Picture of Professional Money Manager to illustrate client profiling

Client Profiling, A Dynamic Process

The managed money process involves assessing a client’s risk capabilities and determining the investment asset mix. As consultants, we are responsible for both, but our involvement is limited to the latter. Although you, the consultant, conduct the risk profile analysis, the client is the one who ultimately determines their risk profile. Client Profiling Necessitates Change …

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Eldery couple meeting with Financial Advisor to review return on investment

Return on Investment vs. Return on Relationship

Return on Investment (or ROI) is traditionally the primary focus of investors. Returns are measured against past performance and future expectations. In Bull markets and thriving economies, clients are easy to please. During market downturns clients quickly become disenchanted with their ROI and, subsequently, their relationship with their primary advisor. In the typical Retail Practice, …

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Image of stack of books and a notebook with the title continuing professional education

The Importance Of Continuing Professional Education

6 minute read The industry for Financial Professionals is information-driven. We must, by regulatory and industry requirements, commit to a continuous learning process. Even in those areas where we consider ourselves experts, we must continue to avail ourselves of the information that keeps us at the cutting edge of our industry. We must pledge to …

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Picture of pendulum balls illustrating expertise is key to success in building trust

Building Trust with Prospects: A 3-Step Strategy

4 minute read Building trust and winning prospects’ confidence doesn’t begin with building rapport—despite years of expert testimony to the contrary. To kick off solid relationships with prospective customers, you’ll need to focus on one thing: positioning yourself as an expert. Picture this: a prospect leaves thinking precisely the same way he did when he …

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Over the shoulder view of Professional sharing investment strategy

Investment Policy, Investment Strategy and the Professional Practice

6 minute read The Professional understands that communication with clients is of vital importance, not only in terms of the content delivered but also in how a Professional shares information. As a Professional Practice, my team and I focus on 24/7 service. We have made ourselves highly accessible to our coaching clients, Mastermind participants, and …

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A picture of mature couple meeting financial advisor to illustrate client relationships

Client Relationships: A Professional’s Most Important Asset

4 minute read The world as we know it has changed, but some things remain constant: with all that has gone on in the last two years, clients are looking for a deeper, lasting relationship with a professional advisor. Today’s client seeks a professional advisor who understands the importance of client relationships and is invested …

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An operations manual in blue binder on desk in the office with calculator and pen

Creating An Operations Manual For Your Professional Practice

5 minute read Your Professional Practice is meant to grow. Whether you’re currently a rookie, sitting in the bullpen with a dozen other rookies, or an advisor with one assistant, or even a small team, you have the potential to reach the next stage of Professional Practice. A small team of two can turn into …

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Fear of the Markets: Questions to Ask

Fear of the Markets: Questions to Ask To Anticipate With Optimism

3 minute read Questions to Ask When Faced With Fear of the Markets Fear of the markets is a rising concern among many financial professionals. With the volatility of recent weeks and memories of periods like the ’87 crash and the continued stresses and effects of the pandemic, fear can quickly start to creep in. …

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trading psychology traps

3 Trading Psychology Traps That Professionals Need To Avoid

3 minute read The financial industry, and especially trading as a profession, is built on the premise of making decisions without knowing the outcome of those decisions. We do our best to be right more often than wrong because losses are permanent. That’s why professionals focus on honing their trading brains and work daily to …

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books for financial professionals

The Best Books for Professionals, Advisors & Practice Managers

3 minute read Are you still in the habit of learning new things? Many financial advisors wonder what they can do to become well-rounded and competitive while increasing their rate of success. A simple way to improve is to increase your knowledge. Dedicating yourself to being a lifetime learner is the greatest gift you can …

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Trump COVID stocks

What Do The Markets Think of the 2020 Presidential Election? Is It All FAKE NEWS?

