financial advisors Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Runnymede Capital Management

You just gave your annuity agent a great vacation, cruise or Rolex

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a consumer advocate and prominent critic of Wall Street, has taken aim at a new target: the biggest sellers of annuities and the cruises, international travel, iPads, cash and stock options she says they're using to entice brokers to sell their annuity products. She is particularly worried about near retirees and baby boomers who are especially vulnerable to poor investment decisions.

Warren is planning to send letters today to the 15 largest annuity providers which include Allianz SE's U.S. life division, Security Benefit Life Insurance, Jackson Life, AIG, New York Life Insurance, Prudential Financial, Aegon NV's Transamerica, Axa, Metlife, Nationwide Mutual Insurance and Pacific Life Insurance. She wants to know whether perks they provide encourage brokers to put personal interests ahead of the retirement goals of clients.

Money Managers Shift to Neutral: Barron’s Big Money Poll

“Neutral men are the devil's allies.” — Edwin Hubbel Chapin

This week's Barron's cover story features the results of their semi-annual Big Money Poll. The latest survey, emailed in late March, drew responses from 143 money managers across the country, representing some of the nation's largest investment firms and pension funds, as well as many smaller investment boutiques. The poll is interesting as it gives one a consensus view of market expectations.

Does My Financial Advisor Need To Be Local To My Area?

With visitors to this website/blog representing all 50 US states and 145 countries over the last 12-months, this is a question that we hear quite often. There is no doubt that the world is shrinking and the way that we consume products and services is changing.

Case in point, without leaving my desk in New Jersey, I recently worked with a mortgage broker in Minnesota, printed brochures in Tennessee, and bought a ski helmet from Utah. Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World Is Flat, writes, “”The simple definition of globalisation is the interweaving of markets, technology, information systems, and telecommunications networks in a way that is shrinking the world from a size medium to a size small.”” Financial advisors do not operate in a vacuum so it only makes sense that the way clients are selecting and working with their financial advisors is also changing.

Double Your Pleasure at BrokerCheck With Two Types of Advisor Searches

Many investors feel the need to perform due diligence when hiring an advisor. However, few actually go beyond a quick “google search” or asking for feedback among friends. Completing a check on your advisor is especially important in the wake of massive ponzi schemes like Bernie Madoff. Even institutional investors, such as the board of trustees of a pension fund, should regularly review the professional backgrounds of the brokerage firm and individuals which serve as its financial advisors.

The Madoff Effect: Do you trust family businesses?

Madoff Effect

Ever since Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion ponzi scheme hit the news in 2008, as a family investment firm we inevitably face the question, in no uncertain terms, “How do we know that you aren’t another Madoff?” First of all, I don’t think one bad apple should spoil the bunch. America has been built on the backs of great entrepreneurial families whose businesses are still thriving today. Walmart, Mars, Aflac and Fidelity Investments are family owned shops that have grown into multi-billion dollar corporations. I don’t think anyone questions them just because they are family businesses. But I understand people’s concerns especially when their hard earned savings are on the line.