Warren Buffett has said, I choose to work with every single person that I work with. That ends up being the most important factor. I don't interact with people I don't like or admire. That's the key. It's like marrying. In that spirit, ponder the...
Let's take a contrarian viewpoint regarding success. Much has been written about the typical qualities required for success. (In fact, I covered those in this column last month.) But consider a favorite phrase of the great algebraist, Karl Jacobi...
John Ritter is an unusual case, but he may also be a harbinger of things to come. A fee-only advisor with Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory, an RIA in Cincinnati, Ritter has over $2 million of client assets in annuities, and says he plans to put...
Despite current laws that reduce the estate-tax bite, survivorship life insurance is making a comeback as an estate-planning tool among some advisors. With Democrats in control of Congress, and a good chance that a Democrat will take the White...
Are closed-end fund preferred-auction securities safe? We consider CFPs to be the conservative's conservative security. Defaults are even rarer than failed auctions. We are comfortable with the safety of auction securities from closed-end funds...
A few weeks ago I had one of those blinding glimpses of the obvious. It dawned on me that despite the grinding intensity with which some advisors focus on attracting, serving and developing loyal relationships with affluent clients, a very...
Deal making in the wealth-management space has been rampant lately, and some holding companies and individual RIAs are beginning to see opportunities in Europe. Focus Financial Partners, a two-year-old holding company with 15 RIA partners and over...
Something is wrong with this picture. Consider the following: When talking about the state of the financial advisory industry with many veteran advisors today, you often hear one of following three things: I don't want my kids getting into the...
RBC Dain Rauscher continued its recent streak of acquisitions in February, announcing plans to acquire Ferris, Baker, Watts (FWB), a full-service broker/dealer in Washington D.C. The acquisition strategy is part of an effort by Canadian parent...
Long a Favorite of Investors in Europe, structured products are rapidly gaining popularity in the United States. Last year, $114 billion in structured products were issued in the U.S., according to the Structured Products Association. That's a 78...
