First published in 1976, The Advisors is an absorbing look at the technical, strategic, and human aspects of the great debate that led to the decision to build the first hydrogen bomb, Based on the author's own participation in Project Superbomb, on interviews with other participants, and on declassified documents, this book explains the complete background to this major acceleration of the nuclear arms race. For this reissue, the author has written a new Preface and Epilogue. The reissue also includes a recently declassified essay by Hans A. Bethe discussing the history of the H-bomb project from his unique vantage point as Director of the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos. He has revised the essay specifically for inclusion in this book.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the complexities of life insurance or when advising a client about a purchase? This clearly written guide provides information essential to the exercise of due care for the purchase and retention of life insurance policies. Major life insurance terms are clearly explained, and information is organized starting with the insurance purchase and assessing a company's financial strength. It also features a common-sense explanation of fundamentals and how to determine the appropriate policy.
"Jeff Rattiner has found another way to help producers. This book is a must-have for financial advisors, especially those that aspire to be Million Dollar Producers." -Thomas B. Gau, CPA, CFP President and CEO of Million Dollar Producer "Jeff Rattiner has done it again! His book displays all the essential tools and techniques necessary for advanced planners to succeed in this business. Rattiner's easy-to-read style provides the best in marketing and practice management ideas. This book will help you if you have hit a dead end in your practice. Rattiner tells it like it is by providing a no-nonsense approach to truly taking your practice to the next level. A must-read for the serious financial advisor." -Jim Cannon, President, SunAmerica Securities, Sentra Securities Corporation, and Spelman & Co., Inc. Financial planners provide a variety of services to an array of clients but lack a uniform system for creating a profitable business. Rattiner's Financial Planner's Bible: The Advisor's Advisor collects best practices from the nation's leading financial planners, presenting a prototype turnkey model for achieving financial success for both the client and the practice. Financial planning expert Jeffrey Rattiner emphasizes an ethical, practical approach to financial advising, placing paramount importance on "doing what's best for the client." Drawing on extensive interviews and his own experience, Rattiner delivers can't-miss tips on marketing a financial planning practice, developing an infrastructure, crafting strategic alliances, assessing a business's profitability, and creating the model twenty-first-century practice. This authoritative guide also covers: * Forming a planning advisory board * Establishing a realistic chain of command * Delegating responsibility * Making technology work for you * Charging clients appropriately Running a financial planning business need not be an exercise in trial and error. Rattiner's Financial Planner's Bible delivers a compelling model for advising success.
The Advisor's Guide to Commercial Real Estate Investment is the only single volume A-Z guide to commercial real estate investment available today. It is an invaluable resource for anyone advising investors as well as for those seeking to increase their knowledge of real estate finance. As investors (and advisors) search everywhere for yield, commercial real estate has proven itself to be the best alternative investment around. Commercial real estate is relatively transparent, able to produce a steady yield, not easily subject to financial fraud, and--thanks to this all-new guide--very easy to understand. Written and edited by an all-start team of experts, The Advisor's Guide to Commercial Real Estate Investment stands out as your how-to resource into investing in the largest asset class in the world. It is a hands-on guide for advisors and the perfect primer for anyone starting out in real estate finance. This is the only guide that fully covers: » Property Types » Portfolio Management » Portfolio Returns and Volatilities » Private Real Estate » Private Equity Funds » Investing in International Real Estate » REITs (listed and non-listed) » International Real Estate Equity Markets » General Risk Considerations » Advanced Strategies » And much, much more!
Authoritative, up-to-date research and analysis that provides a dramatic new understanding of the rewards-and risks-of investing in CTAs Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) are an increasingly popular and potentially profitable investment alternative for institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals. Commodity Trading Advisors is one of the first books to study their performance in detail and analyze the "survivorship bias" present in CTA performance data. This book investigates the many benefits and risks associated with CTAs, examining the risk/return characteristics of a number of different strategies deployed by CTAs from a sophisticated investor's perspective. A contributed work, its editors and contributing authors are among today's leading voices on the topic of commodity trading advisors and a veritable "Who's Who" in hedge fund and CTA research. Greg N. Gregoriou (Plattsburgh, NY) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance and Research Coordinator in the School of Business and Economics at the State University of New York. Vassilios N. Karavas (Amherst, MA) is Director of Research at Schneeweis Partners. Francois-Serge Lhabitant (Coppet, Switzerland) is a FAME Research Fellow, and a Professor of Finance at EDHEC (France) and at HEC University of Lausanne (Switzerland). Fabrice Rouah (Montreal, Quebec) is Institut de Finance Mathématique de Montréal Scholar in the finance program at McGill University.
