Retirees worry about two major types of risks: volatility of their current portfolio and the chance that they may run out of money. Modern Portfolio Theory covers only the first. Dedicated Portfolio Theory manages both. It factors time horizons into the investment planning process, balancing long-term success probability against short-term volatility. It leads to an asset allocation, linked to the financial plan, which clients and advisors find very intuitive.

Retirees worry about two major types of risks: volatility of their current portfolio and the chance that they may run out of money. Modern Portfolio Theory covers only the first. Dedicated Portfolio Theory manages both. It factors time horizons into the investment planning process, balancing long-term success probability against short-term volatility. It leads to an asset allocation, linked to the financial plan, that clients - and advisors - find very intuitive.

Fixed income markets have undergone a transformation in recent years.  Extreme market volatility has been accompanied by advances in market transparency and the introduction of new investment vehicles.  Matt will discuss this new fixed income landscape and the key lessons investors have learned over the past two years.  He will also review strategies investors can employ in their fixed income portfolios to better manage overall portfolio volatility, sustain income, and enhance total return.

Financial advisors are often the "quarterbacks" not only for a client's current financial affairs, but also with respect to multigenerational planning.  The process of identifying multigenerational opportunities, however, has become more and more challenging as the estate and gift tax landscape, not to mention the economic environment, has fluctuated.  This program will offer a practicing attorney's perspective on the planning process with an emphasis on the crucial role of the financial advisor in identifying tax planning opportunities.

Many firms share that they find it difficult to deliver predictable, consistent and proactive “top-tier” service that also drives profitability for the firm. Developing a formal Service Model that recognizes the difference between client types and segments, which defines services and assesses profitability enables you to build a powerful client model that delivers a predictable high quality service and drives improved profitability for your firm.

Stephanie Bogan, a nationally recognized practice management consultant and speaker will share the secrets used by top firms to develop powerful, profitable client service models, including: Difference between service model and client model; Identifying criteria and performance metrics; How to effectively profile and segment clients; Establishing profitable service platforms; Defining your client model and learning to measure; Common client model problems, and solutions; How to build a client model that works.

Have you had the LTC discussion but are not sure how much is enough and why? This session will explore how to establish the right amount of insurance based on your clients answers to 22 questions in a “Long Term Care Questionaire”. Using your clients own responses you will be able to design a policy that fits them to a tee, and give you the confidence that you have provided the most suitable solution possible on a case by case basis. Join us for this session and you will leave with a simple comprehensive tool that will make long term care planning painless for you and your clients.

Axel Merk will discuss the economy and the dollar from an international perspective. He will focus on global dynamics and the potential consequences of present market interventions. His presentation will address important issues, such as whether an economic recovery is sustainable given a backdrop of rising inflationary pressures.

Clients are your best source of business, but what have you done to empower them? Following the lead of some of the fastest growing independent firms, we look at referrals from the perspective of the client and discuss building a strategy based upon what we learn. The result is quite different from traditional approaches, and we will discuss specific actions you can take to put a strategy into place.

Alternative investments is a broad category of investments that advisors often struggle with how and whether to incorporate in client portfolios. This session will explore how two large, well-regarded local firms incorporate a broad range of alternative investments into their client portfolios and why they believe it adds value. Some questions that will be addressed include how much do you typically allocate to alternatives and why? What types of alternatives do you use and not use? How do you use alternatives for smaller vs. larger clients?

In this session, Bob Veres will outline what Inside Information readers identified as the most important emergent issues facing the profession, and offer some ideas on how to address the challenges we'll face in the second decade of the 21st Century.

Misinformation about how best to value wealth management firms has been circulating throughout the industry for some time now. It’s time to reverse the course of these misconceptions and to get firms on track with valuation, especially as they develop continuity plans, succession plans, and operating agreements. To that end, this session will explore:

• How the valuation paradigm for wealth managers is askew and what you can do to fix it
• The most important valuation drivers for wealth managers
• How selling your firm to internal partners as part of a succession plan may drive down valuation
  
• How succession planning naturally dilutes the equity position in your firm while increasing risk
• The key differences between continuity and succession planning
• Strategies for sharing equity with colleagues
• How best to tap the private equity in your firm

Why would anyone risk a lot for a little? Yet by forgoing a comprehensive review of your client’s property casualty insurance you are doing just that. In this session we’ll demystify the insurance review process and walk through actual client policies to evaluate coverage, assess gaps and provide solutions for your clients needs. We will analyze home, auto, personal liability and earthquake policies in detail and you will walk away knowing how to provide your clients with the best value in coverage.

Proactive insurance planning can save your clients significant money. By making simple changes, Dr. McClanahan shows how your clients can improve their insurability for life, long term care, and disability insurance. She discusses what problems insurance companies look for in each type of product, and how common conditions such as weight issues, hypertension, mental health issues, arthritis, and diabetes can affect the cost of and/or inability to obtain coverage. She then discusses how you can plan for these issues in advance to help your clients find the insurance they need.

