“FEE-ONLY”: The wave of the financial future
We hear a lot about the term “Fee-Only.” We asked Arbor Wealth Management, a “Fee-Only” firm, how folks become associated with a “Fee-Only” investment advisory firm.
Q: How do people become involved with a “Fee-Only” firm?
Arbor Wealth: More and more people are becoming familiar with “Fee-Only” and specify that they are looking for a “Fee-Only” firm. Most new clients avail themselves of our complimentary consultation and then achieve a comfort level with us and our services. Some attend a seminar and then ask for an appointment.
Q: Does serving as a fiduciary heighten the trust level?
Arbor Wealth: Absolutely. A fiduciary maintains a legal, ethical and moral obligation to act only in the clients’ best interests.
The fact that we sell no products, accept no commissions and maintain no proprietary interest in any fund assures clients that they are receiving conflict-free investment services and financial advice. We like to say that we sit on the same side of the table as our clients.
Q: What is a typical day like?
Arbor Wealth: If the market is open, we are looking for opportunities to place our clients’ assets. Many investors are surprised to learn that their advisor doesn’t actually handle their investments, that their money is kicked upstairs to San Francisco or New York and handled by someone they’ve never met. At Arbor Wealth, we manage every dollar of each of our clients’ portfolios in-house. A person should enjoy the opportunity to speak directly to and interact freely with the investment advisor who manages their money.
Q: Do clients request that you invest in certain securities for them?
Arbor Wealth: We are a discretionary asset manager, which means that after the client has completed a risk tolerance questionnaire and thoroughly discussed his financial situation and goals with us, we just go to work and strive to make those goals happen.Clients receive confirmations of each trade and have 24-7 online access to all their accounts. Clients occasionally express interest in a particular security. But for the most part, we simply go to work on their behalf. Many clients say that coordinating their own investments in the new global economy is far too complicated and time-consuming.
Q: How are you paid if not by commissions?
Arbor Wealth: We are compensated solely by our clients. We charge a mutually-agreed upon annual fee, which equals a percentage of the client’s total assets under management, which is billed in arrears monthly. We say, “If you prosper, we prosper. If you suffer, we suffer.”
Q: What else occupies your time?
Arbor Wealth: We study international economic trends and news, both through online international newspapers and through access to columns by the world’s most esteemed economic thinkers. Much of this reading is done before we reach the office. We synthesize this information and decide what it means for our clients.
We set up streams of income for clients through dividend-paying stocks and coupon-paying bonds. We meet with clients and discuss financial issues. Recently we have begun utilizing new software to do side-by-side comparisons on the benefits of taking social security at various ages, and clients seem to really like this value added service.
Destroy Greece to Save the Euro as Merkel Makes ‘Growth Proposals’ Whilst …
Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
May 20, 2012 – 12:21 PM
By: Mike_Shedlock
…Elections Provide Yet Another Attempt to Snatch Defeat From Jaws of Victory; New Democracy Leads Latest Poll
Greek elections are set for June 17th following the impasse of the last election where no majority government formed.
The “Destroy Greece to Save the Euro” clowns led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel are out in force hoping to turn the vote into a direct referendum on the Euro. The election is of course a direct referendum on the Euro, but Greek citizens are under three Fantasyland ideas.
Three Fantasyland Ideas
- The euro is a good thing for Greece
- It is possible for Greece to stay on the euro but default on debt
- Greece can recover in the eurozone
Merkel is doing her best to convince Greeks that number 2 is not possible and she is correct on that score. She is also promoting the Fantasland positions numbers 1 and 3.
Merkel Asks For Greece Referendum on Euro
MarketWatch reports Merkel Asks For Greece Referendum on Euro.
Germany’s chancellor reportedly proposed on Friday that Greece hold a referendum on its membership in the euro currency area, increasing pressure on the nation just as Group of Eight leaders are set to discuss the region’s debt crisis this weekend.
In a phone call with the Greek president on Friday, German leader Angela Merkel suggested that Greece could have a referendum on the euro when it holds national elections in June, according to media reports, citing a Greek government spokesman.
