Investment News has an ironic article about President Bush calling for more transparency in executive and director compensation. All the hoopla seems to be due to the $180M compensation package of Pfizer’s outgoing CEO.

From the Investment News article:

[Bush] commended rules adopted in December by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring better disclosure of executive and director compensation. Corporate board members “need to show the world that America’s businesses are a model of transparency and good corporate governance,” the president said.

I agree with the sentiment although I find it rather ballsy of Bush to be calling for increased business transparency when his political administrative team is the most secretive in modern history. But let’s take a look at the merits of the argument.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Building the Business 101: We Decide to Merge Veena A. Kutler and Annette F. Simon talk about an option that not many type A entrepreneur personalities would consider. They merged with another firm to spread costs and enable them to focus on their business. The obvious question is if large companies can do it why can’t you?

Read the rest of this entry »

I had to pay alternative minimum tax last year for the first time. It was a complete surprise and I’m still not sure exactly what kicked the AMT higher than my normal taxes. I didn’t do anything obviously different or change my spending habits. Worse–I have no idea if it will hit again this year. Something about calculating two different tax amounts and having to pay the highest makes me feel like I’m getting ripped off.

Read the rest of this entry »

In his article Are You Using Technology or Is It Using You? David Drucker talks about being “addicted” to technology. He cites not being able to ignore email and often letting it’s arrival interrupt him while he’s working on other tasks.

I was kind of laughing when I read this because he says:

Apparently, scientists have now proven that e-mail is a stimulant as potentially addictive as coffee or maybe something stronger, depending on one’s personality and lack of self-control. Which is why carrying an e-mail-enabled Treo was a high-risk behavior for the likes of me.

Read the rest of this entry »

iRebal was acquired by TD Ameritrade last week for an undisclosed amount. I didn’t realize that rebalancing was a legitimate product category until I read “Rebalancing Act” by Joel Bruckenstein. He reviewed three software packages: iRebal, Tamarac Advisor, and eAllocator.

First of all, I’m surprised this product category can attract three independent software companies. (And I know of one other in development.) Most full portfolio management packages have rudimentary trading capabilities that work for most advisors. It doesn’t leave much for independent companies to pick at. Techfi had a trading package but we rarely sold a stand-alone version. It was always an add-on to the portfolio management sale.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who don’t keep up on these things, Microsoft Windows Vista is hitting the retail shelves on January 30th 2007. It’s been available for businesses since November 30th 2006 and some OEM systems are shipping to consumers already. I had the opportunity about a month ago to install it on a PC in my house. It’s one pretty looking desktop.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was talking with my brother yesterday about what it means to be a broker versus a wealth manager. I believe they are two fundamentally different business styles that reflect the lifestyle choices of the advisor more than the advisor’s philosophy of money management.

You can’t do comprehensive wealth management without building a company. And your job is very different when you’re running a company and managing staff. To make the move to wealth management means building a staff of professionals—relationship managers, financial planners, and tax advisors. Brokers who don’t want the numerous headaches and risks associated with running a company will likely stay where they are.

Financial Planning Magazine has a good article about taking your firm to the next level (comprehensive wealth management):

In recent years, a growing number of advisors have come to understand that wealth management is the key to success. If you’re like these advisors, you’ve already begun to institute a wealth management approach. At the very least, you’ve probably thought about it. But no matter where you are in the process, it’s important to know this important fact: Your efforts alone can’t make your transition to wealth management a reality.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is yet another article about “hackers” breaching security and stealing money from accounts. In this case the hackers installed key-logging software on public computers. Then when people log into their accounts from the public computer the software either sends or stores username/password combinations.

This reminds of an old scam from (I think) the 80’s. Criminals would put a fake front end on public ATM’s and record account number / pin number combinations. For some reason that exploit faded away (probably the $300 daily limit).

Read the rest of this entry »

Investment Advisor Magazine talks about current portfolio management software and the various methods by which the packages give investors access to the data. The access levels range from quarterly PDF report access to interactive sites where the investors can see current account information.

The article also serves as a run-down on the current large portfolio management system vendors. The author went to each major company and asked them what their latest and greatest features were.

From the article:

One of the coolest geek aspects of Vegas living is the annual Consumer Electronics Show. CES is the biggest conference in the world and it’s a huge showcase of the latest software, hardware and geek gadgets. They have it at the Las Vegas Convention Center (right across the street from me) and it’s completely free.

Read the rest of this entry »