Dig Deeper Than CFP® To Find a Financial Planner

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Dr. Marcinko

CFP® is a Designation  – Not a Guarantee!

By Rick Kahler CFP®

I have long recommended that consumers look for a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) certificant when shopping for a financial planner.

But don’t stop there. A CFP is no guarantee that someone is a competent, ethical, fiduciary professional. It only ensures that you are choosing from a pool of 85,000 financial services providers who are educated in the technical aspects of financial planning. It doesn’t mean the person is engaged in financial planning, is a fiduciary, or has a spotless ethical history.

In a troubling Wall Street Journal article on August 9, 2019, columnist Jason Zwieg writes that the “CFP Board’s online search directory neglected to inform the public that thousands of planners listed” have known “customer complaints, criminal histories, financial problems or regulatory proceedings.”

“Among these CFPs were 499 who have faced criminal charges, 324 who left a previous firm amid allegations of misconduct, 323 who had been disciplined or investigated by regulators and 68 who filed bankruptcy within the past 10 years,” Zweig notes. Yet none were ever disciplined by the CFP Board.

Let’s not lose perspective—these “bad apples” amount to less than 2% of CFP certificants. Every profession has those few who use its licensing and credentialing as a cover to manipulate, deceive, and abuse consumers. No amount of regulation or oversight will ever eliminate all the crooks.

In addition, you cannot simply assume because a professional has a certain license, designation, or formal degree that they are competent. In the graduate class I teach at Golden Gate University, not all students earn As and Bs. Many earn Cs. A few earn Ds and Fs. While I am not sure the D and F group ever graduate, I am sure I would not want them doing my financial planning without convincing evidence that their poor performance in my class was a one-off due to extenuating circumstances.

As the consumer, you cannot know if a prospective financial planner was that student. Nor can you know if they have a tainted criminal background, unless you dig deeper.

That digging includes looking for any past criminal or disciplinary charges brought by licensing agencies. It also includes determining whether the advisor is legally bound to a fiduciary standard—required to put your interests ahead of theirs—but has any conflicts of interest, especially by making a significant amount of their income from commissions on the sale of financial products.

Here are a few tips for digging deeper:

  1. Go to brokercheck.finra.org to see if FINRA has brought disciplinary actions against the advisor.
  2. Go to the SEC’s website to look for disciplinary actions.
  3. Have the prospective advisor sign a written disclosure that you are a client and they have a fiduciary duty to put your interests above their own, rather than a customer where they have no such obligation and will usually put the interests of their company first. Many advisors, especially those not legally bound to be fiduciaries, don’t understand the difference, so insist on getting this assurance in writing.
  4. Have the prospective advisor sign a statement disclosing what percentage of their company’s gross revenues comes from fees charged to clients.  These might be paid as hourly fees, annual retainers, or separate charges for advice. The lower the percentage of income from fees, the greater the chance of a significant conflict of interest. I recommend finding firms receiving over 90% of gross revenue from fees; I prefer 100% because such firms advertise themselves as “fee-only” or will offset any commissions against a flat fee.

Assessment

To find a trustworthy financial planner, I still recommend the CFP designation. Just remember that it’s a starting point, not a guarantee.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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RECAST: An Interview with Fiduciary Bennett Aikin AIF®

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Dr. Marcinko

On Financial Fiduciary Accountability

[By Dr. David E. Marcinko MBA CMP™]

[By Ann Miller; RN, MHA]

Currently, there is a growing dilemma in the financial sales and services industry. It goes something like this:

  • What is a financial fiduciary?
  • Who is a financial fiduciary?
  • How can I tell if my financial advisor is a fiduciary?

Now, in as much as this controversy affects laymen and physician-investors alike, we went right to the source for up-to-date information regarding this often contentious topic, for an email interview and Q-A session, with Ben Aikin.ben-aikin

About Bennett Aikin AIF® and fi360.com

Bennett [Ben] Aikin is the Communications Coordinator for fi360.com. He oversees all communications for fi360. His responsibilities include messaging, brand management, copyrights and trademarks, and publications. Mr. Aikin received his BA in English from Virginia Tech in 2003 and is currently an MS candidate in Journalism from Ohio University.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

You have been very helpful and gracious to us. So, let’s get right to it, Ben. In the view of many; attorneys, doctors, CPAs and the clergy are fiduciaries; most all others who retain this title seem poseurs; sans documentation otherwise.

A. Mr. Aikin

You are correct. Attorneys, doctors and clergy are the prototype fiduciaries. They have a clear duty to put the best interests of their clients, patients, congregation, etc., above their own. [The duty of a CPA isn’t as clear to me, although I believe you are correct]. Furthermore, this is one of the first topics we address in our AIF training programs, and what we call the difference between a profession and an industry.  The three professions you name have three common characteristics that elevate them from an industry to a profession:

  1. Recognized body of knowledge
  2. Society depends upon practitioners to provide trustworthy advice
  3. Code of conduct that places the clients’ best interests first

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It seems that Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Financial Analysts, Registered Investment Advisors and their representatives, Registered Representative [stock-brokers] and AIF® holders, etc, are not really financial fiduciaries, either by legal statute or organizational charter. Are we correct, or not? Of course, we are not talking ethics or morality here. That’s for the theologians to discuss.

A. Mr. Aikin

One of the reasons for the “alphabet soup”, as you put it in one of your white papers [books, dictionaries and posts] on financial designations, is that while there is a large body of knowledge, there is no one recognized body of knowledge that one must acquire to enter the financial services industry.  The different designations serve to provide a distinguisher for how much and what parts of that body of knowledge you do possess.  However, being a fiduciary is exclusively a matter of function. 

In other words, regardless of what designations are held, there are five things that will make one a fiduciary in a given relationship:

  1. You are “named” in plan or trust documents; the appointment can be by “name” or by “title,” such as CFO or Head of Human Resources
  2. You are serving as a trustee; often times this applies to directed trustees as well
  3. Your function or role equates to a professional providing comprehensive and continuous investment advice
  4. You have discretion to buy or sell investable assets
  5. You are a corporate officer or director who has authority to appoint other fiduciaries

So, if you are a fiduciary according to one of these definitions, you can be held accountable for a breach in fiduciary duty, regardless of any expertise you do, or do not have. This underscores the critical nature of understanding the fiduciary standard and delegating certain duties to qualified “professionals” who can fulfill the parts of the process that a non-qualified fiduciary cannot.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

How about some of the specific designations mentioned on our site, and elsewhere. I believe that you may be familiar with the well-known financial planner, Ed Morrow, who often opines that there are more than 98 of these “designations”? In fact, he is the founder of the Registered Financial Consultants [RFC] designation. And, he wrote a Foreword for one of our e-books; back-in-the-day. His son, an attorney, also wrote as a tax expert for us, as well. So, what gives?

A. Mr. Aikin

As for the specific designations you list above, and elsewhere, they each signify something different that may, or may not, lend itself to being a fiduciary: For example:

• CFP®: The act of financial planning does very much imply fiduciary responsibility.  And, the recently updated CFP® rules of conduct does now include a fiduciary mandate:

• 1.4 A certificant shall at all times place the interest of the client ahead of his or her own. When the certificant provides financial planning or material elements of the financial planning process, the certificant owes to the client the duty of care of a fiduciary as defined by CFP Board. [from http://www.cfp.net/Downloads/2008Standards.pdf]

•  CFA: Very dependent on what work the individual is doing.  Their code of ethics does have a provision to place the interests of clients above their own and their Standards of Practice handbook makes clear that when they are working in a fiduciary capacity that they understand and abide by the legally mandated fiduciary standard.

• FA [Financial Advisor]: This is a generic term that you may find being used by a non-fiduciary, such as a broker, or a fiduciary, such as an RIA.

• RIA: Are fiduciaries.  Registered Investment Advisors are registered with the SEC and have obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide services that meet a fiduciary standard of care.

• RR: Registered Reps, or stock-brokers, are not fiduciaries if they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  If they give investment advice that crosses the line into “comprehensive and continuous investment advice” (see above), their function would make them a fiduciary and they would be subject to meeting a fiduciary standard in that advice (even though they may not be properly registered to give advice as an RIA).

• AIF designees: Have received training on a process that meets, and in some places exceeds, the fiduciary standard of care.  We do not require an AIF® to always function as a fiduciary. For example, we allow registered reps to gain and use the AIF® designation. In many cases, AIF designees are acting as fiduciaries, and the designation is an indicator that they have the full understanding of what that really means in terms of the level of service they provide.  We do expect our designees to clearly disclose whether they accept fiduciary responsibility for their services or not and advocate such disclosure for all financial service representatives.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Your website, http://www.fi360.com, seems to suggest, for example, that banks/bankers are fiduciaries. We have found this not to be the case, of course, as they work for the best interests of the bank and stockholders. What definitional understanding are we missing?

A. Mr. Aikin

Banks cannot generally be considered fiduciaries.  Again, it is a matter of function. A bank may be a named trustee, in which case a fiduciary standard would generally apply.  Banks that sell products are doing so according to their governing regulations and are “prudent experts” under ERISA, but not necessarily held to a fiduciary standard in any broader sense.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

And so, how do we rectify the [seemingly intentional] industry obfuscation on this topic. We mean, our readers, subscribers, book and dictionary purchasers, clients and colleagues are all confused on this topic. The recent financial meltdown only stresses the importance of understanding same.

For example, everyone in the industry seems to say they are the “f” word. But, our outreach efforts to contact traditional “financial services” industry pundits, CFP® practitioners and other certification organizations are continually met with resounding silence; or worse yet; they offer an abundance of parsed words and obfuscation but no confirming paperwork, or deep subject-matter knowledge as you have kindly done. We get the impression that some FAs honesty do-not have a clue; while others are intentionally vague.

A. Mr. Aikin

All of the evidence you cite is correct.  But that does not mean it is impossible to find an investment advisor who will manage to a fiduciary standard of care and acknowledge the same. The best way to rectify confusion as it pertains to choosing appropriate investment professionals is to get fiduciary status acknowledged in writing and go over with them all of the necessary steps in a fiduciary process to ensure they are being fulfilled. There also are great resources out there for understanding the fiduciary process and for choosing professionals, such as the Department of Labor, the SEC, FINRA, the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning division, the Financial Planning Association, and, of course, Fiduciary360.

We realize the confusion this must cause to those coming from the health care arena, where MD/DO clearly defines the individual in question; as do other degrees [optometrist, clinical psychologist, podiatrist, etc] and medical designations [fellow, board certification, etc.]. But, unfortunately, it is the state of the financial services industry as it stands now.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It is as confusing for the medical community, as it is for the lay community. And, after some research, we believe retail financial services industry participants are also confused. So, what is the bottom line?

A. Mr. Aikin

The bottom line is that lay, physician and all clients have a right to expect and demand a fiduciary standard of care in the managing of investments. And, there are qualified professionals out there who are providing those services.  Again, the best way to ensure you are getting it is to have fiduciary status acknowledged in writing, and go over the necessary steps in a fiduciary process with them to ensure it is being fulfilled.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

The “parole-evidence” rule, of contract law, applies, right? In dealing with medical liability situations, the medics and malpractice attorneys have a rule: “if it wasn’t written down, it didn’t happen.”  

A. Mr. Aikin

An engagement contract accepting fiduciary status should trump a subsequent attempt to claim the fiduciary standard didn’t apply. But, to reiterate an earlier point, if someone acts in one of the five functional fiduciary roles, they are a fiduciary whether they choose to acknowledge it or not.  I have attached a sample acknowledgement of fiduciary status letter with copies of our handbook, which details the fiduciary process we instruct in our programs, and our SAFE, which is basically a checklist that a fiduciary should be able to answer “Yes” to every question to ensure the entire fiduciary process is being covered.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It is curious that you mention checklists. We have a post arguing that very theme for doctors and hospitals as they pursue their medial error reduction, and quality improvement, endeavors. And, we applaud your integrity, and wish only for clarification on this simple fiduciary query?

A. Mr. Aikin

Simple definition: A fiduciary is someone who is managing the assets of another person and stands in a special relationship of trust, confidence, and/or legal responsibility.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Who is a financial fiduciary and what, if any, financial designation indicates same?

A. Mr. Aikin

Functional definition: See above for the five items that make you a fiduciary.

Financial designations that unequivocally indicate fiduciary duty: Short answer is none, only function can determine who is a fiduciary. 

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Please repeat that?

A. Mr. Aikin

Financial designations that indicate fiduciary duty: none. It is the function that determines who is a fiduciary.  Now, having said that, the CFP® certification comes close by demanding their certificants who are engaged in financial planning do so to a fiduciary standard. Similarly, other designations may certify the holder’s ability to perform a role that would be held to a fiduciary standard of care.  The point is that you are owed a fiduciary standard of care when you engage a professional to fill that role or they functionally become one.  And, if you engage a professional to fill a non-fiduciary role, they will not be held to a fiduciary standard simply because they have a particular designation.  One of the purposes the designations serve is to inform you what roles the designation holder is capable of fulfilling.

It is also worth keeping in mind that just being a fiduciary doesn’t equate to a full knowledge of the fiduciary standard. The AIF® designation indicates having been fully trained on the standard.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Yes, your website mentions something about fiduciaries that are not aware of same! How can this be? Since our business model mimics a medical model, isn’t that like saying “the doctor doesn’t know he is doctor?” Very specious, with all due respect!

A. Mr. Aikin

I think it is first important to note that this statement is referring not just to investment professionals.  Part of the audience fi360 serves is investment stewards, the non-professionals who, due to facts and circumstances, still owe a fiduciary duty to another.  Examples of this include investment committee members, trustees to a foundation, small business owners who start 401k plans, etc.  This is a group of non-sophisticated investors who may not be aware of the full array of responsibilities they have. 

However, even on the professional side I believe the statement isn’t as absurd as it sounds.  This is basically a protection from both ignorant and unscrupulous professionals.  Imagine a registered representative who, either through ignorance or design, begins offering comprehensive and continuous investment advice.  Though they may deny or be unaware of the fact, they have opened themselves up to fiduciary liability. 

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Please clarify the use of arbitration clauses in brokerage account contracts for us. Do these disclaim fiduciary responsibility? If so, does the client even know same?

A. Mr. Aikin

By definition, an engagement with a broker is a non-fiduciary relationship.  So, unless other services beyond the scope of a typical brokerage account contract are specified, fiduciary responsibility is inherently not applicable.  Unfortunately, I do imagine there are clients who don’t understand this. Furthermore, AIF® designees are not prohibited from signing such an agreement and there are some important points to understand the reasoning.

First, by definition, if you are entering into such an agreement, you are entering into a non-fiduciary relationship. So, any fiduciary requirement wouldn’t apply in this scenario.

Second, if this same question were applied into a scenario of a fiduciary relationship, such as with an RIA, this would be a method of dispute resolution, not a practice method. So, in the event of dispute, the advisor and investor would be free to agree to the method of resolution of their choosing. In this scenario, however, typically the method would not be discussed until the dispute itself arose.

Finally, it is important to know that AIF/AIFA designees are not required to be a fiduciary. It is symbolic of the individuals training, knowledge and ongoing development in fiduciary processes, but does not mean they will always be acting as a fiduciary.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Don’t the vast majority of arbitration hearings find in favor of the FA; as the arbitrators are insiders, often paid by the very same industry itself?