Whether she actually did make the proposal is in doubt — her spokesman denied it, but the Greek official then reiterated that Merkel made such a request.
Merkel Yields on Growth Measures
As a matter of political expediency (or do I mean political suicide) Merkel-Hollande Meeting Yields Greece Growth Signal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said they would consider measures to spur economic growth in Greece as long as voters there committed to the austerity demanded to stay in the euro.
Requests for measures to bolster growth will be “considered” and the European Union may also “approach Greece with proposals,” Merkel said late yesterday at a joint press conference with Hollande during his first official visit to Berlin. “Greece can stay in the euro area,” and “Greek citizens will be voting on exactly that.”
Is Merkel’s Strategy Working?
The idea that Germany is going to consider anything for Greece but still more austerity measures is yet another Fantasyland notion. Is proof of her strategy in the polls?
The latest polls show pro-bailout conservatives leading
Greece’s conservative New Democracy party, which backs the country’s international bailout, has retaken the lead from the anti-bailout radical leftist SYRIZA, a poll showed on Thursday, the first published since a new election was called for June 17.
If elections were held now, New Democracy would win 26.1 percent of the vote compared with SYRIZA’s 23.7 percent, according to the MARC/Alpha survey conducted on May 15-17.
Based on this result, New Democracy would win 123 seats, the pollsters said. Combined with the 41 seats projected to be won by the Socialist PASOK, Greece’s two major pro-bailout parties would command a 14-seat majority in the country’s 300-strong parliament.
Support for SYRIZA appears to have declined after the party refused to join a national unity government with all the other major parties, the MARC poll showed. In the previous survey by the same agency before the coalition talks collapsed, SYRIZA led with 27.7 percent, up seven points on New Democracy.
Money Will Flow Along With Propaganda
For those holding the common-sense position Greece needs to leave the eurozone to recover, this may be a bit disconcerting. However, There is likely to be movement in both directions on the polls and I think this is just a temporary snap-back.
Moreover, Greece is likely to run out of money before the next elections. Then again, if the polls show the Troika-clowns have a good shot at pulling this off, the money will flow right along with the propaganda.
To understand what the battle to “save Greece” is really about, please consider Euro area official sector exposures to Greece in excess of EUR 290bn Total; EUR 84bn Germany, EUR 63bn France, EUR 55bn Italy, EUR 37bn Spain
That link shows this has nothing to do with “saving” Greece, rather it is about saving German, French, and Italian banks (further destroying Greece in the process).
The irony is every bailout attempt so far has done nothing but increase European banking losses. This attempt should it succeed in another bailout will do the same: increase losses. Three years ago total losses might have been on the neighborhood of 40 billion euros.
Look at the losses now. The increased losses were caused by arrogant Troika-clown euroxcrats with asinine positions willing to repeatedly throw good money after bad.
By Mike “Mish” Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List
Mike Shedlock / Mish is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management . Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction.
Visit Sitka Pacific’s Account Management Page to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
I do weekly podcasts every Thursday on HoweStreet and a brief 7 minute segment on Saturday on CKNW AM 980 in Vancouver.
When not writing about stocks or the economy I spends a great deal of time on photography and in the garden. I have over 80 magazine and book cover credits. Some of my Wisconsin and gardening images can be seen at MichaelShedlock.com .
© 2012 Mike Shedlock, All Rights Reserved.
© 2005-2012 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk – The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis Forecasting online publication.
Comments
How super rich invest now
Where do India’s super rich put their money? Of course, they buy expensive cars, villas and opt for exotic holiday destinations. They’ve also proved that they’re good in deft handling of their investments.
There has been a phenomenal growth in the number of High Networth Individuals (HNIs) in India in the last few years. As per the findings of the Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management report in 2010, India’s HNI population grew at 20.8 percent to 1,53,000 compared with 1,26,700 in 2009. HNIs’ wealth in India grew by 22 per cent in the period 2009-10 accounting for US$ 582 bn wealth, as compared to US$ 477 bn in 2008-09.
