Angela Palacios & Melissa Joy attend Morningstar Investment Conference

 

Our Investment Department capped off a busy investment research spring by attending the Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago this June. The annual conference features portfolio managers, thought leaders in the investment profession, and academics on timely topics.

“This is always a highlight of the year for the investment department. We see more portfolio managers and friends in our business than at any other time,” said Melissa Joy. “I especially enjoy the conference because it is exclusively focused on investing so you have three days to think deeply about the investment landscape today.”

Highlights this year included a variety of opinions on the EuroZone, discussions on the impacts of trading costs to portfolios, and one-on-one discussions with portfolio managers. The Center has been at the conference for each of the last 10 years.

Angela Palacios attended a pre-conference training on our new investment research software, Morningstar Direct. This upgrades our investment research capabilities going from a database of only the US public investment universe to an institutional investment platform that offers global investment research with rigorous analytics. 

Angela said “It was a great opportunity to attend a training and user conference for our new software.  I’m confident the software will streamline our research process and give us more accurate and in-depth knowledge to make investment decisions.” She was able to hear from Senior Research Analysts and Economists with Morningstar and also speak with other firms with a dedication to investment research.

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The information contained in this report does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. Any opinions are those of Melissa Joy and Angela Palacios and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James

Nine Represent Center at Raymond James Conference

The Center proudly led two separate Top Advisor Sessions at the recent Raymond James National Conference.  Matt Chope and Tim Wyman (pictured left) led a discussion about growing your business.  Dan Boyce and Melissa Joy presented "Finding, Developing, & Implementing Junior Partners."  Over 100 peers attended each session.  

With the destination of Orlando, Florida, nine team members flew south to attend the National Conference May 21st through the 25th.  The four-day event welcomed over 3,400 participants from across the nation.  The conference fosters both professional and personal development through a variety of learning sessions which are presented by both peer advisors and specialized industry experts.  

A powerful benefit of attending conferences like this is the opportunity to hear ideas from others.  Center team members get to know people over the years and learn what new ideas and innovations are working for peers.

One area of growth highlighted at this year’s national conference was technology. Raymond James and the Center for Financial Planning are making major investments in cutting edge technology that will work to the advantage of both the advising teams and Center clients.

Members of our Center team in attendance included:  Sandy Adams, Dan Boyce, Matt Chope, Marilyn Gunther, Jen Hackmann, Melissa Joy, Laurie Renchik, Tim Wyman and Troy Wyman.

Live From Orlando: Top Advisors Tell All on Junior Partners

Registered Rep: by Diana Britton on May 22nd, 2012

Advisor panel speaks about adding junior partners at conference.The worst thing you can do when bringing on a junior partner is to immediately anoint them as heir apparent, said Daniel Boyce, FA and founding partner of the Center for Financial Planning in Southfield, Mich. “That is backwards in my estimation,” Boyce told attendees of Raymond James Financial Services’ National Conference for Professional Development in Orlando, Fla.

Any potential partner needs to earn their right to sit at the table with the partners, Boyce said. Give them the opportunity, but wait for them to step into that opportunity before you give them that reward.

Boyce, head of a $700 million AUM firm, joined other top advisors on a panel session discussing the dos and don’ts of recruiting junior partners. Boyce just brought on a new partner recently, Melissa Joy, who joined the panel to share her insights.

Boyce’s motivation in bringing on Joy was not to transfer clients over to her, as his firm already had an ensemble practice in place for that. The age differential was the motivator; he wants successors of different generations. Joy is in her 30s, he said.

Todd Sanford, branch manager of Sanford Financial Services in Portage, Mich., said his return on investment in bringing Scott Williams into his practice was so high that it would probably rival buying Apple a decade ago.

For Sanford, bringing on a younger partner was a tool for expanding the firm’s generation reach, as Williams could work with people with similar life experiences and serve younger people referred to the firm.

But you can’t just hire a junior partner the moment you need them, Sanford said. You’ve got to hire that person years before you need them.

Boyce said his role at the firm has changed over the years, to become a mentor for planners and staff. He says that role is probably the most satisfying for him, and it’s also the most important. Boyce says you can’t view your staff as an expense, but an investment.

“It’s the human capital that is your biggest asset and resource.”

Do you agree?

Research Trip to Wall Street

In April, Dan Boyce and Melissa Joy joined a small group of financial planners for three days visiting Wall Street Firms. With an exclusive group of 30 participants from around the country, discussions were highly interactive. The main focus of the meetings was on Asset Allocation and Portfolio Construction in today’s market environment. Main sessions were held at Blackrock, JP Morgan Asset Management, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

The low interest rate environment and future return scenarios for bonds was an enduring theme across firms. It was interesting to see different strategies and perspectives based upon individual firms. Perhaps not surprisingly, the European debt crisis was also a dominant topic. We also always find value of being able to “look under the hood” of financial firms on their turf.

In addition to the larger group meeting, Melissa visited portfolio managers at IVA and American Century. Intellectual curiosity is a cornerstone of our research process and an important component to our investment committee decisions is hands-on due diligence. One of the highlights of the trip was sharing ideas with other financial planners and wealth management firms. We value insights from our peers and are always open to new ideas.

Center Team Attends Invitation-only Raymond James Investment Conference

Angela Palacios, Melissa Joy, and Tim Wyman. The three headed to St. Petersburg, Florida January 25^th and 26^th to attend the Portfolio Manager Group investment conference. Top industry experts talked portfolio monitoring, analyzing risk in portfolios, and even about the current political environment’s impact on investments.

“It is very energizing spending time with a group of peers and sharing ideas,” Angela said of the conference. “It provides valuable insight into how to better serve our clients.  Also, it is always a great opportunity to hear from economists and money managers in person as this is key to our investment decision process.”

Melissa and Tim joined the experts at the podium, sharing The Center’s processes in the portfolio monitoring space. Tim explained the history of The Center’s Investment Process and Melissa detailed ten tips for monitoring investments for clients. The audience was particularly interested in learning about our Due Diligence Questionnaire, which is a pre-requisite for investment in our model portfolios. Our investment communication process and firm-wide investment strategy were also well-received.

The advisors at the conference are part of an ongoing Institute of Investment Management Consulting group (IIMC) that was formed last year.  The goal of the IIMC is to provide institutional quality education for investment management. 

Learning from peers and sharing with others puts our process to the test. By that standard, our trip was an overwhelming success. And, coming from Michigan, the weather wasn’t half bad either.