Editor's Letter
Unbelievable. Given current events, a top executive leaving Citigroup is the clearest example of a dog-bites-man story and normally doesn’t warrant further comment. Unless it’s Sallie Krawcheck.
In late September, Krawcheck, head of...
Forward Motion
After the $700 billion bailout in October, we’re also painfully reminded about the $41 trillion from unfunded Social Security and Medicare costs.
Brian M. Riedl of the Heritage Foundation writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, “The...
Sure, it’s easy to like your financial advisor when your portfolio’s doing well, but high-net-worth boomers are just not seeing the cost/benefit value within their advisor/client relationship. A record-high (41 percent), according to the...
When it comes to college tuition costs, “Grandparents are ready, willing and able to help; parents just have to ask the question,” says new research from The Hartford.
Sixty-five percent of grandparents want to contribute financially to...
Editor’s Note: We messed up. Slight mistake in last month’s announcement of the 2008 Readers’ Choice Awards. We certainly want to make sure PowerShares gets its due.
Which exchange-traded funds are generating the most...
AARP ranks the best companies and organizations that are addressing the employment needs of the aging boomer population....
Senior centers across America are bracing for change. Jay Morgan, a moderator for a National Council on Aging online discussion group tells Stephanie Reitz of the Associated Press, “The boomers are going to have the same impact in senior...
Almost half of business owners 55 years and older say they want to sell their business within the next three years. But more than 90 percent don’t have the first clue on how to do it.
“It is striking that a vast majority of owners...
According to new research, retirement income planning is where advisors are finding all the action. Through a new study sponsored by Transamerica, the Financial Planning Association says the demand for retirement income planning, retirement income...
Broker/Dealer Playbook
As baby boomers shift from work to retirement, they’re driving a huge influx of assets in the IRA market. In 2007, IRA assets grew 12.5 percent, the fifth straight year of double-digit growth, according to the Employee Benefit Research...
The good news is that M&A activity is back with a vengeance. The bad news is that it’s really more of a fire sale. When the federal government is slated to be the single largest buyer in the financial services space, things are...
All we can say is good luck and God speed. With the beltway blame game in full swing, the Financial Services Institute is headed to Washington to engage Congressional and regulatory leaders on the financial crisis. As with anything in Washington,...
The Fund Watch
At a recent meeting in Dallas, an advisor shared that his client paid a total of just 14 basis points for his advisor services through the effective use of tax loss harvesting to offset gains. How does this work?
Increasingly, superior tax...
The Investment Company Institute took a look at the rate of mutual fund ownership by clients who use financial advisors. The numbers are big (to say the least) and makes the case for keeping 12b-1 fees right where they are. Results for 2007 include:...
Do low-cost mutual funds outperform their higher-cost brethren? This is the belief of many boomers: if the underlying costs for management, distribution, operations and administration are at the low end of the spectrum, it’s automatically a...
Clients are understandably concerned about how the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will affect their 401(k)s and related retirement accounts. ICI has a quick FAQ primer you can share with anxious boomers to help them better understand just...
CheckList
We turn to rollover expert Mark Lamkin of Louisville, Ky.-based Lamkin Wealth Management to help identify the most common mistakes made by boomers and their advisors. Assets that took a lifetime to build can be taken in an instance if even the...