All over the world, financial services firms are trying to overcome any and all obstacles that could prevent them from being compliant. The task is far from easy; from increasing government regulation domestically to changes and adjustments to regulation abroad, compliance officers must work hard to stay ahead of the curve.
Dale A. Walters knows this better than anyone. As the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of KeatsConnelly, he deals with these problems every single day.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the search for a new job. But don’t get discouraged — just follow David Couper’s advice.
As a career coach and author of Outsiders on the Inside: How to Create a Winning Career…Even When You Don’t Fit In!, Couper has helped job seekers improve their ability to market and promote themselves to employers. Now he is here to help StreetID members get an edge in the job market.
What’s a surefire indicator that hedge funds are on the rise? Take a look at their presence
on college campuses.
From Cornell, whose student-run hedge fund beat Wall Street returns to the University of Michigan, which allows its students to manage as much as $250,000, student hedge fund are becoming a more prominent part of financial education.
Their success has attracted the attention of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan,
which is in the process of launching its own student hedge fund within the school’s
Financial Management Association. Continue reading
Regal Investment Advisors, LLC is among Forbes’ Top 50 Wealth Managers list. At number 14, Regal is one of the fastest-growing companies on the list.
“We have 140 brokers across the United States,” John Kailunas, founder and CEO of
Regal Financial Group, Regal Investment Advisors and Regulus Advisors, told StreetID. “We’re licensed in all 50 states. We’re looking to expand dramatically.”
The Kentwood, Michigan-based RIA has set its sights on Tampa Bay, Florida for future growth. Continue reading
It seems that the volatile housing market might be having a positive impact on the financial sector.
Jack Ablin, Executive VP and Chief Investment Officer of BMO Private Bank, told StreetID that job growth has occurred within the “area of mortgage or anything related to housing.”
“I would say that has been expanding over the last couple of quarters,” said Ablin. “Mortgage activity is up. Banks, in many cases, do want to lend now on the lower valuation. I guess from that perspective, yes, we are seeing some incremental growth.” Continue reading
The financial sector may be far stronger than most people realize.
In an interview with StreetID, former Morgan Stanley exec Bob Auer offered an interesting explanation for Wall Street’s recovery.
“I think to just look at numbers on Wall Street and say, ‘It looks like it’s struggling’ — it’s contracting in a very healthy way,” said Auer. “It’s almost like a big fat guy that is losing weight. To say, ‘Oh, he’s just not the same guy…’ No — he’s getting healthier and better.”
Auer served as the Vice President of Investments for Morgan Stanley from 1986 through August 2007. He advised roughly 350 accounts with total AUM in excess of $100 million. Continue reading
While some men and women have left New York for a better life in Florida, there are other areas that are beginning to attract the financial community. One of them is Denver, Colorado.
After working at a number of different firms — including Merrill Lynch and Fidelity Investments — Tom Florence decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his career focusing on the entrepreneurial side of things. That is when he started 361 Capital, an alternative investment firm.
“[Denver] was a natural place to be because that’s where we were living,” Florence told StreetID. “Another reason to be in Denver — which I think gives us a big advantage — is that it’s a really easy place to attract people. The cost of living is good. The weather — we get 300 days of sunshine here. Anyone that comes to Denver and then lives in Denver generally does not want to leave Denver.” Continue reading
“As long as we’re in a stimulus environment, and the Fed is talking $85 billion a month, there are lots of very high-end jobs that are available,” said Chris Martenson, Ph.D., an economic researcher who tracks economic trend on Wall Street. “It is a very rich and lucrative time to be close to the spigot.”
At the same time, Martenson told StreetID that he “can’t see the direct evidence” that regulation is hurting job growth, as some of have argued.
“Certainly it has a lot of additional costs that it is imposing,” he said. “And I think the regulatory environment is becoming more difficult over time, not less. Those are just additional burdens we’re gonna have to factor in. Continue reading
The hedge fund industry is regarded as one of the most appealing sectors within the financial community. That appeal has created unprecedented demand for fresh talent and skilled investors who are looking to make their mark. But how difficult is it for job seekers to break in?
“It’s a hard industry to break into if you don’t know the right people or don’t have the capacity to learn very quickly,” said Will Thompson, co-founder and CEO of HedgeComm, a marketing and PR agency that focuses on the alternative investment industry. “I put the emphasis more on the second than the first because you can always meet people. If you can’t learn quickly, that’s just something you can’t do.”
Thompson said that there is a “massive amount of info” that job seekers have to absorb before joining a hedge fund. Continue reading
Pundits and politicians have repeatedly argued about whether or not the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will hurt overall job growth in America. There have been arguments made on both sides of the table, but with the new laws still being finalized, it seems that the debate will continue for some time.
That said, most of the complaints have come from business owners and managers of firms with low-wage workers. Does this mean that the financial sector is safe? Continue reading