In light of market turmoil over the past several years, clients are increasingly expressing an interest in retirement solutions that include guarantees, and many are looking to annuity contracts to fill that gap. However, many advisors do not have a strong understanding about where and how annuities might be used to fit within a client's overall retirement plan. In this session, we will explore some popular annuity retirement strategies, and evaluate the pros and cons of such strategies in light of how they fit within the remainder of the client's financial plan.

Come listen as three top advisors discuss how they use technology in their firms. Learn what are the most important technologies they use – those they couldn’t live without, and discover why they think those technologies are important for effectively working with their clients and running their firms. Listen as they describe any missteps they have had with technology and last, hear what they have to say about what they think are the limitations of technology within their firms.

Client reviews are the foundation of the consulting relationship. When conducted successfully, they can be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the value of an advisor’s role as relationship manager as well as their overall service offering. Moreover, industry research now confirms the importance of reviews in building and sustaining strong relationships – a factor that may be more important to client overall satisfaction than investment performance. Mastering the Client Review provides a fresh perspective on this essential activity, with a unique approach designed to showcase progress made against clients’ personal goals as well as traditional analysis of portfolio performance. This comprehensive overview offers a variety of tools and resources to help advisors schedule, prepare for, and conduct client reviews, including sample agendas and ideas for framing their discussion.

In the past, taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) above $100,000 were precluded from converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. However, beginning with the 2010 tax year, the AGI limitation has been lifted, thereby allowing many more taxpayers the opportunity to convert to Roth IRAs. The results - a floodgate of activity for professional advisors. Find out how to survive, and even thrive in this new world of Roth Conversions.

The speaker will discuss the growth in publicly-traded real estate securities across the globe, including REITs, real estate operating companies and debt securities.  He will also examine the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of securities, as well as specific regions.

This presentation will cover: -How to create a realistic plan for your clients and their college-bound student that matches everyone’s personal and financial goals -Is a Private school or UC the best fit? -How to make the student a more attractive applicant -How the financial aid system works (need-based and merit-based) -Who receives financial aid and how to improve the odds -Planning steps for lower and higher income families

Although most advisors are familiar with safe withdrawal rates, more recent research has expanded the basic framework to incorporate additional market and portfolio factors to arrive at more effective recommendations regarding sustainable spending. In this session, we will explore some recent developments in the safe withdrawal rate research and how client portfolios and spending recommendations might be adjusted accordingly.

This informative session will educate advisors on how they can help clients who have underwater real estate while minimizing the impact on their clients' long-term financial health. Items covered include approaches to help client navigate short-sales, foreclosures, deed in lieu of foreclosures, and outright defaults.

A new generation is getting ready to collect Social Security. Unlike their parents, who quietly marched down to their Social Security office as soon as they turned 65, baby boomers want to know how they can maximize lifetime benefits through effective Social Security planning. Advisors who take the time to understand the rules and recommend innovative strategies will be in great demand among boomers, who see Social Security as the starting point for comprehensive retirement income planning that includes IRA rollovers, investment management, insurance products, and financial planning services.

We all know that a copy of the clients' tax returns is one of the source documents that we need to receive for the financial planning engagement. But what should you really be looking for when you review the returns? As an Enrolled Agent and a CFP Practitioner Kent's insight, from not only the tax perspective but also the financial planning perspective, will open up the tax return to provide more valuable information about your client than just the amount of the refund or balance due and the marginal tax bracket. In conjunction with the other source documents provided by clients, the copies of the tax returns can provide significant information concerning their current financial situation, potential planning needs that may be unstated in their goals and objectives, and other issues that might not be apparent with the information provided.

Health Care Reform is bringing significant changes to health insurance and the health care system. Dr. McClanahan discusses how the Health Care Reform Act will affect health insurance for individuals, small businesses, and employees of large companies. Topics covered include time line for implementation, where consumers will obtain health insurance coverage, benefits included in health plans, potential cost of coverage, and the exciting changes in how health care will be delivered.

Retirees worry about two major types of risks: volatility of their current portfolio and the chance that they may run out of money. Modern Portfolio Theory covers only the first. Dedicated Portfolio Theory manages both. It factors time horizons into the investment planning process, balancing long-term success probability against short-term volatility. It leads to an asset allocation, linked to the financial plan, which clients and advisors find very intuitive.

This interactive seminar will focus on three tips to help you be healthy and stay healthy. You will also learn techniques to keep your memory sharp at any age. Many people claim that good health is their top priority. They may eat healthy foods, exercise vigorously, and visit their doctor on a regular basis. Unfortunately, in today’s society these good habits are not enough to maintain optimal health. Join us for this seminar and you may just learn information that could be life changing.

An investor’s lifecycle can be segmented into three distinct phases.

