financial advisor; then you have no choice. Training...
-
Breaking Into Retirement
Seventy million baby boomers are approaching retirement age. And yet, only a small percentage of financial professionals sell employer retirement plans to their clients. Why?...
-
Incorporating the Value-Add
Plenty of financial advisors nationwide are finding their client relationships extending beyond traditional investment management and planning into all aspects of their clients' lives. In...
-
The Call of Success
In 2001, just after the horrific events of September 11th, as national sales manager I visited the offices of 60 advisors with the wholesalers I...
-
Method to Her Math
Getting an advanced degree in mathematics has become a pretty common path to Wall Street, where math geniuses routinely labor over proprietary trading models, sophisticated...
-
Submerging Markets
Emerging stock markets suddenly swooned in late February and early March, in a worldwide bout of selling triggered by a sharp decline in Chinese stocks....
Sponsor
Showcase
Actionable insights to help you make better global investment decisions.
Event Spotlight
Retirement Income Symposium
October 10-11, 2013
Hyatt Regency, Boston, MA
The symposium provides practical, innovative solutions to current industry challenges and provides advisors clear, actionable strategies that they can utilize to address their clients' needs.
Resource Library
View All »
Understand the #1 Alternative Asset for Self-Directed Investors - Real...
Are you prepared to offer innovative alternative investment solutions to your clients and explain the...
Sales & Onboarding - Your Last Chance to Make a...
Start building long-term, loyal clients and advocates today by utilizing the latest research and our...
Complimentary White Paper: "Strategies on Advising Couples"
Grow your practice by rethinking how you view, interact and approach investment decisions when working...
Breaking up is hard to do
Love being a financial advisor? Not getting what you need from your current firm? Hear...
The Best of Both Worlds with Century Securities
Our independent affiliates enjoy the freedom to make important choices and the professional resources of...
Build a Scalable Foundation for Growing Your Advisory Practice
This advice is based on industry research and the practical observations of other advisors who...
Complimentary Informational Brochure on Ameritas Life and Annuities
Ameritas Advisor Services can give you the tools you need to help your clients with...
Working Smarter: Engaging Prospects And Clients Through Social Media
For financial advisors, social media represents a powerful addition to traditional marketing and networking activities....
Complimentary Copy of "Winning Advantage: The Financial Advisor Playbook for...
Find out the four crucial steps you need to follow to choose the right technology...
Complimentary White Paper: "Alternative Investments in the Mainstream "
In this white paper you will learn how to earn more referrals and grow your...
Advisor Tools
Business Evaluator
The Business Evaluator tool is designed to educate advisors on career options. Get recommendations unique to your situation as the Business Evaluator intuitively guides you through exploring a change.
