The Wall Street Journal by Brett Arends OK. So you want to save an extra $10,000 by next Thanksgiving. How can you do it? You've heard the usual finger-wagging frugality lessons over and over. And you already do the obvious things, like cutting back on lattes, raising your insurance deductibles and steering clear of expensive stores. But what else can you do if you really, really, really want to save? We tapped financial advisers, business contacts, friends and acquaintances to hear what they had done to save money. Dumped the TV. "There's no need for a TV with the Internet," says Molly Ruben-Long, who works for a nonprofit in New Orleans. "You can watch most shows for free online." Savings: $600 a year. Used loyalty programs aggressively to get discounts on car rental, air travel and other deals. Credit cards sometimes offer huge bonuses--like a free airline ticket--to new customers. Boston Realtor Steve Weikal used his BJ's Club Card to save over $1,000 on his Christmas car rental in Florida. Switched banks and credit-card companies. It's not just about Occupy Wall Street and Bank of America. There is no such thing as "free banking," but a nonprofit credit union or a community bank may be cheaper. Gourmet foods entrepreneur Bonnie Shershow in Cambridge, Mass., saved at least $300 a year just in fees by moving credit cards to another bank. Reset their weekly expenses to fortnightly. OK, so you won't give up your ..... read more

SCHWAB TALK BLOG Posted by Joan Cusick It was huge, with a record 4,000-plus financial advisors, exhibitors, media and Schwab employees in attendance. It was educational, with inspiring keynote speakers and 82 different educational sessions. It was news-making, with CNBC broadcasting live from the Expo floor and daily coverage in more publications than I can count. Most of all, IMPACT 2011 was the place to talk with other first-timers like me. Schwab's Chief Marketing Officer Laurine Garrity was also attending her first conference. "My biggest takeaway was how strong the relationships are between Schwab and the Registered Investment Advisor community," she said. "I thought the mood was amazing. There was high energy, strong engagement, and lots of networking." That's precisely what I found with the college contingent 54 students and faculty representing Golden Gate University, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech and two University of California locations. Last Wednesday, I met Virginia Tech undergrads Samantha Pickering and Chad Weinkoff in the Schwab Center. They were easy to pick out of a crowd, since both wore maroon shirts with an orange VT logo. "The shirts help us a lot," Chad admitted. "A lot of people seek us out and want to talk to us." "IMPACT offers a great opportunity for networking," Samantha added. While I couldn't find an educational session for "Networking 101," many topics sounded like they came from a ..... read more

Wall Street Journal by Jonnelle Marte Los Angeles couple Chantay and Conrad Bridges watched the price of gold rise for years but never invested, afraid they would be buying at too high a price. But recently, as gold notched new highs, they--like many investors--changed their minds. "The dollar is losing its value and if we're going to do it we might as well do it now," says Chantay, a real estate agent. The market upheaval of recent weeks has even the most skeptical investors rethinking their strategies, and gold's relentless climb--it closed yesterday at $1,888.70 per troy ounce, up another 2.15%--has been fueled in part by these new believers. "We've got mom-and-pop investors making a mad dash," says Tom Roseen, a senior analyst at Lipper. Online brokerage E*Trade says its clients traded three times more shares of the biggest gold exchange-traded fund in August, compared to the same period in July, with more people buying than selling. And Scott Carter, chief executive officer of Goldline International, a gold retailer in Santa Monica, Calif., says his company has seen sales of coins, bullion and other physical forms of gold rise about 20% since Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. government debt on Aug. 5. For many experts, of course, this is the ultimate contrarian indicator, a sign that gold prices have neared the top. When retail investors rush in, the thinking goes, the market has entered bubble territory. "People are racing to get ..... read more

AdvisorOne by Joyce Hanson Wild markets mean advisors are doing a lot more to reassure clients about their investments. The market's wild ride in the last few weeks has created extra work for advisors--who have spent a lot of time reassuring panicky clients about their investments. What are advisors and other finance professionals advising clients to do? Fund managers such as Brian Lazorishak, senior portfolio manager for the Chase Mid-Cap Growth Fund ( CHAMX ) and Chase Growth Fund ( CHASX ), are calming fears by shifting toward less economically sensitive stocks with more predictable and defensive earnings patterns. "The reason we have a disciplined approach is to offset the ego and emotion that's involved in the market," said Lazorishak (whose firm, Chase Investment Counsel Corp. of Charlottesville, Va., is unaffiliated with JPMorgan Chase & Co.). "Even sophisticated investors can panic and pull out at the wrong time. We tell clients that we stay process-driven without getting too caught up in the economic news. We also remind them that they've set equity ranges based on their risk tolerances," says Lazorishak, noting that stocks across a wide range of sectors and asset classes have been "highly correlated with each other." In other words, he says, a mid-cap U.S. consumer stock like Dollar Tree is seeing the same market movements as a European bank during this period of volatility. And wealth management firms ..... read more

Wall Street Journal By Veronica Dagher Financial advisers worry that their younger clients are playing it too safe with their money Many of Andy Tilp's Generation X and Y clients live for the adrenaline rush they get from outdoor sports like snowboarding and white-water rafting. When it comes to their money though, many of those younger clients--roughly age 45 and below--aren't seeking any thrills. They're opting for what they see as safe investments, such as certificates of deposit and savings accounts. Among those who do venture into some of the more traditional portfolio assets--stocks, bonds, real estate and commodities--many are shying away from equities and are more concerned about protecting their principal than growing their money. "They're leaning toward really conservative portfolios--similar to some retirees," says Mr. Tilp, a financial planner based in Portland, Ore. Such risk aversion is understandable, given the two nasty bear markets already this century and the current depressed job market. Many Generation X and Y investors have watched plunging financial markets destroy their parents' retirement plans. But many advisers are concerned that the low risk tolerance of some of these investors may ruin their retirements too, by leaving them short of funds when they get there. These advisers are encouraging young investors to rethink their views. A recent survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found ..... read more

