In 1975, Charlie Ellis, a consultant to institutional investors, famously observed that investing was a loser's game. Like amateur tennis, he wrote in the classic Winning the Loser's Game, investing is an activity in which the victor often...
The day after his retirement in December, Edward Jones broker Jim Goodknight, 60, headed to the lake by his home in Joplin, Mo., to spend some well-deserved time fishing. Seeing him alone, surrounded by silence, it would be easy to forget that the...
Managed accounts are all the rage. From wirehouses to regional broker/dealers, the drumbeat is the same: Morph into a fee-based business built on managed accounts, or else. But managed accounts may not be right for every client. Here are some...
The topic of sex discrimination at brokerage houses is a sensitive one in the industry. While many would like to think it's an ancient issue, sexual misconduct remains a powerful thorn in the industry's side. Bloomberg News columnist Susan Antilla...
If financial advisors need yet another reminder about the importance of contacting clients, here it is: In our study of affluent investors conducted in late October, almost half of the respondents said they had changed primary advisors in the last...
Cool gadgets, lots of action, improbable triumphs: Investing in stocks in the 90s could be as exciting as a 007 thriller. Two and a half years later, thinking about the stock market still scares the living daylights out of many investors. Many...
When a rep is laid off or changes firms, there's often a disagreement about how much she is due for her final months of work. You might think you need to hire a lawyer to maximize compensation. But even if a broker doesn't know exactly what she's...
The Sears spin-off of Dean Witter applauded by securities industry observers and cheered by most Dean Witter brokers may well mark the end of one-stop financial shopping. RR, Dec. 1992
In your initial meetings with clients, an answer to one question will give you insight into their values, lives and dreams and create a healthy anxiety that will motivate them to enlist your services. As nonchalantly as possible, ask, When you die...
