February 2009
Cover Story
With the credit crisis, real estate dive and market meltdown, 2008 is a year we would all like to forget. Our best advice: Don’t. The downturn has set the stage for what could be a new era in the delivery of financial advice....
News
A look at how randomness rules our lives, including our investments. ...
The growing shift to retirement income raises key questions for most advisors. What does the transition to supporting retirement income clients really mean? How do best practices actually apply to an advisor’s business model?...
Robert McCann has left his post as head of Merrill Lynch’s wealth-management division now that its merger with Bank of America has been completed. ...
A listing of seven potential scenarios for 2009 and the best way to play them using ETFs. ...
Equity funds post historically poor results in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the full year, according to the research group. ...
Vanguard research finds that target-date funds can "help eliminate" extreme results for investors. ...
The former Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is set to become Morgan Stanley Smith Barney....
Jim Weddle, the managing partner of Edward Jones, explains what the broker-dealer (which was founded in 1922) is doing to stay out of the headlines but in front of clients and prospective advisors....
How do you create a mission statement? Retired Col. John Dundas runs a leadership development business called Leadership Applied, and he teaches the following about creating a mission statement: Task (What) + Purpose (Why) = Mission.
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David Macchia interviews Raymond James Financial Chairman and CEO Tom James about the financial crisis -- and more. ...
Voices/Columnists
Ask yourself this question: How many bad-apple clients does it take to wreck a career? You know the answer, don’t you? It’s just that one
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I recently had the opportunity to listen in at a roundtable for financial advisors, as they talked about their concerns regarding the current state of the financial markets and how their clients are dealing with it. ...
"Breaking Through: Building a World-Class Wealth Management Business" by John J. Bowen, Patricia J. Abram and Jonathan Power of CEG Worldwide...
Financial planners generally do not prepare tax returns as part of their engagements. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make use of them. ...
This is, therefore, a great time to take a long hard look at every aspect of your business. You can see what does and doesn’t work, and begin to implement necessary changes....
The Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index hits some bumps but did end 2008 up 5.24 percent....
Who: Tom Winmill, Portfolio Manager, Midas Fund
Where: Papoo’s, 55 Broadway, New York, December 23, 2008
On the Menu: Pasta fagioli soup, meatballs and a time-tested alternative currency.
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Economists arguing about this mismatch between supply and demand have mainly concluded — rightly, I think — that there is still enough demand for U.S. Treasuries to prevent the market from collapsing....
Investment Spotlight
The worldwide financial crisis has wreaked havoc; but a glint of sunlight shines through: Advisor Rex C. Whiteside is hiring FAs and support staff, acquiring new technology, even leasing larger office space.
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With the recent market turmoil in the financial sector and global stock markets, corporate-governance issues are front, right and center. This includes greater scrutiny of compensation, boards, financial reporting and related issues....
Companies in a good financial position, with competitors exiting their markets and stable input prices, are positioned to take advantage of new opportunities in certain transportation segments. ...