According to the report, HNIs invested almost one-third of their savings in equities. However, the uncertainty prevailing globally in several asset classes, leading to frequent volatility, has impacted the investment sentiment of the HNIs. Now, the focus is more on capital protection products than on equity.
The world has still not recuperated from the period of uncertainty. While there have been bouts of recovery, like in second half of 2009 and similar period in 2010, the last four years have been more or less full of economic uncertainties.
The dream bull run of 2005-2007 saw HNIs flocking to the equity markets to make quick money. Many were successful but lot of people saw their wealth wiped out in matter of few weeks after the crash in 2008. Those who again mustered courage and started investing in 2010, burnt their fingers as the market kept sliding down since January 2011. All this made HNIs risk averse. “HNIs are asking much harder questions now. Fixed income is the new ‘hot’ idea as HNIs find it relatively safer. The focus is more on preserving capital and not so much on returns,” said Swapnil Pawar, chief invesment officer at Karvy Private Wealth.
… contd.
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THE RIDE: Family-business entrepreneurs take care of family
Successful family businesses have a secret. Their entrepreneur places high value on the family’s contribution to the business.
Take Ryan Payne who, in 2008, left a major brokerage house to build a business with his father assisting small-business owners with wealth management. As president of Payne Capital Management LLC in New York City (www.paynecm.com), he believes that in family businesses, “everyone tends to take care of each other a little more. There’s an extra level of trust, because everything is going in the same place, to take care of those you love and are related to.”
Johnny Miller, president of OakBridge Timber Framing Ltd., in Howard, Ohio, created a values-driven workplace for ten employees of three generations, all Amish or Amish Mennonite (www.oakbridgetimberframing.com). “Each person is responsible to everyone else to help build each other up as individuals,” Miller says. Everyone strives to follow key components of the mission – “treat others as you’d like to be treated and give our customers more than they expect.” Since 1986 OakBridge has built hundreds of customized homes of timber.
GROWTH
Miller started out with $14,000, half of which a friend contributed. Seven years later, he bought the friend out. At another point, a family member became part-owner by investing $144,000. Subsequently, Miller bought him out, too. Last year’s revenue came just under one million dollars. Both he and Payne have had lines of credit, but Payne funded his venture with credit cards and reported profitability in the third month. An enormous 98 percent of clients from his old firm came on board. “No tapping into assets to get things rolling,” he comments. Last year gross revenue reached $1.7 million.
The light went on at OakBridge during the recession, when buyer behavior changed. Business bankruptcies made buyers seem less trusting, afraid of making a commitment. “People are looking for quality oriented companies and are really, really checking out the people they want to work with,” Miller explains. “We started providing our clients a less stressful commitment by having them make a small investment and watch what we do and how we do it. It gives us some time to prove ourselves.”
Within two months, new revenue from the new policy started flowing. Miller felt a high, exclaiming, “Wow! How can we make this even better?” He held a gratitude dinner to thank all of the families and God.
Although his father’s reputation in the industry has helped the business along, Payne actively researches on an annual basis how other entrepreneurs are becoming successful. However, father and son set up a hedge fund that required skills outside of financial planning. Capital slipped away. “I felt very disappointed in the time and effort expended in a major project that didn’t work out,” Payne says.
They kept working, waiting for demand to present itself before investing in something unproven again. With yet another record quarter this year, he remarks, “All of a sudden you have a much bigger business than you dreamed you’d have. I was thrilled.”
JOBS CREATED
OakBridge Timber Framing Ltd., Howard, Ohio – 10 FT
Payne Capital Management LLC, New York, N.Y. – 6 FT + 2 PT
(Dr. Mildred L. Culp celebrates entrepreneurs and their spirit in THE RIDE™. © 2012 Passage Media.)
MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon, 5/18
LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – May 18, 2012) – Social issues, vertical food growing, Nigeria, earthquake-proof homes, economy, stocks, bonds; this week on MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon. MoneyTV is the internationally syndicated television program all about money and what makes it happen, (http://www.moneytv.net), featuring informative interviews with company CEOs, providing insights into their operations and outlooks for their futures.
