Cover Story: BEST IN THE BUSINESS
The independent broker/dealer world is as diverse as its thousands of independent contractor representatives. From large to small, from new to well-established, from homes for reps who embrace only plain vanilla mutual funds to those who are facile with alternative investments, you can find it all in the indie B/D world. Nowhere is that diversity more apparent than in the 2006 Investment Advisor Broker/Dealers of the Year, picked by IA readers in balloting conducted online.
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GOING MOBILE
To stay competitive, broker/dealers are improving their technology platforms, with an eye on mobility and this fall, many of those firms are in high gear launching entirely new interfaces, offering solutions to make possible a truly paperless office and even playing with the ultimate in mobility-moving an advisor's workstation, or parts of it, into the palm of his hand.
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BUST OR BOOM?
In this month's insightful column, Mark Tibergien outlines the reasons advisors who have focused on the pre-retiree and retiree markets for the past 10 years or so will need to reflect on what will happen to their own financial position over the next five to 15 years now that boomers are once again threatening to change our economy and our culture.
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GOOD NEWS ON PENSIONS
Advisors are hailing the the Pension Protection Act of 2006 as a treasure trove of goodies that’s long overdue. The Act, which President Bush signed into law on August 17, brings more certainty to defined benefit plan funding rules, while also enabling individuals to continue contributing at higher rates in their 401(k) and IRA retirement savings plans.
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BORED TO DEATH: RELOADED
Columnist Bob Clark looks at some recent actions by the CFP Board and finds that anyone who thinks the group has gone mainstream should think again.
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© 2006 Wicks Business Information, LLC

Also at InvestmentAdvisor.com

Prudential Agrees to Pay $600 Million
Prudential Equity Group (PEG), formerly known as Prudential Securities Inc., has agreed to pay $600 million in fines and restitution to resolve charges relating to improper market timing.

Banks Losing Trusts
A new report has found that bank trust departments need an overhaul, as personal trust accounts held at U.S. banks dropped 23% and assets held in these accounts slipped 10% in 2005.

IA Newsletters for August

Retirement Plan Advisor
Despite the deluge of news and information available to the public, the general feeling in the retirement planning industry is that most boomers are still not equipped to deal with the realities of living a retired life. And not only are those approaching retirement not ready, but the generation that succeeds them is also blissfully unaware of the importance of starting retirement planning at an early age.

PracticeEdge
RIA firms have seen three straight years of increasing revenues and profitability, and are on track to post positive AUM growth numbers, according to AdvisorBenchmarking's recently released 2006 RIA Marketplace Study. The RIA industry seems to be remarkably healthy and is likely to continue growing. But how do advisors view the growth?

Searching for Alpha
Market risk can show itself in some intriguing ways. Even though traders have been treated to an especially robust earnings season, growth stocks are being taken to the woodshed. Read Ben Warwick's observations on the market, plus the monthly index numbers.

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