In 1994, John Schneider decided to sneak away from the office for an afternoon of fly-fishing at nearby Beaver Creek, Pa. In order to justify the workday field trip, he invited along a few clients. The getaway was strictly spontaneous, says...

Engaging in an outside business activity puts your career at risk. Why? Because your firm will be on the hook if things go wrong. Lets start with this assumption: Youre not a modern day Charles Ponzi, engaging in nonexistent securities...

Merrill Lynch is reorganizing its retail sales force into three distinct categories: Financial Advisors, for those serving investors with less than $1 million (the old Financial Consultant title will be phased out); Wealth Management Advisors, for...

Deloitte & Touche's Michael Herman consults with firms on all of the hot topics reinvention, branch management and broker compensation. Here's what he and senior managers discuss. Michael Herman, head of the financial services unit of Deloitte &...

The latest work woes from fictional rep George Blaumquist. It was just another market day, a day not unlike hundreds of others with the market indexes pressing forward promising higher values, ensuring broader smiles on clients' faces. Normally...

Marketing brochures can be surprisingly powerful when done right. While not cheap or quick to produce, a professionally crafted piece will convey your personal identity. Only a fool (or soon-to-be unemployed broker) would open up shop, turn on his...

When Ken Clark begins one of his financial seminars, he picks out someone in the audience and tells the person she has won the door prize. But in order to collect the prize, she must give Clark one dollar. As Clark takes the dollar bill and begins...

If you're looking for fundamental information on the financial planning profession, Jeffrey Rattiner's Getting Started as a Financial Planner is definitely worthwhile reading. Formerly an executive with the Institute of Certified Financial...

A certain type of person welcomes the idea of a steady paycheck. Banks, discounters and some broker teams offer salaried positions for those who want to escape the production grind. Banks are not a safe haven for low-level producers washing out of...

Our Outstanding Broker Award winners (see Page 66) come from varied backgrounds and some rather humble upbringings. For these reps, hard work beat out youth, inexperience and lack of connections. Outstanding brokers overcame hurdles to become...