Free information packages from the featured companies can be requested by sending an email to info@moneytv.net.
The television program can also be viewed online immediately at www.moneytv.net.
Featured companies on this week’s program include:
GreenGro Technologies, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: GRNH) CEO Donald Smith and C.O.O. James Haas talked about their patented vertical food growing technology.
MC Endeavors Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MSMY) CEO Timothy Algier discussed company operations in Nigeria.
The Green Baron Report Editor-in-Chief Matt Chipman analyzed small cap companies doing well in the face of the struggling economy.
UBS Wealth Management Senior VP Irwin Shapiro said there are still good yields to discover in the bond market.
MoneyTV debuted in 1996 and is broadcast internationally in more than 180 million TV households in over 75 countries.
A complete menu of TV listings is available at the MoneyTV web site, http://www.moneytv.net
MoneyTV Executive Producer and Anchor Donald Baillargeon is also the host of MoneyRap Radio, http://www.moneyrap.com and the daily television program Global Financial News Minute with Donald Baillargeon.
MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon television program, Copyright MMXII, all rights reserved. MoneyTV does not provide an analysis of companies’ financial positions and is not soliciting to purchase or sell securities of the companies, nor are we offering a recommendation of featured companies or their stocks. Information discussed herein has been provided by the companies and should be verified independently with the companies and a securities analyst. MoneyTV provides companies a 3 to 4 month corporate profile with multiple appearances for a cash fee of $11,500.00 to $17,250.00, does not accept company stock as payment for services, does not hold any positions, options or warrants in featured companies. The information herein is not an endorsement by Donald Baillargeon, the producers, publisher or parent company of MoneyTV.
Daily Stock Alert
The heirs to America’s fortunes are growing impatient. With interest rates mired near zero and trusts restricted from taking on heavy risk, income payouts from many trusts have shrunk dramatically. Folks who used to collect $1 million a year from the family trust may now be getting less than $200,000. Some beneficiaries are taking matters into their own hands: They are suing the trustees. The number of lawsuits brought by income beneficiaries has climbed steadily since 2008, according to trust lawyers and wealth managers.
That’s a shame, because things didn’t have to get so bitter. Even with rates low, there are some ways for trusts to produce steady, decent-sized payments.
First of all, holding some higher-risk investments that throw off serious cash is not out of the question. Under the “prudent investor” standards that have evolved over the past 20 years, trustees are judged by how they manage the entire portfolio, not by investments in isolation. That means that even junk bonds can have a place in your trust. If the portfolio is well diversified, you might be able to allocate 5% or so to high-yield bonds. To be super-safe, wealth managers say, trustees should put in writing why they made the investment and how it fit in with the overall strategy. That will provide legal protection if the junk bonds tank. This kind of investment, however, won’t solve the income problem entirely, partly because even high-yield bonds produce a lot less cash than they used to. The average yield on junk bonds recently fell to 7%, an all-time low.
Thomas Reis for Barron’s
In looking for the right investments, simplicity is often the best. A good dividend-paying stock can give lift while also providing long-term capital appreciation. ATT sports a dividend yield of more than 5%. Even some tech stocks now have attractive dividends; Intel yields about 3% after a payout increase earlier this month.
It may be tempting to try some of the options strategies designed to boost income. But beware: What works for investors at large doesn’t always work in the confines of a trust.
PNC Wealth Management’s Jennifer Immel helped one family decide whether or not to boost income by selling call options on a stock. Such “covered call” strategies limit the upside for the stock, but the options sale produces cash proceeds. In a trust accounting, however, the proceeds are deemed principal, so they couldn’t be paid out to the beneficiaries, who were entitled to receive only income from the trust. The family decided to stick with a straightforward dividend-paying stock.
Some trusts may be inadvertently limiting their income potential by diversifying into alternative investments like hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital, which are mostly geared to principal gains. “With older, less-flexible trusts, it’s great to have a modern approach to investing, but have we helped the income beneficiary?” asks Rob Laughlin, head of Citi Private Bank’s Citi Trust unit.
