Retirement Portfolios: Theory, Construction and Management (Wiley Finance) [Hardcover]

Michael J. Zwecher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0470556811 | ISBN-13: 978-0470556818 | Edition: 1

Retirement portfolio guidance for finance professionals

Retirement is one of the most important parts of the financial planning process. Yet only two percent of financial advisors describe themselves as competent in retirement planning.

Constructing a retirement portfolio is viewed as a difficult endeavor, and the demands facing financial advisors responsible for this task continue to grow. The pressures are particularly intense due to events such as the financial crisis and oncoming rush of retiring baby boomers. It is imperative that financial advisors be equipped and ready to create appropriate retirement portfolios. That's why Michael Zwecher-a leading expert on retirement income-has created Retirement Portfolios.

• Examines how portfolios should be prepped in advance so that the transition from "working" portfolio to retirement portfolio is smooth and seamless
• Outlines how to create a portfolio that will provide income, continue to generate growth, and protect assets from disaster
• Details the differences in managing a retirement portfolio versus managing portfolios during asset accumulation years

The ability to create retirement portfolios and manage their risks are skills you must possess to be an effective financial advisor. Retirement Portfolios will help you develop these essential skills and gain a better understanding of the entire process.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A very practical and well argued philosophy for retirement funding that will make sense to practitioners.' (Journal of Pensions, Economics and Finance, July 2011).

From the Inside Flap

Retirement is one of the most important parts of the financial planning process. Yet only a small percentage of financial advisors describe themselves as competent when it comes to creating portfolios designed to meet retirement needs.

Constructing a retirement portfolio is viewed as a difficult endeavor, and the demands facing financial advisors responsible for this task continue to grow. The pressures are particularly intense due to events such as the financial crisis and oncoming rush of retiring baby boomers. It's imperative that financial advisors be equipped and ready to create appropriate retirement portfolios. That's why Michael Zwecher—a leading expert on retirement income—has created Retirement Portfolios as well as the companion Retirement Portfolios Workbook.

In Retirement Portfolios, Zwecher provides you with complete coverage of the most important issues in this field. Page by page, he shows you what it takes to protect your client's retirement and aspirations. Divided into four comprehensive parts, this reliable resource:

• Examines how portfolios should be prepped in advance so that the transition from "working" portfolio to retirement portfolio is smooth and seamless

• Outlines how to create a portfolio that will provide income, continue to generate growth, and protect assets from disaster

• Details the differences in managing a retirement portfolio versus managing portfolios during asset-accumulation years

• Discusses how to maximize the usefulness of retirement portfolios in your business—whether it's transaction-based or fee-based, institutional or retail

The ability to create retirement portfolios and manage their risks are skills you must possess to be an effective financial advisor. Retirement Portfolios will help you develop these essential skills and gain a better understanding of the entire process.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 281 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470556811
• ISBN-13: 978-0470556818
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Zwecher is a leading expert on retirement income. He has created guidance, designed products, tools, and portfolio constructions that appeal to the financial advisor community and their clients. Mike Zwecher is currently engaged as part of a team of experts to develop the curriculum for the Retirement Income Industry Association's professional certification program.

Mike spent over ten years at Merrill Lynch, holding senior roles in Risk Management and Wealth Management. Mike left Risk well before the blowup, when he was asked to turn his attention to creating solutions of strategic value to clients. As a member of Wealth Management Group his mandate led him to develop and push a firm-wide initiative for retirement income.

Mike was born in Natick Massachusetts and remains a loyal, yet distant, fan of New England's teams. Mike earned degrees first at Framingham State College and Tufts University before completing a PhD in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Prior to Merrill, Mike was a consultant with Deloitte, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Business Administration at Fordham University, a visiting associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Prior to finishing school Mike worked as a security guard, a night-crew clerk, a produce clerk, a paperboy, a landscaper, and just about everything else that could be done to earn an honest buck.

As the offspring of a disabled veteran and a secretary (also a veteran) Mike knows how hard people work to scrimp and save for the future. Their money deserves better than to be treated as just another addition to Assets Under Management.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Comfort Zone for Financial Security, January 20, 2010

By 

Barter Petunia "Real Estate Mogul/Grandma of 7" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retirement Portfolios: Theory, Construction and Management (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

This book helped me put my financial matters into perspective. I am an international hospitality marketer, so I understand business, but never felt confident with my handling of a retirement portfolio.

Michael Zwecher is not only a financial guru, but a pretty darn good writer, as well. I was actually able to learn how to communicate my needs to a broker in order to create the retirement package that will fit my scenario. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I learned, and how well equipped I feel to relay to my broker just what I want and what I want to avoid.

I think Retirement Portfolios will be beneficial for professionals and non-professionals alike.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, made sense., January 20, 2010

By 

Planning Ahead - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retirement Portfolios: Theory, Construction and Management (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

Retirement Portfolios is a great book! From the first chapter I could see that this book was going to be different than most finance books. Kind of like Freakonomics, the author explains behavior within the context of a framework but without using the framework to pigeonhole. As a book about contextualizing client behavior for the goal of building a broker or planner business I've never seen a better book. This guy gets it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for retirement advice and planning, January 18, 2010

By 

Looking to Retire (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Retirement Portfolios: Theory, Construction and Management (Wiley Finance) (Hardcover)

I'd heard about this book from a friend of a friend who described it as "probably the most important book of a generation". I was skeptical, but its a topic that I like reading about so I bought a copy. So far I've skimmed the book, but I can see that this book delivers the goods.

I've never seen a book that describes in such a concrete way how to create portfolios for different types of people. This has everything from background economics to market segmentation. The case studies in the book are worth the price of the book. The segmentation chapter is worth the price of the book. There are several other individual chapters that are themselves worth the price of the book.

I haven't looked at the workbook yet, but I'm already in love with this book.