A. Mr. Aikin

Actual percentages are reported here: http://www.finra.org/ArbitrationMediation/AboutFINRADR/Statistics/index.htm However, brokerage arbitration agreements are a dispute resolution method for disputes that arise within the context of the securities brokerage industry and are not the only means of resolving differences for all types of financial advisors.  Investment advisers, for example, are subject to respond to disputes in a variety of forums including state and federal courts.  Clients should look at their brokerage or advisory agreement to see what they have agreed to. If you wanted to go into further depth on this question, we would recommend contacting Brian Hamburger, who is a lawyer with experience in this area and an AIFA designee. Bio page: http://www.hamburgerlaw.com/attorneys/BSH.htm.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

What about our related Certified Medical Planner® designation, and online educational program for financial advisors and medical management consultants? Is it a good idea – reasonable – for the sponsor to demand fiduciary accountability of these charter-holders? Cleary, this would not only be a strategic competitive advantage, but advance the CMP™ mission to put medical colleagues first and champion their cause www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org above all else. 

A. Mr. Aikin

I think it is a good idea for any plan sponsor to demand fiduciary status be acknowledged from anyone engaged to provide comprehensive and continuous investment advice.  I also think it is a good idea to be proactive in verifying that the fiduciary process is being followed.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Is there anything else that we should know about this topic?

A. Mr. Aikin

Yes, a further note about fi360’s standards. I wrote generically about the fiduciary standard, because there is one that is defined by multiple sources of regulation, legislation and case law.  The process defined in our handbooks, we call a Fiduciary Standard of Excellence, because it covers that minimum standard and also best practice standards that go above and beyond.  All of our Practices, which comprise that standard, are legally substantiated in our Legal Memoranda handbook, which was written by Fred Reish’s law firm, who is considered a leading ERISA attorney.

Additional resources:

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Thank you so much for your knowledge and willingness to frankly share it with the Medical-Executive-Post.

Assessment

All are invited to continue the conversation with Mr. Aikin, asynchronously online, or thru this contact information:

fi360.com
438 Division Street
Sewickley, PA 15143
412-741-8140 Phone
866-390-5080 Toll-free phone
412-741-8142 Fax

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

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ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
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Filed under: "Advisors Only", "Doctors Only", Book Reviews, Career Development, Ethics, Financial Planning, Insurance Matters, Interviews, Investing, Media Mentions and PR, Monthly Reports, Op-Editorials, Portfolio Management, Professional Liability, Quality Initiatives, Research & Development, Sponsors | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

PODCAST: Hedge Fund Manager Michael Burry MD

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Dr. Marcinko

In The Subprime of His Life – My Story

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA, CMP™

[Editor-in-Chief]

I am a long time fan of financial industry journalist Michael Lewis [Liars’ Poker, Moneyball and others] who just released a new book. The Big Short is a chronicle of four players in the subprime mortgage market who had the foresight [and testosterone] to short the diciest mortgage deals: Steve Eisner of FrontPoint, Greg Lippmann at Deutsche Bank, the three partners at Cornwall Capital, and most indelibly, Wall Street outsider Michael Burry MD of Scion Capital.

They all walked away from the disaster with pockets full of money and reputations as geniuses.

About Mike

Now, I do not know the first three folks, but I do know a little something about my colleague Michael Burry MD; he is indeed a very smart guy. Mike is a nice guy too, who also has a natural writing style that I envy [just request and read his quarterly reports for a stylized sample]. He gave me encouragement and insight early in my career transformation – from doctor to “other”.

And, he confirmed my disdain for the traditional financial services [retail sales] industry, Wall Street and their registered representatives and ‘training’ system, and sad broker-dealer ethos [suitability versus fiduciary accountability] despite being a hedge fund manager himself.

I mentioned him in my book: “Insurance and Risk Management Strategies” [For Physicians and their Advisors].

http://www.amazon.com/Insurance-Management-Strategies-Physicians-Advisors/dp/0763733423/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269254153&sr=1-2

He ultimately helped me eschew financial services organizations, “certifications”, “designations” and ”colleges”, and their related SEO rules, SEC regulations and policy wonks; and above all to go with my gut … and go it alone!

And so, I rejected my certified financial planner [marketing] designation status as useless for me, and launched the www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org on-line educational program for physician focused financial advisors and management consultants interested in the healthcare space … who wish to be fiduciaries.

And I thank Mike for the collegial good will. By the way, Mike is not a CPA, nor does he posses an MBA or related advanced degree or designation. He is not a middle-man FA. He is a physician. Unlike far too many other industry “financial advisors” he is not a lemming.

IOW: We are not salesman. We are out-of-the-box thinkers, innovators and contrarians by nature. www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

From a Book Review

According to book reviewer Michael Osinski, writing in the March 22-29 issue of Businessweek.com, Lewis is at his best working with characters and Burry is rendered most vividly.

“A loner from a young age, in part because he has a glass eye that made it difficult to look people in the face, Burry excelled at topics that required intense and isolated concentration. Originally, investing was just a hobby while he pursued a career in medicine. As a resident neurosurgeon at Stanford Hospital in the late 1990s, Burry often stayed up half the night typing his ideas onto a message board. Unbeknownst to him, professional money managers began to read and profit from his freely dispensed insight, and a hedge fund eventually offered him $1 million for a quarter of his investment firm, which consisted of a few thousand dollars from his parents and siblings. Another fund later sent him $10 million”.

“Burry’s obsession with finding undervalued companies eventually led him to realize that his own home in San Jose, Calif., was grossly overpriced, along with houses all over the country. He wrote to a friend: “A large portion of the current [housing] demand at current prices would disappear if only people became convinced that prices weren’t rising. The collateral damage is likely to be orders of magnitude worse than anyone now considers.” This was in 2003.

“Through exhaustive research, Burry understood that subprime mortgages would be the fuse and that the bonds based on these mortgages would start to blow up within as little as two years, when the original “teaser” rates expired. But Burry did something that separated him from all the other housing bears—he found an efficient way to short the market by persuading Goldman Sachs (GS) to sell him a CDS against subprime deals he saw as doomed. A unique feature of these swaps was that he did not have to own the asset to insure it, and over time, the trade in these contracts overwhelmed the actual market in the underlying bonds”.

“By June 2005, Goldman was writing Burry CDS contracts in $100 million lots, “insane” amounts, according to Burry. In November, Lippmann contacted Burry and tried to buy back billions of dollars of swaps that his bank had sold. Lippmann had noticed a growing wave of subprime defaults showing up in monthly remittance reports and wanted to protect Deutsche Bank from potentially massive losses. All it would take to cause major pain, Lippmann and his analysts deduced, was a halt in price appreciation for homes. An actual fall in prices would bring a catastrophe. By that time, Burry was sure he held winning tickets; he politely declined Lippmann’s offer”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_12/b4171094664065.htm

My Story … Being a Bit like Mike

I first contacted Mike, by phone and email, more than a decade ago. His hedge fund, Scion Capital, had no employees at the time and he outsourced most of the front and back office activities to concentrate on position selection and management. Early investors were relatives and a few physicians and professors from his medical residency days. Asset gathering was a slosh, indeed. And, in a phone conversation, I remember him confirming my impressions that doctors were not particularly astute investors. For him, they generally had sparse funds to invest as SEC “accredited investors” and were better suited for emerging tax advantaged mutual funds. ETFs were not significantly on the radar screen, back then, and index funds were considered unglamorous. No, his target hedge-fund audience was Silicon Valley.

And, much like his value-hero Warren Buffett [also a Ben Graham and David Dodd devotee], his start while from the doctor space, did not derive its success because of them.

Moreover, like me, he lionized the terms “value investing”, “margin of safety” and “intrinsic value”.

Co-incidentally, as a champion of the visually impaired, I was referred to him by author, attorney and blogger Jay Adkisson www.jayadkisson.com Jay is an avid private pilot having earned his private pilot’s license after losing an eye to cancer.

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Mike again re-entered my cognitive space while doing research for the first edition of our successful print book: “Financial Planning Handbook for Physicians and Advisors” and while searching for physicians who left medicine for alternate careers!

In fact, he wrote the chapter on hedge funds in our print journal and thru the third book edition before becoming too successful for such mundane stuff. We are now in our fourth edition, with a fifth in progress once the Obama administration stuff [healthcare and financial services industry “reform” and new tax laws] has been resolved

http://www.amazon.com/Financial-Planning-Handbook-Physicians-Advisors/dp/0763745790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269211056&sr=1-1

Assessment

News: Dr. Burry appeared on 60 Minutes Sunday March 14th, 2010. His activities with Scion Capital are portrayed in Michael Lewis’s newest book, The Big Short.  An excerpt is available in the April 2010 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, and at VanityFair.com 

Video of Dr. Burry: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298040n&tag=contentBody;housing

Video of Dr. Burry: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6298038n&tag=contentBody;housing

PS: Michael Osinski retired from Wall Street and now runs Widow’s Hole Oyster Co. in Greenport, NY http://www.widowsholeoysters.com

And, our www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com related books can be reviewed here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=david+marcinko

Assessment

Visit Scion Capital LLC and tell us what you think http://www.scioncapital.com.

And to Mike himself, I say “Mazel Tov” and congratulations? I am sure you will be a good and faithful steward. The greatest legacy one can have is in how they treated the “little people.” You are a champ. Call me – let’s do lunch. And, I am still writing: www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com for the conjoined space we both LOVE.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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  Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™  Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

[Dr. Cappiello PhD MBA] *** [Foreword Dr. Krieger MD MBA]

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RECAST: An Interview with Fiduciary Bennett Aikin AIF®

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Dr. Marcinko

On Financial Fiduciary Accountability

[By Dr. David E. Marcinko MBA CMP™]

[By Ann Miller; RN, MHA]

Currently, there is a growing dilemma in the financial sales and services industry. It goes something like this:

  • What is a financial fiduciary?
  • Who is a financial fiduciary?
  • How can I tell if my financial advisor is a fiduciary?

Now, in as much as this controversy affects laymen and physician-investors alike, we went right to the source for up-to-date information regarding this often contentious topic, for an email interview and Q-A session, with Ben Aikin.ben-aikin

About Bennett Aikin AIF® and fi360.com

Bennett [Ben] Aikin is the Communications Coordinator for fi360.com. He oversees all communications for fi360. His responsibilities include messaging, brand management, copyrights and trademarks, and publications. Mr. Aikin received his BA in English from Virginia Tech in 2003 and is currently an MS candidate in Journalism from Ohio University.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

You have been very helpful and gracious to us. So, let’s get right to it, Ben. In the view of many; attorneys, doctors, CPAs and the clergy are fiduciaries; most all others who retain this title seem poseurs; sans documentation otherwise.

A. Mr. Aikin

You are correct. Attorneys, doctors and clergy are the prototype fiduciaries. They have a clear duty to put the best interests of their clients, patients, congregation, etc., above their own. [The duty of a CPA isn’t as clear to me, although I believe you are correct]. Furthermore, this is one of the first topics we address in our AIF training programs, and what we call the difference between a profession and an industry.  The three professions you name have three common characteristics that elevate them from an industry to a profession:

  1. Recognized body of knowledge
  2. Society depends upon practitioners to provide trustworthy advice
  3. Code of conduct that places the clients’ best interests first

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It seems that Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Financial Analysts, Registered Investment Advisors and their representatives, Registered Representative [stock-brokers] and AIF® holders, etc, are not really financial fiduciaries, either by legal statute or organizational charter. Are we correct, or not? Of course, we are not talking ethics or morality here. That’s for the theologians to discuss.

A. Mr. Aikin

One of the reasons for the “alphabet soup”, as you put it in one of your white papers [books, dictionaries and posts] on financial designations, is that while there is a large body of knowledge, there is no one recognized body of knowledge that one must acquire to enter the financial services industry.  The different designations serve to provide a distinguisher for how much and what parts of that body of knowledge you do possess.  However, being a fiduciary is exclusively a matter of function. 

In other words, regardless of what designations are held, there are five things that will make one a fiduciary in a given relationship:

  1. You are “named” in plan or trust documents; the appointment can be by “name” or by “title,” such as CFO or Head of Human Resources
  2. You are serving as a trustee; often times this applies to directed trustees as well
  3. Your function or role equates to a professional providing comprehensive and continuous investment advice
  4. You have discretion to buy or sell investable assets
  5. You are a corporate officer or director who has authority to appoint other fiduciaries

So, if you are a fiduciary according to one of these definitions, you can be held accountable for a breach in fiduciary duty, regardless of any expertise you do, or do not have. This underscores the critical nature of understanding the fiduciary standard and delegating certain duties to qualified “professionals” who can fulfill the parts of the process that a non-qualified fiduciary cannot.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

How about some of the specific designations mentioned on our site, and elsewhere. I believe that you may be familiar with the well-known financial planner, Ed Morrow, who often opines that there are more than 98 of these “designations”? In fact, he is the founder of the Registered Financial Consultants [RFC] designation. And, he wrote a Foreword for one of our e-books; back-in-the-day. His son, an attorney, also wrote as a tax expert for us, as well. So, what gives?

A. Mr. Aikin

As for the specific designations you list above, and elsewhere, they each signify something different that may, or may not, lend itself to being a fiduciary: For example:

• CFP®: The act of financial planning does very much imply fiduciary responsibility.  And, the recently updated CFP® rules of conduct does now include a fiduciary mandate:

• 1.4 A certificant shall at all times place the interest of the client ahead of his or her own. When the certificant provides financial planning or material elements of the financial planning process, the certificant owes to the client the duty of care of a fiduciary as defined by CFP Board. [from http://www.cfp.net/Downloads/2008Standards.pdf]

•  CFA: Very dependent on what work the individual is doing.  Their code of ethics does have a provision to place the interests of clients above their own and their Standards of Practice handbook makes clear that when they are working in a fiduciary capacity that they understand and abide by the legally mandated fiduciary standard.

• FA [Financial Advisor]: This is a generic term that you may find being used by a non-fiduciary, such as a broker, or a fiduciary, such as an RIA.

• RIA: Are fiduciaries.  Registered Investment Advisors are registered with the SEC and have obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide services that meet a fiduciary standard of care.

• RR: Registered Reps, or stock-brokers, are not fiduciaries if they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  If they give investment advice that crosses the line into “comprehensive and continuous investment advice” (see above), their function would make them a fiduciary and they would be subject to meeting a fiduciary standard in that advice (even though they may not be properly registered to give advice as an RIA).

• AIF designees: Have received training on a process that meets, and in some places exceeds, the fiduciary standard of care.  We do not require an AIF® to always function as a fiduciary. For example, we allow registered reps to gain and use the AIF® designation. In many cases, AIF designees are acting as fiduciaries, and the designation is an indicator that they have the full understanding of what that really means in terms of the level of service they provide.  We do expect our designees to clearly disclose whether they accept fiduciary responsibility for their services or not and advocate such disclosure for all financial service representatives.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Your website, http://www.fi360.com, seems to suggest, for example, that banks/bankers are fiduciaries. We have found this not to be the case, of course, as they work for the best interests of the bank and stockholders. What definitional understanding are we missing?

A. Mr. Aikin

Banks cannot generally be considered fiduciaries.  Again, it is a matter of function. A bank may be a named trustee, in which case a fiduciary standard would generally apply.  Banks that sell products are doing so according to their governing regulations and are “prudent experts” under ERISA, but not necessarily held to a fiduciary standard in any broader sense.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

And so, how do we rectify the [seemingly intentional] industry obfuscation on this topic. We mean, our readers, subscribers, book and dictionary purchasers, clients and colleagues are all confused on this topic. The recent financial meltdown only stresses the importance of understanding same.

For example, everyone in the industry seems to say they are the “f” word. But, our outreach efforts to contact traditional “financial services” industry pundits, CFP® practitioners and other certification organizations are continually met with resounding silence; or worse yet; they offer an abundance of parsed words and obfuscation but no confirming paperwork, or deep subject-matter knowledge as you have kindly done. We get the impression that some FAs honesty do-not have a clue; while others are intentionally vague.

