William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

William Byrnes (Texas A&M) tax & compliance articles

Posts Tagged ‘Certified Financial Planner’

SEC Okays CFP Board’s Request to Dig into Applicants’ Backgrounds

Posted by William Byrnes on August 24, 2011


Cerftified Financial Planners (“CFPs”) and CFP applicants can longer hide their discplinary history behind the shield of client confidentiality. At the request of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a no action letter that gives brokers and advisors unlimited discretion to share customer complaint information with the Board without fear of reprisal from the SEC. The no action letter eradicates advisors’ ability to assert client confidentiality as a justification for not disclosing customer complaint information to the CFP, giving the Board free-reign to scour members’ backgrounds.

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber)

For previous coverage of the financial planning industry in Advisor’s Journal, see Wall Street Reform Act Mandates Study of Financial Planning Industry (CC 10-73).

For in-depth analysis of financial planning concepts, see Advisor’s Main Library: A – The Need For Financial Planning.

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SEC Okays CFP Board’s Request to Dig into Applicants’ Backgrounds

Posted by William Byrnes on August 22, 2011


The dynamics of the confidentiality is enduring change. Certified Financial Planners (“CFPs”) and CFP applicants can no longer hide their disciplinary histories from the CFP Board under the shield of client confidentiality. At the request of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a no action letter that gives brokers and advisors the  to share customer complaint information with the Board without fear of reprisal from the SEC. The no action letter removes advisors’ ability to maintain client confidentiality as a justification for not disclosing customer complaint information to the CFP, giving the Board free-reign to scour members’ backgrounds.

What impact will this heightened need for disclosure have on the advisor- client relationship?

Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber)

For previous coverage of the financial planning industry in Advisor’s Journal, see Wall Street Reform Act Mandates Study of Financial Planning Industry (CC 10-73).

For in-depth analysis of financial planning concepts, see Advisor’s Main Library: A – The Need For Financial Planning.

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Plan Clients: Where are the Advisory Margins?

Posted by William Byrnes on July 28, 2011


A significant of number of employee retirement plans don’t use an outside investment advisor, often because of the cost. Demonstrating your firm’s flexibility and splitting fiduciary responsibility for the plan could be the key to securing those underserved plans. Customizing your level of service gives these plans what they need—advice—while allowing you to prune services that aren’t cost effective for your firm.

According to the Retirement Plan Survey 2011, released by Grant Thornton LLP, Drinker Biddle & Reath and Plan Sponsor Advisors, greater than 50% of plans use a limited scope investment advisor and 14% of plans use an outsourced investment advisor. Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

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Advisors’ Stairsteps of Influence

Posted by William Byrnes on July 12, 2011


Advisors understand that referrals from existing clients are their best source for new business, but what else is working, and how effective are other methods being used by advisors to generate new business? A recently released survey provides us with a laundry list of approaches used by advisors to solicit new clients and gauges the productiveness of their marketing efforts.  The survey, which polled 262 financial advisors in November and December of 2010, found that client referrals are still the top way advisors generated new business. Behind client referrals, professional referrals were the second biggest producer.  Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

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Appealing to Your Affluent Clients’ Retirement Planning Values

Posted by William Byrnes on April 12, 2011


Now more than ever, clients and potential clients are concerned about how they’re going to continue to enjoy the lifestyle they’ve grown accustomed to pre-retirement.  Most clients are still looking for the same basic retirement advice from their advisors—advice on how to define and meet their retirement goals.

Following the recent financial crisis, your affluent clients are more likely to gravitate to conservative investment strategies that will preserve their hard-earned principle.  But many of them are not clear on the risks of that strategy—they aren’t aware of the opportunities they’re missing.

You can help them reach the retirement they want and find the level of risk appropriate to their long-term goals.  Here’s a breakdown of their values and priorities and how you can appeal to them.  Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of high net worth investors in Advisor’s Journal, see High Net Worth Clients: How to Find Them, How to Service Them (CC 10-07).

For in-depth analysis of investment planning for affluent clients, see Advisor’s Main Library: Investment Planning.

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