GreatMDJobs.com by Laura Ayo, GreatMDJobs.com contributor Physicians should view life insurance as the base foundation upon which they can build their financial plans, according to a North Carolina certified financial planner. "If you have that in place, you know that you can move forward with your other dreams, goals and aspirations," said John T. Gugle, a principal for Alpha Financial Advisors LLC in Charlotte, N.C . "It takes the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty, out of the equation." Yet many physicians don't think about obtaining life insurance when they've completed medical school, financial experts said. "While no one can blame a younger physician for wanting the trappings of success, it is critically important early in their career that younger physicians get life insurance, pay down debt and save for emergencies," Gugle said. Early career physicians are the ones who have the greatest need for life insurance, particularly if they're married and have young families. "My professional opinion is that the younger physician needs the most coverage possible because if she or he died, there would be a large amount of future income lost, not to mention that the debts owed by the surviving spouse would cripple them financially," Gugle said. "Creditors will come looking to be repaid. ... They may put a lien against the estate." In addition, the grieving family will have to adjust to a dramatic lifestyle change. ..... read more

SmartMoney by Jilian Mincer Google. Green technology. Grunge. Generation X has long been celebrated for taking plenty of risks in business and the arts. But when it comes to investing, the so-called slacker generation has become downright timid and in big danger of falling further behind on its retirement savings. Financial advisers generally recommend that Gen Xers those 50 million or so Americans now in their 30s and early 40s have at least 70% of their retirement portfolios in stocks. But according to data from several investment and research firms, many Gen Xers are playing it far safer than their parents, and are growing increasingly conservative over time. On average, individuals aged 30 through 44 had just 48% of their 401(k)s in equities at the end of 2009, down from 55% in 2007, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute for SmartMoney.com. By comparison, boomers had about 41% in stocks, down from more than 48% in 2007, EBRI reported. Separately, Fidelity Investments found that about 4 million of the Gen Xers in its 401(k) plans now have about 43% of their assets in stocks and equity mutual funds on average, down 10 percentage points from the first quarter of 2008. And a December survey by consulting firm Aon Hewitt of 2.9 million retirement plan participants found nearly 20% of Gen Xers don't have any equities in their 401(k)s, while another 19% have less than half in stocks. "They're much ..... read more

Wall Street Journal by Veronica Dagher Financial advisers offer parents and students suggestions for getting the biggest bang from their education bucks As college acceptance letters start to roll in, parents will soon have a better idea of their children's educational options for the years ahead. But before students select a college and head off to school, financial advisers say there are a few things many families need to consider about how to handle the costs, get the most for their money and protect themselves against unexpected developments. Below, five advisers share their words of advice for parents and their college-bound children. 1. THE ADVICE: Encourage your child to select a career first, and then a school. THE REASON Many parents and children approach college as a time to sort things out, to delve into a lot of areas and see which ones the child finds most inspiring. Greg Gilbert, an Atlanta-based financial adviser, sees it differently. College, he says, is preparation for a career. But children often first think about what school they want to attend and then determine what career they will pursue. That can result in wasted time and money. Thinking first about career options "helps children focus their college experience instead of hopping around from school to school," says Mr. Gilbert. It also may help cut down on costly extra classes in college and reduce or eliminate the need ..... read more

Charlotte Observer by Alan M. Wolf and Christina Rexrode   John Gugle CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Alpha Financial Advisors in Charlotte. Smartest money move : Avoid or reduce exposure to bonds. Interest rates will rise despite any efforts of the Federal Reserve to keep rates low. As interest rates go up, bond prices will come down. I prefer stocks that reflect the superior balance sheets in corporations as compared to the debt of the federal or state government. At this point in the economic cycle, stocks offer a better risk/reward trade-off than bonds. Outlook for stocks : The S&P 500 index will increase 13 percent in 2011. International stock indices will outperform the U.S. Top stocks or other investments : Lazard Emerging Markets Equity, Ivy Science & Technology and Harbor International. International stocks, especially those in emerging markets, should outperform domestic stocks. Economies outside the U.S. have better growth rates and do not face the same economic headwinds (i.e., housing and unemployment) that we face. Technology is poised for a breakout year as businesses look to expand on productivity gains to fuel growth. Red flags : Watch for what happens in Europe. Countries with severe debt problems like Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal will start to implement austerity measures. Those pressures could move to the U.S. Watch closely how California deals with its massive debt overhang -- ..... read more

Client advisory boards can provide valuable feedback, build relationships INVESTMENT NEWS by Lisa Shidler Delving deeper into what clients want and expect is more than a sound business strategy; it's a matter of survival. For many advisers, a client advisory board, made up of a cross section of their firm's best clients, is an important — and often underutilized — tool that can help strengthen client relationships and lure profitable clients from rivals. “Advisers who have client advisory boards have a huge competitive advantage,” said Mike Watson, director of practice management at TD Ameritrade Inc. “Client advisory boards deepen customer relationships and loyalty.” Gabriel Garcia, managing director of business consulting with Schwab Advisor Services, a unit of The Charles Schwab Corp., agrees that an advisory board can play an integral role in a firm's growth. “As an adviser's business continues to evolve, they need to get feedback from clients,” he said. “Client advisory boards become critically important on many fronts.” Firms of all shapes and sizes can benefit from such boards. In addition to strengthening relationships with clients, advisory boards provide firms with a laboratory where they can test ideas — everything from shifting a firm's focus to hiking fees. A good advisory board may also serve as a sentry for potential problems before they get out of hand. ..... read more