A. Mr. Aikin

All of the evidence you cite is correct.  But that does not mean it is impossible to find an investment advisor who will manage to a fiduciary standard of care and acknowledge the same. The best way to rectify confusion as it pertains to choosing appropriate investment professionals is to get fiduciary status acknowledged in writing and go over with them all of the necessary steps in a fiduciary process to ensure they are being fulfilled. There also are great resources out there for understanding the fiduciary process and for choosing professionals, such as the Department of Labor, the SEC, FINRA, the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning division, the Financial Planning Association, and, of course, Fiduciary360.

We realize the confusion this must cause to those coming from the health care arena, where MD/DO clearly defines the individual in question; as do other degrees [optometrist, clinical psychologist, podiatrist, etc] and medical designations [fellow, board certification, etc.]. But, unfortunately, it is the state of the financial services industry as it stands now.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It is as confusing for the medical community, as it is for the lay community. And, after some research, we believe retail financial services industry participants are also confused. So, what is the bottom line?

A. Mr. Aikin

The bottom line is that lay, physician and all clients have a right to expect and demand a fiduciary standard of care in the managing of investments. And, there are qualified professionals out there who are providing those services.  Again, the best way to ensure you are getting it is to have fiduciary status acknowledged in writing, and go over the necessary steps in a fiduciary process with them to ensure it is being fulfilled.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

The “parole-evidence” rule, of contract law, applies, right? In dealing with medical liability situations, the medics and malpractice attorneys have a rule: “if it wasn’t written down, it didn’t happen.”  

A. Mr. Aikin

An engagement contract accepting fiduciary status should trump a subsequent attempt to claim the fiduciary standard didn’t apply. But, to reiterate an earlier point, if someone acts in one of the five functional fiduciary roles, they are a fiduciary whether they choose to acknowledge it or not.  I have attached a sample acknowledgement of fiduciary status letter with copies of our handbook, which details the fiduciary process we instruct in our programs, and our SAFE, which is basically a checklist that a fiduciary should be able to answer “Yes” to every question to ensure the entire fiduciary process is being covered.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

It is curious that you mention checklists. We have a post arguing that very theme for doctors and hospitals as they pursue their medial error reduction, and quality improvement, endeavors. And, we applaud your integrity, and wish only for clarification on this simple fiduciary query?

A. Mr. Aikin

Simple definition: A fiduciary is someone who is managing the assets of another person and stands in a special relationship of trust, confidence, and/or legal responsibility.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Who is a financial fiduciary and what, if any, financial designation indicates same?

A. Mr. Aikin

Functional definition: See above for the five items that make you a fiduciary.

Financial designations that unequivocally indicate fiduciary duty: Short answer is none, only function can determine who is a fiduciary. 

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Please repeat that?

A. Mr. Aikin

Financial designations that indicate fiduciary duty: none. It is the function that determines who is a fiduciary.  Now, having said that, the CFP® certification comes close by demanding their certificants who are engaged in financial planning do so to a fiduciary standard. Similarly, other designations may certify the holder’s ability to perform a role that would be held to a fiduciary standard of care.  The point is that you are owed a fiduciary standard of care when you engage a professional to fill that role or they functionally become one.  And, if you engage a professional to fill a non-fiduciary role, they will not be held to a fiduciary standard simply because they have a particular designation.  One of the purposes the designations serve is to inform you what roles the designation holder is capable of fulfilling.

It is also worth keeping in mind that just being a fiduciary doesn’t equate to a full knowledge of the fiduciary standard. The AIF® designation indicates having been fully trained on the standard.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Yes, your website mentions something about fiduciaries that are not aware of same! How can this be? Since our business model mimics a medical model, isn’t that like saying “the doctor doesn’t know he is doctor?” Very specious, with all due respect!

A. Mr. Aikin

I think it is first important to note that this statement is referring not just to investment professionals.  Part of the audience fi360 serves is investment stewards, the non-professionals who, due to facts and circumstances, still owe a fiduciary duty to another.  Examples of this include investment committee members, trustees to a foundation, small business owners who start 401k plans, etc.  This is a group of non-sophisticated investors who may not be aware of the full array of responsibilities they have. 

However, even on the professional side I believe the statement isn’t as absurd as it sounds.  This is basically a protection from both ignorant and unscrupulous professionals.  Imagine a registered representative who, either through ignorance or design, begins offering comprehensive and continuous investment advice.  Though they may deny or be unaware of the fact, they have opened themselves up to fiduciary liability. 

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Please clarify the use of arbitration clauses in brokerage account contracts for us. Do these disclaim fiduciary responsibility? If so, does the client even know same?

A. Mr. Aikin

By definition, an engagement with a broker is a non-fiduciary relationship.  So, unless other services beyond the scope of a typical brokerage account contract are specified, fiduciary responsibility is inherently not applicable.  Unfortunately, I do imagine there are clients who don’t understand this. Furthermore, AIF® designees are not prohibited from signing such an agreement and there are some important points to understand the reasoning.

First, by definition, if you are entering into such an agreement, you are entering into a non-fiduciary relationship. So, any fiduciary requirement wouldn’t apply in this scenario.

Second, if this same question were applied into a scenario of a fiduciary relationship, such as with an RIA, this would be a method of dispute resolution, not a practice method. So, in the event of dispute, the advisor and investor would be free to agree to the method of resolution of their choosing. In this scenario, however, typically the method would not be discussed until the dispute itself arose.

Finally, it is important to know that AIF/AIFA designees are not required to be a fiduciary. It is symbolic of the individuals training, knowledge and ongoing development in fiduciary processes, but does not mean they will always be acting as a fiduciary.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Don’t the vast majority of arbitration hearings find in favor of the FA; as the arbitrators are insiders, often paid by the very same industry itself?

A. Mr. Aikin

Actual percentages are reported here: http://www.finra.org/ArbitrationMediation/AboutFINRADR/Statistics/index.htm However, brokerage arbitration agreements are a dispute resolution method for disputes that arise within the context of the securities brokerage industry and are not the only means of resolving differences for all types of financial advisors.  Investment advisers, for example, are subject to respond to disputes in a variety of forums including state and federal courts.  Clients should look at their brokerage or advisory agreement to see what they have agreed to. If you wanted to go into further depth on this question, we would recommend contacting Brian Hamburger, who is a lawyer with experience in this area and an AIFA designee. Bio page: http://www.hamburgerlaw.com/attorneys/BSH.htm.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

What about our related Certified Medical Planner® designation, and online educational program for financial advisors and medical management consultants? Is it a good idea – reasonable – for the sponsor to demand fiduciary accountability of these charter-holders? Cleary, this would not only be a strategic competitive advantage, but advance the CMP™ mission to put medical colleagues first and champion their cause www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org above all else. 

A. Mr. Aikin

I think it is a good idea for any plan sponsor to demand fiduciary status be acknowledged from anyone engaged to provide comprehensive and continuous investment advice.  I also think it is a good idea to be proactive in verifying that the fiduciary process is being followed.

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Is there anything else that we should know about this topic?

A. Mr. Aikin

Yes, a further note about fi360’s standards. I wrote generically about the fiduciary standard, because there is one that is defined by multiple sources of regulation, legislation and case law.  The process defined in our handbooks, we call a Fiduciary Standard of Excellence, because it covers that minimum standard and also best practice standards that go above and beyond.  All of our Practices, which comprise that standard, are legally substantiated in our Legal Memoranda handbook, which was written by Fred Reish’s law firm, who is considered a leading ERISA attorney.

Additional resources:

Q. Medical Executive Post 

Thank you so much for your knowledge and willingness to frankly share it with the Medical-Executive-Post.

Assessment

All are invited to continue the conversation with Mr. Aikin, asynchronously online, or thru this contact information:

fi360.com
438 Division Street
Sewickley, PA 15143
412-741-8140 Phone
866-390-5080 Toll-free phone
412-741-8142 Fax

Conclusion

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UPDATE: Stock Markets, the Economy and Pandemic

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Dr. Marcinko

By Staff Reporters

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SPONSOR: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

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  • Stock Markets: US stocks staged a big afternoon comeback for the second day in a row … but still not big enough to close in the green. American Express was the top performer in both the S&P and the Dow after the company reported its highest billings volume ever in Q4. And, enthusiasm over meme stocks more broadly appears to be dwindling along with cryptos. And, while NASDAQ took a hit, Microsoft reported quarterly sales of more than $50 billion for the first time ever.
  • Economy: The weight of the financial world is on Jerome Powell’s shoulders today. The Federal Reserve chair will provide an update on the central bank’s views on sky-high inflation and its plan for interest rate hikes this year (though none are expected until March).
  • Pandemic: Pfizer and BioNTech started clinical trials for an Omicron-specific vaccine yesterday. The results will help the pharma partners decide whether to replace their current jab formula with one that targets the most dominant Covid variant. The new vaccine is being tested both as a three-shot series for un-vaccinated participants and as a booster for the already vaccinated.
  • CITE: https://www.r2library.com/Resource/Title/082610254

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Dig Deeper Than CFP® To Find a Financial Planner

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Dr. Marcinko

CFP® is a Designation  – Not a Guarantee!

By Rick Kahler CFP®

I have long recommended that consumers look for a Certified Financial Planning (CFP) certificant when shopping for a financial planner.

But don’t stop there. A CFP is no guarantee that someone is a competent, ethical, fiduciary professional. It only ensures that you are choosing from a pool of 85,000 financial services providers who are educated in the technical aspects of financial planning. It doesn’t mean the person is engaged in financial planning, is a fiduciary, or has a spotless ethical history.

In a troubling Wall Street Journal article on August 9, 2019, columnist Jason Zwieg writes that the “CFP Board’s online search directory neglected to inform the public that thousands of planners listed” have known “customer complaints, criminal histories, financial problems or regulatory proceedings.”

“Among these CFPs were 499 who have faced criminal charges, 324 who left a previous firm amid allegations of misconduct, 323 who had been disciplined or investigated by regulators and 68 who filed bankruptcy within the past 10 years,” Zweig notes. Yet none were ever disciplined by the CFP Board.

Let’s not lose perspective—these “bad apples” amount to less than 2% of CFP certificants. Every profession has those few who use its licensing and credentialing as a cover to manipulate, deceive, and abuse consumers. No amount of regulation or oversight will ever eliminate all the crooks.

In addition, you cannot simply assume because a professional has a certain license, designation, or formal degree that they are competent. In the graduate class I teach at Golden Gate University, not all students earn As and Bs. Many earn Cs. A few earn Ds and Fs. While I am not sure the D and F group ever graduate, I am sure I would not want them doing my financial planning without convincing evidence that their poor performance in my class was a one-off due to extenuating circumstances.

As the consumer, you cannot know if a prospective financial planner was that student. Nor can you know if they have a tainted criminal background, unless you dig deeper.

That digging includes looking for any past criminal or disciplinary charges brought by licensing agencies. It also includes determining whether the advisor is legally bound to a fiduciary standard—required to put your interests ahead of theirs—but has any conflicts of interest, especially by making a significant amount of their income from commissions on the sale of financial products.

Here are a few tips for digging deeper:

  1. Go to brokercheck.finra.org to see if FINRA has brought disciplinary actions against the advisor.
  2. Go to the SEC’s website to look for disciplinary actions.
  3. Have the prospective advisor sign a written disclosure that you are a client and they have a fiduciary duty to put your interests above their own, rather than a customer where they have no such obligation and will usually put the interests of their company first. Many advisors, especially those not legally bound to be fiduciaries, don’t understand the difference, so insist on getting this assurance in writing.
  4. Have the prospective advisor sign a statement disclosing what percentage of their company’s gross revenues comes from fees charged to clients.  These might be paid as hourly fees, annual retainers, or separate charges for advice. The lower the percentage of income from fees, the greater the chance of a significant conflict of interest. I recommend finding firms receiving over 90% of gross revenue from fees; I prefer 100% because such firms advertise themselves as “fee-only” or will offset any commissions against a flat fee.

Assessment

To find a trustworthy financial planner, I still recommend the CFP designation. Just remember that it’s a starting point, not a guarantee.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Posted on April 28, 2017 by Dr. Marcinko

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Why we cannot assume CFP® equals “Fiduciary”

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Dr. Marcinko

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Rick Kahler MS CFP

By Rick Kahler MS CFP®

One of the most important ways to find competent and trustworthy investment advisers is to be sure they owe you a fiduciary duty.

This means the advisers’ legal and ethical responsibility is to act in your best interests, not their own or their employer’s.

An ongoing legal case featured in an October 31 article by Ann Marsh in the online Financial Planning magazine highlights both the importance and the difficulty of finding a fiduciary adviser. (Disclosure: I am one of several advisers quoted in the article.)

The whistleblower case against J. P. Morgan involves an adviser and former J. P. Morgan employee, Johnny Burris, who says he was fired after refusing to give in to pressure to sell some of his employer’s high-priced products that he did not believe to be in his clients’ best interest.

Importance?

Here is why this case is important to anyone looking for financial advice: many advisers at investment firms like J. P. Morgan hold the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. According to the website of the CFP Board of Standards, the organization that awards the certification, CFP’s are required “to put your interests ahead of their own at all times and to provide their financial planning services as a ‘fiduciary’—acting in the best interest of their financial planning clients.”

This sounds straightforward enough. Since 2008, the CFP Board has positioned the CFP designation as an indicator that an adviser will put clients’ interest first.

Unfortunately, that isn’t quite accurate.

Here is the tricky part: Advisers who sell financial products are allowed to “wear two hats” in their interaction with consumers. Any time they are giving financial advice and acting as financial planners (as defined by the CFP Board), they are expected to act in the best interest of the client/customer.

Yet if they don’t give any financial advice other than what is ancillary to the sale (a very confusing concept) of financial products to the same client/customer, that fiduciary requirement does not apply. The consumer is apparently expected to have the exceptional discernment and knowledge to know which hat is being worn at any given time.

As a consumer, you can assume that advisers holding the CFP® designation have completed many hours of education and passed tests to assess their professional competence.

However, because of the CFP Board’s hairsplitting, you cannot assume “CFP” equals “fiduciary.”

You still have to ask two essential questions:

The first is “In this engagement with me, who are you primarily responsible to, me or your company?” An adviser employed by a brokerage house or investment bank is very likely to be held most responsible to their company and expected to sell that firm’s financial products. This sets up a conflict of interest, in that the products with the highest fees will make the most money for the firm and the adviser, while those with lower fees may well be in the best interest of the clients.

A CFP® adviser who works for an independent financial planning firm may be less likely to be pressured to sell a given line of products. They also may do enough financial planning to be required to be a fiduciary.

However, you still need to ask the second question: “How do you get paid?” Any adviser who receives income from selling financial products cannot fully represent clients as a fiduciary without first overcoming an inherent conflict of interest.

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stock market

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Assessment

An adviser who doesn’t sell any products, who gives investment advice, and whose income comes solely from client fees is answerable and responsible to those clients as a fiduciary. You can trust that such a fee-only adviser will genuinely put your interests first. 

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™     Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

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Is the CFP-BOD, and the CFP® mark, in Jeopardy? [VOTE]

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Dr. Marcinko

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Early CFP® Board Leader Says Future of Certification in Jeopardy

[By Staff Reporters]

The CFP® Board’s strategy of punishing some certificate holders over compensation disclosure issues in what critics charge is an arbitrary manner threatens the future of the CFP® designation, according to one of the early leaders of the board who also chaired its disciplinary commission.

Please vote

And so, we ask this question.

Assessment 

Link: http://www.financial-planning.com/news/early-cfp-board-leader-says-future-of-certification-in-jeopardy-2686698-1.html?ET=financialplanning:e14975:86235a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FP_Weekend__092713

Read More:

Read even more:

2016 Update:

 

Conclusion

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Are “Financial Advisors” True Professionals or Employed Sales Representatives for Retail Products?

