One year ago, the global financial crisis brought panic to investors and businesses, as stock prices were cut in half and bank lending dried up. Now, the crisis has calmed and the market has bounced back, but concerns remain. Unemployment is at its highest in decades, the commercial and residential real estate markets remain strained, and global trade is stagnant.

Is this the new normal? Are we at the beginning of a new bull market? Or are we about to face another wave of bad news? These questions were addressed at this week's session of the Financial Advisor Webinar Series. Don Phillips, managing director of Morningstar, and Fran Kinniry, principal of Vanguard, reflected on the past year and discussed their expectations for the future. They identified areas of concern and highlighted sectors primed for strong performance.

Phillips is president of Fund Research at Morningstar, while Kinniry is a senior member of Vanguard's Investment Strategy Group. Both Phillips and Kinniry presented at the Financial Advisor Webinar Series during the height of the credit crisis. Their sessions were two of the highest rated of the past year.

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Life planning increases client trust, commitment, satisfaction, cooperation, retention, and referrals, according to research published by the Financial Planning Association. In Friday's session of the Financial Advisor Webinar Series, Carol Anderson, CEO of Money Quotient® explained how firms can offer this holistic, client-centered approach to financial planning.

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Knowing the right information about your clients and prospects can help you better connect and identify with them, and lead to stronger relationships. In our September 25 session of the Financial Advisor Webinar Series, Sam Richter, award-winning and top-selling author and SVP/Chief Marketing Officer at Actifi, shared his best tips for searching the web to find information on your clients on prospects. Attendees gave the session rave reviews, as they picked up tips that only the best marketing pros know.
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A New Model For Life Planning
Life planning increases client trust, commitment, satisfaction, cooperation, retention, and referrals, according to research published by the Financial Planning Association.
But how can your firm offer this holistic, client-centered approach to financial planning?
This presentation shows you how. You'll also learn how life planning aligns your firm with the Practice Standards established by the CFP Board of Standards.
For 15 years Carol Anderson has specialized in retirement preparation, productive aging, financial education, and life planning. As president and CEO of Money Quotient®, she has trained advisors in a values-based, life-centered approach to financial planning.

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The number of Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) continues to expand, with more than 600 trading on U.S. exchanges and 500 more in SEC registration. In today's webinar, Richard Ferri, CFA, of Portfolio Solutions LLC, an investment management firm based in Troy, MI., explained all things ETPs. He discussed what's new in ETPs and ETFs, how actively managed ETPs differ from index-based products, and how certain products can leave you short. This session was widely acclaimed by attendees and covered both beginning and advanced material.
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Regulatory Reform: Will You Be A Fiduciary?
Regulatory reform is coming for financial advisors. SEC Chair Mary Shapiro has said the agency anticipates "harmonizing investment advisor and broker dealer obligations." And in a June 17, 2009 white paper, the Obama Administration proposed requiring a fiduciary standard of care for brokers, a move initially applauded by the Financial Planning Coalition, but which risks "watering down" the fiduciary standard.
What can you expect in coming years? Will your regulatory compliance costs go up? Will being a fiduciary mean less than before? How will fee-only RIA's be able to differentiate themselves from fiduciary brokers who also accept commissions? If you are a broker, will you even be able to accept commissions? How will this affect your fiduciary responsibility?
Blaine Aikin, president and CEO of fi360, which provides training, tools, and resources to promote fiduciary responsibility and improve the decision making processes of investment fiduciaries, will answer these questions and more.

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Middle income clients need your help more than ever. And creating a plan for serving them can help you grow your business and as you play an important role in our nation's economic recovery. In today's webinar, Kevin Condon, executive vice president of Advisor Services for MyFinancialAdvice Inc., explained why you should serve middle income clients and what changes you'll need to make in your business to best serve this lower-margin market segment.

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Segment Your Clients To Become More Profitable
To better serve the differing needs of your clients and effectively manage your time, you need to segment your clients. You shouldn't be spending 80% of your time on 20% of our lowest-margin clients. If you want to advance your business, you need to recognize this and develop a plan to best manage your time and adapt your client service model accordingly.

In this webinar, Scott Cohen of Focus Partners will show you how to best do that. Focus Partners provides practice management program design services that help individuals and teams of financial advisors take their businesses to the next level. Through their coaching process, the firm leverages existing strengths to build and implement a personalized transformation plan for your business.

