• Tax Overlay for Separately Managed Accounts
• Are Hedge Fund Managers Talented or Just Good at Fooling Investors?
• Book Review: Splitting Heirs
• Talking Point: The Industry's Darkest Secrets
• New CE Offering: Estate and Tax Planning Essentials
• Compliance Resource Now Available
• Position Yourself for Success
• Coming in the May 2008 Journal of Financial Planning

Tax Overlay for Separately Managed Accounts
By John Phoenix
For years, separately managed accounts (SMAs) have operated on the platform of providing tax-efficient, customized portfolios while controlling risk for their clients. However, many SMAs haven't delivered on their original promises. This is where the tax overlay manager comes in. More …

Are Hedge Fund Managers Talented or Just Good at Fooling Investors?
By Knowledge@Wharton
Critics and supporters tend to share one assumption: hedge funds are managed by some pretty talented people. Otherwise, investors would not pay the hefty management fees and 20 percent of profits. But new research by a Wharton statistics professor and Brookings Institution senior fellow questions that assumption. More …

Splitting Heirs: Giving Your Money and Things to Your Children Without Ruining Their Lives
By Ron Blue and Jeremy White
Reviewed by Gary W. Silverman, CFP®
This book looks at estate planning and inheritance through the filter of Christianity. Whether you believe in a particular Christian methodology to personal finance or you merely advise some folks who do, this book can give you a view into how this affects wealth transfer. More …

The Industry's Darkest Secrets
The Journal of Financial Planning recently interviewed the Mole, Money magazine's undercover CFP® certificant columnist. Is the Mole right when he says consumers aren't always getting straight talk from their planners, or that financial incentives too often cloud planners' judgment? What do you think of the Mole? Discuss it now by logging into FPA Community Building, FPA's electronic discussion area for Communities of Interest. When you're logged in, go to Forums to find Journal of Financial Planning discussions.

New CE Offering: Estate & Tax Planning Essentials
Approved for 7 CFP Board CE Credits
FPA's newest self-study program, contained in an easy-to-use CD-ROM, is a compilation of the best estate and tax planning sessions from FPA Seattle 2007. The package includes audio recordings, PowerPoint presentations, participant handouts, case studies and online CE Exams for each course. This incredible package provides seven hours of CFP Board-approved CE and includes essential resources on special needs trusts planning, AMT implications, portfolio and tax diversification, and multi-generational estate planning issues. Read individual course summaries and speaker bios here. Member: $99; nonmember: $149

Compliance Resource Now Available
The long-awaited, spring edition of the FPA Investment Adviser Compliance Policy Template is now available. Build customized policy statements using the recently updated compliance template. Stay informed on the current SEC environment, important legal procedures, ethics, and privacy policies that are essential to compliance. The template is a subscription product, ensuring that planners receive important updates during the course of a year. An annual subscription includes a minimum of two updates, typically sent in the spring and fall. Order today!
Member: $149; nonmember: $199

Position Yourself for Success
As a financial planner, it's important to track finances and establish realistic goals. Did you know that goals and finance metrics can be customized by your demographic market and practice size? For example, in and around New York City, total practice revenue ranges from almost $800,000, whereas revenue ranges start at just under $300,000 in smaller and rural markets throughout the Northeast, according to results reported from the 2007 FPA Practice Management Scorecard provided by McLagan Partners. Nationally, profitability varies significantly between sole-advisor and multi-advisor practices (32 percent versus 19 percent profit margin). With this in mind, consider gathering market analysis that will work for you.

Benchmarking is an important tool for any financial planning practice. Not only does it measure your continued progress, it can also identify key areas that need extra attention. Now that tax season is over, it's the perfect time to benchmark based on your yearly tax return, financial statements, and even gather local data of your city and state. You can also receive a free tool designed specifically for independent financial planners. The 2007 FPA Practice Management Scorecard provides an easy way to gather data about your market and analyze key metrics. Learn more about the Scorecard and how you can receive it for free at https://FPAscorecard.mclagan.com.

• “10 Questions with Sandra Timmermann on Boomers Ready to Launch” by Shelley A. Lee
• “Small-Business Owners Squeezed by Health Insurance Debate” by Nancy Opiela
• “Leveraged ETFs: A Risky Double That Doesn't Multiply by Two” William J. Trainor, Jr., Ph.D., CFA, and Edward A. Baryla, Jr., Ph.D.
• “IA Context for Considering Variable Annuities with Living Benefit Riders” by John H. Robinson
• “Financial Planner's Guide to the FHA Insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage” by Douglas Skarr

Journal of Financial Planning Quick Links

• View the Journal of Financial Planning Online
• About the Journal of Financial Planning
• Past Issues and Articles
• CE Exams
• Info for Writers
• Advertising Info
• Feedback/Discuss
• About the Journal of Financial Planning
• Past Issues and Articles
• CE Exams
• Info for Writers
• Advertising Info
• Feedback/Discuss