In Search of the Perfect Model: The Distinctive Business Strategies of Leading Financial Planners (Hardcover)

by Mary Rowland (Author) "FINANCIAL PLANNERS HAVE proved to be a tough lot..." (more)
Key Phrases: multiclient family office, hourly planner, financial advisory business, New York, Wall Street, Merrill Lynch (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Brilliantly documents how many of today’s top planners have organized their practices. This book will be of great help." -- Don Phillips, Managing Director, Morningstar Inc.

"Somewhere in 'The Perfect Model' is YOUR perfect business model." -- Bob Veres, Publisher, Inside Information, and Author, The Cutting Edge

"The best, brightest, and most successful planners tell you how they make their practice work for their clients and themselves." -- Mitch Anthony, President, Advisor Insights, Inc., and Author, Your Clients for Life and The New Retirementality

"The most important practice management book of the year... should be required reading for every independent financial advisor." -- Joel Bruckenstein, MorningstarAdvisor.com

Product Description
Cutting-edge financial advisers go far beyond giving comprehensive client service. They are the profession's theorists and practical pioneers, developing new practice models that attract the kind of clients they want most and that help their businesses to grow.

In Search of the Perfect Model profiles some of the most creative minds in the planning field and explains how they turned their practices into distinctive businesses—offering instructive lessons to their peers. Beginning with an overview of how the profession has evolved in recent years, Mary Rowland analyzes how planners define and structure their enterprises—from big firms to sole proprietors, from national to regional operations, from generalists to niche players, and from those collecting annual retainers or hourly fees to those who charge by assets under management. Rowland concludes with a special focus on important issues related to managing a practice.

Financial advisers are perpetually in search of the perfect business model. This fascinating overview will awaken planners to the many unique practice structures available and will help you find one that matches their strengths, personalities, planning philosophies, and lifestyles.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press; 1 edition (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576601250
• ISBN-13: 978-1576601259
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #667,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Profiles of Various Business Models for Planners, May 17, 2004

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Ms. Rowland has covered the financial planning beat for quite a while, and has benefited from watching carefully how the leading firms have developed. Anyone who thinks they need a different business model for their firm, or is about to start a new financial planning firm will benefit from reading and thinking about this book.

What kind of financial planning practice do you want? What kind of life style do you want? What kind of clients do you want to serve? What aspects of service do you want to do yourself, which parts have a staff to do and which parts do you want to outsource? How do you want to be compensated for your work? These are all pertinent subjects that are thoroughly explored in this book through detailed profiles of more than three dozen planners who span the gamut from single practitioners charging by the hour to occasional clients to larger firms that do everything for a single family throughout its many generations.

The book also looks closely at fees, expenses, and income attached to these different structures. No two planners do it the same way, and it looks like you have more choices than you think.

I found it refreshing to find that there's field where top performers can survive and prosper without working in large organizations. I was also impressed by the lifestyle advantages of offering limited, by-the-hour services.

I agree with Ms. Rowland's conclusion that life planning is not so new, and that large firms will not swoop up the whole industry. It wasn't clear where the efficiencies are that would make that possible . . . unless it would be to offer bare-bones planning for those with few assets by using software. But that's not the type of planning that most people in the industry want to do.

The book would have been improved if it had offered more analysis and a process for someone trying to pick a business model. Otherwise, the profiles were quite revealing and interesting. Although I operate as a management consultant, I find myself drawn into financial planning related issues (and yes, even life planning) when I work with entrepreneurs. So I felt it was valuable for me to learn from this book as well.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Over-rated .., July 13, 2007

By	Sam Kouri "SK" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Search of the Perfect Model: The Distinctive Business Strategies of Leading Financial Planners (Hardcover)

The author is a journalist and is just writing bits and pieces about financial advisors she has encountered in her career. Half way through the book I decided to stop reading as I was just started to skim to see if I have missed anything... If you are a top Advisor (read .. hundreds of millions in assets or more..) and wondering what the market niche of other top Advisors is, this may be good. If you are starting out look elsewhere .. The text lacks flow to make the book an enjoyable read. Add to this the superficial content and there you go ..

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Rowland Turns Out Another Winner, August 9, 2007

By	Jonathan N. Evans (Amherst, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: In Search of the Perfect Model: The Distinctive Business Strategies of Leading Financial Planners (Hardcover)

I have to admit that when I first saw this book, I almost dismissed it, wondering if it was simply a rehash of her previous book on best practices for financial planners. I am very glad I gave it a second look, because this book, like her previous one, is a treasure trove of insights for financial planners who are searching for a business model that works for them. While the previous book was organized around a series of key topics such as full disclosure, professional qualifications and the like, this one is broken down into easily digestible descriptions of some of the leading financial planning firms, woven together with numerous quotes from the key principals at those firms. Rowland profiles a wide range of practices, everything from successful solo practitioner Judy Shine to what many consider the premier financial planning firm in the country: Evensky, Brown, Katz and [I think there's another name in there, too]. As someone who is in the early stages of making a transition into financial planning, I found the book incredibly helpful, not only for its subject matter but also because of Rowland's insightful commentary. The description of each firm runs only a few pages, so it's easy to pick up the book and read a chapter when you don't have much time. I loved it.