For some the picture is worse, she says. Some people have walked into her office after having margined their stock holdings last year. As the values of those holdings tanked, people found themselves facing margin calls as well as hefty tax bills, she says. "Most people don't pay attention to their tax situation until it's after the fact," she says.
In addition to helping clients, Blayney has also been busy writing letters to members of Congress. She believes the tax laws should be changed to avoid situations like this. "I think the AMT needs to be reformed so that people are not in a situation where they can't recover the credit," she says. "It was never designed for that purpose."
Schwab Names President Of Group For Advisors
Deborah Doyle McWhinney has been named president of Charles Schwab & Co.'s Services for Investment Managers, which provides operations and trading support to about 6,000 independent fee-based advisors.
McWhinney is taking the helm of one of Schwab's fastest-growing units. Advisor-managed assets at Schwab have grown at a compound rate of 34% the past five years and total $234 billion, about 27% of the company's client-asset base.
In recent months, Schwab has suffered a big decline in its retail business, and its institutional unit faces a host of new rivals. In early March, the firm raised eyebrows among advisors when it announced plans to offer managed accounts in three offices for private clients with $1 million or more in assets. Schwab has managed to balance advisors' concerns with its own need to grow in the past, but all its businesses now face serious competitive pressures.
McWhinney was previously president of Engage Media Services Group, a firm that assesses Internet-site performance. She reports to John Philip Coghlan, president of Schwab Institutional.
FPtransitions.com Buys Competitor
A Web site that specializes in matching buyers and sellers of financial-advisory businesses has done some buying of its own.
FPtransitions.com, a Portland, Ore.-based company, has bought one of its competitors, Success-ionPlanner.com, also in Portland. The purchase price was not disclosed.