Citi was also Top Rated in a similar survey conducted by Global Custodian with the highest score from investors and managers with assets in excess of $10 billion. In addition, Citi was recently rated Most Innovative Custodian by aiCIO.

“We are pleased to know how our clients value the access, insight and expertise of Citi’s vertically integrated global network to expand and diversify their businesses globally,” said Chandresh Iyer, Global Head of Investment Services and Global Custody, Investor Services, Citi. “With our proprietary branch network, Citi is able to connect its clients directly to global markets and deliver exceptional levels of client service.”

More than ever, the ability of global investors and managers to meet performance objectives relies on maximizing the efficiency of investment operations, optimizing critical decision-making information and implementing effectively in the markets that offer the most opportunity.

Citi OpenInvestor custody solutions deliver coverage for 98% of the world’s market capitalization. With Citi’s unique proprietary local branch network, clients have a single platform to directly access local experts, respond faster to market events and enhance risk management capabilities.

Citi OpenInvestor is the investment services solution for today’s diversified investor, combining specialized expertise, comprehensive capabilities and the power of Citi’s global network to help clients meet performance objectives across asset classes, strategies, and geographies. With an on-the-ground presence in over 95 countries and over $13 trillion in assets under custody, Citi offers award winning service and unmatched scale. Citi provides complete investment services for institutional, alternative, and wealth managers delivering middle office, fund services, custody, investing and financing solutions focused on clients’ specific challenges, customized to their individual needs.

Citi Transaction Services, a division of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, offers integrated cash management, trade, and securities and fund services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. With a network that spans more than 95 countries, Transaction Services supports over 65,000 clients. As of the first quarter of 2012, it held on average $377 billion in liability balances and $13 trillion in assets under custody.

Source:  Citi – Business Wire

Posted by Steven Maimes, The Trust Advisor

Permalink:   http://thetrustadvisor.com/news/citi-ranked

Banks are spending “too much time on lower value activities,” and need to focus on increasing profitable growth and the client experience, said Gavin Spitzner, senior vice president, business development for Prudential’s Wealth Management Solutions division.

Optimism about banks’ prospects in wealth management were mixed with exhortations from speakers to keep pace with innovative industry leaders, best exemplified by the rapid rise of independent registered investment advisors.

Banks can expect their wealth management business to grow six per cent to seven per cent annually, said John Rolander, partner at the consulting firm Booz & Co. And trust companies are “perceived to meet client needs better than most other business models,” Rolander said the firm’s research showed.

But simply recruiting more advisors won’t be enough, he cautioned. Banks need to increase sales productivity by focusing on value-added activities, leveraging new technologies and adapting best practices, Rolander said.

“There is still a huge amount of inefficiency out there,”Rolander told attendees.

Yin and Yang

The yin and yang of the banking business was also articulated by Kenneth Thompson, senior vice president and division head of M&T Banks’ Investment Group.

“The key to growth is innovation,” Thompson said. But in the next breath he noted “but this is hardly an innovative industry”.

Thompson also pointed out that only 17 per cent of all accounts at M&T have an investment product. The glass-half-full interpretation of that woeful statistic, of course, is that there’s a huge opportunity for banks to grow.

Banks needed to improve client service, Thompson said, because the annual sales growth rate doesn’t make up for the attrition rate when clients leave. And banks need to focus more on top producers, he said, and support them with competitive pay and tools.

Prudential is also betting on banks wealth management business, Spitzner said.

The financial services giant’s outsourcing arm, which currently has a dozen clients, is targeting banks with assets between $5 billion and $100 billion and hopes to add two new clients a year.

“Experience is the only differentiator”

For banks to grow, enhancing the client experience has“never been more important or more urgent,” said Wallace Blankenbaker, senior director at research firm Corporate Executive board – VIP Forum.

In fact, Blankenbaker cited a private bank executive who said “As most components of the wealth offering become more commoditized, the quality of the client experience is the only differentiator”.

Last year wealth management firms invested heavily in three areas to boost the client experience, according to a VIP Forum survey: financial planning; client contact strategy and website capabilities.

