~ Innovative program will train interns at advisory firms to implement Investment Policy Statements as well as highlight ways to facilitate a successful internship

Miami, FL – June 13, 2011.  IPS AdvisorPro® announced today a new training program designed to enhance the intern experience at financial advisory firms by providing them with a technology focus as well as sharing the best practices for what makes a successful internship.  The IPS AdvisorPro® intern training program will provide training to interns to manage the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) process through the innovative IPS AdvisorPro® technology platform.  Additionally, the training program will offer tips, ideas, best practices and strategies for designing a meaningful experience that will position interns for a future career in the wealth management industry.

Click here  to download the PDF version of this Press Release.

“In our experience as managing principals of growing advisory firms, we’ve worked with dozens of interns over the years and have identified what makes a successful internship program for both the student and the sponsoring firm,” said IPS AdvisorPro® co-founders Norm Boone, CFP® and Linda Lubitz Boone, CFP®.  “Interns tend to be technology savvy and are eager to have a project that they can call their own and contribute to the organization in a meaningful way.  This program will provide the IPS and technology training to do that while also providing key insights on ways to maximize their time at their firms.”

IPS AdvisorPro® is built on the industry’s latest technology, capturing the many benefits of providing a secure, online tool that advisors can access any time and anywhere they have an Internet connection.  Powerful customization tools provide advisors the flexibility and functionality to tailor their IPSs to their client’s individual situation.  Additionally, if firms need to change or update their investment process or methodology, they can simply make those changes, and with one click, automatically update all IPSs across the firm.

The IPS AdvisorPro® Intern Training Program will consist of online training, webcasts and feature the advice of Linda Lubitz Boone, CFP®, and President of The Lubitz Financial Group, OR, Norm Boone, CFP®, and President of Mosaic Financial Partners, on how interns can make the most of their time with their firms, work effectively in their roles and learn all aspects of what a career in the financial services industry entails.

“Many advisory firms have a strong appetite for bringing on interns to help them in their business, yet struggle for what types of tasks and duties to assign them,” said Lubitz Boone and Boone.  “We believe that the IPS AdvisorPro® Intern Training Program will be a model for the industry and we look forward to working with the next generation of financial advisors.”

About IPS AdvisorPro®

Created by financial advisors for financial advisors, IPS AdvisorPro® is designed to work with all types of wealth management professionals and their practices.  IPS AdvisorPro® offers a flexible solution to creating and managing Investment Policy Statements that are easy to use through an encrypted, secure web-based environment.  With over 1,400 users and over 31,000 IPSs created, IPS AdvisorPro® is the industry’s leading technology solution.  IPS AdvisorPro® was named in 2006 by Morningstar’ Technology Editor as the “Software of the Year” and was a CPA Wealth Provider “Financial Planning Awards Winner” in 2009.  For more information, please visit www.IPSAdvisorPro.com.

For more information, please contact: 

IPS AdvisorPro®: Linda Groden, 330-724-7145, lindag@IPSAdvisorPro.com

Please click here to read Larry Barrett’s article (Financial Planning Online, Mary 23, 2011), which describes the content of the session conducted by Ron Rhoades.

~ Innovative Platform Will Provide United Planners Financial Services with Web-based Tools for Creating Investment Policy Statements~

Miami, FL and Scottsdale, AZ– May 23, 2011.  United Planners Financial Services announced today the selection of IPS AdvisorPro^® to provide their sales force with advanced investment planning tools for developing Investment Policy Statements (IPS). 

Please click here to download the PDF version of this Press Release.

“In this era of financial services industry reform and a focus on a fiduciary standard of care, the use of IPSs have become critical for financial advisors to use with their clients,” said co-founders Norm Boone, CFP^® and Linda Lubitz Boone, CFP^®.  “The IPS is rapidly being embraced by the industry as the go to document and record of the agreements between financial advisor and client about how their money will be invested to ensure compliance with new regulations and to protect the firm from liability exposure.” 

As part of the arrangement, financial advisors affiliated with United Planners Financial Services will have access to preferred pricing, education and training on customizing and using comprehensive IPSs in their practice. 

“We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our offering to our financial advisors and their clients.  IPS AdvisorPro® is a great example of how innovative online technology provides effective solutions,” said Billy Oliverio, Vice President of Investment Advisory Services at United Planners Financial Services.  “The IPS AdvisorPro® platform provides the ability to easily create, update, archive and produce IPSs in an efficient manner.  The capability to provide customizable IPSs is one of several examples that position our financial advisors as true investment professionals with their clients.  These are the types of strategic partnerships that truly bring value to our financial advisors and their clients.” 