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With revenue slashed by the financial crisis, it's more important than ever for advisors to use technology to scale their businesses and operate more efficiently. In today's session of the Financial Advisor Webinar Series, advisors learned how to evaluate and implement practice management systems from one of the industry's leading experts, Dan Skiles, executive vice president of Shareholders Service Group.

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Actively Managing An ETF Portfolio In All Market Cycles
One major benefit of investing in ETFs is that you can participate in a sector's upside without the company-specific risk of individual stocks. While "a rising tide lifts all boats," if you get stuck investing near a market peak, your portfolio will undoubtably suffer.

In our next webinar, you'll learn how you can identify and profit from economic cycles. Robert Stein, who is managing partner of Astor Financial LLC and this week's presenter, specializes in economics-based investing. He uses economic indicators, namely unemployment, GDP, and money flows into and out of the stock market to identify changing economic cycles. In this session, he'll share his research and discuss the potential for double-dip recession. He'll also help you identify appropriate ETFs that would be poised to benefit.

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In today's session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, David Maxfield, coauthor of The New York Times bestseller, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, explained how advisors can conduct crucial financial conversations with clients to drive rapid, sustainable, and measurable change in behaviors. Maxfield, who is vice president of Research at VitalSmarts, a corporate training company that has helped thousands of organizations, has found through proprietary research that advisors who master these crucial conversation skills can double their client retention rates.

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Preparing for the Worst
The The market meltdown of 2008 decimated client portfolios and advisory firm profits. After a resurgent second quarter, financial uncertainty lingers. Are you prepared for another leg down?

On Friday July 17th, you will learn skills to protect your business and bolster client relationships during the next market crisis. Whether it occurs next month or next year, you can be prepared. Fred Luskin, Ph. D., Rick Aberman, Ph.D., and Art DeLorenzo, CFP, founders of MYT Group LLC, will help you create a plan for retaining clients through turbulent times. Experts in applying Emotional Intelligence techniques in a business setting, the trio will provide you with unique ideas for managing client relationships.

Drawing on Luskin, Aberman, and DeLorenzo's collective experiences in communications, relationship management, psychotherapy, and stress management, NY-based MYT (Maximize Your Talent) helps advisors implement personal growth opportunities. Their work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, as well as TV and radio programs.

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Today at the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, over 200 advisors delayed the start of their Memorial Day weekend to hear from George Kinder, widely recognized as the father of life planning, about how they can use his techniques to grow their practices and deepen client relationships.
Kinder, who has been a practicing financial planner and tax advisor for over 30 years, explained how advisors can play a more meaningful and fulfilling role in their clients' lives, as the industry transforms from a sales-driven to a service-oriented model.

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How can you make your business less susceptible to market gyrations? Can the advice you give be more meaningful and fulfilling--not just to your clients but also for yourself? George Kinder, perhaps the financial planning profession's best teacher, will address these and other key issues advisors are facing at this Friday's session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series.

Kinder, who has been a practicing financial planner and tax advisor for over 30 years, will explain how financial life planning can revolutionize the industry by transforming it from a sales-driven to a service-oriented model. He will highlight how to create life plans for clients that address their family relationships, spiritual needs, and willingness to help others. Kinder will give you new perspective about how the planning profession is positioned in the minds of most investors, and uplift you with ideas to touch their hearts.

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Advisor are embracing social networking as a way to find new prospects, deepen relationships with clients, and develop their firm’s brand. But many compliance issues arise with social networking and blogs, and the SEC has not yet clarified the rules of these new communication mediums.

In today’s webinar, Brian Hamburger and Daniel Bernstein of MarketCounsel, one of the nation’s leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firms, addressed the compliance responsibilities of advisors who use blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and any other social networking medium. While advisors would be wise to take advantage of the new media to grow their businesses, they must be aware of and adhere to their regulatory responsibilities.

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After The Fall: Asset Allocation And Rebalancing
As the equity market collapse has unhinged your clients' asset allocations from their financial plans, it's time to rebalance and get their portfolios back in line. Craig Israelsen Ph.D., associate professor at Bringham Young University and one of the foremost academics in the field of indexes and passive investing, will teach you to rebalance portfolios for greater upside potential with less risk according to his "7Twelve" allocation philosophy.

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Social networking is exploding, and financial advisors are part of the trend. Today’s session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series featured John Comer, a marketing coach to advisors, who spoke about how advisors can use LinkedIn to identify and build relationships with new prospects. Over 550 advisors registered for the session. View Replay        Comer_Presentation Slides

Compliance Issues Posed By Linkedin, Twitter, Blogging, & Social Networking
When an IA rep uses Twitter to send a link to an article at Money.com to clients and prospects “following” him, is that communication subject to SEC advertising rules? How about when a registered rep does the same thing?