The survey also showed that clients rated ease of doing business; customization and education as three factors that increased their confidence in their financial provider.

And, it turned out, the client’s initial sales experience went a long way towards forming their overall impression of the firm.

Nonetheless, Blankenbaker said, “the single hardest thing to do is to get advisors to listen.”

Source:  Family Wealth Report

Posted by Steven Maimes, The Trust Advisor

Permalink:  http://thetrustadvisor.com/headlines/banks-counting

Well, you can improvise and try to come up with ideas day by day—but that would require too much brainpower and spontaneous creativity. And while I’m sure you’re overflowing with creative energy, it’s not worth the headache.

Editorial calendars are one of the easiest ways to plan and produce consistent social media and blog content. Below are three steps to get you started:

Select a master calendar: Before building an editorial calendar, you’ll need to acquire a master calendar. This calendar must be convenient, accessible for you and your associates, simple, and navigable. It is the map you’ll repeatedly refer to for an extended period of time. If you were visiting a foreign country, you wouldn’t want to decode a sloppy or complicated map—you won’t want that here either. Here are a few calendar platforms for you to consider—but by all means, do what works best for you and your business.

• Google Calendar: Google calendar is a free online tool that you can use to create your editorial calendar. Not only is it simple, accessible, and navigable—it also prompts you to set up reminders that you can synch with your Smart Phone.
• Microsoft Word: There are many calendar templates on Word that are perfect for creating editorial calendars. Depending on your organizational infrastructure, you may also consider using Outlook.
• Editorial Calendar on WordPress: This editorial calendar gives you an overview of your blog and when each post will be published. You can drag and drop to move posts, edit posts right in the calendar, and manage your entire blog.

Articulate strategies and parameters: By developing and solidifying a social media and blog strategy, you and everyone associated with your content will share the luxury of being on the same page. Here’s how you can achieve this:

• Keywords and Length Requirements: This takes us back to our old friend, SEO. Create a master list of SEO friendly keywords that you frequently implement into blog and social media posts. Also create length standards for your blog. This makes it easy for all writers, both internal and external, to create the best content possible.
• Target Audience: It is very important to have a keen understanding of your target audience. Note their interests, education level, family dynamics, income level, gender, ect. Speak their language, understand their needs, and be aware of the hot, trending topics in their world.
• Master list of Topics: Blog in such a way that covertly communicates your business’ expertise. I suggest brainstorming at least of 5-10 of your firm’s key areas of expertise and services, such as retirement planning, estate planning, investing, or insurance. Use these topics as springboards for social media and blog posts. And as a friendly reminder, don’t ever seek to self-promote or explicitly advertise your business via blogs and social media. As a content producer, you’re here to create content that benefits, educates, and provokes thought for your audience.

Establish patterns and themes: You don’t want to get caught sitting in the office at 6pm on a Friday evening scraping for your next blog post. Here are some ways to plan ahead:

• Deadlines and Publishing Days: Choose specific days when blog posts are due for edits, and days when they go live each week. Here at FSM, we post blogs on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s because that’s what works best for our team. Select deadlines that are convenient for you, your writers, and your readers. When inviting guest authors, make sure you give them at least 2-3 weeks to write the post—assuming they are very busy and that there will be edits. For social media, here is an awesome daily social workout regimen your business can follow.

• Themes: There are several ways to approach themes. Some people like to create recurring weekly themes like “Retirement Tuesday” or “Money Saver Monday”; others like to establish monthly themes like “April: Taxes” and “August: Planning for Education”. When it comes to developing themes, do what works best for you and your staff. The important key is keeping content fresh and relevant. The College Funding Connection has a “Financial Aid Question of the Month”.
• Holidays/Current Events: Take into consideration holidays, cultural traditions, current events, and milestones. Perhaps you might cater your content to the Super Bowl, The Olympic Games, or the Fourth of July. Regardless of which ones you chose, remember to creatively tie it back into your field.
• Mediums: Many financial professionals still think that all blog content has to be produced by them or their team. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a plethora of styles and strategies for producing content. It doesn’t always have to be a cut-and-dry informative piece. Schedule variety in your social media and blog calendar—such as how-to’s, case studies, opinion pieces, interviews, guest blog contributions, insightful pieces, testimonials, podcasts, videos, commentaries, and more.

