Audio: Is it different this time?

Wes Wellington of Dimensional Fund Advisors presents a pitch-perfect analysis of the curent economic climate, including reasons for optimism that avoid speculative forecasting.
A treasure trove of relevant adviser comunications talking points.
(Impressive Adobe podcast technology to boot.)

Anxious investors want more education from advisers

A mid-meltdown survey confirms FINRA’s stats on investors’ desire for more education from their advisers. While “provider-centered” information (brochure, prospectus, disclosure summary, etc,), has reached a saturation point, “client-centered” info evidently still has a long way to go.
The Knowledge Edge: Tough Clients Turn Advisors into “Decathletes”
A recent survey by Prince & Associates found that 81 [...]

Report on wealth management: “The game has changed.”

This press release is from Russell Reynolds talks about the future of wealth management from the perspective of leadership recruitment. I’ve sliced out the middle::
The Game has Changed
* The equity markets have been hammered. Given that most active equity portfolio managers failed to outperform the dismal markets, we expect to see a precipitous drop [...]

Wealth management in a post-meltdown world: 7 leaders from the nation’s top firms weigh in

Here are excerpts from Financial Planning Magazine’s collection of remarks from investment industry leaders on the current economic crisis.
I have interspersed commentary throughout from the point of view of wealth management communications.
Markets Under Siege
Anne Lester
Managing director and portfolio manager
JP Morgan Smart Retirement Funds
New York, N.Y.
What is holding up well for us is owning a little [...]

Wealth management in a post-meltdown world: A new model for advisory firms & 401(k) plans taking shape

Thinking about the future of wealth management? The following analysis seems to be a sensible forecast of fundamental changes to come. Veteran financial services analyst Bob Veres thinks the fee for asset management will be cut in half, while other wealth advisers agree that the trend will be toward unbundled services, each of which will [...]

84% of high-net-worth investors clueless about RIA designation

How important is it to be a registered investment adviser if nobody knows what it means?
Cash is pouring in for a campaign to educate investors, but it will only provide a starting-point. The campaign has its own termination trigger that will flip once they arrive at 50% IRA awareness from a poll of high net-worth [...]

Study: asset allocation steady among wealth advisers

This just in from the wires: Advisor Perspectives released its recent study on wealth management asset allocation, showing a rejection of market timing among advisers in favor of steady exposure to equities.
Here is an excerpt from the release:
Advisors Maintain Asset Allocations during turbulent third quarter
October 9 Advisors currently allocate 60.4% of their assets to equities [...]

Wealth advisers’ growth plan for client services unchanged despite market meltdown

The two principles involved in the merger have a goal to triple assets under management to a total of $15 billion in 5 years. These gentlemen should be applauded for leaning into the wind of the current meltdown.
Independent Power House By Raymond Fazzi — Two years ago, Kochis Fitz and Quintile Wealth Management LLC were [...]

Expanding the concept of advice III

Here is the latest installment of our ongoing examination of the psychological side of investment advice. The article, from the current issue of The Journal of Financial Planning, gets its force from concrete details of real-life examples.
First Aid for Clients in Emotional Crisis
by Richard F. Stolz
… …some planners consciously choose to assist clients coping with [...]

Expanding the concept of advice II

The current issue of the Journal of Financial Planning has an article on the evolving concept of legacy, in which the author analyzes the difference between tactics and vision. I think a handy way to cover the distinction is to refer to “hard power” and “soft power”, though I’m not sure the author would [...]