United Planners and IPS AdvisorPro® are unaffiliated companies.

About United Planners

United Planners is a full-service independent broker/dealer and registered investment advisor that is uniquely structured as a limited partnership that provides ownership opportunities to their financial advisors.  United Planners was established in 1987 and is a nationwide firm that provides independence and flexibility that is supported by a strong back-office that is committed to technology, service, marketing, compliance, operations, insurance services and advisory services.  United Planners has strategic relationships with various financial planning and open-architecture service providers in the retirement plan marketplace to provide their financial advisors the tools and resources to continue to build their business while adhering to high fiduciary standards.  For additional information, visit United Planners’ web site at www.joinunitedplanners.com. Member FINRA, SIPC

About IPS AdvisorPro®

Created by financial advisors for financial advisors, IPS AdvisorPro^® is designed to work with all types of wealth management professionals and their practices.  IPS AdvisorPro^® offers a flexible solution to creating and managing Investment Policy Statements that are easy to use through an encrypted, secure web-based environment.  With over 1,400 users and 29,000 IPSs created, IPS AdvisorPro^® is the industry’s leading technology solution.  IPS AdvisorPro^® was named in 2006 by Morningstar as the “Software of the Year” and was a CPA Wealth Provider “Financial Planning Awards Winner” in 2009.  For more information, please visit www.IPSAdvisorPro.com.

For More Information, please contact:

 IPS AdvisorPro^®: Linda Groden, 330.724.7145, lindag@IPSAdvisorPro.com

 United Planners Financial Services: Partner Development, 800.966.8737

~ 5 year milestone marks rapid growth of innovative technology platform and industry adoption of Investment Policy Statements as the key tool to manage client relationships

Please click here to read more.

We are pleased to announce that IPS AdvisorPro® is now integrated with Redtail CRM. You can now import data from your Redtail account into an IPS.  As a matter of fact — for the same client you can import the investor information from Redtail, and import the Risk Tolerance and Asset Allocation from MoneyGuidePro™. 

Please click here to download the PDF version of this Press Release.  A brief illustration of this integration may be viewed in the video below.

Linda’s presentation was recorded by RIA Central.  If you missed it, please click here to access the full  presentation!

If you would like to learn more about how you can systematically create and manage your Investment Policy Statements, please join the IPS AdvisorPro® weekly demonstration, offered every Thursday at 1:00pm EST (Meeting 1: Introductory Tour), and/or direct your inquiries to sales@IPSAdvisorPro.com.

Banks In Wealth Management – Is Now The Time?

Charles Paikert

Editor in New York – Family Wealth Report

The proverbial window of opportunity for bankers who want to be in the wealth management business has never been wider.

And bankers can’t say they haven’t been alerted: the seize-the-moment theme was repeated throughout last week’s American Bankers Association’s annual Wealth Management and Trust Conference in Phoenix, both from the podium and on the exhibit floor.

In fact, the conference began with the keynote speaker exhorting bankers to “switch to offense this year.” 

Click here to download PDF of article

“A lot of consumers are disenfranchised, and there is a big wide-open door right now,” said Charles “Chip” Roame, managing principal for San Francisco-based Tiburon Strategic Advisors. “This is as good as it gets for client acquisition.”

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for local banks to bring in new business that they haven’t had before,” agreed Richard Aguiar, director of business development for the community and local bank market for outsourcing giant SEI.

Advantages for banks

What do banks, especially local and community banks, have going for them right now?

“We’re a part of the community and a known quantity,” said James Szewc, vice president and senior trust officer for First Keystone National Bank in Berwick, Pa. “We are very well positioned for wealth transfers.”

“Banks really do have trusted relationships, especially local banks,” said Mr. Aguiar. “They haven’t changed their stripes, and that is reassuring.”

And in the wake of the financial crisis, banks that didn’t get into trouble have emerged with enhanced reputations.

“Their biggest advantage is their perceived stability,” said Jeff Davis, a Nashville-based banking analyst for Guggenheim Partners. “That counts for a lot in a time of economic insecurity.”

Banks also have an advantage as fiduciaries, maintained  Dave Coffaro, chief fiduciary officer and head of trust and fiduciary services for Wells Fargo Wealth Management.

Emphasizing fiduciary values of prudence, loyalty and risk management were the keys to  leveraging bankers’  potential competitive advantage to get more wealth management business, Mr. Coffaro told the ABA Conference attendees.

“The opportunity has never been greater than it is right now,” he said.

Nor should a banks’ existing customer base be overlooked, said industry veteran Craig Madsen.

“Banks still have a lot of clients,” said Mr. Madsen, who was a senior vice president and managing director at Union Bank in Los Angeles before becoming a consultant in January. “And it’s easier to sell a second product than a first.”

Banks’ ability to lend is also seen as a lynchpin of future success.

“When the economy comes back, they will have the ability to lend and others can’t,” said Linda Lubitz Boone, a wealth manager who also sells investment policy software to banks as co-founder of IPS Advisor Pro. “That’s their big ace in the hole.”

“It’s harder to lend now,” said Mr. Davis, “but when it returns, this is where the money is going to be made.”

Headwinds for banks

And what kind of headwinds are banks facing?

One of their biggest challenges is the lack of a sales culture and a willingness to pay market rates for top wealth management talent, say industry observers.

“Bankers’ biggest problem in wealth management is competing against RIAs who are more aggressive,” said banking analyst Gerard Cassidy, managing director for equity research for RBC Capital Markets. “Until they incentivize people more it will be tough for them.”

“Talent follows money,” agreed Mr. Davis. “The question is whether the banks will pay up.”

Bankers at the conference confirmed that talent acquisition was a big problem for them.

“It’s very tough because you have to pay asset managers so much money,” one banker complained during a question-and-answer session. “We wanted to hire someone, but  their salary would have been second only to the CEO.”

More regulations and compliance also worry bankers.

“We’re going to have more and they take up quite a bit of time and resources,” said Mr. Szewc. “It will be very challenging.”

Bankers are also hampered by offering a narrower range of products, according to industry observers.

“Bankers don’t have enough flexibility,” said Ms Lubitz Boone. “Wealth clients want creative solutions, and bankers can’t offer products like managed futures. They’re still just offering plain vanilla.”

In his keynote speech, Mr. Roame urged bankers to offer different types of investment products, such as low cost index funds, guaranteed income products and “hedge fund-like products.”

Time is right for acquisitions

What else do bankers need to do to capture wealth management business?

Think about acquiring an RIA firm or a team of advisors, say industry observers.

“You should switch your talent focus to acquisition,” said Mr. Roame. “There are tons of firms for sale, and they come with clients and assets.”

“As the market recovers, there will be great buying opportunities,” according to investment banker, Dan Seivert, chief executive and managing partner for Echelon Partners .

The recent dislocation in the markets has produced “the biggest bumper crop of [available] talent this industry has ever seen”, Mr. Seivert told conference attendees.

Bankers who do buy or partner with an existing wealth management firm need to be cautious about the cultural differences in the firms, he warned.

“The key to successfully integrating wealth management into banks is the less integration the better,” Mr. Seivert said. “Let them leave their name on the door, let them keep their compensation structure. They’re coming from a very different place.”

Referrals key

Bankers also need to better leverage client referrals, industry executives say.

Noting that referrals consistently account for over half of new wealth management business, Mr. Roame urged bankers to launch proactive programs for asking for client referrals.

Bankers agreed.

“We need to exploit bank channels more,” said Mr. Szewc. “We should use existing trust customers for referrals.”

While bankers need to “tell their story better,” said Wells Fargo’s Mr. Coffaro, that doesn’t mean more marketing or advertising.

“The best marketing is the people in this room,” he said, referring to the bankers at the conference. “They know the story and need to tell it convincingly to anyone who will benefit.”

Trusts also need to be better leveraged by bankers who want more wealth management business, Chris Heilmann, managing director and fiduciary solutions executive for U.S. Trust said in his closing remarks at the conference.

“A trust needs to be better positioned as a modern product,” Mr. Heilmann said. “The platform must have relevance.”

“Clients lack awareness of the depth of service around trusts,” he concluded. “We need to be doing a better job talking to clients who need solutions.”

February 1, 2010

Norman Boone has an impeccable resume. Founder and president of Bay Area-based Mosaic Financial Partners, Boone earned his CFP certification in 1984 after an undergraduate degree from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard. He served in the first class of directors elected to the national board of the FPA. And he has been included as one of America’s Best Financial Advisors by the Worth/Robb Report every year since the list’s inception in 1994.

