nt Conta October 25, 2011 - Vol 5 Issue 43                   Dear Reader,            Join us for a webinar, "How Outsourcing Drives Growth," on November 9th at 4pm ET to hear from two seasoned financial advisors on their experiences and their ability to drive growth by outsourcing.  Register here.   If you are experiencing problems opening or navigating through our newsletters, we can send you a text-only version.  Please send an email to feedback@advisorperspectives.com requesting the "text-only" version.   If you have received this newsletter in error, or you do not wish to receive future newsletters, please reply to this email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.                   Miccolis, Bengen and Evensky on the New Challenges in Portfolio Construction        By Michael Skocpol Conventional wisdom about the best way to construct a portfolio has been discredited, according to three industry thought leaders - Jerry Miccolis, Bill Bengen and Harold Evensky. Each has distinct visions of the ways in which advisors should build portfolios in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, but all three agree that traditional methods must be scrutinized.        How Advisors are Billing on Held Away Accounts         Sponsored Content by ByAllAccounts   Thinking about billing on held away assets? Wondering how you compare to other advisors? Check out this whitepaper to learn: how other advisors are billing, where they take fees from, how much they bill and how they communicate those fees to their clients.          A Jeopardy Champion and our Economic Future        By Robert Huebscher Several years ago, a group of IBM scientists watched the television quiz show Jeopardy at a local bar and decided that they could develop the technology to beat a human contestant. They succeeded, and the system they built, Watson, is situated at the leading edge of a wave of breakthroughs in artificial intelligence that will lower health care costs and accelerate economic growth.       The Questions You Should Ask about PIMCO's Total Return Fund        By Martin Weil When a manager's performance slips, the inevitable question is why. Was this a simple misjudgment on the direction of the markets or an incorrect selection of securities in the portfolio? On the other hand, is the slip indicative of a more serious process failure? When the manager in question is Bill Gross, the answers to these questions become crucial to money managers and investors across the country.       On Market Timing and Whiskey        By J.J. Abodeely Noah S. 'Soggy' Sweat, Jr. a Mississippi legislator, gave a famous speech addressing the controversial subject of prohibition. The consummate politician, Soggy tried to appeal to advocates on both sides of the issue, illustrating a lesson that advisors today will surely appreciate: In order to get at the substance of a contentious issue, sometimes you have reframe the question.       How a Trivial Oversight Created a Big Problem        By Dan Richards Over 25 years working with advisors, I've learned that while you need to get the big things right, small issues are often much more important than they appear on the surface. Last week I met with a 25-year industry veteran who told me about a big price he paid for a seemingly minor oversight.       Residential Housing: The Problem and the Solution        By Robert Huebscher If arresting the decline in residential housing prices is a precondition to a broader economic recovery, then the prospects of a double-dip recessions are more likely. Over the next year home prices will decline 5% to 7%, according to Laurie Goodman. She identified two key policy initiatives that would break what she termed an ongoing 'death spiral' in the housing market.       How to Create Presentations for an iPad        By Kristen Luke The iPad is an excellent presentation tool. It's light, portable, and clearly made for eye-catching visuals. Here are some tips for ensuring your presentations look their best when viewed on an iPad.       Our Most Read Article from Last Week:       Gundlach: Markets Aren't Cheap Enough Yet        By Robert Huebscher Prices for risky assets are straddling the extremes of two potential outcomes.  A 'hurricane' may hit, in the form of a blow-up in Europe or a move to put the US federal government on an austerity program, driving prices lower.  Or world economies will plod along, in which case optimistic pricing makes sense.  But prices should be 'truly cheap' against those parallel problems, according to Jeffrey Gundlach, and that is not yet the case.       Highlights from Market Commentaries   Below are the three most widely read commentaries during the last week:   Europe: Just Getting Warmed Up   At present, the S&P 500 is again just 10% below the high it set before the recent market downturn began. In my view, the likelihood is very thin that the economy will avoid a recession, that Greece will avoid default, or that Europe will deal seamlessly with the financial strains of a banking system that is more than twice as leveraged as the U.S. banking system was before the 2008-2009 crisis.         Tags: Equities US Europe Sovereign Debt Europe: Just Getting Warmed Up by John P. Hussman of Hussman Funds America at Stall Speed? Judging from the skittishness of both markets and consensus expectations, the United States economic prospects are confusing. One day, the country is on the brink of a double-dip recession; the next, it is on the verge of a turbo-charged recovery, powered by resilient consumers and US multinationals starting to deploy, at long last, their massive cash reserves. In the process, markets take investors on a wild rollercoaster ride, with the European crisis (riddled with even more confusion and volatility) serving to aggravate their queasiness.   Tags: US Europe America at Stall Speed? by Mohamed A. El-Erian of Project Syndicate   Three Strategists Speak Out & Rare Apology From PIMCO Quality in bond land is expensive and promises little return for a fair amount of risk. The Fed is punishing Treasury investors with historically-low yields. We believe the only way to generate a return in these markets is by price appreciation because these notes have very little in the way of coupon income. This lack means that they will trade more like zero coupon bonds when, and if, the Fed ever removes the buying pressure on that market. History has shown us that the market will move before the Fed does. Our discipline has thus far beaten our benchmark.   Tags: Treasury Bonds US  Three Strategists Speak Out & Rare Apology From PIMCO by Scott Colyer of Advisors Asset Management

 

Advisor Perspectives | Box 380 | Lexington | MA | 02420