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Dr. Marcinko

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White House Sides With Sales Reps On Overtime

Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

[ME-P Editor-in-Chief]

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

As the US Supreme Court is preparing to review the contentious debate about overtime pay for sales reps, the US Solicitor General has filed an amicus curaie, or friend of the court brief, and sided with pharma reps. The move is not surprising, given that the US Department of Labor has, several times, taken a similar step in federal courts around the country where cases were heard.

Far Reaching Implications?

The review is expected to have far-reaching implications for the pharmaceutical industry, and I believe the financial services industry, as well. Why?

Both sectors have been fighting a growing number of cases nationwide over the past several years, but has had mixed results as the issue has continually divided the courts. At the same time, drug makers, Wall Street and broker-dealers have been laying off thousands of sales reps – “financial advisors”, “wealth managers” and stock brokers – as they try to cut costs and alter their business models to prepare for some level of fiduciary accountability.

The Issue

At issue is whether drug reps, and FAs by extension, are exempt from overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA overtime compensation requirement does not apply to employees who work as outside salespeople, but the law does require employers to pay overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours a week, unless a FLSA exemption applies.

Link: http://www.pharmalot.com/2012/02/white-house-sides-with-sales-reps-on-overtime/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Pharmalot+%28Pharmalot%29

My Issue

And so, does this mean that most “financial advisors” are really stock-brokers and product pushers after all? At least in medicine, we doctors know what a pharmaceutical rep is – and we understand his/ her roll is to push pharma products, DME and drug sales.

Shouldn’t a salesman – be a salesman – and an “advisor” – be an RIA or RIA rep? I don’t often agree with the White House, but I do on this one.

FAs can’t be independent client advocates – and employees – at the same time

Now, isn’t it time for the public to know that the vast majority of FAs are just salesmen [still SBs], too? Just selling retail financial products to doctors and others; not drugs. After all, FAs can’t be independent client advocates – and employees – at the same time.  And, it appears with this potential filing and ruling; that they truly wish to be the later. Now FAs, admit it!

Assessment

Why do you think FAs are licensed as “registered representatives”? Rarely; a fiduciary among them!

Conclusion

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How to Become A Financial Advisor [Learned Profession or Professional Sales Force?]

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dr. Marcinko

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A Recent E-mail that I Received

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA, CMP™

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

[Editor-in-Chief]

As a former certified financial planner for almost 15 years, I was surprised to recently receive the following unedited e-mail correspondence.

Dear Marcinko,

If you are clever, have a way with people, or are a born salesperson, then becoming financial advisor could be your ticket to paradise.

Maybe not exactly paradise, but you could definitely have a ticket to a rewarding career. If you’re thinking about starting out as a new financial advisor – you may already be half the way there.

Why?

Because it’s an occupation where your life challenges will give you the understanding and empathy needed to work with your clients. Have you ever been in the position where you had to figure out a budget for your children’s education? Or manage an over extended credit card? These life situations will aid an individual on the path to become a financial consultant.

Requirements to Be a Financial Advisor

Even though a formal education is not a necessity to become financial adviser, it helps if you’ve taken certain courses.

What degree do you need to become a financial advisor? A bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Commerce, Business or Marketing would be a good start. A degree won’t assure you of a startling career but it may help get your foot in the door.

Rumor has it that a degree in psychology is also an asset as financial advising is as much about counseling as it is about advising. There are a plethora of people with all sorts of emotional entanglements around their financial lives.

Licenses

So, what licenses do you need to be a financial advisor? Some companies will assist a newbie in the financial advisory business and place them into a special program that will help them to obtain the required regulatory licenses such as a Series 66, this license permits them to vend annuities and mutual funds. It’s also possible to manage your own training. You can take part-time courses in order to qualify for the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam.

There are roughly over 286 universities and colleges that will assist you in preparing for the CFP exam. How long does it take to become a financial advisor? In order to qualify for the exam you will also need three years full-time working experience with a financial planning establishment.

Statistics state that over 40% regularly fail this all important exam. It’s worth the time and effort as with this certification you are deemed as a certified financial planner and demand a higher salary.

Assessment

Hot tip: Stay away from insurance companies for financial employment. They’ll insist that you sign everyone including the dog and your grandmother. Then get rid of you if you don’t procure sufficient business. Banks are better they will bring in the clients for you.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Are financial advisors true professionals; or a truely professional sales force?

Please review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure. Are financial advisors true professionals, or a professional sales force?

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The One-Woman Physician Investors Should Not Trust

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Dr. Marcinko

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Why We Should “Run” from the SEC’s Mary Schapiro

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

OK, I’ve opined about fiduciary accountability for stock brokers, FAs and FPs – as well as Mary Schapiro [Chairman of the SEC] before – on this ME-P. And usually, in not so glowing terms!

But now, Mary really chaps my ethical and linguistic sensibilities.

Why I’m So P…… Off!

According to Bloomberg, and Advisor One [a financial services industry trade magazine], the chairwoman is considering something called the “business model neutral” rule that retains proprietary financial products, and brokerage sales commissions.

This concept of ‘business neutral’ is the one sought by many in the brokerage and insurance industry in order to redefine the term ‘fiduciary’ as an enhanced form of ‘suitability’ with opt-out provisions.

But, it is not sought by me, and should not be accepted by physicians.

Definitions

Suitability Rule – According to the Free Dictionary:

A stated or implied requirement by a regulatory body that a broker or investment adviser must reasonably believe that a certain investment decision will benefit a client before making a recommendation to him/her. That is, the broker or investment adviser must act in good faith, and may not knowingly recommend bad investments. Different regulators and self-regulating organizations incorporate suitable rules in different places in their bylaws. Two commonly referenced suitability rules are Rule 2310 for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and Rule 405 for the NYSE. See also: Due diligence, Prudent-person rule, Twisting.

Fiduciary Rule – According to the Free Dictionary:

A uniform standard for financial advisors that requires them to put retail customer interests ahead of their own financial interests.

This is clearly a higher duty [level of care] than suitability. Insurance agents, stock brokers, BDs and most “financial advisors” hate it.

Link: http://www.advisorone.com/2011/12/09/reaction-to-schapiro-comments-on-fiduciary-rule-ar?ref=hp

“Suitability on Steroids”

Some pundits suggest we think of this new “business model neutral” rule as “suitability on steroids.”

However, as most of us in medicine know, steroids are not a panacea and are typically used as a quick fix for short term gain, only.

Otherwise, the excessive use of anabolic steroids is bad for our physical health. Just like Mary Schapiro is bad for our fiscal health. But, a Certified Medical Planner™ is a fiduciary at all times http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

More: Enter the CMPs

Assessment       

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. I was an insurance agent and certified financial planner for almost 15 years [Series 7, 63 and 65] before I resigned all – in disgust over the fiduciary flap.

Doctors are fiduciaries. I am a fiduciary, a doctor, and a financial advisor. Shouldn’t all physician-investors demand same from their own financial advisors [NASD-FINRA, RIAs, RIA-Reps]?

But hey – I’m just a medical provider.

Conclusion

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Mike Kitces asks: What Can Financial Planners Learn from Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Dr. Marcinko

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Follow Paretto’s Law – or Learn Something Unique and Compete?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

Michael Kitces is an industry pundit, and well known certified financial planner [CFP], who writes for a financial advisory and financial planner audience at thewebsite Nerd’s Eye View:

http://www.kitces.com

He is a bright guy, who holds the following professional degrees and designations:

  • MSFS – Master of Science in Financial Services
  • MTAX – Master’s in Taxation
  • CFP – Certified Financial Planner
  • CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter
  • ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant
  • RHU – Registered Health Underwriter
  • REBC – Registered Employee Benefits Consultant
  • CASL – Chartered Advisor of Senior Living
  • CWPP – Chartered Wealth Preservation Planner

Yet, in a recent essay, he laments that all the CFPs® in the country added together don’t have as much reach, or impact, as three mass marketing gurus: Suze Orman, David Bach, and Dave Ramsey. And, he is correct.

Markets Vary

These gurus, and the CFPs®, serve different markets for sure. The gurus’ products are free or inexpensive. Their messages are simple and actionable. Once you go beyond the simple messages, however, you will find the gurus no longer satisfying. So, it’s no coincidence that the three gurus focus on controlling spending and getting out of debt. Why?

Eighty percent of us do need to get out of debt and control our spending, period!

Link: Do Financial Planners Have Something To Learn From Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey?

Pareto’s Law

Here is where the mass market is located, said economist V. Pareto PhD more than a century ago. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of scarsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. It is a common thumb-rule in business; e.g., “80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients”.

Look, most clients can’t control their income but they can be taught to control spending and debt habits [needs versus wants]. Most patients need a family doctor; not a brain surgeon.  And, most of us do not have Einstein’s intelligence, Gate’s wealth, or Hercules’s strength.

But, our lives can vastly be improved by 80%, with just 20% more effort and cost. This is what the gurus know – most of us are average – not so the CFPs® who believe we all need a comprehensive financial plan and have the ability to pay for it and the time to execute and monitor it.

Assessment

And so, CFPs® can’t charge an 80% premium – to 80% of the population – when clients don’t need or want a comprehensive financial plan. Or, when clients can be better off by 80%, and such success can be had for 20% of the cost and effort offered by the CFPs®.

Basic supply-demand economics 101! Ford autos are fine – we all don’t need or want a Mercedes.

More confusing is the fact that even the CFPs® themselves are suspect since prior to 2008 a college degree was not required for the certification mark. And, having same allows the practitioner no additional diagnostic or interventional tools.

IOW: Whatever a CFP® can do – a non-CFP® can do.  And, it is increasingly considered by the well-informed …. to be a marketing mark …. to hold a marketing mark. This is akin to being famous; for being famous.  That’s why I resigned my CFP® mark years ago.

Full Disclosure: I am the Founder of the: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org online program. CMP™ certificants – like doctors – hold fiduciary accountability at all times and with unique healthcare industry specificity.

Conclusion

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Calling All Financial Advisors, Brokers, EAs, CFPs, CPAs, CFAs and RIAs to Contribute

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

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By Ann Miller RN MHA

[Executive-Director]

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Send in a Post or Comment

Original posts or comments are encouraged.

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Assessment

So, send in your original posts or comments, today!

Become a thought-leader for the ME-P.

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On American Health Care and Financial Services Competitiveness

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

A MEMORIAL DAY OPINION – EDITORIAL

[Innovation – Not Nationalization – Can Again Lead]

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CPHQ, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CPHQ, CMP™

[Managing Editor]

Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive-Director]

American Flag

On this 2010 Memorial Day weekend, please allow us to directly reflect for a moment on the decline of the healthcare, banking and financial services industry in America. And; then somewhat indirectly comment on the hopeful emergence of the web 2.0 phenomena of which we all are a part. The competitive applicability to these sectors should be appreciated by the insightful ME-P reader.

Collapse of Command and Control Monopolies and Oligarchies   

Old monopolies everywhere are crumbling because of tougher new competitors and the transparency wrought by electronic connectedness. For example, our old newspaper has to compete with the internet, your electric utility company battles low-cost local start-ups, telephone companies must begin installing fiber optic lines to fend off cable companies; and RIAs and fiduciary focused financial advisors [FAs] will supplant BDs and stock brokers in the financial services sector.

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

cmp-logo

The airline industry collapsed a few years ago, the banking industry has just collapsed, and the auto industry is recovering as we pen this post. [We have a particular affinity for the auto sector however, as the son of a UAW member and step-daughter of Michiganders]. Regardless, the rush to more intense competition cannot be stopped. As a doctor, FA or other business competitor; you either keep pace or get crushed by quasi-oligarchic organizations like the American Medical Association [AMA], American Podiatric Medical Association [FPMA], American Dental Association [ADA], American Osteopathic Medical Association AOMA], Financial Planning Association [FPA], Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards [CFP BoS], College for Financial Planning [CFP] or the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors [NAPFA], etc. What have they, and Wall Street, done for you … lately? Scandal, taint, doubt, lost-credibility, a business-as-usual ennui, lethargy and ruin! Enter www.Sermo.com

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/04/19/calling-for-cfp%c2%ae-fiduciary-status-real-education-and-higher-duty/#comment-4136

Health Insurance Companies

In the last-generation of health insurance companies and related fraternal medical organizations, patients exercised great control over physician selection, had quicker access to specialists and encountered fewer restrictions on care. The reverse was true with financial services. But, because of advancing technology, aging demographics, intense R&D, global manufacturing, and escalating domestic HR costs – competitive market forces against traditional and structured staff model managed care companies – many industry analysts [like us] predicted growth would decline [Yes, greed was also involved as healthcare was presumed a recession-proof sector; and didn’t we all own behemoth big-pharma and HMO stocks in our 401-K, and 403-B plans]? But now, many former stock-brokers and FAs are going rogue; er – independent!

“Although inefficiencies in any business often open up in the short term, and can be greatly exploited by creative and visionary entrepreneurs – as in most business structures – market forces will prevail in the long run”.

Leo F. Mullin, MBA

[Former CEO – Delta Airlines]Shadows

Next-Gen with “Fly”

Fortunately, a new generation of enlightened physician and FA entrepreneurs is coming “out-of-the-shadows” as new-wave web 2.0 corporations and RIAs are becoming more flexible, competitive and market responsive. Simultaneously, monolithic and collectivist political ideas keep trying to regulate the medical and financial services workplace with rules, regulations and contracts to control entire populations. Yet, in the new healthcare economy, this new generation of doctors and FAs with “fly,” is headed toward more competition; not less – with more collaboration with patients and clients – regaining self autonomy.

Physician and FA Advocates

Meanwhile, as medical professionals, FAs and patient advocates, we must all choose between staying flexible to ride out tough times – or – adopting a hard, brittle line that will crack under the pressure of competition. We know where we stand at the ME-P, do you?

Flexibility and Virtual Reality

In recent years, many large corporations and top-down business models were not market responsive and change was not inherent in their DNA. These traditional organizations represented a rigid or “used-to-be” mentality, not a flexible or “wanna-be” mindset; according to business columnist Alan Webber. Some financial advisory corporations, and today’s emerging health 2.0 initiatives, may possess the market nimbleness that cannot be recreated in a controlled or collectivist [nationalistic] environment. And so, going forward, it is not difficult to imagine the following new rules for the new financial and virtual medical ecosystem.

[A] Rule No. 1

Forget about “SEC suitability and FINRA rules”, large office suites, surgery centers, fancy equipment, larger hospitals and the bricks and mortar that comprised traditional medical practices or financial product delivery systems. One doctor or niche focused FA with a great idea, good bedside manners or competitive advantage, can outfox a slew of public servants, the AMA, SEC, ADA or FINRA “faux copy-cat examiners”, while still serving the public – and patients – and making money. It’s now a unit-of-one economy where “Me Inc.”, is the standard. Physicians and FAs must maneuver for advantages that boost their standing and credibility among patients, peers, payers, customers and clients. Examples include patient satisfaction surveys; outcomes research analysis, evidence-based-medicine, physician economics credentialing and true integrated fiduciary-focused financial planning.

However, we should also realize the power of networking, vertical integration and the establishment of virtual RIAs or medical practices, which come together to treat a patient, or help a client, and then disband when a successful outcome is achieved. Job security is earned with more successful outcomes; not necessarily a degree, automatic AUMs, certifications or onsite presence. In fact, some competition experts, like Shirley Svorny PhD, a professor of economics and chair of the Department of Economics at California State University, wonder if a medical degree is a barrier – rather than enabler – of affordable healthcare.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/medical-licensing-obstacle-to-affordable-quality-care

Others even presume the establishment of virtual medical schools and hospitals, where students and doctors learn and practice their art on cyber-entities that look and feel like real patients, but are generated electronically through the wonders of virtual reality units. The same can be said for the financial services industry, although much farther down-line given its current slow rate of real education and quasi-professional acceptance.