A PDF version of this article can be downloaded  here.

THE IPS EDGE

But it’s not his credentials that set him apart; it’s his flair for innovation. In addition to managing Mosaic, which has offices in San Francisco and Lafayette, Calif. Boone, with spouse Linda Lubitz Boone, founded IPS AdvisorPro, an online software application that helps advisors create customized investment policy statements (IPSs). Lubitz Boone has her own Miami-based advisory practice, which provides Boone with additional ways to serve East Coast clients.

IPS AdvisorPro facilitates two crucial functions for advisors. First, it helps them comply with the law. Second, it enhances and clarifies the mutual understanding between client and advisor. Quips Boone: “Well-crafted investment policy statements help clients avoid surprises and help planners avoid lawsuits.”

Today, IPSs are considered a best practice. “What many busy planners fail to recognize is that these IPSs are legally mandated for virtually all fiduciary relationships, including qualified plans, irrevocable trusts, endowments, charitable trusts and foundations,” Boone says. His own clients include several endowments and corporate retirement plans.

While there is no legislation mandating an IPS for individual clients, Boone notes that, in some districts, the SEC is asking to see the IPS between particular clients and their RIA. He suspects that the IPS will increasingly become a factor in audits of client records.

TAKING IT HOME

Boone’s IPS software has helped him streamline his own practice, limiting liability, providing clarity for clients and simplifying compliance. His firm manages over $335 million for 200 clients with average investable assets of $1.7 million. Mosaic and its staff of 12 are strictly fee-only. The firm charges 1% of the first $2 million in AUM, 0.7% of the next $3 million, 0.5% of the next $5 million and 0.3% on assets above $10 million. The minimum annual fee for clients is $15,000. In addition, new clients pay a first-year planning fee that typically runs anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000, based on projected time requirements and hourly rates.

The first-year client experience is thorough. New clients attend a series of two-hour meetings that cover over a dozen topics. For clients with over $1.5 million in AUM, there are no additional financial planning fees for ongoing planning beyond the first year.

Each client has a unique IPS, and the investment philosophy emphasizes low- cost, well-diversified passive strategies, spiced with a few actively managed funds and alternative investments. In general, Boone prefers ETFs to index funds.

NEW IDEAS

Boone is pushing the envelope in two new areas. He’s seeking to merge with other firms to take advantage of economies of scale, specifically excess capacity in Mosaic’s investment department. The firm also built out its administrative infrastructure, positioning it to manage the business side of a larger combined firm.

Boone’s growth target is $500 million in AUM by 2011 and $1 billion by 2014, either through new client acquisition, new advisor hires or M&As. In the meantime he launched the Mosaic Family Business Center to assist multigenerational family businesses with strategic planning, business succession and leadership training. “We have the privilege of creating more effective methods to help our clients achieve their goals,” he says. “We’re fortunate.”

Jim Grote, CFP, contributes regularly to Financial Planning.

1.    Help render appropriate advice in a post-Black Swan Era
2.    Help advisor regain client confidence
3.    Help advisor rebuild or win new business

Thirteen (13) sessions held during the Practice Management Summit included, but was not limited to, the following:

• Investment Management Consulting in the 21st Century: Craft or Trade? Ron Surz, President, PPCA
• To Be or Not To Be: Fiduciary Landscape Under Regulatory Reform; Kristina Fausti, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, fi360
• Using Public Relations to Turbo-Charge Your Marketing Plan; Marie Swift, President, Impact Communication
• Dynamic Asset Allocation: Rx for a Post-Black Swan Era; Rex Macey, Chief Investment Officer, Wilmington Trust
• Providing A Comfortable Ride for Your Clients (and Your Practice); David Loeper CIMA, Wealthcare Capital
• In Search of Manager Alpha: Does Active Management Still Make Sense? Larry Sinsimer
• The Value Gap: In Search of Advisor Alpha; Steve Barger, Consulting Partner, Advisor Solutions Network
• The Art of Conversation: Your Leading Advantage; Lewis Walker, Founder, Life Transitions Advisors
• Rebuilding Your Business and Managing Client Expectations with Investment Policy Statements; Norm Boone and Linda Lubitz-Boone, IPS AdvisorPro®
• How Personal Legacy Planning can Differentiate Your Practice and Drive Your Production; Mark Colgan, President / Plan Your Legacy
• Audio recordings and speaker presentations are available at www.asn360.com.agenda.asp