Blogs and social media platforms are meant to be fun! Remember to enjoy the process and always ensure that your editorial calendar complies with your social media policy.

– Blog post recently written by Amy McIlwain of Financial Social Media.

Source: arkovi.com

Posted by Steven Maimes, The Trust Advisor

Permalink: http://thetrustadvisor.com/wealth-tech-news/media-editorial-calendar

Allen Stanford

The Official Stanford Investors Committee filed the federal complaint against BDO USA, and related entities BDO International, BDO Global Coordination and Brussels Worldwide Services. The complaint abbreviates Stanford Group Co. as SGC.

“Despite the pervasive fraud that infected Stanford Financial Group’s operations, BDO USA repeatedly issued unqualified audit opinions on its Stanford clients’ annual financial statements,” the complaint states. “BDO USA’s audit opinions on SGC’s financial statements were critical to Stanford Financial Group’s success.”

In March, Stanford was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and one count of obstruction of an SEC proceeding. He was acquitted of one wire fraud charge.

“Allen Stanford and his co-conspirators used the promise of SIBL CDs to lure investor money into Stanford Financial Group and then stole billions of dollars in assets from Stanford Financial Group companies for their own personal benefit,” the complaint states, abbreviating Stanford International Bank Ltd. certificates of deposit.

“Substantial sums of these stolen funds were used to: (i) support the lavish lifestyles of Allen Stanford and his Ponzi insiders; (ii) issue bogus, unsecured personal “loans” to Allen Stanford; (iii) capitalize other entities wholly owned by Allen Stanford; and (iv) fund investments in speculative, illiquid, and high-risk assets, including private equity holdings and massive investments in Antiguan real estate.”

Investors say BDO USA provided critical services to Stanford Financial Group for over a decade, auditing the annual financial statements of Stanford Group Co., a Houston-based broker-dealer and investment adviser that recommended and sold SIBL CDs to investor.

BDO USA also allegedly audited the annual financial statements of Stanford Trust Company (Louisiana), which served as trustee and custodian to hold the SIBL CDs that SGC sold for its investors’ IRA accounts. And it audited the annual financial statements of Stanford Group Holdings, a holding company for the broker-dealer arm of Stanford Financial Group, including SGC and STC, according to the complaint.

BDO allegedly played a significant role in weakening banking laws in Antigua, where SIBL was based. When Antigua came under increased scrutiny from foreign regulators, Stanford formed a task force to rewrite the country’s banking laws, according to the complaint.

The task force allegedly succeeded both in weakening regulations, and in effectively eliminating SIBL’s Antiguan competitors, making Stanford the country’s de facto offshore banking regulator.

“The smashing success of the Stanford task force and its misleading regulatory ‘reforms’ were rooted in its exclusive nine-person membership,” the complaint states. “Every firm represented on the Task Force provided crucial services to Stanford Financial Group, and every individual member of the Task Force was personally appointed by Stanford himself. … BDO USA’s partners and associates comprised nearly half of the Stanford Task Force’s members, more than any other firm represented on the Task Force.”

The key initiative of the task force was to amend Antigua’s Money Laundering Act to ensure that “fraud” and “false accounting” were not included as violations, investors say.

BDO USA allegedly had some of the most important responsibilities in completing the initiative, including reviewing and advising on Antigua’s banking laws, and making recommendations to Antigua’s regulatory authorities, including procedures for supervising and examining international banks.

BDO USA’s service on the task force completely undermined its independence from SFG and, and as a result, violated generally accepted auditing standards by issuing unqualified audit opinions on its Stanford clients’ annual financial statements during the years that BDO USA served on the Stanford Task Force, the complaint says.