In his view, the best solution is to augment normal distributions to beneficiaries with periodic payments from the trust’s principal, by using either a power to adjust distributions or a particular structure for a trust.
Over the past 10 years, with interest rates often low, many states enacted new trust rules that allow trustees to pull from principal to pay income beneficiaries an amount closer to what they have expected over time. Some 44 states and the District of Columbia allow such power to adjust, though trusts must submit petitions before proceeding.
Another alternative is to become a “unitrust,” which pays out income at a fixed rate — typically 3% to 5% — regardless of how market yields may swing. If the actual return for the portfolio ends up larger than the fixed rate, the surplus gets added to the principal. If the return is lower, the unitrust’s principal is reduced. Some 25 states, including big ones like New York and Florida, now allow unitrusts.
Beneficiaries are increasingly calling for flexibility like that, and it isn’t hard to see why. Laughlin points to one Citi client, a New York family that had made its fortune in the tobacco industry. The founder handed down his money to his daughter through a conventional trust, but as the years went by, stresses developed. The daughter’s interests as the income beneficiary diverged with those of her children, who stood to inherit the trust’s principal.
The trust had been invested with a growth orientation: 70% equities, 30% fixed income. For many years, all parties seemed satisfied with the administration of the trust. The children were pleased with the trust’s growth, since it increased the principal they would share, and Mom was satisfied with her income payout, thanks to relatively high yields from the fixed-income holdings.
However, as higher-yielding bonds began to mature, they were being replaced with bonds paying significantly less income. That was starting to crimp the mother’s lifestyle. While the value of the trust had increased steadily, the annual income had increased only modestly, and it was clear that the income would now decline. The solution: the trustees agreed to petition the New York court to have the trust converted to a unitrust, allowing them to stabilize the mother’s income without entirely ruling out growth.
SOMETIMES, OF COURSE, families push so hard for income that they can’t help but hurt long-term growth. There’s only so far you can go before doing that. That’s why some wealth managers are actively discouraging clients from reaching for high yields. As Steve Salley of GenSpring Family Offices puts it: “Get realistic, the world has changed.”
If trusts ignore that warning, they risk inviting still more lawsuits — this time from the “remaindermen,” or the beneficiaries who get the principal when the trust expires. If you hit the right balance, however, it’s possible to satisfy everyone — or at least head off a revolt.
E-mail:
editors@barrons.com
Put your planner in the spotlight
FPAA policy manager Dante De Gori says the crackdown on advisers does not reflect on most professionals in the industry. Photo: Tamara Voninski
Ruth Liew
It can be one of the most important financial decisions you make: choosing a financial adviser to help steer the growth of your wealth and investments.
But while the bulk of Australia’s 16,000 plus advisers argue they are passionate about people’s finances and do their best to obtain the top financial outcome for their clients, a minority have broken the trust of their clients .
For investors seeking advisers’ services, there’s arguably never been a more important time to make sure the choice of a planner is the right one.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is still clamping down on rogue financial planners even as the deadline for the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms draw near.
The consumer watchdog took action against two former Commonwealth Bank of Australia advisers last month, bringing to five the number of CBA employees the regulator has moved against.
Former adviser Anthony Awkar of Merrylands in Sydney’s west was permanently banned after he was found to have forged the signatures of four of his clients and used fake information in documents.
In one instance, ASIC said the fictitious information stated the mother of a client had recently died when she was still alive.
Jane Duncan of Washpool in Queensland, who also was previously employed at Commonwealth Financial Planning, received a three-year ban after she was found to provide clients with advice which had no reasonable basis.
Commonwealth Financial Planning alerted the regulator when it discovered the issues with Awkar and Duncan but unfortunately, these were not isolated cases.
The regulator announced early last month that it had accepted an enforceable undertaking from another Commonwealth Financial Planning adviser, Christopher Baker of Croydon in inner-western Sydney, not to provide financial services in any capacity for a minimum five-year term after he failed to meet various obligations as an adviser.
In Victoria, ASIC also took action against Chris Pappas, a former BDO Kendalls Wealth Management authorised representative, following his conviction on fraud charges.
