Simply put, from a client's perspective, wealth management consists of a financial advisor providing solutions to financial and related legal issues and concerns. Its problem solving for the client, and it regularly involves providing financial...
Superstar brokers are receiving unimaginable compensation to switch firms. And lesser performers are asking recruiters to negotiate record transition packages for them. But don't expect managers to throw money at just any advisor with great...
There's a new professional in town, and he just might know more about your elderly clients than you do. He's the Registered Financial Gerontologist (RFG). According to the American Institute of Financial Gerontology, these specialists learn to use...
The trouble with hedge funds is not necessarily their expense. The real deal breakers for financial advisors with wealthy clients who have sophisticated needs are that hedge funds tend to be illiquid and lack transparency. There are registered...
A Chicago financial advisor recently lamented to me: I feel like we're offering a complete array of wealth-management products and services, but we aren't as consistent in delivering those products and services as we should be. The advisor's...
When Eric Brotman started the Brotman Financial Group, a small advisory firm in Timonium, Md., three years ago, he required job applicants to take personality tests. After spending about a $1,000 on the exams, including a consultant to administer...
Our interests may not always be the same as yours. Imagine telling your clients that. And then imagine saying 20 minutes later, But now that we're discussing your comprehensive planning needs, I'm acting in your best interests, because I've put on...
If you thought you had it bad calls unreturned, prospective clients canceling meetings pity the mutual fund wholesaler. First, many more are out of work than just a few years ago and, on average, they are earning less. Their jobs have also gotten...
Ric Edelman's firm puts up incredible numbers. Edelman Financial Services of Fairfax, Va., has $2.75 billion in assets under management and counsels 7,500 clients. Last year, the firm generated $17 million in gross revenue, making EFS one of the...
As the SEC's new General Counsel, Brian Cartwright may not have as cool a name as outgoing GC Giovanni Prezioso, but he's no stuffed shirt either. Before launching his career in securities law in the 80s, Cartwright was a rocket scientist. He also...
