What goes up, must come down … The Retirement Cycle

After three weeks of straight travel and eleven flights, the saying “what goes up, must come down” rings very true for me. As I sat on the airplane getting ready for my last take-off, I began to reflect on some of the incredible information I learned at our Retirement Plan Summit in New Orleans and Retirement Income Form in Orlando. Although I don’t think we purposely planned it, the organization of the events, with the Retirement Plan Summit being hosted first makes great sense. Read more

Get Ready.

A friend of mine just called me from New York City. He was so happy to be back in his office in downtown Brooklyn where he had moved to make the commute easier on his elderly clients. The good news was that he was back – the bad news was, like many of us in the financial services industry, he hadn’t done nearly enough planning for a disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Sandy. Read more

What do Mount Everest and New Orleans have in common?

I recently saw a short but impactful video that documented the journey of the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, the earth’s highest mountain. Many experienced climbers dream and plan about reaching the peak years before the feat is even attempted or accomplished. One interesting thing about Mount Everest is that it does not pose substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route to the top, which is why it attracts many highly experienced mountaineers, as well as capable climbers willing to hire professional guides. Due to the dangers of altitude sickness, weather, and wind, experienced and capable climbers require substantial training, an experienced support team, and patience to know when to climb around the weather and others’ climbing patterns in order to succeed. Read more

Green Acre$

In 1993, my wife and I moved to Fairfield to raise our newly adopted baby daughter. I had lived my entire life in big cities, having spent the previous 10 years in Washington D.C. where I began my career as a stockbroker with EF Hutton. We bought a late-1800s Victorian house in Fairfield in 1994 for $84,000. After adding another $80,000 in improvements, it is now worth about $110,000. Meanwhile, farmland has gone up steadily over the past 20 years. I finally decided I should try to buy a small parcel of farmland. Read more

Call to Action – Save the 401(k)

As we are all aware, Congress needs to take action to reduce the deficit. At Cambridge, we tend to have a ‘glass half full’ kind of attitude and hope that they will not take any action to remove or reduce current tax incentives for retirement savings. Even though we are optimistic, hope is not enough. We have sent emails to our senators and House representatives to clearly outline that reduced tax incentives for the 401(k) or other workplace retirement plans would have a devastating impact on America’s savings, and we are inviting you to do the same.  Read more

What is the difference between a financial service firm and a family owned business?

When it comes to legacy, culture, and success and failure rates, I would say not much.

In the most recent study by IN Advisor Solutions on succession planning, “77% of advisors who have executed a succession plan say the most important factor was to continue the firm’s legacy and reputation,” yet over 50% of the advisors in the study do not even have a written plan. So, what does that say about the need to continue the legacy and culture of the firm that an advisor has spent their life’s work building up? Read more

Retirement Realities: ERISA Fiduciary – The Family Similarities

As I sit outside, enjoying a beautiful day with my family, I realize the similarities between serving in a fiduciary capacity and being a parent. As a fiduciary under ERISA, a rep-advisor has the opportunity to provide advice and guidance to a plan sponsor that may or may not be composed of individuals that are experienced with investments. Similarly, I have the opportunity to provide guidance and advice to my two little girls and new son as they grow and become more independent with the decisions they are able to make. Read more

The results are in.

It’s amazing how time flies by. It seems like only yesterday baseball’s spring training games were about to begin and Cambridge was announcing its sponsorship of an inaugural study with IN Advisor Solutions (the research arm of InvestmentNews). The study, on succession planning with independent financial advisors with registered investment advisers (RIAs), is now complete. While the 2012 baseball season is months away from the playoffs, the results from the new succession study are in, and we are excited that the findings will be announced next week in an InvestmentNews webinar also featuring our own Eric Schwartz. Read more

Retirement Realities: Prepare for Success

Have you ever wondered what makes you or other advisors successful? One of the interesting things I have found in talking to several advisors that were focused and successful in the retirement plan space is that they all have a thorough process in place that they follow for all their retirement plans. The process starts with prospecting and is continued once the plan becomes a client through quarterly or annual reviews. They have created “routines” or “habits” in their business structure and through this process they relay a consistent message to their current clients and prospective clients; a message that typically outlines the services they provide and the fees for those services. It appears that many of the successful retirement plan advisors have been complying with the spirit of the new fee disclosure regulations for several years and the transparency they have previously provided to clients has helped them continue their success. Read more

Retirement Realities: The Fiduciary Difference

Am I considered a fiduciary or can I be a fiduciary? These are two of the most common questions I receive when talking to our rep-advisors who serve retirement plan clients. Although the answer to the second question is an easy one, the first question is a little more complicated. Yes, Cambridge has embraced fiduciary responsibility and servicing clients in a fiduciary capacity since we first became focused on advisory business over 20 years ago. Thus, we allow you, our rep-advisors, to act as a fiduciary to retirement plan clients.  Read more