These bans and crackdowns come after an ASIC “shadow shopping” exercise where undercover surveillance showed only 3 per cent of financial plans prepared by advisers were “good” for clients.
Out of 64 plans, only two were found to be “good” for investors, compared with 36 per cent which were found to be “poor”.
Commenting on the findings in January, ASIC commissioner Peter Kell said there was a “consistent failure” by advisers to inform their clients about what they could realistically fund out of their retirement savings.
For the average investor seeking to secure the services of a financial planner, many of these cases could sour their view of all financial advisers. But Association of Financial Advisers chief executive Richard Klipin argues that a few bad apples are tarnishing an otherwise good industry.
“The fact that there are [bans] is demonstration that the system is working . . . and that ASIC takes action,” he says.
The vast majority of financial planners are there to help their clients, Klipin argues, and the future of financial advice changes will help streamline the industry and give investors more confidence.
But that does not mean investors should be lax in their selection of a planner.
“For consumers to feel confident, they have to ask the right question,” Klipin says. “It’s a job interview for the consumers – they have to ask the hard questions – questions like, ‘what are some of the key differences you’ve made to the life of your clients?’, ‘what are your qualifications and expertise?’,” Klipin says.
“Having said that, advisers are there to serve their clients, and good financial advice transforms people’s lives and many do. It’s about allowing investors to make better choices.”
Financial Planning Association of Australia policy manager Dante De Gori says while there was a “flurry of activity” with ASIC bans last month, the advisers involved had been a minor “sub-set” of the industry and do not reflect the majority of professionals in the sector.
But it’s important to consider the credentials of the adviser and to check membership of a professional association that boasts a strong code of ethics before signing up.
“Last year we banned seven members but that doesn’t necessarily translate to ASIC banning them,” De Gori says.
“We evaluate members against our code of conduct. We’ve got 50 cases under investigation, and we can ban them [if advisers are found] breaching our rules.”
Consumer group Choice chair Jenni Mack says the federal government’s FOFA should inject much-needed change and more discipline into the industry.
But there are still key issues such as asset-based fees and ongoing advice, which consumers need to address.
Asset-based fees, which charge clients an annual fee based on the size of their investment portfolio, are basically commission by a different name, she says.
“Even if it’s only 1 per cent, it can be huge when you do the maths,” she says. “We urge [consumers] to negotiate to pay hourly rates.”
Scaled advice, another FOFA reform that introduces limited or transactional advice, also allows customers to consider whether they need ongoing services from an adviser or if they require a one-off service.
“Consumers can now drive demand,” Mack says.
“Previously the industry just provided a ‘Rolls-Royce’ holistic advice [that] not many people needed.”
She advises consumers to switch advisers if they are unhappy with their current arrangements.
“If you are an existing client, and you want to get the benefit of the FOFA reforms, you should ask your adviser to come under the new reform.
“And if they don’t agree, change advisers.”
PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC : Prudential Fixed Income named top manager of U.S. … – 4
Institutional Investor award recognizes performance, risk
management
NEWARK, N.J. – Prudential Fixed
Income was named the top manager of U.S. fixed income
core plus strategies at Institutional Investor’s 3rd
Annual U.S. Investment Management Awards event in New
York City. Prudential Fixed Income, one of the largest
fixed income managers in the United States, is an asset
management business of Prudential Financial, Inc.
(NYSE:PRU).
The magazine says the awards “recognize U.S. institutional
investors whose innovative strategies and fiduciary savvy
resulted in impressive returns over the past year, as well
as U.S. money managers in more than 30 asset classes and
strategies who stood out in the eyes of the investor
community for their exceptional performance, risk
management, and service.”
Michael Collins, a senior portfolio manager for the Core
Plus Strategy, accepted the award on behalf of Prudential
Fixed Income and the core plus team at a May 14 awards
ceremony in New York City.
James Sullivan, senior managing director and head of
Prudential Fixed Income, said, “We are proud to be
recognized by Institutional Investor, our peers and
investors for our efforts to generate the best possible
risk-adjusted returns for our clients. Our deep research
capabilities and disciplined investment and risk management
practices have served us well in today’s risk-conscious
environment.”
