In this section we present key findings and insights from our survey questions on practice management and operations, including services offered, the most time-consuming activities, professional designations, custody relationships and documentation trends.
Financial advisors want to be heroes to their clients. Fantastic performance creates fantastic word of mouth, which leads to more clients and more assets under management. Scam artists know that you want to be a hero to your clients. That's why s...
After finishing Walter Isaacson's wonderful must-read biography, Steve Jobs, I reflected on my business heroes. Although Jobs was a genius whose vision and drive in many ways changed the world, I found myself thinking about Sam Walton.
As we ent...
Whether they are early in their tenure or late in the game and focused on succession planning, savvy advisors know that attrition, rising costs, and pressure from the competition will kill a business that is not in growth mode. You've got to grow...
I typically advise my clients to undertake a serious “cold review” of all previously cited problem areas and deficiencies when preparing for their next regulatory exam. Frankly, you'd think that's just common sense, right? After all, the first th...
Philadelphia—“I just spent an hour solving a problem for a very low-revenue client, embarrassingly low, especially when I discovered he no longer worked for the company whose owner is a good client,” mused Michael. He confessed, “I know what I...
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority continues its crackdown on the sale of troubled private placements, filing sanctions against eight firms and 10 individuals Tuesday and ordering them to pay restitution to investors. According to FINRA...
A huge demand among mass affluent investors for retirement income products is building, but industry response to the trend is still in its infancy, the author of a new Aite Group report on the subject says. Greg Cherry, a senior analyst at Aite’s...