And how about if you” tweet” about a blog you posted? Can you even write a blog? And what about allowing commenting on your blog? Is that allowed?

Does posting a “recommendation” by a client on your Linkedin profile constitute a testimonial and, thus, violate SEC rules? What if clients don’t recommend you as a financial advisor but just opine on your character or integrity?

Blogs, Linkedin, Twitter, and other social networking websites are incredibly exciting marketing mediums. But before you dive in, you must know the compliance rules you face.   

In this session, you’ll get straight answers from MarketCounsel, one of the country's leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firms.

CFP attendees eligible for one CE credit.  

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With revenues from asset management fees slashed by the worst bear market in decades, financial advisors are struggling. And with Wall Street discredited by the financial crisis, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for independent advisors to build their client base, according to Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network, who spoke at this week’s session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series. To survive—and once again thrive—says Lezynski, advisors must focus now on delegating, marketing, communicating, prospecting, and positioning, and they must take steps right now to improve communications, retain clients, and build new relationships.

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Hand-picking prospects using LinkedIn: Next week’s webinar session will look at how advisors can use LinkedIn to build their client base during the current economic downturn. The popular social networking site provides a great way to find new leads and build your online presence. John Comer, a marketing coach to advisors who has over 28 years of experience, recently conducted groundbreaking research into how advisors can use LinkedIn for marketing. He will present his findings at this session.

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Are you successfully implementing a plan to get through the economic downturn? Do you have any recommendations that could help your peers to retain clients, reduce costs, or land new prospects? If so, please share your ideas by commenting on this blog. 

As the economic malaise continues, financial advisors are struggling. The stock market plunge has cut assets under management in half, and clients need more handholding than ever before. With the large Wall Street firms’ losing their credibility, independent advisors have a huge growth opportunity, but it won’t be easy.

As an advisor, to succeed in this downturn you must restore revenues, reduce costs, retain clients, and expand your business. These tasks can be daunting in the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression. But, at Friday's session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, marketing expert Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network will show you how you can keep your business on solid footing through delegating, marketing, communicating, prospecting, and positioning.

Mr. Lezynski will also explain how to discover your firm’s vision and identity and how to use that discovery to properly plan for your firm’s growth.

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Seventy-six percent of advisors say they are not confident that they possess the skills to fully vet alternative investments. 54% percent say they do not have a “standard” list of documentation that they collect from alternative investment managers before investing, and  63% say they have no formally documented due diligence process, according to a suevey this week by Advisor Products.

With that bleak data as a backdrop, along with the guilty plea entered yesterday by the infamous Bernard Madoff, Jason Sharfman of Corgentum Consulting LLC., which specializes in due diligence of alternative investments, told attendees at this week's Financial Crisis Webinar that lax RIAs could face the risk of liability and are vulnerable to lawsuits by clients unless they tighten alternative investment due diligence.

The webinar also featured a discussion about Schwab Institutional's effort to move all alternative investments off its custodial platform. Anthony Carl of Sterling Trust Company and Tom Anderson, CEO of Pensco Trust Company, also participated in the discussion. Carl and Anderson, who represent two custodians to which Schwab Institutional is referring advisors as they move off the Schwab custody platform, spoke about how using a trusted custodian can help mitigate the risks of alternative investments.

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For thoughtful coverage of the Schwab Alternative Investment custody issue, read Andrew Gluck’s blog post.

To be notified of future webinars and special events, please subscribe to our RSS feed.

Has your firm developed a successful due diligence process? Do you have any recommendations that you would like to share? If so, please comment.

On March 20, Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network presents SEI's 2009 Survival Guide For Financial Advisors. Advisors should attend this session for new ideas about how to grow business during this difficult time. Register now.  Download presentation slides.

The bad news on the economy is unrelenting. Companies—entire industries—are collapsing and millions of jobs are disappearing. Clients want answers, while you feel responsible for their investment losses and doubtful about your ability to help them. These are difficult days, if not overwhelming. In this presentation, Sharon Hoover, executive leadership coach, shows you how to manage the demands being made on you in these tough times.
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March 13: Due Diligence On Alternative Investments: Never Be "Madoffed" And Show Clients Transparency
Performing due diligence on investments is more important than ever, as is being able to prove to clients and prospects that you run an honest advisory business. In this presentation, Jason Sharfman, author of the recently published book "Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks," will tell you how to perform investment and operational due diligence and how to create policies and procedures that ensure transparency when investors are performing due diligence on your firm.

