Why Summer Is The Best Time For Financial Advisors To Jump Ship

The Advantage In Jumping Ship Over Summer (The Wall Street Journal)

Many brokers jumped ship this August, and those who did had one key advantage according to the WSJ. "The co-workers they leave behind are on vacation, and not in position to try to snatch away their clients." Advisors also find that because it's a slow time in the markets this gives them time to explain why they have chosen to move and why that is good for the clients.

Today's Market Conditions Are Ripe For Investing In Disruptive Technologies (AllianceBernstein)

"Market conditions today are conducive to investing in companies with disruptive potential, but it takes a sober approach to find big dreams that can deliver big returns," writes AllianceBernstein's Vadim Zlotnikov. One such example is the IT sector.

"According to a study by Bernstein’s semiconductor team, Moore’s Law—which stipulates that the processing power of silicon chips doubles every two years or so—is set to continue for the next 20–30 years. Beyond semiconductors, a recent McKinsey study has identified several areas that could disrupt our current world order over the next decade, from self-driving vehicles to robotics and cloud technology. We see a common thread to the current wave of innovation: customization and personalization of products and services."

Investors can suss out the good options by looking at research and development spending. They also need to find industries that aren't too crowded by "favorable analyst ratings." At the company level investors should look for "a combination of a premium price/book valuation, rising return on equity and increasing R&D-to-sales."

BlackRock: 3 Ways To Prepare Your Portfolio For Rising Interest Rates (Advisor Perspectives)

Investors continue to be concerned about Fed tapering and rising interest rates. BlackRock's Russ Koesterich writes that there are investors can adjust their portfolios to rising rates by increasing their exposure to stocks. And in doing so they should do three things in particular.

1. "Lessen exposure to bond market proxies like utility companies." 2. "Consider the US technology sector, which generally has had a tendency to perform well, relative to the broader market, when real rates are rising. This is partly because technology companies carry little debt so they are less vulnerable to margin compression from rising rates." 3. "Consider overweighting US mega caps relative to US small caps. Small companies, along with other risky assets, have been shown to generally perform best in an environment when monetary policy is very accommodative and investors are in a risk seeking mode."

Reputation Is An Advisors Greatest Asset (Think Advisor)

Mike Patton, president of Integrity Wealth Management writes that when he was younger he worked at a company that sold health insurance. At the time one salesman in particular did very well week after week. But this was because he exaggerated the benefits of the policy and soon disgruntled customers began calling in, and he was fired.

"That experience taught me a valuable lesson. A person may succeed by lying for a brief period. However, if the goal is to build a career, it's imperative to do what's best for the client! In the final analysis, we will not be judged by the amount of material possessions we accumulate, but by the honesty and integrity with which we conduct ourselves. As I’ve said before, but which I believe bears repeating, our reputation is our greatest asset."

Hedge Funder Phil Falcone Accepts 5-Year Ban From Securities Industry (SEC)

Hedge fund manager Phil Falcone has accepted a five-year bank from the securities industry, the SEC said in a press release. He has also agreed to pay an $18 million fine. The SEC charged Falcone and his Harbinger Capital Partners with securities fraud last summer. An initial deal was rejected this summer.