Marking the impact of transformation

Transformation is a funny thing. Sometimes it happens suddenly, quickly and spectacularly, as was the case on Sept. 11, 2001, when a group of terrorists unleashed ungodly terror on U.S. soil and a nation’s innocence, or perhaps naiveté, vanished overnight.
More often, however, transformation occurs slowly and deliberately, beginning with a haunting whisper that grows into a deafening crescendo.
Like every industry, the financial advice business is in a perpetual state of transformation. Emerging from the 2008-09 global financial meltdown, financial advisers and planners now stand at a crossroads with those they serve: their clients.
Thanks to events ranging from the demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008 to the revelations of Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme in 2009, Americans’ faith and confidence in the financial system is on shaky ground. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Americans, many of them advisers’ clients, are barreling toward retirement with not enough savings, and even worse, not enough optimism.
It is up to advisers to restore that confidence.
Indeed, advisers and planners aren’t just stewards of their clients’ hard-earned savings. They aren’t just number crunchers, coaches and counselors.
At their core, advisers and planners are stewards of their clients’ dreams and aspirations.

VOICES OF REASON
When financial markets are down, as they often are, advisers are there to offer a reassuring voice — one that encourages clients not to panic and to stay the course. Likewise, when markets are up, they offer calm and reason — again, encouraging clients to stay the course.
The restoration of hope and optimism in the financial markets lies at the heart of the future transformation of the advice business. Without hope and optimism, clients have little reason to strive to reach their financial goals, which may include retiring at 65 or funding a child’s college education.
In assembling this anniversary issue, InvestmentNews’ editors, reporters and designers sought to highlight both the people and events that have transformed the business of providing financial advice over the past 15 years.

ISSUES AND INNOVATORS
Some events, such as the 2008-09 recession, occurred quickly and spectacularly. Others, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed broker-dealer exemption rule, began as a whisper before sparking a debate that would lead to a continuing discussion about the merits of holding all advisers to a fiduciary standard.
The same holds true for the advisers we have profiled. If Harold Evensky and Deena Katz are the advice industry’s version of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in terms of their star power and status, then Alexandra Armstrong is the industry’s Lena Horne in terms of how she has quietly helped break gender barriers by raising the profile of female advisers over the past four decades.
In coming up with a list of transformational events to write about, we looked back through the more than 750 issues of InvestmentNews that have been published since its inception in 1998. We also sought input from our advisory board, which is made up of seven advisers and industry leaders.
We went through much the same process in developing our list of transformational advisers — only there, we also sought input from our readers through a survey in March.
If nothing else, I hope this anniversary issue highlights how dynamic the financial advice business really is. I hope it highlights just how far this industry has come over the past 15 years — and, more importantly, how much further it likely will go over the next 15.

Fred Gabriel is the editor of InvestmentNews