Before founding Corgentum, Scharfman oversaw due diligence for a $6 billion alternative investment allocation group called Graystone Research at Morgan Stanley. He was also a senior member of a team that oversaw all of Morgan Stanley’s hedge fund operational due diligence efforts allocating $13 billion to a firm-wide platform of over 300 hedge fund managers across multiple investment strategies.

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Effective wealth management means more than making good investments. Protecting assets from liability is just as important. At the February 27 session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, Gideon Rothschild, partner at prominent New York law firm Moses & Singer LLP, discussed asset protection strategies that advisors and clients can use to shield assets from creditors, liability, or divorce. He stressed the importance of planning ahead, as trusts and other asset protection vehicles will be found invalid if created on the eve of a judgment. Therefore, for best results, these strategies should be integrated with a client's estate planning and should be developed before an imminent liability arises.
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March 6: Manage the strain of the financial crisis
As the recession deepens, clients are demanding attention and answers, while you may be feeling responsible for their losses and doubtful of your ability to give them good advice. The demands being made on you can be difficult to manage. Sharon Hoover, executive leadership coach and owner of CoachingWorks, will help you teach you how to better manage the events and people in your daily life. She’ll discuss strategies for identifying and overcoming what stands in the way of your and your clients' personal and professional success.
CFP licensees who attend this webinar are eligible for one continuing education credit. For more information on Sharon Hoover's coaching techniques, see her blog posts. 
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As the financial crisis and Wall Street scandals have destroyed investor trust, rebuilding client loyalty is a priority for financial advisors. Knowing a few key internet research techniques can help advisors build lasting client relationships and even locate new prospects. Sam Richter, chief marketing officer of ActiFi Inc., shared dozens of valuable research tips with attendees at this week's session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series. The fast-paced session was one of the most well-received by attendees, as they learned a wide-range of research ideas including using Google search strings for more focused results and how to use free online databases to stay informed about clients and prospects.
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Make the right investment choices for your clients
In today's challenging investment environment, it's more important then ever to make the right investment choices for your clients. Next week at the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, Don Phillips, managing director of Morningstar, will explain what key factors to look for when choosing mutual fund investments. He will explain why funds that focus on stewardship over salesmanship have gained the largest portion of new asset inflows and why these same funds can also produce the greatest investor returns after fees. Continuing education credit will be granted to CFP attendees who attend this session.

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With the global economic crisis disrupting the financial services business, money is in motion, clients are firing brokers, and opportunities abound for independent advisors. Hugh Massie of Financial DNA Resources spoke about how RIAs can seize the moment at today's Financial Crisis Webinar Series. Massie has designed a systematic process for uncovering and addressing a client's unique financial personality traits and adapting your communication to each client. Massie's process uncovers predictable hard-wired behaviors that significantly influence financial decisions--Financial DNA. Download Hugh Massie's presentation slides.

Learn about advanced internet marketing research techniques to find out about prospects, discover niches, and uncover important tidbits about clients. Friday, February 13 at 4 p.m. EST, Sam Richter, chief marketing officer at ActiFi Inc., will show you secrets of the Web. ActiFi specializes in consulting to advisory firms about the people, process, and technology needed to run a profitable practice. Richter has more than 20 years of experience in advertising, public relations, and e-commerce. He has created  award-winning technology, sales, and marketing programs for start-up companies, and some of the world’s most famous brands.

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Advisor Products today received approval to award continuing education credits to advisors who attend weekly The Financial Crisis Webinar Series.

Many of the one-hour sessions will be eligible for one continuing education credit from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. To receive CE credit, simply enter your CFP Board Number when you register. We'll submit a report confirming your attendance. 

Please register now to reserve a place at the following upcoming webinars:

• Remake Your Firm By Systematically Addressing Financial Personality Traits with Hugh Massie of Financial DNA Resources (Feb. 6)
• Advanced Internet Research Techniques For Advisors with Sam Richter of ActiFi, Inc. (Feb. 13)
• Mutual Funds Are Bought, Not Sold: Winning In An Investor-Centric World with Don Phillips of Morningstar, Inc. (Feb. 20)
• Wealth Protection Planning with Gideon Rothschild of Moses & Singer LLP (Feb. 27)
• Indentifying And Overcoming Factors Impeding Your Firm's Success with Sharon Hoover of CoachingWorks (March 6)