Prudential Fixed Income’s Core Plus Strategy is an actively
managed strategy that seeks an excess return over the
Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index or a similar
benchmark. The strategy seeks to generate half of its
excess return from top-down sector allocation and a quarter
each from bottom-up subsector/security selection, and from
duration/yield curve/currency management. The strategy
favors the credit-oriented sectors, reflecting the firm’s
significant research expertise.
Award winners were chosen by the editorial staff of
Institutional Investor magazine based on market
intelligence and performance data, which included one,
three, five and 10-year performance, risk data, along with
additional information received from the industry following
a public call for nominations. Magazine editors also
chose winners by taking into account the results of a
survey conducted of 1,000 institutional investors
overseeing the premier endowments, foundations, corporate
and public pension plans, and other institutions.
Prudential Fixed Income, with $332 billion in assets
under management as of March 31, 2012, offers
institutional investors needs-based solutions across all
fixed income markets, with a focus on credit strategies
and liability-driven investing. Prudential Fixed Income
has portfolio management and research teams in Newark,
N.J., and in its affiliate offices in London and
Singapore. For more information, please visit http://www.prudentialfixedincome.com.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial
services leader with approximately $943 billion of assets
under management as of March 31, 2012, has operations in
the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Prudential’s diverse and talented employees are committed
to helping individual and institutional customers grow
and protect their wealth through a variety of products
and services, including life insurance, annuities,
retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment
management. In the U.S., Prudential’s iconic Rock symbol
has stood for strength, stability, expertise and
innovation for more than a century.http://www.news.prudential.com.
Money Manager John Merrill to Appear on “Tim Connolly’s Winning Strategies” on …
Houston, TX, May 18, 2012 –(PR.com)– John Merrill, President and Chief Investment Officer of Tanglewood Wealth Management, Inc. will appear live on Tim Connolly’s Winning Strategies on Friday, May 18 at 12:00 p.m. CT. Listen live at noon central on Friday, May 18 on www.winningstrategies.net, CRN Digital Talk Radio Network on CRN 4, broadcast by over 200 affiliate stations nationwide listed at www.crntalk.com. Winning Strategies is co-hosted by bond expert Marilyn Cohen, CEO of Envision Capital Management, Inc. and is sponsored by Corporate Strategies Merchant Bankers, a First Data institutional representative (www.corporatestrategies.net).
Previous guests of Tim Connolly’s Winning Strategies (formerly Corporate Strategies) have included former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain, Loews Corp. Co-Chairman Jonathan Tisch, “Stock Act” original sponsor Congressman Brian Baird, Linn Energy Chairman and CEO Mark Ellis, President George W. Bush Chief of Staff Andy Card, Changewave’s Tobin Smith, CNBC “Mad Money” Host Jim Cramer, Gamco’s Mario Gabelli, Muriel Siebert, Texas oilman Lester Smith, ATP Oil Gas CFO Albert Reese, CEO of Huntsman Corporation Jon M. Huntsman, Consolidated Graphics CEO Joe Davis, Enterprise Products late CEO Dan Duncan, Celgene’s CEO John Jackson, Landry’s CEO Tilman Fertitta, former Compaq CEO Eckard Pfeiffer, Money Manager Louis Navellier, and many others.
About John Merrill and Tanglewood Wealth Management, Inc.
Author John F. Merrill is President and Chief Investment Officer of Tanglewood Wealth Management, Inc. John is a pioneer in the wealth management community having founded Tanglewood in 1979 as a fee-only investment management and financial planning firm. His firm currently manages over $650 million of client assets. John began his financial services career in Houston in 1974 and has authored four books on portfolio management including Outperforming the Market (McGraw Hill, 1998) and The Sure Road to Investment Success (2008), which he wrote with his son, Brian. John is seen frequently on CNBC and is often quoted in many business publications. He was one of Worth magazine’s Top 250 Wealth Advisors for 2008 and Barron’s Top 100 Independent Advisors for 2009.
