Nearly two years after passage of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or Dodd-Frank, much remains unclear about the legislation's scope and significance. In Research magazine's July cover story, "Dodd-Frank's Many Questions," policy analyst and author Nicole Gelinas ennumerates uncertainties and unknowns in areas ranging from "orderly liquidations" and the Volcker Rule to credit-card disclosures and payday lending.
In "Seeking Social Media's Payoff," Ellen Uzelac looks beyond the hype surrounding social networking to assess the burgeoning field's potential benefits for financial advisors—and the risks for those who are slow to get involved.
Research's popular annual feature "Portrait of a Branch Manager" this year focuses on Keith Vanderveen, president of the home region of Wells Fargo Advisors' Private Client Group. Profiled by Jane Wollman Rusoff, Vanderveen is a hard-driving competitor who is dedicated to bringing his once-lagging region into the top spot among the firm's territories.
Other highlights of the issue include Prof. Michael Finke offering analysis of how to revamp planning for "Retirement in a Yield-Free World" and Sales Seminar columnist Bill Good drawing out UBS's Ira Walker's wisdom on " Aiming High" to become a top producer.
Click through the following slides to preview the July issue of Research magazine.
On July 20, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, better known as Dodd-Frank. Nearly two years later, formidable uncertainties remain as to what the legislation entails, writes Nicole Gelinas, a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder and contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute's City Journal.
"The law had three broad goals: preventing bailouts, protecting the economy from the risk posed by the nancial industry, and protecting consumers from bad financial products. Signing the law was just the start," writes Gelinas. Subsequently, regulators have had to write rules for implementing the law, a process that is still ongoing. Moreover, how those rules will be interpreted in practice involves further uncertainties.
Gelinas offers numerous questions about the legislation that remain unresolved. These cover topics ranging from what firms will be designated "systematically important financial institutions," or SIFIs, and what regulators will do with such firms, to what activities fall under the category of "abusive practices" from which consumers will be protected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
She also discusses the legislation's "missing pages," or matters that it does not address. These include: "Can Dodd-Frank protect the economy absent reform of Fannie and Freddie and of the government student-loan market?"
Contributing Editor Ellen Uzelac ranges across the important yet overhyped subject of social networking.
She finds examples of financial advisors who are finding valuable contacts and information by using tools such as Facebook and Twitter. She also finds that hard information is hard to come by regarding how such networking affects advisors' bottom lines.
Illustrating the different uses advisors find for social media, Uzelac highlights one who blogs regularly, another who focuses on meeting people and building rapport with clients, and a third who uses Twitter as a "listening post.'
"Social media is not a standalone, not a silver bullet," Marissa Fox-Foley, executive vice president of marketing for LPL, tells Uzelac. "But we are certainly seeing the power of it as a communication and amplification platform. I'm hearing from the wirehouses and other financial advisors that they are following news more on Twitter than on Bloomberg. That's where people are going today for true information updates. That's fantastic."
Contributing Editor Jane Wollman Rusoff profiles Keith A. Vanderveen, president of the home region of Wells Fargo Advisors' Private Client Group. In three years, Vanderveen has driven that region—Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas and parts of Illinois—from last of 10 to fourth place in profitability and advisor retention.
"His chief goal is to lead the region to No. 1," writes Rusoff. "If resolve and performance record are any indication, that will happen soon."
