Recently I have had the opportunity to talk with lots of wealth managers, RIA and broker/dealer executives, fund managers, strategists and other industry leaders at conferences: Fidelity’s Executive Forum, FI360’s National Conference, Morningstar’s Investor Conference and Pershing’s INSITE. At all of them, especially now, I got the sense from participants that talking with peers and associates is immeasurably valuable. Sometimes it’s the ideas your counterparts give you that can be the most valuable in kick-starting your own thinking about running your firm and interacting with your clients. There’s a lot to take away from these gatherings, including discussions about a host of issues that will matter—to you and your clients—for a long time.
One way we get a read on how wealth management is changing is to see what participants tell us when we conduct our Top Wealth Managers survey (formerly the Top Dogs). The results, interviews and analysis are all in our special coverage of the 2009 Top Wealth Managers See home page). The Top Wealth Managers who participated in our ninth annual survey took the time to answer twice as many questions as we had ever asked before. The data was so compelling that it attracted the interest and laser-sharp practice management insights of Philip Palaveev, president of Fusion Advisor Network, who wrote the analysis of the survey findings and an exclusive report that’s available on our Web site, wealthmanagermag.com.
In addition, we will kick off—with Philip Palaveev—a quarterly Top Wealth Manager Pulse and report, delivering timely information on wealth management each quarter rather than having to wait for next year’s survey—enormously valuable in such a volatile environment. In another first, we’d like participants to suggest questions for the Pulse—so that we can include some of the questions that you feel are the most relevant. Please send your suggested questions to me at kmcbride@wealthmanagermag.com.
One of the lessons that has hit home for nearly everyone during the current economic climate is how to do more with less. There is a new way for philanthropists—large and small—to leverage some of the money they donate, increasing the impact they have on certain types of gifts. In “Microfinance Guaranteed,” Michael Fischer looks at this new way to use donated funds to underwrite microfinance institutions, which in turn make microloans to poor people in developing countries—primarily women—who want to start small, income-generating businesses. Once the loans have been repaid (default levels are extremely low), donors’ guarantees can be used again to underwrite more loans or granted outright to this or another charitable cause. It’s a one-two-and-maybe-more punch for philanthropy, and it has tremendous potential.
Kathleen M. McBride (kmcbride@wealthmanagerweb.com) is editor in chief of Wealth Manager.