[B] Rule No. 2

Challenge conventional wisdom, think outside the traditional box, recapture your dreams and ambitions, disregard conventional gurus and work harder than you have ever worked before. Remember the old saying, “if everyone is thinking alike, then nobody is thinking”. Do collective-nistas and nationalized healthcare advocates react rationally; or irrationally? [THINK: Wall Street, medical unions]

[C] Rule No 3

Differentiate yourself among your healthcare and financial advisory peers. Do or learn something new and unknown by your competitors. Market your accomplishments and let the world know. Be a non-conformist. Conformity is an operational standard and a straitjacket on creativity. Doctors and FAs should create and innovate, not blindly follow organization or political “union” leaders [shop stewards, BDs, etc] into oblivion.

[D] Rule No 4

Realize that the present situation is not necessarily the future. Attempt to see the future and discern your place in it. Master the art of the quick change with fast but informed decision making. Do what you love, disregard what you don’t, and let the fates have their way with you. Then, decide for yourself if you are of this ilk – and adhere to any of the above rules? Or, just become an employed [government, BD] doctor or FA shill. Just remember that the political party, or monopoly that can give you a job, can also take it away [THINK: LB, ML, Wachovia, national healthcare, etc].

CP 1

Memorial Day Considerations

Finally, on this Memorial Day weekend, consider that life and career is a journey, and that in this country we have the choice to ponder or pursue any, and all of the above options, and more. We have the ability to think, cogitate and ruminate, as we have done here today. So – please – thank those who have helped turn this idealistic philosophy, into pragmatic daily reality.

For us personally, we thank Bonze Star Medal Winner Captain Cecelia T. Perez, RN. Now – ponder and consider – who do you thank? If no one has impacted you up-close on this Memorial Day weekend and national holiday, please visit our military channel to reflect, comment and opine.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/category/military-medicine

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Financial Advisory Reform Going Down in Flames

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

A [False] Hobson’s Choice*

By Staff Reporters

In political Washington DC, according to Ian Salisbury, almost anything will fly if you can make an argument it will benefit the middle class. It worked in the fight against requiring advisors to act in clients’ best interests … Say what?

Is this the case of a classic Hobson’s choice?

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The Strategy

Yep, its true! At least, this strategy worked for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors [NAIFA], which fought a recent proposal that would have made all financial advisors act in clients’ best interests … you know – the “F” word.

Assessment

It seems that there are few protections for the public from unscrupulous FAs, stockbrokers, and insurance agents. And, few wish to become fiduciaries.

http://www.fa-mag.com/online-extras/5406-a-phony-argument.html

*A Hobson’s choice is a free, usually economic, choice in which only one option is offered.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Please visit: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

As former certified financial planner, insurance agent, stockbroker, surgeon and this ME-P publisher Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA, CMP™ has always opined to physician colleagues: it is “buyer-beware” out there!

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Modern Retirement Planning and “Banding” for Physicians

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

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The “AgeBander” Approach Presents a More Accurate Portrayal

[By Somnath Basu, PhD, MBA]

A convergence of mega-trends will forever change the face of retirement planning and raise its importance in the pantheon of physician retirement planning and most all employee benefits. Chief among them: longer life expectancy, advances in medicine, healthier lifestyles and mounting concern about years of abysmally low savings rates.

What it all Means in Practical Terms

What this means in practical terms for future retired physicians and most all retirees is the need for employers, service providers and financial advisers [FAs] to plot a more accurate and thoughtful course to planning for retirement that acknowledges the necessity of pursuing an “age-banded” approach. The idea behind this new approach is that individuals undergo various changes in lifestyles during retirement that last for finite or “age-banded”, periods.

Example:

For example, doctors like most people spend more time and money on leisurely activities early on in retirement, while health care needs dominate the latter years. Further, the costs associated with these lifestyles also change at differential inflation rates than from the basic inflation rate. While the basic inflation rate is about 3%, the U.S. Census Bureau noted that annual recreation costs increased at 7.14% though most of the 1990s. Health care costs also increased by much higher rates than the basic rate. Since the traditional model bundles all costs (including leisure, health care, basic living, etc) and extrapolates at the basic rate, it tends to underestimate retirement expenses. The traditional model’s “static” approach to retirement can have dangerous implications since it may lead to under-funded retirement plans, especially those earmarked for the critical years.

A Flawed Model?

In a research paper published by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, I detailed the reasons why an age-banded approach is superior to the traditional view of retirement planning. This new model provides for a more accurate portrayal of retirement expenses and an algorithm to calculate the income-replacement ratio, as well as smaller resource requirements and greater flexibility in managing risk. It also allows easier incorporation of long-term care insurance (LTCI) and significantly reduces funding needs. Indeed, the funding needs of a husband and wife who are both age 60 and presumably five years away from retirement are reduced by more than 16% and contributions for a 35-year-old single woman are reduced by 42% compared with previous approaches.

Traditional Retirement Planning Weaknesses

There are five inherent weaknesses to the traditional approach to retirement planning. They include the assumption that all living expenses will increase at the overall rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), bundling all expenses together and not allowing them to change based on the life-cycle, estimating those expenses as a fixed percentage (replacement ratio) of pre-retirement costs, investing in low-return assets and failing to consider contingencies such as LTCI benefits, which can have a significant impact on the amount of funding required for retirement.

Financial Advisory Estimates

When financial planners estimate how much income a client needs in retirement, the calculation hinges on their income just prior to retirement. The pre-retirement income is adjusted downward by 10% to 35%. This adjustment reflects the income necessary to maintain one’s standard of living and incorporates reductions in taxes and other work-related expenses that cease upon retirement. Unfortunately, there’s no objective way to estimate the replacement ratio. Aggressive financial planners typically use large ratios and conservative planners use smaller ones.

30-year Retirement Window

Under the age-banded model, an individual typically lives about 30 years in retirement (e.g., age 65 to 95) and experiences a lifestyle change every 10 years at 65, 75 and 85. Of course, both the retirement period and the width of the age bands are arbitrary but can be subjectively changed to fit each retiree as closely as possible. In addition, a number of steps are taken to produce a clearer picture of retirement costs by categorizing them based on taxes, living expenses, health care and leisure, as well as calculating anticipated expenses using the appropriate rate of inflation for each category, which is adjusted to reflect post-retirement lifestyle changes.

Those expenses are extrapolated through 30 years of retirement and the present value of post-retirement expenses are calculated at an amount deemed sufficient to finance the three following decade (each age band). Instead of discounting these values to the year of retirement (the traditional model), the age banding considers them to be three retirement portfolios that require funding.

Since the portfolio required to fund the expenses during the years 86 to 95 is 20 years behind the first band (66 to 75), investors can seek marginally higher rates of return to reflect the longer terms. Contributions toward these amounts can now be calculated.

Example:

For example, the couple mentioned earlier is able to seek higher rates of return for longer-term investment portfolios which more than mitigate the effects of escalating health care costs. In the case  of the 35-year-old single woman, since the funds required for these three portfolios are 30, 40 and 50 years away she should be willing to take on more risk since she has ample time to manage the portfolio risk.

The expenses for the age-banded method become considerably higher at the latter stages of retirement as compared to the traditional model. This is desirable since the over-funding is associated with an age at which one cannot afford to be out of funds. The higher estimate of the age band comes from higher inflation rates for health care and the incorporation of lifestyle changes that imply accelerated costs such as increased leisure spending upon retirement and higher health care costs in the latter years.

Thus, these higher costs are not only more realistic but they incorporate the dynamics of a retired life, unlike the traditional model. Incredible as it might seem, the ability to assume a marginally higher risk leads to an actual decrease in the funding requirements versus the traditional plan.

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Assessment

One caveat that doctors need to know, and that financial planners will need to keep in mind, is that their clients may be reticent to buy equities when markets are underperforming. Clear explanations are required regarding why it may still be beneficial for the long run and that the risk will be managed on an ongoing basis. But, the results will be well worth the effort for the multiple stakeholders involved in assuring that tomorrow’s retirees are able to live more comfortable after their working years. It’s a small price to pay for the peace of mind associated with knowing retirement expenses will be portrayed more accurately and plan participants will be afforded greater flexibility in managing their risk.

Table [Comparison of growth in retirement expenses]

Link: Age-Banded Retirement Planning FINAL[1]

Editor’s Note: Somnath Basu PhD is program director of the California Institute of Finance in the School of Business at California Lutheran University where he’s also a professor of finance. He can be reached at (805) 493 3980 or basu@callutheran.edu. See the agebander at work at www.agebander.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Financial advisors please chime in on the debate? Is Basu correct; why or why not? Review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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About the Covestor Mutual Fund Portfolio Sharing Service

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

Certified Medical Planner

What it is – How it works

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

Covestor, with offices in New York and London, is a web platform started by entrepreneurs Perry Blancher, Richard Tachta and Simon Veingard http://www.covestor.com. Their belief was that salaried mutual fund managers have no monopoly on investment talent and shouldn’t have a lock on the rewards that come with investment success. As financial services, and online netizens, they also believed in democratizing the investment management industry and helping proven self-investors compete with the large institutions. This is known as the power of “crowd-sourcing.” All core philosophies seem to be shared by this ME-P.

What it is

According to their website, Covestor is both a portfolio sharing service for proven self-investors and for those wishing to track them; where data is private, secure and anonymous. With Covestor, one can coat-tail successful investors and follow their real trade activity. Or, have their moves auto-traded for you by Covestor Investment Management. Members can also keep track of their investments andBuild a free track record comparable to professional mutual funds. Members earn fees for their hard work, and Manage a model that their clients can mirror thru shared management fees.

Profit Sharing Investors

Covestor investors sharing portfolios include professionals, full time amateurs and industry specialists. They are a serious bunch with an average reported portfolio size of over $200,000 (excluding cash). Positions are typically held in over 5,000 different equities; are based in 50 countries and span the full range of ages, backgrounds and styles.

Issues

As a doctor-investor, health economist and former certified financial planner, there are at least three issues needed to be raised about this firm.

The first is SEC/NASD/FINRA rules and applicable SRO and state regulations for brokers, RIAs, FAs and related others? The status of suitability versus fiduciary accountability for ERISA regulated plans is also questioned. The third [and least important] is the potential negative impact on traditional financial services “professionals.”

In other words, is this another example of how technology will flatten the “intermediary curve” and reduce the profit of middle sales-men and sales-women? Oh! What about medical specificity for our target audience?

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Assessment

I am sure there are other issues as well. Your thoughts and comments on this ME-Pare appreciated; especially from financial services “professionals”, lawyers and FAs, etc, Give em’ a click and tell us what you think http://www.covestor.com?

Conclusion

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New Regulations Needed For Financial Planners?

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

So Says New Coalition

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

The Financial Planning Coalition [FPC] is pushing for a law that would require anyone calling themselves a financial planner to meet certain ethical and educational standards and to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC].

About the FPC

According to its’ website, the Financial Planning Coalition is a collaboration of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board), the Financial Planning Association® (FPA), and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) to advise legislators and regulators on how to best protect consumers by ensuring financial planning services are delivered with fiduciary accountability and transparency. Americans have grown leery of those who work in financial services.

Currently, financial planning (the process of advising individuals and families across a range of personal finance topics in addition to investment advice) is unregulated as a profession, resulting in major gaps in current laws. So, is it really a “profession” many ask – void of any significant barrier to entry?

The Financial Planning Coalition intends to work with Congress to produce legislation that puts the interests of clients first and enables consumers to identify a trusted financial adviser.

To learn more about the Financial Planning Coalition’s purpose and mission, click here to read, or download the Statement of Understanding [PDF].

SEC Wrong Oversight Agency?

According to this report in Financial Advisor magazine, an advertiser-driven trade journal:

the standards would be set by a public oversight board that would be funded by small registration fees paid by the financial planners, said Robert Glovsky, chair of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards during a conference call today. The CFP Board, as well as the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors makes up the coalition.

Exemptions

However, brokers and insurance agents would not be forced to register as financial planners, but those who held themselves out as financial planners would have to meet the required minimum competency and ethics standards or stop using the financial planner title.

Assessment

And so, as we have noted, written, preached and warned for more than a decade – anyone can call themselves a financial planner, or financial advisor; so beware medical colleagues.

More: http://www.fa-mag.com/fa-news/5314-new-regs-needed-for-financial-planners-coalition-says.html

NOTE: The fiduciary definitional standard conundrum was not even addressed in the article or by the committee, as far as I know. Moreover, note that SEC oversight was in place before, during and now after the Bernie Madoff scandal – so enough said about competency! www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. What do you think FAs, and CFPs®? Should all become an RIA or ERISA styled fiduciary? Or, will this be another CFP® lite fiasco?

Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Disclaimer: I am a former certified financial planner and CEO of the online www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com program for fiduciary advisors working in the healthcare space.

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Tax Planning Strategies for Physicians in 2010-11

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

Ten Ways to Lower your Taxes

By Sean G. Todd, Esq., M. Tax, CFP®, CPA

1. Buy a home

You can take advantage of a buyer’s real estate market and buy a home at prices not seen for years. We are seeing prices discounted from 10-30%. First time buyers – doctors and other individuals – who haven’t owned a residence in the last three years – can claim up to the $8,000 tax credit. Current homeowners who’ve lived in their residence for five of the eight years before buying can get up to $6,500. Remember a tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your tax liability. Taxpayers love tax credits. You must have a contract in place by April 30, 2010, and the deal closed by June 30th to qualify for this outstanding credit.

2. Avoid the Making Work Pay trap 

This is an accounting trick … timing. This tax break was designed to put more money in consumer hands quicker (by under-withholding), but if you work two jobs it may have a tax bite. If you work more than one medical job, check with a tax advisor, or the payroll department at your office to make sure your W-4 is filled out properly at each job.

3. Make a Roth Conversion

The $100,000 income limit has been eliminated in 2010. Now, anyone can now convert a traditional IRA to a Roth retirement account. But, review the numbers.  Everyone’s situation is unique and making the conversion may not be a smart financial decision. But, note that you will have to pay taxes on the previously untaxed amounts in your traditional IRA that you convert. The good news is you can choose to pay half the conversion costs on your 2011 taxes and the other half in 2012.  Beware, making the conversion might push you into the next tax bracket and could cause some deductions to be lost—so you have to run the numbers.

4. Gain tax benefits from improving your home’s energy efficiency

You might be eligible for more tax credits based on your improvements to the principal residence. Making such improvements might just make your home a bit more-cozy. Homeowners can claim up to 30 percent of the first $5,000 spent on qualifying residential energy upgrades, or up to $1,500 in tax credits. A solar home heating system can get you even bigger tax credits.  We are uncertain if these credits will be extended so if you need to make home repairs, consider energy-efficient upgrades now.

5. Buy a hybrid car now…but not just any hybrid

The hybrid credit is set to expire in 2010. The credit remains good only with manufacturers that have not sold 60,000 eligible cars. So shop carefully to make sure the hybrid you are looking at qualifies.  Be sure to get the salesman’s representation that this vehicle qualifies and the manufacturer has sold less than the above amount to qualify.

6. See an Estate Tax Professional

Right now–everyone is trying to figure this area out. Since Congress has really messed this area up by the lack of clarity and with our deficit spending, you can expect that money hungry legislators will want to reclaim more of your money they don’t deserve. Ask a licensed Tax Attorney or CPA to help you arrange your affairs to make sure you and your heirs do not give the IRS more than necessary.

