Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights an interesting interview with Geoff Davey of FinaMetrica about risk tolerance, some practice management issues on how economies of scale impact the client experience and moving your technology to the cloud, and a few articles exploring the big recent news from the Department of Labor regarding both finalized rules on 401(k) fee disclosure and new proposed rules about how (primarily immediate and longevity) annuities might be integrated into qualified plans. There's also an interesting look by John Mauldin at some of the economic difficulties and choices the US faces in the coming years, and a fascinating look at the problems the US faces (and some of the causes that got us to where we are) by the brilliant Woody Brock. We finish with a controversial article by Blaine Aiken of Fi360 suggesting that advisors aren't true professionals because they need a code of professional conduct similar to accountants, and a lighter piece by Angie Herbers about why a lack of confidence is not a career death knell but simply a challenge to overcome. Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a new research piece in the Journal of Financial Planning on dynamic asset allocation and itwo innovative new financial planning software offerings. There's also a good practice management piece by Angie Herbers, and two strong (but not particularly bullish) investment pieces by Mauldin and Hussman. We wrap up with a light piece about how quickly the world is changing, and that the key to success in business in the future is about "learning as fast as the world is changing." Enjoy the reading!Read More...
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition (similar to last week) highlights several more recent studies on trends in the financial services industry, including what financial planners tend to charge for their services, trends in wealth management in 2012, and some dramatic differences in how RIAs view investment management versus the rest of the investment industry, as well as the new ways young planners are entering the industry. We also look at some practice management articles, from a brief overview of what the cloud computing movement is all about, to the use of coaches, and different ways to manage your staff for optimal growth. In addition, there's some coverage of this week's FSI OneVoice conference, and we wrap up with an especially interesting (although not terribly optimistic) article from John Mauldin about the current outlook in Europe, and the risk of a "tail event" that could dramatically impact markets in 2012. Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a number of recent studies on trends in the financial services industry, including the tendency of investment advisors to claim they're financial planners without really having the expertise or providing the comprehensive planning services, to the rapidly growing market share of RIAs (and the shrinking share of wirehouses). We also look at an article about the dramatic shift underway towards tactical asset allocation, some new research about how to adapt safe withdrawal rates to more customized investment and time horizon assumptions, and two investment pieces about the economic outlook in Europe and here in the US for 2012. At the end is a good reminder that the specific choice of words we speak in meetings can really matter to clients, and a profile of Texas Tech University as a leader in providing financial planning education... even though many firms still seem more interested in hiring based on "Who You Know" than "What You Know" these days. Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a recent development on the regulatory front regarding the SEC's implementation of a fiduciary standard for brokers, and some sharp criticism of FINRA and whether it should even exist from the Journal of Financial Planning. We also look at a few technology pieces, on the rise of Salesforce for CRM, and the emerging use of online scheduling programs to set up client meetings. There's also a great piece from the Journal of Financial Planning on the next generation of Modern Portfolio Theory and portfolio design, and two good investment pieces by John and John (Hussman and Mauldin). We wrap up with an interesting article from Advisor Perspectives on how much of the financial press is misinterpreting and misapplying the Reinhart and Rogoff research about the implications of high debt-to-GDP levels. Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a nice technology article for the new year, a great summary of recent retirement research, two notable regulatory actions this week, and some interesting investment and economic discussions for the coming year. We finish with a striking blog post that puts a good perspective on what the Occupy Wall Street movement is about - not resenting the wealthy and successful, but "just" those who profit at the expense of others. Enjoy the reading!Read More...
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a few articles on advisor use of social media, an interesting look at whether promoting financial literacy is a red herring for real consumer protection in financial services, and a good technical article on planning issues for unmarried couples. Also included is a controversial discussion of how TIPS may not be quite as "safe" as we make them out to be, and a look at a new series of mutual funds that may attract increasing client attention in the coming years. We finish with a quick look at a Forbes article discussing the decision by a major firm with 80,000 employees to completely phase out email over the next 18 months in lieu of meetings, telephone calls, text messaging, and social media for communication; will this be a failed experiment, or a glimpse into the future of business communication? Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition highlights a number of articles on interesting industry trends, from the ongoing movement towards tactical asset allocation (now used by a majority of advisors), to the difficulties in the variable annuity marketplace suggesting that perhaps annuity expenses have not been too high but in fact were too low in recent years, to the rapid growth of independent advisors in recent years that threaten to overtake the wirehouses by 2013. In addition, we look at the latest from John Hussman on a looming US (and global) recession regardless of recent positive data "surprises", along with John Mauldin on US Federal deficits and the problems in Europe, another piece on Europe by PIMCO's Mohammed El-Erian, and a fascinating - albeit scary - piece about what's really been going on with the "missing" customer funds at MF Global. We wrap up with what is sure to be a controversial article by Bill Bachrach, suggesting that the primary reason financial planners lack trust with the public is because too many don't have the integrity to walk their own talk and use a financial planner themselves. Enjoy the reading!Read More...
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - the major highlight this week is the release of the Financial-Planning-Coalition-sponsored study on the costs of various regulatory oversight options, with some pretty shocking costs for FINRA or a new SRO to take over. Other articles include a discussion of Schwab's first franchise branch opening, the emerging field of financial therapy, an analysis of annuity guaranteed withdrawal riders and their limitations due to ongoing inflation, and two great investment pieces on last week's European Summit by John Mauldin and GaveKal, along with a somewhat disturbing warning by John Hussman that the market may be in significant near-term danger. We wrap up with a brief article that was written for entrepreneurs, but translates in my opinion to virtually anyone in professional services, taking a hard look at what your time's really worth, and what you should - and shouldn't - be doing yourself versus outsourcing to others. Enjoy the reading!
Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - highlights this week include two great year-end wrap-up articles on technology, including an overview of Financial Planning magazine's huge annual tech survey, and technology highlights from consultant Bill Winterberg in MorningstarAdvisor. Also included in a striking interview with research and planning pioneer Bill Bengen, who suggests that safe withdrawal rates are still valid, but that buy and hold isn't, and an interesting article from Angie Herbers in Investment Advisor about some owners who may be experiencing "owner's guilt" over the profitability of their business, and making some bad decisions as a result. Then there's a quick look at some thoughts about the new cost basis reporting rules that are being implemented by the IRS, and two somewhat non-traditional investment and economic pieces from some industry stalwarts, Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital and Jeremy Grantham of GMO. Enjoy the reading!Read More...