Investors also accuse BDO USA’s audit engagement partner, Carlos Ancira, of concealing critical, material information from his own audit engagement team.

“Ancira knew that SGC was under increasing scrutiny from the SEC years before the U.S. Government seized Stanford Financial Group in February 2009,” the complaint states. “Shockingly, however, Ancira reassured SGC in a February 28, 2007 email that ‘[d]ue to the sensitivity of the situation,’ no other members of BDO USA’s audit engagement team would be told about the SEC’s investigation of SGC for possible securities fraud. Furthermore, Ancira’s email permitted SGC’s outside legal counsel to omit any discussion of the SEC investigation in its audit response letter.”

For every year BDO USA audited SGC’s annual financial statements, it failed to confirm that SGC remitted investor funds to purchase SIBL CDs and failed to properly modify its audit opinions, the complaint alleged. It also stated that BDO USA failed to properly consider and apply consolidation principles, failed in its role as a public watchdog and issued unqualified audit opinions in spite of knowing its Stanford clients “substantially” depended on SIBL CDs.

The investors seek actual and punitive damages for negligence, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and conversion. They are represented by Guy Hohmann with Hohmann, Taube & Summers in Austin.

Source:  courthousenews.com

Posted by Steven Maimes, The Trust Advisor

Permalink:  http://thetrustadvisor.com/headlines/investors-sue

There’s a turf war brewing over the nine-inch real estate on your clients’ tablet screens, and if you’re too busy staring at your own iPad, you’ll miss out.  

Figure a tablet computer is the hottest toy for high-net-worth Americans. Even low-end financial apps that focus on cash flow management and bill payment are getting millions of downloads.

And getting your name and contact information on those apps effectively makes you the go-to authority for those millions of Americans, each well-off enough to be playing with an iPad in the first place.

How you make that happen is high on the agenda for ByAllAccounts’ next free webinar this Thursday at 2 PM EST: “Are you an iPadvisor? The Essential Guide to Utilizing Tablet Technology For Your Practice ”

(Register HERE)

Becoming the iPad advisor  

And from there, it’s only a short cognitive hop to turning those apps into prospecting tools.

While I haven’t heard of any advisors who are using branded apps to aggressively prospect to strangers via the app store, I suspect there are already geniuses working on it.

Think about the psychology. Someone who sees your app doesn’t know who you are.

All they know is that they have a financial question and are turning to their iPad for the answers, instead of turning to an existing advisor.

That’s a classic opportunity.  Sure, people who download your app may not be in the right part of the country or have a big enough net worth for you to take them on as a client.

But think of it as a national media opportunity, like a spot on CNBC or Bloomberg TV.

Just getting your name out there plants the seeds in minds across the country that you’re the go-to person in your area.  You might not get any direct prospect calls from app users, but you might get your share of recommendations.

And for a service that’s not costing you any time or attention once it’s up and running, that’s not a bad trade at all.

Running a better meeting  

In the here and now, other apps can help keep local prospects and B-level clients on the line while you deal with the big fish.

Amp, designed by Boulevard R, is tailored for face-to-face prospect meetings and seems especially promising where it comes to small groups — think retirement plan participants or wealthy families who come in together.

“Say you’ve got a lunch-and-learn and you bring in 5 iPads tethered to a MiFi mobile hotspot,” says Matt Iverson, who runs Boulevard R’s product group and will be presenting at Thursday’s webinar.

“You can put the app in the hands of five people and in 10 minutes you’ve delivered way more value than you possibly could through the typical 60-minute presentation.”

Let them plug in their own financial data while you talk, and that value will add up even faster.

Remember, your app doesn’t have to restrict itself to assets you personally manage — account aggregation lets clients and prospects alike see what you can do with all their holdings.

And as a bonus, when you get their call, they’ve already pre-qualified themselves. The app does a lot of the heavy data gathering on its own.

Ultimately, that’s what tablet computers do best.

There’s a lot of effort going on in the financial services world to make these awesome little toys more serious, like desktops you can take home so the work never stops.

Keep it simple. Keep it fun. And keep it in front of as many people as possible.