7. You must take your Required Minimum Distributions for your retirement accounts

Many doctors utilize tax-deferred savings plans such as traditional IRAs or workplace 401(k)s or 403(b)s to save for retirement. Now, the IRS is again telling us you have to start taking money out of these accounts via required minimum distributions, or RMDs, once you turn 70 1/2.  You were given a reprieve in 2009 from taking RMDs.

8. Plan for rising income tax rates

By law, the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of 2010. Tax rates go up for higher income earners and the 10 percent rate is eliminated for lower earners. One can only speculate what Congress will do in the light of trillion dollar deficits, but keep an eye out and plan accordingly. Be proactive and not reactive. Do not be afraid to call your Senators and Congressperson and let them know how you feel about tax hikes.

9. Act now to take capital gains at lower rates

George W. Bush’s tax cuts included reductions in capital gains tax rates based on taxpayer adjusted gross income. Right now the highest rate is 15 percent for individuals in the 25 percent to 35 percent tax brackets.  Taxpayers in the 10 percent and 15 percent tax brackets pay no capital gains tax at all. Current law says this is scheduled to change in 2011.The top rate will return to 20 percent; the zero rate will revert to 10 percent. And with this administration and the party controlling Congress, this could get worse. Here is the wildcard: there is no guarantee they won’t make retroactive changes, either.

10. Watch out for health care changes

In light of the Massachusetts special election going to a Republican, health care changes could jump off the fast track; but nevertheless there could be ramifications for you tax wise if something does finally pass. Keep your eye on this and stay out from under the surgeon’s knife on this one!

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Assessment

There is nothing like a good tax advisor, and it pays to be as informed as possible.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. What was missed? Fee free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too! Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Dr. Somnath Basu on Investing

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Dr. Marcinko

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He Writes for the Medical Executive-Post

By Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive-Director]

Dr. Somnath Basu is no stranger to the ME-P, or the financial planning community. He is a Professor of Finance at California Lutheran University and the Director of its California Institute of Finance.

Academic Background

Dr Basu earned his BA in Economics, University of Delhi, MBA (Finance), Marquette University and a PhD (Finance), University of Arizona. He is well published and is an award winning teacher. He has significant consulting experience with US Fortune 100 companies, advising institutional money managers and in developing proprietary finance and planning software. He serves on various Boards and committees including the CFP (chaired the Model Curriculum Revision Committee) Board of Standards and the Financial Planning Association.

Basu’s New Book

His new book, co-authored with Professors’ Block and Hirt, Investment Planning for Financial Professionals is available now, published by McGraw Hill, in May 2006.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Investment-Planning-Geoffrey-Hirt/dp/0071437215/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265918999&sr=1-1

Additional essays by Dr. Basu can be viewed at: http://blog.fpaforfinancialplanning.org/author/somnathbasufpa/

He also writers a column for the Journal of Financial Services Professionals. He can be reached at:

Contact Dr. Somnath Basu
Director – California Institute of Finance
Cell: 805 405 4448
Work: 805 493 3980
http://www.clunet.edu/cif

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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When to Change Portfolio Managers

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Some Considerations for Medical Professionalsfp-book

By Clifton N. McIntire, Jr.; CIMA, CFP®

By Lisa Ellen McIntire; CIMA, CFP®

Sometimes even the best made physician financial plans just don’t work out. And, despite extensive time and energy spent on due diligence before hiring an investment or portfolio manager, it becomes evident that you must change managers.

Some Thoughts for Doctors

Here are a few thoughts when considering a portfolio manager change:

  • You should have initially hired the manager with a long-term relationship in mind. Realizing that styles go in and out of favor, we were not simply buying last quarter’s best numbers; in 2009.
  • Market statistics often mask “real” performance of money managers, both good and bad. The S&P 500’s 2007 performance can be attributed to a few very large companies.
  • Generally, a full market cycle would be required to assess money manager performance. Having said that, what could happen that would warrant changing managers? Here is a brief list:
  1. Style Drift: You have a growth manager and when growth stocks turn down, you begin to see the purchase of “value” stocks.
  2. Not Sticking to Previously Established Disciplines: If the process is to sell if the price declines 20 percent down from the original buy range and now they are holding because, “This time, it is different.”
  3. Personnel Changes: New analysts are hired with a different philosophy. Recent transactions seem 180 degrees off course.
  4. Principals Leave: Like professional sports figures, good money managers are in demand and sometimes change firms. The replacement may be a 29-year-old MBA with little experience.
  5. The Firm is Sold: This may be good new if it broadens ownership and helps retain good people.  Look for long-term incentive driven “staying” bonus plans.
  6. Loss of Major Accounts: Reduced revenues may force cut backs in personnel and services. Attention may shift from portfolio management to marketing.

Assessment

Finally, sometimes it is just not working. Misjudgments in asset allocation and poor stock selection over a reasonable period of time can be reason enough to change managers.

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Conclusion

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When Investing or Stock Trading Is No Longer Fun

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Understanding Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior

By: Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™

By: Dr. Eugene Schmuckler; MBA, CTS

By: Dr. Kenneth H. Shubin-Stein, CFA

By: Richard B. Wagner; JD, CFP®fp-book1

An obsession is a persistent, recurring preoccupation with an idea or thought. A compulsion is an impulse that is experienced as irresistible. Obsessive-compulsive individuals feel compelled to think thoughts that they say they do not want to think or to carry out actions that they say are against their will. These individuals usually realize that their behavior is irrational, but it is beyond their control. In general, these individuals are preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.

Specifically, behaviors such as the following may be seen:

  • Preoccupation with details.
  • Perfectionism that interferes with task completion.
  • Excessive devotion to work and office productivity.
  • Scrupulous and inflexible about morality (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification).
  • Inability to discard worn-out or worthless objects without sentimental value.
  • Reluctance to delegate tasks or to work with others.
  • Adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others.
  • Demonstrates a rigid, inflexible and stubborn nature.

Most people resort to some minor obsessive-compulsive patterns under severe pressure or when trying to achieve goals that they consider critically important. In fact, many individuals refer to this as superstitious behavior. The study habits required for medical students entail a good deal of compulsive behavior.

Related Addictions

As the above examples suggest, there are a variety of addictions possible. Recent news accounts have pointed out that even high-level governmental officials can experience sex addiction. The advent of the Internet has led to what is referred to as Internet addiction where an individual is transfixed to the computer working for hours on end without a specific project in mind. The simple act of “surfing” offers the person afflicted with the addiction some degree of satisfaction.

The Gambler

Still another form of addictive behavior is that of the compulsive gambler. This is the behavior of an individual who is unable to resist the impulse to gamble. Many reasons have been posited for this type of behavior including the death instinct; a need to lose; a wish to repeat a big win; identification with adults the “gambler” knew as an adolescent; and a desire for action and excitement. There are other explanations offered for this form of compulsive behavior. The act of betting allows the individual to express an immature bravery, courage, manliness, and persistence against unfavorable odds. By actually using money and challenging reality, he puts himself into “action” and intense emotion. By means of gambling, the addicted individual is able to pretend that he is favored by “lady luck,” specially chosen, successful, able to beat the system and escape from feelings of discontent.

Just Plain Greed

Greed is another reason. In fact, a 1987 poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune revealed that people who earned less than $30,000 a year, said that $50,000 would fulfill their dreams, whereas those with yearly incomes of over $100,000 said they would need $250,000 to be satisfied. More recent studies confirm that goals keep getting pushed upward as soon as a lower level is reached. Now, consider Bernie Madoff, and the recent sub-prime mortgage debt fiasco in this light?

Compulsive Doctors

Edward Looney, executive director of the Trenton, New Jersey based Council on Compulsive Gambling (CCG) reports that the number of individuals calling with trading-associated problems is doubling annually. In the mid 1980s, when the council was formed, the number of people calling the council’s hotline (1 – 800 Gambler) with stock-market gambling problems was approximately 1.5 percent of all calls received. In 1998 that number grew to 3 percent and it is projected to rise to 7-8 percent by 2005. Dr. Robert Custer, an expert on compulsive gambling reported, that stock market gamblers represent over 20 percent of the gamblers that he has diagnosed. It is evident that on-line trading presents a tremendous risk to the speculator. The CCG describes some of the consequences:

  • Dr. Fred B. is a 43-year-old Caucasian male physician with a salary above $100,000 and in debt for more than $100,000. He is married with two children. He was a day trader.
  • Michael Q. is a 28-year-old Caucasian male registered nurse. He is married and the father of one (7 month old) child. He earns $65,000 and lost $40,000 savings in day trading and is in debt for $25,000. He has suicidal ideation.

Assessment

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Question: So how much money is enough?

Answer: Just a little bit more.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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First Annual iMBA, Inc Educational Cruise

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Meet, Greet, Lunch and Learn from the Experts

By Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive-Director]

CruiseSome time ago, a CPA, CFP® and fellow Certified Medical Planner™ suggested that we hold annual meetings, or education seminars, for all our colleagues. As a nascent organization at the time, this was considered a “pipe dream.” But, it may now become a reality depending on your response. All interested stakeholders are invited. 

 

The Cruise

Currently, we are soliciting interest in a – Princess – Caribbean cruise [Southern] for 2010. This would afford us the opportunity to meet  you on both a formal or informal basis. Educational and other activities would then be scheduled,  as-needed or requested. Departure from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. All info subject to change without notice, at this time.

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.comcmp-logo

For example, activities could be arranged for CMP™ program credits in health economics and medical management; or simply on an ad-hoc [audit] informational basis. We will also attempt to individualize and accommodate personal situations and professional needs. 

Seeking Interest and Input

And so, your thoughts, ideas and comments on this Medical Executive-Post cruise idea and opportunity are appreciated. Please email me your ideas; or contact us for more information with details. Serious inquiries only:

MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

And, feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Seeking Sponsors

Ship Solstice

We are also seeking sponsors for this cruise, and other iMBA corporate engagements.

https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/support-the-executive-post

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Our Recent Experience with CFP® Mark Utility

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

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Certification Falling from Grace – Deserved or Not?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief] dem21 

The Premise

In the summer [2008], we sent a random email blast to the first 200 Certified Financial Planners® on our list-serve. These were folks who had previously contacted us, and/or purchased our textbooks, handbooks, tools and/or dictionaries that assist accountants, financial advisors, attorneys, medical management consultants and all those working to assist physicians and medical professionals on business and economics matters.

The “Straw-Poll” Query

Our email blast asked the simple question:

“Did you ever voluntarily resign your license to use the CFP® mark?”

First Round Results

We received four positive responses [2%]. We then followed up to learn that 2 of the 4 were CPAs, one was a CFA and another was an MBA. Now, what do these results signify – probably nothing – or maybe an emerging trend?

Repeat

So, last summer [2009], after the continuing Wall Street collapse, and the Somnath Basu PhD article on “CFP Trust” in Financial Advisor magazine and this blog, we sent out a follow-up email to the exact same 200 Certified Financial Planners® as before; but carved-out and replaced the 4 CFPs who had resigned the mark, with 4 others.

Link: I Jealously “Shake my Fist” at Somnath Basu PhD

This time we asked the question:

“Have you recently considered allowing your CFP mark to lapse; or resigning it?”

Second Round Results

This time we received exactly eight positive replies [4%] or double the number from the first round. One CFP® said:

“I am rethinking my entire business and marketing philosophy. This includes separation from any taint left over from recent industry scandals – and yes – even including my CFP® mark”

 CMP logo

http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

Assessment

This little experiment was not statistically significant by any means. And, again it probably is indicative of nothing. Yet, these types of questions must be boldly asked today; even if they were not even timidly asked yesterday.

Nevertheless, cited plausible reasons for the increased negative CFP® mark response may be:

 

  • CFP BoS lacks modernity and membership alliance. 
  • SEC mismanagement.
  • NASD/FINRA impotence.
  • Wall Street greed.
  • Lack of true fiduciary accountability.
  • Client anger and public distrust.
  • Advisor frustration at lost income.
  • College for Financial Planning and American College credibility.  
  • ME-P operations in the medical niche advisory space.
  • CFP® mark and related industry certification taint.
  • Alternative degrees and available designations.
  • Rise of RIAs and the fiduciary CMP™ mark for healthcare specificity.
  • Resigning [doing] and considering [thinking] are not equivalent;
  • etc, etc. 

It is interesting to note that no CFP® resigned their mark who did not hold either another graduate degree [MBA, MSFS, MA, MS, PhD], or more rigorous industry [CFA and CPA] certification.

Assessment 

So, is CFP mark allegiance just a union-like mentality of “united we stand – divided we fall”, by those with little to no gravitation pull of their own – or something else; ie., industry group think? You decide; and do tell us what you think.

Note: I am the founder of the CMP™ online education and certification program for financial advisors and consultants interested in the health economics, finance and medical practice management space, and a former [resigned] certified financial planner www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org 

Update 2013:

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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Why Most Financial Advisors Won’t be Fiduciaries

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Industry Groups Differ On Fiduciary Standard

By Staff ReportersBenjamin Bills

The House Financial Services Committee recently heard two takes on the fiduciary standard – investment advisors who want it applied to broker dealers – and broker-dealers who want to apply a universal standard of care to all advisors, including investment advisors.

Assessment

And so, we encourage all ME-P subscribers to read industry trade magazines [aka ”trade rags”] to learn how some financial advisors fleece physicians and other investors by not being fiduciaries; with sincere apologies to all honest and hard working fiduciary advisors.Become a CMP IOW: Follow the money.

Link: http://www.financialadvisormagazine.com/fa-news/4532-industry-groups-differ-on-fiduciary-standard-.html

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Channel Surfing

Have you visited our other topic channels? Established to facilitate idea exchange and link our community together, the value of these topics is dependent upon your input. Please take a minute to visit. And, to prevent that annoying spam, we ask that you register. 

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Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/advertise

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Off-Road Touring with Dr. Marcinko [Final Part 2009]

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Hello Everyone and Thank You!

By Ann Miller; RN, MHAOff Road Touring '09

To all of you who made it to one of our venues for an Off Road Tour segment with our Publisher Dr. David E. Marcinko, or to those who just read his posts, we wanted to thank you for your support and for supporting each other!

Our mission – is to bridge the gap between financial planning and medical practice management, and to serve as a networking resource for medical, managerial and financial advisory colleagues who possess the ethics and intellect to serve in a fiduciary capacity.

The Next Step

Ready for the next step? Just visit www.HealthcareFinancials.com and subscribe to the Journal of Financial Management Strategies, to create a roadmap to success for your healthcare organization.

Thanks with a Shout-Out

Finally; we give a hearty shout-out to www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com who made the book “signing and opining” tour possible. We are so proud of our partnership with an institute whose team learning approach creates such rich success for students, both in the virtual and real-world classroom and in their personal and professional lives www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Online Certified Medical Planner Program

Interested in becoming a Certified Medical Planner ™ or to learn about how your broker-dealer, advisory firm or company can build an educational partnership with us? Call me at 770.448.0769 (9am – 5pm EST).

Channel Surfing

Have you visited our other topic channels? Established to facilitate idea exchange and link our community together, the value of these topics is dependent upon your input. Please take a minute to visit. And, to prevent that annoying spam, we ask that you register. 

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Assessment

Thanks so much for your interest in our Summer 2009 tour, and the ME-P. We hope it, and all our books, texts, dictionaries, products and educational formats serve you well!

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Subscribe Now: Did you like this Medical Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest ME-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.

