Products June 20, 2011

Pershing Adds to ValueAlliance Program

Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, has added more than 20 providers to its ValueAlliance program.
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ValueAlliance offers Pershing’s broker/dealer, independent registered investment adviser (RIA), and hedge fund customers preferred pricing and access to a network of third-party firms and consultants.  The program’s providers represent a range of services and solutions to address challenges pertaining to human capital, long-term succession planning, marketing, compliance, insurance services, finance, and mergers and acquisitions.

The ValueAlliance program now totals 66 providers; including the following additions:  

  • Cannon Financial Institute’s Certified Wealth Strategist program, a certification designed to support those advisers helping affluent and high-net-worth clients to address the wealth management issues that impact their personal and family lives; 
  • Evolve Partner Group, a consulting firm that promotes succession readiness by collaborating with clients to integrate the transition elements of people, planning and process;  
  • LifeYield, LLC, a technology solutions firm that provides tax-smart software to help advisers simplify and maximize clients’ retirement income; 
  • Liftman Insurance, an insurance agency that specializes in providing coverage for the investment community including errors and omissions liability, directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, data security and privacy liability, as well as Employee Retirement Income Security (ERISA), fidelity, Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program/Stock Exchange Medallion Program (STAMP/SEMP) and state surety bonds;
  • National Compliance Services, a compliance consultant and regulatory products supplier for investment advisers, broker-dealers, hedge funds and mutual funds; 
  • Newtek Business Lending, a firm that provides capital through the Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) program to businesses for the purpose of firm expansion, business acquisition, working capital and other operational needs; 
  • Rehmann, a certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides integrated assurance, tax, business consulting, and corporate investigative services to the wealth management industry; 
  • RemitPro, Inc., a company that offers industry-specific Check21 technology to utilize electronic check processing and identification validation/office of foreign assets control (OFAC) screening solutions to minimize fraud; 
  • Smarsh, a technology firm that offers solutions for archiving electronic communications such as e-mail and instant messaging, and social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter; 
  • The Investment Industry Practice Group of Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc., an insurance specialist that focuses on directors and officers liability, errors and omissions liability, data security liability, privacy liability, and various forms of fidelity bonding for financial organizations; and 
  • StreetWide Asset Recovery Group, Inc., a full service debt recovery/collection firm focused exclusively to the financial industry. 
More information is at http://www.pershing.com.
Data & Research June 20, 2011

Setting Financial Goals More Common Than Others

A Northwestern Mutual survey asked people in what areas do they most frequently set goals; financial goals were more common than family, fitness, or work-related goals. 

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    The online survey of 1,000 adults aged 25 or older revealed that 72% of people are likely to set financial goals for themselves. This is followed by family (62%), fitness (57%), work (55%), and diet (54%) goals.

    Among financial goals, retirement and long-term security were cited as the most common variety of goals.Specifically, Northwestern Mutual found the priority of financial goals to be:

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    • Maintaining a comfortable standard of living during retirement (78% reporting 7 or higher on a scale of 1-10)
    • Not falling below your current standard of living (73%)
    • Protecting your income in the event of a disability (60%)
    • Protecting your family’s standard of living in the event that the household breadwinner passes way unexpectedly (55%)
    • Building a sizable investment portfolio (47%)
    • Making a major purchase such a car, boat or furniture (30%)
    • Financing your children’s college education (29%)

    When asked what areas people feel they could use more self-discipline in, fitness/diet goals outweighed financial goals, 62% to 47%.

    The “Stick With It” study also set out to examine strategies people use to achieve their goals. Northwestern reports that the most common strategy that seems to work is “setting small interim goals,” with 67% reporting this as a key step to ensure a long-term goal is achieved. The two next most common strategies are “allowing yourself to make mistakes” (62%) and “holding yourself accountable” (60%).

    “Achieving long-term goals is particularly challenging at a time when just about everything around us is getting more immediate,” said Greg Oberland, Northwestern Mutual executive vice president. “The good news is that Americans appear to be adapting. The people who participated in this study said loud and clear – the best way to stay focused is to take baby steps, expect setbacks, and never let yourself off the hook. In short: don’t expect it to be easy, but stick with it.”

    Northwestern Mutual sponsored the Stick With It study with independent research firm Market Probe. Market Probe conducted the online survey of 1,000 Americans aged 25 or older between March 4, 2011 and March 15, 2011. Results were weighted to be representative of the U.S. population (age 25+) by gender, age, income and education.

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