(1) Accumulation phase prior to retirement

(2) Transition phase as the investor prepares for retirement

(3) Distribution phase during the retirement years (over age 65).

This presentation will discuss various portfolio models that are appropriate for each phase, with particular attention on appropriate portfolios for phase 2 (Transition) and phase 3 (Distribution).

Discover a simple elegant formula that challenges industry-wide beliefs about productivity and profitability. This thought provoking presentation reveals how to uncover practice inefficiencies, leverage your resources and unleash the hidden potential within your firm. Whether you are managing millions or billions, the Essential Formula outlines courageous choices that result in increased profitability, outstanding service, a vibrantly aligned business and a soul satisfying life.

Financial planners have heard it before:

(1) The blended family/second marriage cry -  "That" woman stole my daddy's money!!! or "Biff is taking my mother to the cleaners!"

(2) the greedy child wails  - "I want my money - NOW!"

(3) the non-traditional family lament -"Your mother and I just don't understand people in California!"

What's a financial planner to do?  We will explore the psychologies of these situations, what the disagreements are and how to preserve family harmony. Major points of discussion will include when death and divorce collide, particularly the characterization and control of separate and community property as well as various tax and marital deduction clauses and their impact on the planning process. We will put this all into context from a financial planning and investment perspective.

Help your clients to focus on what is truly most important to them and provide tools that will allow them to take control of their lives and to thrive in all market conditions. By integrating user-friendly systems that link life planning and cash flow management, you will engage your clients and empower them to make positive change in their lives

Asian economies and financial markets have made huge strides in recent decades and Asia’s potential for growth and capital appreciation has drawn investors to the region. As advisors seek to understand the best way to increase exposure to global and specifically Asian markets, this session will explore the benefits of diversification and our thoughts on how to gain exposure to the major markets of the world in a way that approximates their economic importance but also provides true global diversification. Advisors will learn how changes to the Asian economies and markets over the past ten years have had and will continue to have significant ramifications to the way advisors invest their client portfolios. Moreover, advisors will gain insight in what the future of investing in Asia may hold and how Asia fits within a globally diversified portfolio. Major points to be discussed: Asia Pacific in a global context, What we expect to see in Asia over the long term, Assessing clients exposure to Asia, Investing in Asia—strategy matters.

What is sustainable investing?
How is it Different from SRI?  
How does your firm implement it for clients?

Capitalism is at a crossroads, sustainability issues such as climate change, environmental damage, and poverty are changing the way companies do business. 

What is the latest research showing?
Do sustainable companies have a performance edge?
Do sustainable practices reduce risk?
Can environmental and social impact be measured?
How are investors responding? 

As a financial planner, your greatest asset is you, and knowing how to enhance your client relationships is key to your success. Learn how to use the Enneagram, a powerful and insightful personality system, to increase your effectiveness with clients and to understand how clients of each Enneagram style approach money and financial planning.

Women and men buy differently, are you selling to them the same way? Are you missing out on a share of this $6 trillion market? If you’re not reaching out to women – in the right way – it’s almost guaranteed that someone else is. Learn: Why this market is so important, The challenges and realities female clients face, Why building relationships is better than pushing products, and Education mixed with fun works.

Best practices for planning for lifetime financial security are under review, and in some quarters, even attack. How do planners responsibly respond to this situation? As the Markowitz Mean-Variance model shifts off center stage as the reigning paradigm, what theoretical model will emerge to take its place? What theoretical foundation will support the next generation of best planning practices? Economists suggest it will be the Life Cycle Theory of Saving & Investing, a model well accepted in the economic literature since the 1970s and, interestingly, also just recently introduced into the CFA curriculum. This session offers a brief summary of this emerging new foundation for best practices, and then explores the practical implications, including the conversations we have with clients, the strategies and products we recommend, the focus of our advocacy efforts, and the range of professionals with whom we collaborate.

Studies and experience show that 90 percent of families fail when it comes to keeping the family unity and its assets together for more than three generations. If 90 percent of families fail, what do the "successful" 10% do differently? Come learn how families combine financial and estate planning with heritage planning and help clients discover and secure the future they really want. Learn how to help clients communicate with other family members and prepare and equip the next generation. As an advisor, learning to advise across multiple generations can also guarantee that your practice will continue to gain new clients (new family members) and will likely lead to better referrals from existing clients.

Make your site the natural answer for the Google search leading to your website - the search engine results people trust most.

Google has become the world's primary tool for accessing and retrieving information. Seventy to eighty percent of web searchers however, don’t go past the first page of a search. If your site is on page two - you miss major traffic. Search engine spiders that crawl your website for ranking view your content very differently than human visitors - and there are over two hundred known ranking factors in Google's algorithm which is very difficult for humans to perceive.

Most websites today are making 5 Common SEO Mistakes that are hurting their website's search engine traffic because consideration has only been given to how the site looks to human visitors - not for search engine spiders so people can find you on Google.