We welcome 2017 with optimism – albeit cautiously – and look forward to the opportunities that change will undoubtedly bring. They say that you need to look back in order to move forward, so with that we present our top 21 articles of 2016, including our new year’s forecast. Each had the highest amount of views and shares from our subscribers—and will provide a good deal of useful information to see your way into the new year.
2016 can easily be described as a year of tumult and volatility. Yet, amidst all of the drama, firms are working to meet the challenges of a more stringent regulatory environment and business models are evolving. While advisors ride a roller coaster of change, new opportunities are emerging for those who keep their eye not on the headlines, but on their future.
By Mindy Diamond – To say that the past 12 months have been an eventful time in the news is surely an understatement by anyone’s standards. From the most unpredictable and contentious presidential election, continued war in the Middle East and an ongoing refugee crisis, to a momentous World Series win for the Chicago Cubs, President Obama making the historic trip to the island nation of Cuba, and so much more, it was quite a year on the world stage.
By Barbara Herman – Every wealth management firm seems to fancy itself a buyer, yet most are unsuccessful in their efforts to acquire, even after years of trying. So what’s missing? Where are they going wrong?
Louis Diamond Quoted – By Bruce Fraser, Financial Planning – What does it take to make a merger work in the rapidly consolidating registered investment adviser industry?
Louis Diamond Quoted – By Ralph Ortega, Financial Planning – In its plan to buy Scottrade, TD Ameritrade is making a big push into the retail space, potentially quintupling the number of it client-facing offices. The greater scale that TD Ameritrade offers also should put Scottrade’s RIAs in a better position to face any legal challenges arising from the Labor Department’s new fiduciary rule, experts say. “From Scottrade’s perspective, you’re spreading out any potential litigation costs,” says Louis Diamond of Diamond Consultants in Morristown, New Jersey.
By Mindy Diamond – As the cost of doing business rises, there’s no doubt many owners of wealth management firms are feeling the pinch. With the promise of an ever more onerous regulatory environment bearing down on these same folks, many find themselves in the unenviable position of running unprofitable enterprises. So what are these business owners to do when they are at this juncture?
By Mindy Diamond – Many agree that 2016 will be the year where M&A deals saturate the headlines. With increased compliance looming, and the cost of doing business rising, any RIA that has been leery about steering their ship in less-than-friendly waters through the coming year may be looking for alternate routes.
By Mindy Diamond – I’ve written much about the decision-making process that an advisor goes through in order to determine if his firm is the one that will continue to serve him into the future. It occurred to me, though, that the most stressful time for an advisor who plans on jumping ship is the time “in between”—the time from deciding it’s time to go to the time one actually makes the leap.
By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – In today’s M&A-rich environment, many advisory firms are looking to get in on the action. But most would-be buyers and sellers come up empty because of unreasonable expectations. Of the hundreds of advisory firms we connect with, most consider themselves buyers. They believe they have built a great firm that could be just the “right fit” for a would-be seller.
