Gyrations.....

Up and down.....Up and down. Constant movements in the markets give you an opportunity to succeed or fail as a trusted financial advisor. 

Every relationship that you solidify in these trying times is one you will never lose. Period. So do your best to think of "current environment" appropriate client events to work towards competitively immune client relationships.

Citi, Merrill, BoA, etc....????

So many of you are probably seriously evaluating where you currently work while simultaneously evaluating offers from competitor firms.

Here is our (my) advice....do your best to evaluate competitor firms from the eyes of your clients. Axiom is intimately involved in the current "recruiting" landscape, yet we have only seen (1) advisor group over the last six months truly make a transition decision based solely on "the best interests of the client".

We know it is very difficult to do given the amounts of money being thrown around for solid producers and teams. But do your best to think like a client as you evaluate offers, new office space, trips to NY and the like.

You will be better for it.

Wow its cold.....

Nothing new to add today....our collective brains are tired from the whirlwind that is the current financial markets......have a great weekend everybody!!

Citi, citi, citi......

An interesting situation at Citi. Billions of government loans and still no clarity on what the company will look like a year from now. And specifically what Smith Barney will look like either.

It seems as if Morgan and Citi are trying to bake an apple pie with two bad apples. Both companies continue to face huge liquidity concerns and are nowhere near out of the proverbial "woods". 

One thing is certain; if you are an advisor at either of these firms you should be continually updating your rolodex. Take meetings and make connections with your competition. It only makes sense from a "self-preservation" stand point.

When you have nothing....

.....good to say, don't say anything at all, right?

Absolutely not! Clients are looking for direction even if it looks and sounds ugly.

Put together an intimate get together to talk about the negativity in the market/headlines as opposed to pitching a new product or how "great" you and your team are. Market it as "if you have heart problems, do not come to this event". 

It is a different idea but one that would build trust and strengthen relationships. Be different and right at the same time.

Oil and Oil.....

It always seems comical to me to listen to the pundits debate oils ups and downs and specifically the latest run up to nearly $50. The war-cry from the business media was "is this the time to buy oil again?".....I don't know about you but given what has played out over the last six months these types of "advice-givers/talking heads" have less and less credibility on a daily basis.

Ofcourse they have to generate interest in some way so I guess we can't blame them. 

Bottom line is this : Work as hard as you possibly can at building rock solid relationships with your most important clients.....the price of oil is then irrelevant.

Merrill

Interesting developments as the Merrill/BOA merger continues to play out. I wonder how big of a cheerleader McCann was in the early stages of the courtship and merger. His exit probably says alot about the cultural changes that are on the way. WE SHALL SEE........

New Opportunities....New Year!

How do you value your business?? How do you value your clients?? 

Give some thought to putting an "opportunity value" into the equation.

Take away last years production numbers and look ahead at what accounts and what relationships give you the best opportunity to thrive in these tough conditions. 

What you will find is that "opportunity value" is directly tied to the strength of your relationships.  Also known as the ability of your clients to provide you with what we like to call "bank - able" referrals.

How many "bank - able" referrals are really out there for 2009. And how are you going to get to them. Where there is a will there is a way!!!!

2009 - Opportunity.