3 minute read. The world woke up to the news that Donald Trump tested positive for Coronavirus. U.S stocks fell sharply. At 9:37 am ET, October 2, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.99 percent, the S&P 500 was down 1.25 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.68 percent. Those in the Mastermind …

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Protect client assets

Protect Client Assets and Grow Your Business

U.S. Election, Pandemic, High Valuations, Seasonal Weakness – What can go Wrong! What can go Right? Learn repeatable investment management strategies and processes that will help protect client assets and grow your business—while earning 20 IIROC Professional Development CE credits. My Trade Like A Pro course is endorsed by CSI. Conducted over five weeks (from …

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risk management

Trade Like a Pro – Part 9: The Six Keys to Risk Management

4 minute read Part 9 of 16 excerpted from lesson 12.1 of the upcoming Trade Like a Pro ver. 10 course. Professionals focus on managing risk, and superior performance is the result. The retail investor focuses on performance, and increased risk is the result. Let us examine the difference between Professional and Retail risk management. …

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Important Questions

Trade Like a Pro – Part 6: The Four Most Important Questions

2 minute read. Part 6 excerpted from lesson 7.10 of the upcoming Trade Like a Pro ver.10 course. Professionals reduce Technical Analysis to four basic questions. They ask the questions every day to better understand the context of the market. The Professional asks these four important questions of every bar on the chart. Endowments trade …

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Top Down/Bottom Up Fundamentals

Trade Like a Pro – Part 5: The Role of Fundamentals

3 minute read Part 5 excerpted from lesson 6.3 of the upcoming Trade Like a Pro ver.10 course. Professionals know that before they can improve their trading they must improve their selection. Fundamental Analysis is the tool used to determine intrinsic value. Fundamental Analysis reveals in which market, industry, or security to invest. Without this …

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Sears-1

Trade Like a Pro – Part 4: Hypotheticals – Do I Buy or Sell the Market?

Do we buy, sell, or hold? That is the question at the heart of every conversation about the market. Professionals know that “anything can happen.” But, what if the market goes up, down, or sideways? Our confidence determines our action, but what creates our confidence? We may trust the historical growth of the markets, or future innovation. The former looks backward and the later forward. Yet, we must make a decision today. Some buy, hoping the growth of the past will continue. Others hesitate and by waiting miss the opportunity as the market pushes higher. Professionals use hypotheticals to understand what to do if the situation were different.

Trade Like a Pro – Part 2: Probability and Decision Making

Why do good decisions often have bad outcomes? This is especially relevant to trading, where we are constantly making decisions with our own or other people’s money. We do all the necessary analysis, make the right decision, and still can have a negative outcome. The short answer: Because the decision process is not directly related to the outcome. A third factor must be considered — probability. Decision making involves choice and probability together to reach an outcome.

Trade Like a Pro – Part 1: The Impact Of Recent Changes in the Markets

I joined the Financial Industry in 1984, the year memorialized in George Orwell’s dystopian novel. I was young and worked with those who survived the deregulation and inflation of the ’70s. Many of the older brokers struggled with the changes going on around them. Technology changed how we related to the market. Solicitation changed how we related to clients. Many of the older brokers retired early in response. Today we face similar disruptions and again some will survive and some will not. The ability to adapt to change is part of our DNA. Humans are the most adaptable species on the planet. Recent changes in the markets will demand adaptation. We must know what has changed, be willing to adapt, and take decisive action to survive and thrive.

Sands of Time

The Sands of Time

This time will embed itself in the memory of our families for the rest of their lives. Make it memorable in a good way. Many are working from home for the first time. Routines have changed. Distractions have increased. Finding that quiet moment may be difficult. But we can transform this time into different vivid remembrance if we desire.

Trading Lessons to Trade Like A Pro

Trading Lessons I Learned from Dear Friends — Part One

This is the first of a series of stories about Trading Lessons where we will share secrets of Trading Psychology and Rule-based Methodology. Subscribe to receive early updates. I was reminded today of the importance of dear friends. I have struggled with self-sabotage my entire life, often feeling unworthy of the success that has come …

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Notion As a PARA-based Second Brain

Often we try to keep our most active projects and tasks “top of mind.” Though the brain is a poor storage device, and makes makes retaining an overload of information difficult. You would never buy a computer that lost as much data as our brain does every year. Memory is not the brain’s primary or best function. Processing, pattern recognition, and decision making are its greatest strengths. Our brains are more like the CPU in our computers, rather than the hard drive. For this reason the old adage is still true. 

Change the Conversation

“I have used the five questions several times and realized that it has changed the conversation (for the better).  In many cases, after asking the questions it has changed my approach in the conversation – which has focused it more on the needs of the client.  I am also having a better conversation with certain clients that have been more difficult in the past.”

Necessary Skills for Investment Advisors

Two Skills Every Advisor Must Master

After thirty years of training and coaching, I have learned that two skills stand out as the most important to the success of any individual or team. Not knowing these skills can not be held against someone, because we are not taught the skills in school. Only a few ever discover their importance, master them, and rise to the elite ranks productivity and performance.

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