RJ and Makay

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Women Financial Advisors Forum (WFAF), the first blog to be developed by an investment firm specifically for women interested in a financial advisor career. 

The site presents the opportunities, challenges and advantages of a career as a financial advisor for women.  It provides information about the job requirements of a financial advisor, how to apply, career development and weekly profiles of women in financial advisor positions at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney who share their individual career journeys. There are also articles written by guest bloggers like the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) and iRelaunch, as well as weekly polls and recommended events.

The new J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study has been released based upon 4,460 surveyed investors who utilize an investment advisor. For the second year in a row Edward Jones received top honors.

The top five consisted of:

1. Edward Jones
2. RBC
3. LPL
4. Schwab
5. Raymond James

Ameriprise, Fidelity, UBS, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley rounded out the top ten for overall satisfaction.  However, based upon “investment performance” the top three were LPL, Ameriprise and Schwab.

The CFP Board conducted a survey of over one thousand Americans they released yesterday. The margin of error is a +/-3.1%. The survey shows that almost two years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the AIG bailout, Americans are slowly regaining confidence in the national economy.  Americans however, are keeping their optimism in check and preparing for a long and slow recovery.

Here are some of the interesting findings: