We are experiencing an unprecedented time of market volatility and rapid change, with some of the country’s oldest and most respected firms struggling to survive, going bankrupt or being taken over by government regulators.

Often in volatile markets, investors have a tendency to become nervous and raise questions about their portfolios and the health of their investments, creating additional needs for their financial advisor to address. Add this on top of the already busy days for financial professionals and you have a situation that is putting stress, strain and fatigue on staff and infrastructure, creating a very difficult environment for financial advisors to effectively grow and manage their businesses.

In our practice of over 300 clients, however, we have received less than a dozen calls from clients with concerns about their investments. Why so low? We believe that this is due in large part to the use of Investment Policy Statements (IPS) for our clients.
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In today’s rapidly evolving, volatile and changing markets, financial advisors need to have timely, accurate and meaningful performance reporting information to better manage relationships and communicate more effectively with clients. With the Dow moving 500 or more points on any given day, investors are becoming increasingly anxious about the health of their portfolios. No longer can advisors wait until month end to be able to communicate portfolio performance and benchmark comparisons. Today’s volatile markets require that you have the ability to view and report on a client’s entire portfolio on a daily basis.
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As a small business owner myself, I’d like to introduce this new Forum for advisors considering going independent with a hearty welcome and encouragement for taking this big step! After a 15 year career both with Merrill Lynch and Schwab Institutional, I can vouch for the angst, confusion and nervousness for leaving an established position to building your own business. But, as with most big steps, once you’ve made the leap to going on your own, you are quickly going to realize that there is a vast world of opportunity out there. In fact, according to a recent survey, over 98% of advisors who’ve recently gone independent gladly report that they would do it again, given the chance.
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