6 June 2016
By Ellen BessnerYou may remember that a couple of years ago, CBC aired an episode of its Marketplace TV show in which there were videotapes of meetings between “mystery shoppers” and advisors from several dealers. The videos were embarrassing, to say the least, and ensured the reputation of advisors would be damaged further as the videos portrayed these advisors to be incompetent and unprofessional, making outrageous misrepresentations in their first meetings with these prospective clients.
9 May 2016
By Ellen BessnerI recently spoke at a securities industry conference on how to stay out of trouble. Of course, it’s impossible to give this topic the justice it deserves in an hour. The number of questions and stressed out attendees, along with what happened after the presentation, reminded me why I wrote Advisor at Risk: A Roadmap to Protecting your Business in 2008 as well as why I stopped doing process reviews.
11 April 2016
By Ellen BessnerThis is the second in a two-part series on protecting your senior clients. This column explores the issues associated with fraud stemming from senior clients’ families and friends. The first column, published on March 14, focused on identifying fraudsters who may want to take advantage of your senior clients.
14 March 2016
By Ellen BessnerThis is the first in a two-part series on protecting your senior clients. This column focuses on identifying fraudsters who may want to take advantage of your senior clients; the next column, which will be published on April 11, will explore the issues associated with fraud stemming from senior clients’ family and friends.
16 February 2016
By Ellen BessnerEditor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on succession planning for advisors. This column explores the issues associated with buying a book of business; the first column focused on some of the issues associated with selling a book of business.
18 January 2016
By Ellen BessnerThis is the first in a two-part series on succession planning for advisors. This column focuses on some of the issues associated with selling a book of business; the next column, which will be published on Feb. 16, will explore the issues associated with buying a book of business.
14 December 2015
By Ellen BessnerThis is the second column in a two-part series on the importance of serving women clients in a compliant and effective manner. This column focuses on the specific issues relating to women clients approaching, or in, their senior years. The first column explored the common mistakes advisors make while serving female clients.
16 November 2015
By Ellen BessnerThis is the first in a two-part series on the importance of serving women clients in a compliant and effective manner. This column focuses on the common mistakes advisors make while serving female clients while the next column, which will be published on Dec. 14, will explore the specific issues relating to women clients approaching, or at, their senior years.
19 October 2015
By Ellen BessnerThe dealer’s policy manual is a long document that many advisors never read. But it’s important to be aware of the ramifications of ignoring this document before you take that risk, as it can get you fired or in trouble with regulators.
21 September 2015
By Ellen BessnerThis column, the second in a two-part series, recommends steps advisors can take to develop a readiness strategy to protect themselves against senior clients’ complaints. The first column, published on Aug. 24, explored four key risks associated with serving senior clients.