Learn what makes a client trust you to be their financial advisor. Put the power of story telling into selling financial products. The authors explain the process of making these intuitive connections, then translate their findings into understandable and practical strategies that any financial professional can use. They present actual stories, including many by Warren Buffet, one of the greatest "storysellers" of all time. These actual stories can help financial pros tap into the "gut reaction" of different types of clients. the book also includes special topics on communicating to women, the 50+ market, and the affluent.
Bullish Thinking is packed with hard-hitting true stories of financial professionals who have faced the many job stressors that fill this competitive industry. In it, you’ll learn how to identify particular problems and initiate the process of getting help, all while reading in-depth case studies and extensive examples that exemplify the obstacles you may face. Throughout the book, the authors take the time to introduce you to action-oriented approaches that will help you survive and thrive during even the toughest times.
The Supernova Model is a client service, client acquisition, and practice management model that drives an explosive acceleration in revenue and client satisfaction by capitalizing upon the 80/20 Rule. First implemented by financial advisors at Merrill Lynch—under the leadership of author Rob Knapp—it has grown increasingly popular within the financial services industry. The Supernova Advisor skillfully outlines this proven model and reveals how it can be used to create an exceptional experience for your clients, while significantly growing your business.
Family offices are private organizations that assume the daily administration and management of a wealthy family’s personal and financial affairs. Historically, these repositories of great wealth were shrouded in secrecy, their activities conducted behind closed doors. Recently, family offices have acquired a considerably higher public profile: they represent a mere 7 percent of the world’s ultra-high-net-worth population—yet control a staggering 50 percent of the wealth. As only a select few families now hold a disproportionate amount of global wealth, there are significant social implications to how such assets are managed and used. This book provides an insider’s view for anyone looking to understand family offices and how to best serve and advise them. The veteran practitioners William I. Woodson and Edward V. Marshall offer a thorough guide to family offices: why wealthy families create them, what they do, and how to manage them effectively. They present these insights through a series of problem-based learning cases that follow a single family’s journey from the time of a significant liquidity event; through the creation, staffing, and management of their family office; and on to its succession. Each case study is supported by detailed background reference material. The cases and background materials are drawn from the authors’ practical knowledge, network of industry experts, and experience advising family offices large and small. They shed light on the unique issues that ultrawealthy families face and the solutions they adopt to address them throughout the life cycle of a family office. This book is the definitive resource for practitioners and students, as well as family principals, advisers, service providers, and all others who engage with the world of family offices.
The Advisor happens to be set during the Vietnam War, but its message is universally applicable -- the characters could be State Department, Peace Corps, or soldiers in Bosnia. What sets The Advisor apart from many other novels written about Vietnam? This provocative story deals with the complexities of being an advisor to foreigners in wartime: a clash of cultures, combat action and political intrigue. Played out through Viet Cong as well as American and South Vietnamese characters, the book narrates both sides of that strange war. More than just an action-adventure story, The Advisor is driven by historical intrigue, gripping drama, and haunting romance suffused with the mystery and seduction of the orient. It begins in the summer of 1972, the last year of the war, before the U.S. military left South Vietnam, and ends in 1975 when the last Americans are evacuated. This metaphoric novel challenges the Domino Theory -- the premise of the Vietnam War, while spinning a tale of protecting the Long Tau Channel, the most strategic waterway in the campaign. Commander Blake Lawrence, a blue water sailor, is unwillingly thrust into the Rung Sal Special Zone, a place he does not want to be, among a people whose culture he doesn't understand, and a kind of war he is unprepared to fight. As the Senior Advisor, he struggles to sort out several moral dilemmas: Will he be court-martialed and lose his destroyer command? Who is correct -- his boss, Rear Adm. Paulson, or his Vietnamese counterpart, Captain Duc-Lang? The ethics of dealing with guerrillas. What should he do about the women in his life -- his wife, Beverly, who is fed-up with Navy life, and the temptation of infidelity withseductive Peg Thompson? What's more important -- a North Vietnamese Colonel named Tu or the Russian AT3 rockets, his integrity of his destroyer command? What's the war about -- Communism or Dynastics? At the end of the book, we find Blake back at sea in command of a destroyer, where he witnesses the final American withdrawal in 1975. We learn what happened after his days as an advisor, and why he is invited to return to fight.
