Practice Management Archives - Page 4 of 7

AUM Billing Revisited: You’re Working Harder For Less

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

Nearly two years ago I wrote this FPPad post about the need for advisers to abandon the AUM fee model. No thanks to another dismal quarter in the stock market, I’m again finding myself thinking about this topic.

For the second quarter of 2010, the Dow fell 10 percent, the S&P 500 lost 12 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 12 percent (and some portfolios may need rebalancing). But guess what? The amount of service you delivered to clients didn’t decrease. If you bill based on AUM, you’re going to take about a 10 percent cut in revenue compared to the first quarter (unless you were one of the lucky ones who sold in May to go away).

For many of you, why are you willing to accept less revenue for sustaining, or even increasing, the services you provide?

Photocopiers, Scanners Expose Private Information

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

This article was originally posted on April 29, 2010 to advisors4advisors.com, a practice management website for independent financial advisers. For continuously updated news, information, and commentary relevant to financial advisors, sign up today.

Last week, CBS News released an investigative report that revealed how documents with private information were accessed from the hard drives of used photocopiers.

Compromised data included internal documents from the sex crimes division of law enforcement, payroll information, and health and medical records.

Click here to view the five-minute video.

FPA of Maryland Webinar to Address Compliance Issues of Social Media

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

Despite FINRA’s issuance of social media regulatory guidance, advisors still have many questions about what can and cannot be done on social media websites.

I’ll be presenting a webinar to the Financial Planning Association of Maryland to address the compliance issues of using social media and networking websites.

I’ll be joined by Adam Schaub, CFP®, Compliance Manager for 1st Global in Dallas, TX. Topics covered will include:

Documentation of policies and procedures
Summary of regulatory guidance
Supervision and record retention
Overview of compliance tools and utilities

The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 1, 12:00PM EDT. FPA of Maryland members can attend for $20, all others can attend for $30.

Click here for the event PDF brochure. | Click here to register.

View the Archive of Tweets from FPA Business Solutions 2010

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

Today was the final day of FPA Business Solutions 2010 in Dallas, TX. To capture the back channel discussion on Twitter, I used the Tweetdoc.org website to create a PDF file of tweets with the #FPABizSol hashtag.

Tweetdoc is free and extremely easy to use, and it outputs a fairly pleasing document to boot.

Click here to view the 96 tweets captured for FPABizSol.

A Results Only Work Environment in Financial Services?

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

I just read a great article at CPA2Biz from Alexandra DeFelice, senior editor of the Journal of Accountancy. Ms. DeFelice highlights a CPA firm that implemented the Results Only Work Environment, or ROWE, and explains how it rewarded employees for productivity and work output rather than recognizing how many hours each employee spends in an office chair.

Click here to read Rewarding Talent Beyond Billable Hours.

ROWE is the brain child of Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, authors of the book Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It.

I’ve always been curious how well the ROWE principles would work in the financial services setting. As evidenced by the CPA firm reviewed in the article, ROWE is freeing employees to work how and when they want, but to always be striving to produce results in all aspects of work.

Would ROWE work inside independent financial adviser firms? What do you think?

Your Next New Hire: By Providence or Planning?

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

Looking ahead to 2010, I’m seeing more and more articles indicating that wealth management and financial planning firms plan to hire staff in the next 12 months (see InvestmentNews and Investment Advisor for examples).

But when the time arrives to hire for your firm, will you rely on providence or planning to find the right employee?

When I say rely on providence, I’m referring to firms that cast a wide net by posting want ads across the Internet and wade through the deluge of résumés that pour in. Yes, posting a job description on industry related sites is more likely to generate qualified candidates, but firms are hoping that ideal candidates are constantly watching the job postings for new positions. Hence the reference to providence.

So instead of relying on chance to find the right employee, advisors should turn to organizations that specialize in matching talented individuals with open positions.

Surprise Audit Costs Severely Underestimated by SEC According to SIFMA

Posted on August 5, 2009 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

I wrote back in May about the SEC’s proposal to require surprise audits of Registered Investment Advisers who have custody of client assets. The proposal also clarified that custody requirements apply to advisers who withdraw advisory and/or management fees directly from client accounts. Therefore, advisers with custody of client funds would be required to undergo surprise audits, estimated by the SEC to be $8,100.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) recently said not so fast. $8,100 is severely underestimated.

According to SIFMA, estimates for surprise audits of RIAs who custody funds are as high as $282,800. You read that right: nearly three hundred thousand dollars.

Obviously the exact estimate depends on the amount of assest under management and the number of accounts, custodians, and securities maintained by an RIA.

For more information on the cost estimates, refer to this article at InvestmentNews.

FPPad to Deliver Commentary on New Practice Management Website for Advisers

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

I have an exciting announcement to make, which in part explains the delays in updates to the FPPad.com blog.

I was asked, and have accepted, to be the technology contributor to a new practice management website for financial advisers, advisorsforadvisors.com.

Now I must admit, practice management website is not the best way I’d describe advisorsforadvisors. Yes, you will find articles and commentary on practice management issues, but advisorsforadvisors offers much more.

advisorsforadvisors is positioned to be a key destination for financial advisers looking for timely, relevant information on the markets and economy, investment news, regulatory changes, compliance, marketing, practice management, software reviews, and technology.

Follow Up to Fraud Prevention Practices

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Bill Winterberg in Practice Management

This is a quick follow up to my post Anti-Fraud Measures Your Practice Needs where news of “irregularities” in accounts managed by Matthew Weitzman of AFW Wealth Advisers was highlighted in the New York Times.

It turns out the Mr. Weitzman is facing very serious charges. Here’s a snip from an InvestmentNews article released today:

Earlier today, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan and the New York office of the FBI said they charged Matthew Weitzman, 43, of Armonk, N.Y., with one count of investment adviser fraud and six counts each of securities fraud and wire fraud.

He also faces charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission over the alleged theft of client funds.

Click here to view the full story at InvestmentNews.

It’s unfortunate to see anyone take advantage of clients, and it’s even worse when the individual in this case once had an affiliation with NAPFA, a group of respected fee-only financial advisers.

So again, take this opportunity to communicate to your clients about the processes and procedures you have in place to prevent fraud and protect your clients’ interests.

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FPPad

AUM Billing Revisited: You’re Working Harder For Less

Photocopiers, Scanners Expose Private Information

View the Archive of Tweets from FPA Business Solutions 2010

A Results Only Work Environment in Financial Services?

Your Next New Hire: By Providence or Planning?

Surprise Audit Costs Severely Underestimated by SEC According to SIFMA

FPPad to Deliver Commentary on New Practice Management Website for Advisers

Follow Up to Fraud Prevention Practices

Bill Winterberg’s Tweets

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