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Sponsors Welcomed

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Understanding Expenses and Investment Portfolio Performance

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

A Direct Relationship

By Clifton N. McIntire, Jr.; CIMA, CFP®

By Lisa Ellen McIntire; CIMA, CFP®fp-book

Expenses can play an important role in portfolio performance. You don’t hear much about expense ratios in an up market, like early 2007. If your account was up +28 percent, whether the expense was 3 percent or 1 percent doesn’t seem to make much difference. But, let the market decline, like it did later on in October 2007 and we change our perspective. A 10 percent portfolio decline plus charges of 3 percent equals a 13 percent decline. Now we need a 15 percent increase net of fees just to get even.

The Four Cost Horsemen

Basically you have four cost areas:

  1. Custody—someone must hold the stocks and bonds, collect dividends and interest, prepare tax information for the government, issue monthly statements, and send checks.
  2. Commissions—orders must be executed, transfer securities into and out of your account, trades settled.
  3. Investment Decisions—the money manager must be paid.
  4. Monitoring Performance and Advice—usually an investment management analyst is engaged to provide this service; as well as write the investment policy statement and prepare the asset allocation study.

Portfolio Size

Naturally, size makes a difference. For a doctor’s stock account with a $200,000 total value, all of the above can be accomplished for annual fees between 2.00 and 3.00 percent. An account with $1,500,000 in total assets part bonds and part stocks would pay annual fees between 1.25 and 1.75 percent depending on the ratio of stocks and bonds. These are annual fees and are all-inclusive. Commissions, portfolio management fees, and statements check charges are all included. One quarter of the annual fee is charged every three months. Family related accounts are generally grouped for a quantity fee discount.

Assessment

Some financial consultants prefer to use mutual funds with smaller accounts. A charge of 1 percent per year for their service with a stated minimal fee is common practice. This does not include fees deducted from the account by the mutual fund (anywhere from .50 to 2.50 percent) or commissions paid by the fund managers for trade executions. 

Morningstar Report: Morningstar Expense Ratio Results

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. How much do you pay for this service? Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Introducing Somnath Basu; PhD MBA

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Our Newest ME-P Thought-Leader in Finance and Economics

By Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive Director]Dr. Basu

Dr. Somnath Basu is a Professor of Finance at California Lutheran University and the Director of its California Institute of Finance. Dr. Basu is also a Professor of the Helsinki School of Economics Executive MBA Program. He earned his BA in Economics, University of Delhi, MBA (Finance), Marquette University and a PhD (Finance), University of Arizona.

Publications and Experience

Dr. Basu is extensively published in the field of investments and financial planning and is an award winning teacher. He has significant consulting experience with US Fortune 100 companies, advising institutional money managers and in developing proprietary personal investment software. Dr. Basu is actively involved with financial planning organizations including the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), the CFP Board of Standards, International CFP Board and the Financial Planning Association. He coauthored the book (with Block and Hirt), “Investment Planning for Financial Professionals” McGraw Hill, May 2006 which is widely used by financial planning programs nationwide. 

AssessmentCLU

To regular our ME-P readers, Dr. Basu’s opinions are well known and not without controversy. But, whether you agree with him or not, his commitment to the industry and his economics and financial planning students is solid. And, always adhering to the Socratic dialog tradition of candor intelligence and goodwill.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/04/09/i-jealously-shake-my-fist-at-somnath-basu/

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/dr-somnath-basu-replies-to-the-cfp%c2%ae-mis-trust-controversy/ 

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Pleas give Somnath a warm ME-P welcome and electronic “shout-out”. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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ME-P Thought-Leader [MD] in the News

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Brian J. Knabe MD of Savant Capital Management

By Max Alexander

Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2245 Brian J. Knabe MD

Lots of doctors get burnt out dealing with the business end of medicine. But Brian Knabe, a family practice physician in Rockford, Ill., had such a passion for crunching numbers that he became a financial planner.

Knabe, 42 years old, still sees patient’s two half-days a week. He also teaches residents for another half-day at the University of Illinois – College of Medicine.

Most of the week, he’s a certified financial planner with Savant Capital Management.

“I hear all the jokes,” says Knabe, “the most popular being some version of, ‘Hey I guess my portfolio’s doing so badly, they had to bring in the doctor.'”

When the laughter dies down – it doesn’t take long – people often ask what motivated him to transition from medicine into finance.

His short answer is what you’d expect from a wealth adviser: “I wanted to diversify my career.”

The long answer includes a lifelong passion for math that runs in the family. Knabe’s father and brother are both engineers, and the doctor himself majored in bioengineering at Marquette University. “In college, I loved calculus, statistics and differential equations,” he says.

Growing up in Rockford, his best friend was Brent Brodeski, a partner at Savant, and Knabe had been a client of the firm since 1995. “For years, I joked with Brian, ‘If you ever get bored with medicine, you can join us,'” says Brodeski. “Three years ago he called and said, ‘I’ll take you up on that.’ I was floored.”

Knabe wasn’t bored with medicine. “I love taking care of patients, and the intellectual stimulation of the field,” he says. “So I told the partners at Savant that I would only do this if they allowed me to continue practicing medicine part-time.” Meanwhile, he went back to Marquette and got his CFP credentials.

About half of Knabe’s financial clients are doctors, who appreciate his insider’s knowledge of their work and financial issues. Both fields involve privacy and trust, he notes, and both involve planning for the future. They also involve an element of uncertainty.

Sometimes his advice is specifically health-related.

“One client I was working with was a couple where the husband had a terminal illness,” recalls Knabe. “I worked closely with the family in planning living will issues and durable power of attorney for health care. I’ve helped other clients wade through health insurance and disability issues.”

Yes, financial clients do sometimes ask him for medical advice, but he stops them before they can unbutton their shirt.

“If they have a problem and need a diagnosis, I’ll tell them where to go to get a second opinion,” he says.

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/BT-CO-20090914-711325-kIyVDAtMEM5TzEtNDIxMDQwWj.html 

Managing Editor’s Note:Become a CMP

Dr. Knabe is also enrolled in the www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com program in health economics and medical practice management for financial advisors and healthcare consultants.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Do Financial Advisors Add Value to Retail Portfolios?

Posted on September 13, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Some Consultants Emphatically Say … No!

By Staff Reportersfp-book1

Nope! So says Andre’ Cappon, Guy Manual, Stephan Mignot and Seth Varnhagen of the CBM Group, Inc; a consulting firm in Manhattan, New York. In fact, while writing in Registered Rep – a trade magazine for FAs in September 2009 – they estimate that long-term real (adjusted for inflation), actual (after taxes, fees and market timing) returns for the average retail investor, to be around 0 percent. That’s right; not the 8-12 percent usually attributed to long term investing trends.

Or; do you simply have the wrong type of Financial Advisor [FA]?

Visit: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com Do you need a fiduciary advisor? Who really knows for sure?

About the CBM Group

Founded in 1992, the CBM Group is a general management consulting firm specialized in the financial services industry. Their goal is to help leading financial institutions, and their financial advisors, create and sustain the competitive advantages necessary to thrive in the global marketplace.

Link: www.theCBMGroup.com

Assessment

Despite the math, and numerics like Ibbotson charts showing impressive long-term gains, on average retail investors — like doctors, medical professionals and ME-P readers — have made very little actual return on their savings; according to CMB.

Link: http://registeredrep.com/advisorland/marketing_selling/0901-small-investment-return/index.html

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Does your FA add value to his/her fees of 1-3%; or are they a drag on your portfolio’s performance. Ever consider “doing it yourself”  like some medical institutions www.HealthcareFinancials.com 

Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

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VOTE: Poll on Rule 206(4) of the IAA of 1940?

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

 Please Vote

 

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Guest ME-P Bloggers Welcome

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Join Us!

By Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive Director]Lighthouse

Perhaps you have a great idea for a short article to promote the integration of personal financial planning and medical practice management, including expert posts, humorous stories or interesting news; but don’t want to maintain a blog? We have more than 50 topic channels to consider.

 

Contact me at MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com and be a guest blogger! 

Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

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What is a Zero-Based Budget?

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

A Most Cruel – but Needed – Endeavor

[By Staff Reporters]fp-book2

A zero-based budget means you start with the absolute essential expenses and then add-back expenses from there until you run out of money. This is an extremely effective, yet rigorous, exercise for most doctors and medical professionals; and can be used personally or at the office.

Triage and Prioritize

Your first personal financial item should be retirement plan contributions, then your mortgage and other debt payments, and then other required fixed expenses. From the office perspective, the first budget item should be salary expenses for both you and your staff. Operating assets and other big ticket items come next, followed by the more significant items on your net income statement. Some doctors even review their P&L statements quarterly, line by line, in an effort to reduce expenses. Then, you add discretionary personal or business expenses that you have some control over.

More Month than Money

Now, do you run out of money before you reach the end of the month, quarter, or year? Then you better cut back on entertainment at home or that fancy new, but unproven piece of office or medical equipment. This sounds Draconian until you remind yourself that your choice is either (1) entertainment now but no money later or; (2) living a simpler lifestyle now as you invest so you’re able to enjoy yourself at retirement.

Assessment

When you were a young doctor, budgeting may have seemed a task needed far into the future; but at midlife, you are staring retirement right in the face.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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FINANCE: Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors
INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors

 

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Meet Brian J. Knabe MD CFP™ CMP™

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

A New ME-P Thought-Leader

By Ann Miller; RN, MHA

[Executive Director]Brian J. Knabe MD

Brian J Knabe MD is a financial advisor with Savant Capital Management www.SavantCapital.com. He uses his experience from the medical field in his work with clients, portfolio managers, physicians and other financial advisors to develop comprehensive planning, investment, and tax strategies for professionals.

Medical and Financial Background

Brian is a magna cum laude graduate of Marquette University with an honors degree in biomedical engineering. He earned his medical degree from the University Illinois College of Medicine. Brian also attended the University of Illinois for his family practice residency, where he served as chief resident. Brian is currently pursuing his Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation, and he recently passed the exam.

Certified Medical Planner™

Dr. Knabe is also matriculating in the online www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org [CMP™] charter-designation program for financial advisors and medical management consultants, from the Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc.

Personal Background

As if the above were not enough to keep him busy, Brian is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine with the University of Illinois. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association [AMA], and the Catholic Medical Association. Brian has also served as the vice president of membership for the Blackhawk Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Our Congratulations

And so, we trust all ME-P readers will give a congratulatory “shout-out” to Brian J. Knabe MD, our newest “thought-leader.” Read his position paper here:

Evidence Based Investing [A Scientific Framework for the Art of Investing]

Link: Evidence Based Investing[1][1]

We trust we will hear much more from him in the future.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Tell us what you think about the credentials of Dr. Knabe. Is this extreme education a new-wave of fiduciary focus for all financial advisors and planners in the healthcare space? Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Selecting Financial Advisors the Risky Way

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

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Physician Due Diligence is Important

[By Daniel B. Moisand; CFP®, and the ME-P Staff]Tall Shadows

While the merits of hiring the right financial advisor [FA] may be clear, hiring the wrong one can be devastating. Medical professionals still tend to have higher incomes and are an attractive target for most financial institutions and scam artists. This fear is a poor excuse for not getting the assistance necessary. Advice about who to engage for financial assistance comes from a hodge-podge of disjointed sources. This leads to good intentions and bad results. Take caution when using the following as sources of advice.

Relying on Family and Friends

By far more people seek financial advice from trusted family members and friends than any other source.  This is only natural. It is essential to trust that you are getting advice from a source that means well. It is also important that you get along well with your advisors. Hesitating to communicate with your advisor, even a great advisor, can cause problems even more problematic that getting bad advice from someone you like. While these sources have a good handle on the essential elements of trust and rapport, it is the competence of the advice that is most often the issue. The life and money experiences of those who are close to you certainly have value, but they are not necessarily relevant to your unique goals and circumstances. THINK: Bernie Madoff.

Media

A few years ago, the dominant media force in consumer oriented financial matters was the print media.  Magazines and newsletters proliferated with the bull market. More recently however, television has supplanted print even in the bear market. For example, a study now estimates that 80 percent of what the average American knows about current events comes from TV. Why wait three weeks for the next issue when you can get a commentary instantly on the television? There is nothing wrong with watching shows that cover the markets or subscribing to a consumer finance magazine. It is certainly a good idea to be informed. However, be wary of the quality and applicability of information put out by the media.

The Internet

It is easy to run across an ad for prescriptions drugs on television. Images prance across the screen followed by a litany of potential side effects and the obligatory, “Ask your doctor about”. With the expansion of the information superhighway, more and more companies are going direct to the consumer in some manner or another.

Financially speaking this information can be of great benefit but should also generate more concern. It is very easy to project a particular image via the web. The webmaster controls the interaction from what you see to what you hear. One of the results of this is that the Internet has already garnered a reputation as a breeding ground for new scams. More prevalent, however, is the presentation of information meant to be useful that is simply wrong, misinterpreted, or misapplied. The most terrifying source of misinformation on the net is the chat rooms. Here the entire interaction is clouded by anonymity. Some people enter chat rooms because there is a comfort in anonymity when asking a question. There is also a danger in an anonymous answer. When it comes to something as important as your finances or your health, the prudent course should be to take all the advice with a grain of salt. A great deal of consideration to the quality of the source is in order. It is also essential that one understand the level of accountability a source may possess.   fp-book2

Assessment

Much has been written on financial advisor selection, here on the ME-P and elsewhere; but little on how not to select an advisor. We trust this information will be of assistance to the medical professional in some small increment. Send in your FA stories; both good and bad.

Channel Surfing the ME-P

Have you visited our other topic channels? Established to facilitate idea exchange and link our community together, the value of these topics is dependent upon your input. Please take a minute to visit. And, to prevent that annoying spam, we ask that you register. It is fast, free and secure.

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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***

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Discount Brokerages versus On-Line Brokerages

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

Physicians Must Appreciate the Differences

By Daniel B. Moisand; CFP® and the ME-P StaffME-P Blogger

Here are a few questions for all physician-investors to consider in 2009:

1. True or False? 

The key to investment success is to pay as little for a trade as possible.

2. True or False? 

The higher the number of trades in an investment account, the better the investment results.

3. True or False? 

The majority of revenue of a discount or on-line brokerage comes from trades. 

A: The answers should be crystal clear! False, False and True. It is almost entirely that simple.

Cost Control

Much like a medical practice, keeping costs down is an important objective of personal finance but, it is certainly not the key to success.  There are many studies that show that active trading garners inferior results compared to a longer term buy and hold type of strategy. One of the most publicized recently was conducted by a UC-Davis team led by Dr. Terrance Odean. The study examined the actual tracing activity of thousands of self-directed accounts at a major discount brokerage over a six-year period. The results were clear. Regardless of trading level, most of the accounts underperformed the market and showed that the higher the number of trades, the worse the result.

Of Bulls and Bears

While the U.S. markets were on a dramatic upswing a decade ago, the general interest level in them increased as well.  More households owned financial assets than ever before. Demographics drive much of this surge. The older edge of the baby boom generation is finding that as the children leave home, they have more income than ever before and saving for retirement becomes a higher priority. The proliferation of defined contribution [401-k, 403-b] retirement plans has also forced more people to take responsibility for their long-term security. When, the US stock market was on a tear; one would have be wise to remember an old Wall Street saying – “Don’t confuse brains with a bull market.” Unfortunately today, far too many self-directed investors did not heed the warnings. The media is full of stories about investors whose portfolios were decimated by the recent bear market. While this loss of wealth is somewhat tragic, in almost all cases the losses were made possible by poor planning and/or poor execution that a mediocre advisor would have avoided.

The Business of Advice

One also cannot conclude that everyone is acting as his or her own investment advisor. The advice business continues to thrive. Sales of load mutual funds have continued to grow, as has commission revenue at full-service firms. No-load funds have continued to grow as well and gain market share from the load funds. However, it would be inaccurate to tie that growth to do-it-yourselfers. Much of the growth of no-load funds can be attributed to the advice of various types of advisors who are recommending the funds. In addition, several traditionally no-load fund families have begun to offer funds through brokers for a load.

