Financial Planning

The October issue of our sister publication CPA Wealth Provider has some information which will shock most. It is a ranking of CPA firms with financial planning practices by assets under management. Eleven have over one billion dollars under management. Yes, I said one billion dollars each with Plante and Moran Financial Advisors leading the pack with $5.255 billion. There are 41 firms listed with $100+ million of assets under management.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Dwight Sean Jones, a former NFL player turned investment advisor, with failing to allow commission staff to examine his business records.

Tension can be a good thing - and not only for the pharmaceutical industry.Advisors who appropriately pull the right tension strings will be the ones who win the clients. The key is to recognize tension and either disarm it or increase it, as appropriate.

BABY BOOMERS FOCUSING ON GUARANTEED INCOME

Alight Planning introduced financial planning and analysis software with collaborative budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting features.

CPA firm Alpern Rosenthal said it is merging with Cass, Levy & Leone in an effort to expand from its Pittsburgh base to Florida.

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Okay, how many know who said this? Will Rogers? Nope. Don Imus? No, again! It was Mark Twain (yeah, you knew that) in a newspaper editorial back on August 27, 1897. As quoted by Charles Warner, his actual words were, “A well-known U.S. writer once said that while everyone talked about the weather, nobody seemed to do anything about it.” The remark is generally ascribed to Twain, with whom Warner collaborated on the novel, The Gilded Age (1873). So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, how does it relate to the following? Because everybody talks about getting nominations in, but many wait until after the issue closes before waking up. Here then is another crack at it. In the event you haven’t seen all the ads, promos, and press releases, nominations are open for CPA Wealth Provider’s 5th Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms, Broker/Dealers, and Financial Planning Software Vendors. Winners are those firms or companies that have taken the lead through innovation, efficiency, initiative, or growth in the professional planning area. The winners will be profiled in the January 2008 issue of CPA Wealth Provider and copies of the issue will be included with the January issues of Accounting Today, Accounting Technology, and Practical Accountant, as well as being featured on WebCPA.com and at applicable conferences and conventions including the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Conference in January in Las Vegas. The judges are Bill Carlino, editor-in-chief of Accounting Today, Stuart Kahan, executive editor of CPA Wealth Provider, and Howard Wolosky, editor-in-chief of Practical Accountant. No forms are needed to nominate. Simply send information about what company or firm is being nominated and in what category. Explain briefly how this firm or company has taken the lead through innovation, efficiency, initiative, or growth in the financial planning area. CPA Wealth Provider must receive nominations no later than November 5, 2007. The issue goes to press on December 7, 2007. Send nominations by e-mail, regular mail, or fax to: Stuart Kahan, Executive Editor CPA Wealth Provider, SourceMedia 1 State Street Plaza, 27th Floor New York, NY 10004 Tel: (212) 803-8852 Fax: (646) 264-6828 e-mail: stuart.kahan@sourcemedia.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to implement the bank broker provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.

Sanders Morris Harris Group, a financial services holding company, has acquired a 25 percent ownership interest in iPro One, a company that provides CPA practices with investment systems and products.

Heading the list of trends that will shape the future of wealth management are taxes and 30-plus-year retirement planning, so says the results of a survey from the Dow Jones Wealth Management Advisory Council. This is s a group of top wealth managers that are dedicated to promoting the practice of wealth management, facilitating industry discussion, and representing the needs and concerns of the profession. Actually, in its report Wealth Trends, there are five key trends that it says will have a great influence on wealth management over the next five years. They are: 1) Taxation. James Covell, senior vp of RBC Dain Rauscher, says that tax concerns will no longer take a back seat to returns if the capital gains tax doubles. He believes that the first priority for wealth managers will be to find tax-efficient investments that ensure clients hold onto their returns. 2) The 30-Plus-Year Retirement. Joseph Montgomery, managing director of investments for Wachovia Securities, opines that no one can really live on relative returns and that with each passing year, life expectancy increases and retirement age decreases. He feels that wealth managers need to ensure that their clients consistently gain real returns rather than getting pulled into investments that follow the swings of the market. 3) Complexity of Investments. According to George Schietinger, director of Credit Suisse Private Banking USA, investment opportunities are both structurally and geographically more complicated than ever and it will only increase. Accordingly, he says that wealth managers must understand the intricate investment options and be able to explain the risks and rewards associated with these opportunities. 4) Team Approach. Montgomery stresses that the stand-alone manager will face challenges and that the future of wealth management, he believes, lies in a team approach involving disciplines such as law, accounting, trust advisory, and financial planning. He adds that each team member must bring a specialty to support the wealth manager. 5) Diversity. Michael Sawyer, managing director, wealth management, for Smith Barney, points out that wealth managers are becoming more reflective of their clientele and that the next five years will see an increase in women and minorities entering the field and reflect the make-up of the high-net-worth market. The Council members agreed that the next half decade will see a shift in the wealth management industry requiring professionals to be more responsive and knowledgeable. They point out that the clients’ need for advice will continue to grow due to an increasingly complicated financial landscape and that tomorrow’s successful wealth managers must have the support of an expert team that will provide both the information and attention to detail that clients require.