Ask successful small-business owners if they are happy with their annual IRS tax bills and most will moan and groan. That was the case with Bob Johnson, founder and CEO of Johnson Insurance & Financial in McKinney, Texas. Fortunately, he found a...
Providence -- "I belong to all the right organizations in my community. I'm in the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the best country clubs, social groups and charitable organizations. Why am I not getting the results I want: more affluent...
There are many benefits that top financial advisors (producing $1 million or more a year) receive when moving to a new firm. The most obvious is a handsome transition package of 220 percent or more of trailing production (over a 3-year period)...
Financial firms have written down more than $100 billion in capital (at the time of this writing). And, the destruction of capital is expected to spread now that some bond insurers seem to be on the lip of insolvency. Not to pick on our friends at...
RIAs are winning. No. Wait. Wirehouses are winning more assets, but RIAs are growing faster. Well, nevermind. It’s tough to tell these days. But whoever the winner is, there’s no doubt both industries are striving for the same things...
The SEC released the results of the RAND study today, which examined two issues: how broker/dealers and investment advisors market and provide products and services to investors, and how investors understand the differences between investment...
It's a familiar drama in the schoolyard and in business too: One day a kid comes along with some cool new toy instantly supplanting the previously reigning cool kid and winning schoolyard prestige. The registered investment advisory (RIA) industry...
A generation ago, retiring clients usually had most of their money locked up in certificates of deposit at the local bank. Simplicity, predictability, and the double-digit yields of the time provided a nice compliment to Social Security or pension...
Schwab's Talk to Chuck campaign is tough to miss. Buses, billboards and television screens have all been plastered with Chuck Schwab's friendly face in an effort to interest investors in his firm's investing and advisory services. Now the RIA...
Finding teammates is no small task. You need to be compatible both personally and professionally; you need to have common goals and a common business philosophy; you need to have complimentary expertise. Obviously, it's best if you can find...