The Discounters

For physicians and all clients, the primary attraction to a discounter is cost. Everyone loves a bargain. Once it is determined that it is a good idea to buy say 100 shares of IBM, the trade needs to get executed. When the trade settles one owns 100 shares of IBM, regardless of what was paid for the trade. There is no harm in saving a few bucks. However, the decision to buy the IBM shares and when to sell those shares will have a far greater impact on the investment results than the cost of the trade as long as the level of trading is kept at a prudent level. The fact is that most good advisors use discount firms for custodial and transaction services. The leading providers to advisors are Schwab, Fidelity, and Waterhouse.fp-book1

Ego Driven

In addition to cost savings, discounters appeal to one’s ego for business. Everyone wants to feel like a smart investor; especially doctors. Often, marketing materials will cite the IBM example and portray the cost difference as an example of how the investor is either stupid or being ripped off. There is also a strong appeal to one’s sense of control. An investor is made to feel like they are the masters of their own destiny.  All of this is a worthy goal. One should feel confident, in control, and smart about financial issues. Hiring a professional should not result in losing any of these feelings, rather solidify them. Getting one’s affairs in order is smart. The advisor works for the client so a client should maintain control by only delegating tasks to the extent one is comfortable. Knowing that the particular circumstances are being addressed effectively should yield enhanced confidence.

Sales Pressure Release

The final reason people turn to discount and on-line brokerages is to avoid sales pressure. Unlike the stereotypical stockbroker, no one calls to push a particular stock. Instead, sales pressure is created within the mind of the investor. By maintaining a steady flow of information about stocks and the markets to the account holders, brokerages keep these issues in the forefront of the investor’s minds. This increases the probability that the investor will act on the information and execute a trade. Add some impressive graphics and interfaces and the brokerage can keep an investor glued to the screen. The Internet has made this flow easier and cheaper for the brokerages, lowering costs and increasing the focus on trade volume to achieve profitability.

Assessment

The pressurized information flow however, does little to protect investors during a bear market. Ironically, this focus on trading is one of the very conflicts investors are trying to avoid by fleeing a traditional full service broker.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. What are your feelings on discount and internet brokers? Tell us what you think. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

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College for Financial Planning Credibility

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

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Confusing Nomenclature? 

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

dem2Recently, John H. Robinson – a Honolulu based independent and dual-registered financial advisor who holds a degree in economics from Williams College and who has written and published numerous professional papers – essentially challenged the credibility of the College for Financial Planning.

“Dr. [Somnath] Basu [PhD] is quite correct in pointing out that the College for Financial Planning is not academically accredited and there are no admissions standards other than a nominal three year industry experience standard (three years as a clerk in a brokerage firm will qualify). Mr. [Kevin] Keller [CEO-CFP BoS] defends the curriculum by stating that, “Topics include economic concepts such as supply and demand, fiscal and monetary policy, time-value of money concepts…” The mere fact that that no prior college level academic experience in finance is required is testament to the fact that the coursework is largely 101 level materials.

To illustrate this point by example, economics represents one small chapter of the Investments section of the CFP curriculum. In contrast, econometrics and statistics alone was a semester long 300 level course in my undergraduate economics studies. This is not to suggest that the CFP program does not provide adequate training and preparation for a career in financial planning, but to assert that the CFP designation trumps a graduate or even undergraduate degree in finance or economics is difficult to defend. This was my counterpoint to Mr. [Dan] Moisand’s bellicose labeling of non-CFP certificants as “faux planners”.

Source: http://www.fa-mag.com/online-extras/4037-revisiting-cfp-credentialing.html

Moreover, he stated that:

”In fairness, some of Dr. Basu’s ideals on the educational standards for financial planning certification seem a bit extreme as well. For instance, I can’t imagine subjecting doctors, attorneys, or even business school professors to periodic recertification exams.”

Source: http://www.fa-mag.com/online-extras/4037-revisiting-cfp-credentialing.html

The Big Question

And so, the big question for financial advisors and Certified Financial Planners®: Is the College for Financial Planning, a college at all? Is it accredited and more importantly, who accredits it? If not; why not? And, was the name “college” purposely selected to obfuscate?

Moreover, and of more importance to our physician readers, FAs and ME-P subscribers: Do doctors, attorneys or business school professors need to periodically recertify themselves by examinations?

IOW: Is Mr. Robinson correct or not – in fact or meaning – on one or both accounts? How about Dan Moisand? Am I, or Mr. Robinson, a “faux” planner?

Assessment

A paper co-authored by Mr. Robinson, entitled, “Reality Check: The implications of sustainable withdrawal analysis on real world portfolios” was awarded the CFP Board of Standards’ 2008 Outstanding Paper Award. He does not hold the CFP® designation.

Disclosure

Among many other “hats”, I am a former licensed insurance agent, certified financial planner, board certified surgeon, visiting B-school professor, and current academic provost for the CMP™ online program in health economics and medical practice management for fiduciary consultants. Our goal is to “raise the bar” for all colleagues in this space.

Update 2013:

Recent:

Conclusion

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About Certified Medical Planner™

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

 

 

 

SPONSOR NOTICE

 

Top 10 Reasons to Become a

Certified Medical Planner™

 

1. Expertise: Provide health economics, business and financial advice to physicians.

2. Credibility: Gain health industry recognition and fiduciary clout.

3. Opportunity: Focus on the lucrative and expanding physician advisory niche.

4. Recognition: Join a select group of advisory experts.

5. Distinction: Become quality; rather than product driven.

6. Achievement: 500 hours of financial, health economics and management education.

7. Evidence: Validate deep healthcare industry knowledge.

8. Resource: CMP™ text and hand books, dictionaries, and institutional print journal.

9. Distinction: Set yourself apart with our chartered logo and trade-mark identity.

10. Commitment: Become the “go-to” financial advisor for all medical professionals.

 

www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

 
cmp-logo3

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I Jealously “Shake my Fist” at Somnath Basu PhD

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Dr. Marcinko

On CFP® Mis [Trust] – One Doctor’s Painful Personal Experience

[“So Sorry to Say it … but I Told You So”]

By: Dr David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]dem21

According to Somnath Basu, writing on April 6, 2009 in Financial Advisor a trade magazine, the painful truth is that many financial practitioners are merely sales people masquerading, as financial planners [FPs] and/or financial advisors [FAs] in an industry whose ethical practices have a shameful track record. Well, I agree, and completely. This includes some who hold the Certified Financial Planner® designation, as well as the more than 98 other lesser related organizations, logo marks and credentialing agencies [none of which demand ERISA-like fiduciary responsibility]. For more on this topic, the ME-P went right to the source last month, in an exclusive interview with Ben Aiken; AIF® of Fi360.com  

fp-book4

The CFP® Credential – What Credential?

Basu further writes that stockbrokers and insurance agents who earn commissions from buying and selling stocks, insurance and other financial products realize that a Certified Financial Planner® credential will help grow the volume of their business or branch them into other related and lucrative products and services. After all, there are more than 55,000 of these “credentialed” folks. And, this marketing designation seems to have won the cultural wars in the hearts and minds of an unsuspecting – i.e., duped public; probably because of sheer numbers. Didn’t a CFP Board CEO state that its’ primary goal was growth, a few years ago? Can you say “masses of asses”, as the oft quoted Bill Gates of Microsoft used to say when only 2,000 micro-softies defeated 400,000 IBMers during the PC operating system wars of the early 1980’s. Quantity, and marketing money, can trump quality in the public-relations business; ya’ know … if you repeat the lie often enough … yada … yada … yada! Yet, as the so-called leading industry designation, the CFP® entry-barrier standard is woefully low. Moreover, the SEC’s [FINRA] Series #7 general securities licensure sales examination is not worth much more than a weekend’s study attention, even to the uninitiated.

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Easy In – Worth Less Out

In our experience, we agree with Basu and others who suggest that scores of lightly educated, and sometimes wholly in-articulate and impatient individuals are zipping through the CFP® Board of Standards approved curriculum in three to six months of online, on-ground, or “self-study”. But, that some can do so without a bachelor’s degree when they join wire-houses and financial institutions, which cannot be trusted to adequately train them, is an abomination. And, even more sadly, some of these CFP™ mark-holders, and other folks, believe they have actually received an “education” from same. Of course, their writing skills are often non-existent and I have cringed when told that, in their opinion, advertiser-driven trade magazines constitute “peer-reviewed” and academic publications. Incidentally, have you noticed how thin these trade-rags are getting lately? Much like the print newspaper industry, are they becoming dinosaurs? One agent even told me, point-blank, that his CLU designation was the equivalent of an “academic PhD in insurance.” This was at an industry seminar, where he thought I was a lay insurance prospect.

THINK: No critical thinking skills.

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Education

There is another sentiment that may be applied in many of these cases; “hubris.” I mean, these CFP® people … just don’t know – how much they don’t know.”  The very real difference between training versus education is unknown to many wire-houses and FAs, isn’t it? And, please don’t get me started on the differences in pedagogy, heutagogy and androgogy. Moreover, it’s sad when we see truly educated youngsters become goaded by wire-houses into thinking that these practices are de-rigor for the industry. One such applicant to our Certified Medical Planner™ program, for example, had both an undergraduate degree in finance and a graduate degree in economics from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University – in my home town of Baltimore, MD [name available upon request]. He was told, in his Smith Barney wire-house training program, to eschew CMP™ accountability and RIA fiduciary responsibility, when working with potential physician and lay clients; but to get his CFP® designation to gather more clients. To mimic my now 12 year-old daughter; it seems that: SEC Suitability Rules – and – Fiduciary Accountability Drools. And, to quote Hollywood’s “Mr. T”; I pity the fools, er-a, I mean clients. But, T was an actor, and this is serious business.

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Of CEU Credits and Ethics

Beside trade-marks and logos, we are all aware that continuing education, and a code of ethics, is another important marketing and advertising component of state insurance agents and CFP licensees. It’s that old “be” – or “pretend to be” – a trusted advisor clap-trap. Well, I say horse-feathers for two reasons. First, both my insurance and CFP® Continuing Educational Unit [CEU] requirements were completed by my daughter [while age 7-10], by filling in the sequentially identical and bubble-coded, multiple-choice, answer-blanks each year. Second, this included the mandatory “ethics” portions of each test. When I complained to my CEU vendor, and state insurance department, I was told to “enjoy-the-break.”  My daughter even got fatigued after the third of fourth time she took the “home-based tests” for me.  After I opened my big mouth, the exact order of questions was changed to increase acuity, but remained essentially the same, nevertheless. My daughter got bored, and quit taking the tests for me, shortly thereafter. She always “passed.”dhimc-book3

Thus, like Basu, I also find that far too many financial advisors are unwilling to devote the time necessary to achieve a sound education that will help attain their goals, and would rather sell variable or whole life products than simple term life, even when the suitability argument overwhelmingly suggests so, for a higher payday. We not only have met sale folks without undergraduate degrees, but also too many of those with only a HS diploma, or GED. Perhaps this is why a popular business truism suggests that the quickest way for the uneducated/under educated class to make big bucks, is in sales. Just note the many classified ads for financial advisors placed in the newspaper job-section, under the heading “sales.” Or, in more youthful cultural terms, “fake it – until you make it.”

Of the iMBA, Inc Experience

According to Executive Director Ann Miller RN MHA, and my experience at the Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc:

“Far too many financial advisors who contact us about matriculation in our online Certified Medical Planner™ program – in health economics and management for medical professionals – don’t even know what a Curriculum Vitae [CV] is? Instead, they send in Million Dollar Roundtable awards, Million Dollar Producer awards, or similar sales accomplishments as resume’ boosters. It is also not unusual for them to list some sort of college participation on their resumes, and websites, but no school affiliation or dates of graduation, etc. And, they become furious to learn that we require a college degree for our fiduciary focused CMP™ program, and not from an online institution, either. The onslaught of follow-up nasty phone-calls; faxes and emails are laughable [frightening] too.”  

www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

Assessment

More often than not, it is the financial institutions that FAs and CFP™ certificants’ work for that reward sales behavior with higher commissions, rather than salaries; which encourage such behavior and create the vicious cycles that are now the norm.

THINK: ML, AIG, Citi, WAMU, Wachovia, Hartford, Prudential, etc.

Note: Original author of Restoring Trust in the CFP Mark, Somnath Basu PhD, is program director of the California Institute of Finance in the School of Business at California Lutheran University where he’s also a professor of finance. He can be reached at (805) 493 3980 or basu@callutheran.edu. We have asked him to respond further.

My Story: I am a retired surgeon and former Certified Financial Planner® who resigned my “marketing trademark” over the long-standing fiduciary flap. I watched this chicanery for more than a decade after protesting to magazines like Investment Advisor, Financial Advisor, Registered Rep, Financial Planner, the FPA, etc; up to, and even including the CFP® Board of Standards; to no avail. Feel free to contact me for a copy of a 43 page fax, and other supportive documentation from the CFP® Board of Standards – and their outsourced intellectual property attorneys – over a Federal trademark infringement lawsuit they tried to institute against me for innocent website errors placed by a visually impaired intern. Obviously, they disliked the launch of our CMP™ program. As a health economist and devotee of Ken Arrow PhD, I polity resigned my license, as holding no utility for me, to the shocked CFP Board. They later offered to consider re-instatement for a mere $600 fee with letter of explanation, to which I politely declined. Of course, my first thought after living in the streets of South Philadelphia while in medical school, during the pre-Rocky era, was to say f*** off – but I didn’t. Nevertheless, I still seem to be on their mailing list, years later. No doubt, the list is sold, and re-sold, to various advertisers for much geld. And, why shouldn’t they; an extra bachelor, master and medical degree holder on their PR roster looks pretty good. I distrust the CFP® Board almost as much as I distrust the AMA, and its parsed and disastrous big-pharma funding policies. Right is right – wrong is wrong – and you can’t fool all of the people, all of the time, especially in this age of internet transparency.

Shaking my Fist at Somnath … in Envy

And so, why do I shake my fist at Somnath Basu? It’s admittedly with congratulations, and a bit of schadenfreude, because he wrote an article more eloquently than I ever could, and will likely receive much more publicity [good or slings-arrows] for doing so. You know, it’s very true that one is never a prophet in his own tribe. Oh well, Mazel Tov anyway for stating the obvious, Somnath. The financial services industry – and more specifically – the CFP® emperor have no clothes! Duh!

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Good Guys and White Hats

Now that Basu’s article has appeared in Financial Advisor News e-magazine, the other industry trade magazines are sure to follow the CFP® certification denigration reportage, in copy-cat fashion. And, the fiduciary flap is just getting started. This is indeed unfortunate, because I do know many fine CFP® certificants, and non-CFP® certified financial advisors, who are well-educated, honest and work very diligently on behalf of their clients. It’s just a shame the public has no way of knowing about them – there is no white hat imprimatur or designation for same – most of whom are Registered Investment Advisors [RIAs] or RIA reps. For example, we know great folks like Douglas B. Sherlock MBA, CFA; Robert James Cimasi MHA, AVA, CMP™; J. Wayne Firebaugh, Jr CPA, CFP®, CMP™; Lawrence E. Howes MBA, CFP®; Pati Trites PhD; Gary A. Cook MSFS, CFP®, CLU; Tom Muldowney MSFS, CLU, CFP®, CMP™;  Jeffrey S. Coons PhD, CFP®; Alex Kimura MBA, CFP®; Ken Shubin-Stein MD, CFA; and Hope Hetico RN, MHA, CMP™; etc. And, to use a medical term, there are TNTC [too many, to count] more … thankfully!

Conclusion

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