Planning and Advice

CFP has new certification guidelines

Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC) has officially announced changes to its Certified Financial Planner® certification program, which will come into effect July 1, 2010. First of, FPSC has changed the names of the exams that will constitute the examination requirements for CFP certification. What were referred to as the Professional Competence Examinations 1 and 2 […]

By Staff |November 1, 2009

2 min read

Planning and Advice

How to justify employment expenses

If you’re a self-employed advisor and hire an assistant – be it your spouse or someone at arm’s length – as long as he or she actually performs the work and is paid a reasonable salary, you should have no trouble deducting the wages you pay. The ability of an advisor who’s considered an employee […]

By Jamie Golombek |November 1, 2009

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Get informed and get involved

I’m a financial planner in a small and remote northern community. When I first started in the business, life was a lot simpler. We didn’t have CNBC. We didn’t have Twitter, or podcasts, or webinars, or even email. The internet didn’t exist at the time. Back then I used to try to catch the Paul […]

By Brad Brain |November 1, 2009

5 min read

Planning and Advice

Getting referrals from your top clients

Everyone knows a “guy” or has a “guy.” And we all take great pride in recommending our “guy” to anyone who will listen. I have several “guys” and a few “girls” of my own. There’s my restaurant guy who I recommend to all my out-of-town clients:.“Go to Tony’s,” I always say. “He’ll take care of […]

By Keith Pangretitsch |November 1, 2009

7 min read

Options for acquisition growth

Frequently, when a person looks to sell a business, the first person he or she asks for tips is an insurance or financial advisor. The problem is, these professionals usually aren’t equipped to provide this kind of advice or service because they most simply don’t know enough about the state of the private equity market. […]

4 min read

Product allocation is more important than ever

Advisors looking to demonstrate the value of advice to clients can now point to retirement income planning. Groundbreaking work, done by Canadian personal finance expert Moshe Milevsky, is changing the way portfolio creators are conceptualizing boomer retirement and creating a lucrative new income stream for competent advisors. Milevsky, professor of finance at York University, in […]

By Mark Noble |November 1, 2009

6 min read

Maximizing client meetings

I’ve been in the financial industry in some shape or form for close to 20 years. I’ve won customer service awards, but some days, I still have to ask myself this question: What do clients really want? There are lots of gurus telling us how to run our businesses; giving us strategies to help it […]

By Janine Purves |November 1, 2009

5 min read

Explore retirement income generation options

As the baby boomer generation has aged, the ever-shifting forces of demographics have begun to push the financial industry from one focused on wealth building and accumulation to one that will concentrate on distribution and income generation. The signs of this are inescapable to anyone who has been paying attention. While 10 years ago, the […]

6 min read

Fact-finds determine client needs

The questions typically include: What’s your annual income (for both spouses if applicable)? : Our ability to earn income is our most valuable asset. Without income, there would be no home, car, or investments. Do you own your own home and do you have a mortgage? If so, what’s the amount left owing on your […]

By John Jordan |November 1, 2009

2 min read