Remaster the Employee Mindset The author discusses ways to engage staff and develop the inner-entrepreneurial spirit. ...

To a Key Employee—Part I of II The author encourages, as a starting point, owners of a closely held company to consider numerous issues with regard to the compensation of key employees. If the closely held company operations are successful, valuable and long-term employees sometimes seek to be compensated through an equity ownership in the company. This key employee desire for equity ownership has practical ...

How does the current performance of U.S. stocks compare to the long-run historic average?  Since the stock market is essentially a vote by millions of investors on future cash flows of companies, growing faster than average would indicate that, at least on this dimension, Trump is delivering on his promise to “make America great again.”  (American companies, that is.) To read the full article in FinancialPl ...

According to a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper, older persons today appear more likely to enter retirement in debt than in past decades.  Researchers examined older individuals’ debt patterns using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS).  With the HRS, they compared cohorts of people on the verge of retirement (ages 56 to 61) as wel ...

Since 2007, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 has required high-income Medicare enrollees to pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount surcharge, or IRMAA, on their Medicare Part B premiums.  This lifts the premium from covering just 25% of costs up to as high as 80% of results, and increased Part B premiums by as much as 219% in 2017 alone. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: T ...

Refocus and Prioritize The author contends that almost every business owner or manager is an absentee owner or manager, regardless the amount of time they spend at their business. ...

While valuation may generally be part art and part science, rebutting and/or defending a valuation introduces additional types of art and science. The stakes are often higher because interested parties are affected by the contested valuation’s outcome, and the narrative can become more nuanced due to conflicting views on a variety of issues. This article endeavors to cut through the clutter and provide prac ...

FINRA will hold off on raising fees for its member firms despite "revenue challenges," according to an unusual glimpse the regulator gave into its projected 2018 budget.  Projected revenue of $822 million for 2018 is relatively flat when compared to 2013, the last year that FINRA raised fees, the regulator says in its newly released budgetary summary.  FINRA derives about half of its total revenue from indu ...

As competition in the advisor tech space tightens, discount brokerages are expanding their platform’s offerings to appeal to a wider range of advisors.  One of the more compelling new tools is automated portfolio management software that allows advisors to create recommendations digitally without the time and expense of consulting with an expert. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: A New T ...

Sexual harassment is not primarily about attraction—it is about power.  Give more power to women, the reasoning goes, and sexual harassment gradually dies out.  Unfortunately, this logic is not borne out in the real world.  Just look at Fidelity. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Four Ways to Help Rid Wealth Management of Sexual Harassment. ...

What it is, How it Can Help You, How to Get Started The author discusses the purpose and value of signature content. ...

My Testimonial Experience Prior to Taking the Witness Stand One unintended consequence of writing unimpeachably neutral expert reports is that often nobody wants to hear what you have left to say. After having spent nearly two years working as an expert witness, authoring an uncounted number of expert reports, subpoenas, discovery requests, deposition questions, and cross-examination questions, I had yet to ...

An Army veteran and former air traffic controller who recently was still piloting his own plane to work, Richard Salmen has become the CFP Board's new chairman.  With his choice, the board has returned a working financial planner to lead the nation's largest and most powerful planning nonprofit. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: High-Flying Army Vet Becomes CFP Board Chairman. ...

Client confidence has climbed and that rosier outlook for the economy and the stock market is propelling robust flows into equities and retirement accounts, advisors say.  Allocations to stocks strengthened sharply, according to the latest Retirement Advisor Confidence Index—Financial Planning’s monthly survey of wealth managers—and helped to support further improvement in business conditions for the invest ...

Northwestern Mutual, the parent of No. 5 IBD Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, took a majority stake in consulting firm ClientWise, the two firms announced this week.  The partnership will give Northwestern’s advisors access to coaching and digital tools while providing ClientWise with capital. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Citing “Societal Need” for Planning, Northwestern Mut ...

The Business Valuation Bench Book by William J. Morrison and Jay E. Fishman In this article, Ed Mendlowitz provides readers a review of William J. Morrison and Jay E. Fishman’s The Business Valuation Bench Book; a book geared to judges. ...

To Market When You’re Busy Marketing requires a continuous effort and presence. In this article, the author shares a marketing alternative that appraisal practitioners should pursue when they are unable to network in person. ...

Qualified charitable distributions can offer a tax-saving opportunity, and they may be more advantageous to consider under the new tax law.  QCDs, which are available only for certain clients, count toward required minimum distributions and are excluded from income. To read the full article in InvestmentNews, click: Why Aren’t Clients Using QCDs?  Help Them! ...

After strong gains in revenue, client growth and AUM over the last six months of 2017, RIAs say they’re feeling confident about the economic outlook and plan to capitalize on recent growth, according to a survey from TD Ameritrade Institutional.  Nearly nine out of 10 RIAs surveyed netted new client assets in the past six months and almost half expect AUM to grow at an even faster rate in 2018.  They also r ...

Firms largely ban texting, even for logistical purposes, amid guidance from FINRA that all business communications must be “retained, retrievable, and supervised.”  Securities America this week became the first of the top 10 largest IBDs to announce a program allowing its advisors to text clients. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: IBDs in Slow-Footed Race to Let Advisors Text Clients. ...