Right now your retired clients face a number of conundrums as they search for reliable sources of income. The interest paid by conservative fixed-income investments is barely keeping pace with the rising cost of retirement expenses, and that's...
The end of each calendar year provides a natural setting for serious prospecting. Full-year performance and other results are easy to present to potential clients and their accountants, who can quickly make comparisons among competing advisors...
It takes time and tenacity to become a great branch manager who can attract and the big producers and successful teams. Recruiting skills are among the key criteria brokerage firms use to evaluate and compensate managers. The brokers you meet are...
Whenever a fund company introduces a new product, it is invariably heralded as the biggest thing since night baseball. Financial advisors are told that the great bulk of their clients have had this serious, unmet investment need. And, the...
Sometimes I wonder if there is a secret plan to socially engineer smaller NASD firms out of business. When I look around our industry, I see independent/regional firms crushed under the weight of an ever-growing number of poorly drafted...
Q: I've been a certified financial planner and investment advisor rep for six years, but have worked in the industry for 15 years. I'm planning a client-appreciation event and I've been polling my clients. They say that they'd like to get together...
In a move that has long been speculated about, Charles Schwab announced Monday that it had agreed to sell its private banking arm, U.S. Trust, to Bank of America for $3.3 billion. In a research report, Wachovia analysts said the deal will give...
In a rare move, Charles Schwab said on Friday that it has postponed its fall business update with analysts, citing “scheduling difficulties.” A company official confirmed that the biannual meeting—originally set for Nov. 16—...
