Recent Articles

What we can learn from Tim Duncan

Jerry Kalish
October 17, 2007 02:54

If you're a hoops fan like I am, you know that the basketball season is about to begin. And for me, opportunities to see Tim Duncan back in action. If you follow the sport, you know who Tim Duncan is. For those of you who don't, he's a professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the...

Tanning salons, psychic reading, escort services, massage parlors ... and fee-based financial advisors?

Jerry Kalish
October 05, 2007 16:52

If you’re a fee-based based financial planner in Michigan, you’re now lumped in with those occupations which are considered “non-essential”. That’s what the Michigan legislature says you are – at least for tax purposes – and they added a a 6% sales tax to...

401(k) plans beyond "bells and whistles"

Jerry Kalish
September 25, 2007 22:08

 Click here to see full size image.   You've probably heard the expression bells and whistles used to refer to those extra "goodies" that are often added to a product - a computer usually - to make it more appealing to the customer. These features are offered...

"Dear Jerry Kalist of National Benefit Services I"

Jerry Kalish
September 23, 2007 18:28

That's the saluation of the letter sent to me by a sales promotion company asking me to buy ballpoint pens (100 minimum, please) to give away as a corporate promotional gift. The accompanying sample pen in its felt holder had the same misspelling. Nice pen, pretty good price, but they lost me at...

The "M" word is what sets us apart.

Jerry Kalish
September 21, 2007 15:12

The "us" are those of us that run our own business, have our own book of business, or are compensated based on what we produce . Let's call us "entrepreneurs". The "them" are those who work as employees. Let's call them "managers" . Intuitively, we...

Ready, set, advise

Jerry Kalish
September 19, 2007 08:43

I’ve written about Individual Retirement Accounts before, don’t forget about IRAs, they’re an important part of your clients’ retirement plan mix. And now a recent study released by Spectrem Group, a market research firm, tells us how important IRAs are becoming. In...

Solving the "annuity puzzle"

Jerry Kalish
September 17, 2007 06:11

The investment marketing experts refer to something called the "annuity puzzle". It's the term given to the disconnect between the economic realities of retirement and pre-retirees' and retirees' psychological reaction to the product. The economic realities are simple to...

How John Scurti became Lt. Kenny "Lou" Shea on Rescue Me

Jerry Kalish
September 14, 2007 15:57

From the very beginning of our careers in the financial service industry, we were told that relationships matter. Some we have to work at, and others just happen because we were in the right place at the right time. John Scurti’s story reminded me again about the importance of relationships...

Top ten reasons why proposals fail

Jerry Kalish
September 12, 2007 05:50

Ben Yoskovitz is a great list maker. Last week, I wrote about his 5 phrases you never want to hear in a presentation that appeared on his Instigator Blog. Here’s another useful list, Top Ten Reasons Why Proposals Fail, that I kept in mind recently as I was preparing a proposal to present to...

Are our clients burning the midnight oil?

Jerry Kalish
September 10, 2007 06:48

A headline of an article on AccoutingWEB.com caught my eye, "Finance professionals are putting in more hours on the job". It was a story about a new global report by Robert Half International, Inc. , The Working Hours, A Global Comparison. It would be interesting information, I...