About Marilyn Cohen and Envision Capital (www.envisioncap.com)
Marilyn Cohen, Founder of Envision Capital Management, Inc., has been a Forbes magazine columnist and is a sought after expert appearing on Nightly Business Report, CNBC, Fox Business News, National Public Radio and others as well a frequent authoritative source for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Barron’s. Marilyn is also one of the financial community’s most respected fixed income securities experts and has written two books on the subject: Surviving the Bond Bear Market: Bondland’s Nuclear Winter and Bonds Now. Her firm, Envision Capital Management®, Inc. manages portfolios of fixed income securities for individuals.
About Winning Strategies
Tim Connolly’s Winning Strategies (www.winningstrategies.net), formerly known as Corporate Strategies, is a network of financial news resources that provides you with the Low-Risk, High-Reward Strategies for Success necessary to succeed in today’s fast-changing, competitive investment and business environment.
For booking interviews, please contact Alison Kratish: 713-621-2737 or alison@winningstrategies.net.
Contact Information:
Corporate Strategies
Alison Kratish
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Press Release Distributed by PR.com
RBC in the running for Bank of America wealth units
Canada’s largest bank, Royal Bank of Canada RY-T, is among the financial institutions looking to pick up parts of Bank of America’s wealth management business, according to a source.
The bank has for a number of years been looking to expand its global wealth management operations, and has been on a regular hunt for acquisitions. In 2010 it paid $1.6-billion for U.K.-based Blue Bay Asset Management.
Aside from Europe, executives have recently said that RBC has also been looking to buy operations in Asia. The assets that Bank of America is looking to sell include businesses in both those regions, as well as the Middle East and Latin America.
Wealth management businesses have become particularly appealing to banks and other financial institutions since the financial crisis, in large part because they require less capital to back them up.
An RBC spokeswoman declined to comment.
The deal would be the biggest in the wealth management industry since ING Group sold its private banking assets in Europe and Asia in 2010 to Julius Baer and Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, respectively, for a total of about $1.9-billion.
Bank of America, which the sources said has already received non-binding bids, is auctioning off the businesses, Reuters reported last month, as its non-U.S. wealth division is too small to produce meaningful profits.
The units manage about $90-billion of an estimated $2-trillion that the wealth division oversees at the second-largest U.S. bank by total assets.
Some earlier estimates put the deal value at as much as $3-billion but sources said the units up for sale could realistically fetch $1.5-billion to $2-billion based on a multiple of about 2 per cent of client assets under management. Emerging market assets could command higher multiples.
Consolidation in the wealth management industry has been a major theme in the banking sector since the 2008 financial crisis, as an increase in costs and regulation forces players to sell off the units that serve the rich.
“Bank of America is selling because it is shrinking the company. This must be its first priority,” said Richard Bove, a banking analyst at Rochdale Securities in Lutz, Florida. “There are likely to be multiple buyers at a relatively low price.”
Bank of America has lagged peers in recovering from the financial crisis, largely because of huge losses and lawsuits tied to its 2008 acquisition of subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.
The first-round bids closed this month and Bank of America is in the process of notifying the shortlisted suitors, one of the sources said.
The sources declined to be identified because the bidding process is not public. Bank of America, Julius Baer, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Canada declined to comment.
“We’re in a quiet period and we wouldn’t comment on rumour,” said RBC spokeswoman Rina Cortese.
Canada’s largest bank, which will release second-quarter results on May 24, has been growing its wealth management business and made acquisitions that included British fund manager BlueBay Asset Management for $1.5-billion about two years ago.
RBC, which has said it wants to expand its wealth operations organically and with small- and medium-sized acquisitions, is also buying some overseas units of the Coutts private banking business from Royal Bank of Scotland.
In any auction, companies generally prefer to sell the entire group in one go, as that is easier and faster to negotiate and execute, sources say.
A source with knowledge of the deal said it looks very likely that Bank of America is interested in selling the business in one chunk.
“It will definitely complicate them immensely if they have to cut it up,” the source said. “My view is that they are going to sell it as a whole and therefore the number of banks that actually can do it will be more limited.”