Wealth Management 101

Identify the Problem… You know something is wrong when a streaming music company – rather than Wall Street – is improving the way private companies go public. In today’s Wall Street Journal, I explain Spotify’s “direct listing” and theorize what the...

The Greatest Stock Story Ever Told

No Value Added in Wealth Advisory? Yale’s Class of 1954 Might Not Agree Barely a year out of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, Joe McNay was working in Boston as an analyst for Old Colony Trust Co. He spotted Syntex Corp., a drug maker seeking...

Tales From the Dark Side of Prospecting

Whatever happened to all the cowboy stockbrokers who relied on chutzpah and grit to lasso clients? Their stories made us laugh even as we cringed at the shameless antics.  Like Prospector Cat: Years ago, a broker drove to posh neighborhoods and released his cat to...

What Happens if My Client Gets Hacked?

“Somebody authorized a $50,000 transfer online,” your client says. “And it wasn’t me.” “I’m on it.” The first step is clear. You phone the CISO, your firm’s chief information security officer. But do you know what happens next? If you don’t, you might find out the...

Take the Power of Attorney Test

“Mrs. Smith is here to see you,” your receptionist says. You wonder, “What’s up?” She doesn’t have an appointment, and while you know her socially, all your communication is with Mr. Smith. You hang up, rush to the lobby, and find her visibly upset. Her husband was...