Bank Investment Consultant articles from January 2008

Bank Investment Consultant archives from January 2008

Stepping Up.
January 1, 2008... While our cover story, "Year of the Bull," on page 14, shows just how bullish program managers are about the success of advisory business this year, how much support their efforts get from the bank remains a serious problem. This is clear...

Banks Are No. 1 in Growing Funds Assets.
January 1, 2008... Banks are likely to grow their mutual fund assets faster than any other distribution channel, according to a new report by market research firm Financial Research Corp. in Boston. What's more, banks should be able to grow net sales at almost...

Fund Appreciation.
January 1, 2008... Banks outpace competitors in growth of fund sales and assetsalbeit off a small base. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Compound Annual Growth Rate 2007-2012 NET SALES (billions) Wirehouse 68.13 57.41 62.69 67.17 72.81...

BofA's ATMs Talk Retirement.
January 1, 2008... Later this month, Bank of America is following up its new print and online retirement advertising campaign, with complimentary messaging on the 10,000 of its 18,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) that are equipped to handle advertising. ...

PNC Sells Hilliard To Buoy Internal Biz @By#By Paul Davis, American Banker.
January 1, 2008... PNC Financial Services Group is selling its brokerage unit, Hilliard Lyons, opting to invest instead in its own internal advisory operations. The bank concluded that it had to "invest in the Hilliard brand and build that out or simply...

Morningstar's VARDS Comes Under Fire.
January 1, 2008... Over the past summer, rumors surfaced that major participants in the annuity industry-carriers and broker-dealers-were dissatisfied with Morningstar's Variable Annuity Research and Data Service (VARDS), on which they rely for crucial...

Year Of The Bull: Despite a lurking bear market, this could be the year that bank brokerage finally comes into its own.(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... While growth in the year ahead may not break any records, the bank advisory business has become a bright spot against the dark cloud of the subprime mortgage crisis. At the same time, a general tightening of margins on deposits and a squeeze on...

Green Hawaii: How Russian Natalia Peters found herself awash in sun, sand and sales in the 50th state.
January 1, 2008... What do you get if you cross a Russian linguist with a surfer's Mecca and a population made up of the poorest and richest inhabitants of Southeast Asia? Natalia Peters' burgeoning practice at American Savings Bank in Central Oahu, Hawaii,...

Creative Writing: Advisors can get a lot more done-and maintain a higher standard of quality-by automating written client communications.
January 1, 2008... Organizing, writing and sending letters and other communications to clients is a chore, but many of the most powerful time-saving solutions can be relatively simple-and free. Creating standardized templates and reaching out to Centers of...

Keep a Stake In Real Estate: Despite subprime woes, clients might do well to hold commercial REITs.
January 1, 2008... Is nothing right with real estate? Depending on whom you ask, commercial real estate investment trusts (REITs), which held onto their value after residential markets started to sag, are the next domino poised to tumble in the wake of this...

Head Space: Understanding investor psychology can help you steer your clients toward good investing decisions in bad markets.
January 1, 2008... Since the dawn of stock trading, investors have acted gotten burned for acting on the basis of their emotions. Factor in fears over retirement assets, and advisors have quite a fight on their hands to keep their clients prudently invested in...

VA Variables: Advisors are struggling to keep up with a constant stream of permutations on living-benefit riders.
January 1, 2008... Like many reps these days, Chip Hutchison, a registered rep at Family Trust Federal Credit Union in Rock Hill, S.C., has many clients who are worried about funding the second half of their lives. One client, a retired widow, had $250,000-half...

A Breakout Year for UMAs: Conditions are finally ripe for banks to adopt these new all-inclusive accounts.
January 1, 2008... Unified managed account (UMA) may never be a household term, but it's finally gaining serious traction with banks. This fall, Bank of America, U.S. Bank and SunTrust each adopted the product, which allows clients to hold a wide array of...

Hawkeye Retirees.
January 1, 2008... James Abbott Financial consultant Two Rivers Bank & Trust/Invest Burlington Greg Driskell Financial consultant First National Bank/Raymond James Creston Jason Egge Financial consultant Bankers...