Rarely will you find a more obvious-sounding investing tip than this: Those seeking growth opportunities should look to agriculture. One of farming's most vocal cheerleaders is Merrill Lynch analyst Donald Carson, who notes global agricultural...
There's no doubting that technology has made the lives of independents easier. The ease with which computers and other devices can be untethered from a home office give indie reps more autonomy than they've ever enjoyed before. Without the right...
Few independent firms have made as big a splash in the last couple of years as New York-based National Financial Partners. Founded in 1998, the firm has followed the unusual and enormously successful business plan of buying up firms at the smaller...
The good news is, there are more high-net-worth individuals than ever. As always, though, there's a catch. Those people want more of everything more expertise, more risk management and more of their advisors' time. According to the annual World...
The tale of Gina Guzzone is one that would do Franz Kafka proud. All the elements are there the mazelike system of bureaucratic roadblocks, the surreality and the preoccupation with financial security. Most of all, though, Guzzone's is a tale of...
Initial public offerings are lessons in onomatopoeia for a company's founders: goes the stock immediately after the offering; Hee Hee! go the founders when they start counting their money. All too often, though, these sounds are followed by a as...
The current suit-happy environment has left more than one registered rep yearning for the Cone of Silence, that whimsical invention from the 1960s spy sitcom Get Smart. But like the fictional secret agent Maxwell Smart, reps are likely to find...
Watch the expressions on the faces of your friends as you lie down on your beach blanket and pull out the 688-page tome, A History of Interest Rates. Nope, it is not a sexy title for a book. Yet, the book is a classic. As one hedge fund manager I...
It's repeated so often it has almost become a financial planner's mantra: Over 20 years, stocks always beat bonds. Look back on history, the refrain continues, and you'll see, the pattern has held true generation after generation. It's time to...
In 1992, with Europe buried in a deep recession, Charles de Vaulx was digging through the rubble, looking, as always, for value. One day, while poring over a list of companies published by the Swiss foreign exchange, he struck gold in the form of...
