No More Bull

Merrill Lynch was acquired by Bank of America in the fall of 2008. It’s probably too soon to tell what the new Merrill will be like but this past week Bank of America premiered the new Bank of America Merrill Lynch logo and much to my surprise, there’s no bull.

Merrill Lynch


The penetration of the Merrill brand signified by the bull was so thorough that Merrill’s bull became a veritable symbol of the brokerage industry. To me, the bull was a symbol of strength; not in a head down charging at you kind of way but in the, “I’ll get you through the tough times” kind of way. In retrospect, I guess it’s no surprise that in the current economic environment, we’d lose the bull.

In addition to what’s going on in the market; mergers, consolidations and acquisitions in the financial industry are occurring more quickly than I can track.

A.G. Edwards became Wachovia which became Wells Fargo. The AG Edwards flame logo is gone and I’m sure that the Wachovia wave (I think it’s a wave) can’t be far behind.I must admit, I kind of like the Wells Fargo horse and carriage. It reminds me of the pioneer spirit that we could really use right about now.

Wells Fargo

Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley are now one company. I wasn’t able to find a flame or a wave or a carriage type logo for either of those firms; just words and they’ve apparently decided to keep all of them calling the new firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Margan Stanley Smith Barney

All these changes have presented challenges to clients and employees alike and I’ll leave the opinions on whether or not all this consolidation is good for shareholders to the investment bankers and analysts. But I hope as clients all this transition reminds us to focus on the advisor relationship rather than the name on the building because clearly, the name on the building is subject to change.

As clients we need to focus less on “the bull” and more on the man or woman that we’ve entrusted with our finances. Don’t wait for them to call you they may be a little distracted by the realization that they work for a whole new firm even if they’re in the exact same office with all the same people.

Unless you were really fortunate or really lucky over the past few years, it’s time to get down to business.

No more bull.

Love Letter

As someone who's been married for only six years, I'm constantly looking to those that have been in the game a little longer for wisdom. I recently had the pleasure of talking to such a woman who shared details a love letter from her husband. As she spoke of the content, I could feel my eyes well up and my heart begin to race.

She didn't call it a love letter. That's my term. The content of her letter didn't include any of the things that we often view as romantic. In fact, it was just a list. There was no "My Darling Jessica" and it's wasn't signed "All my love Joe". It was just a list.

Those of you who know me won't be surprised at all to hear that it was a list of all their personal financial information; where to find things, who to talk to and what to do when he was no longer there. In my opinion Joe's list is a thoughtful and truly loving gesture that says, "I'm thinking of you and I want to take care of you even when I'm not here anymore."

What's more romantic than that?

Find the Money to Make Financial Goals Reality

As I began to deliver a speech to a group of my peers at my 20th college reunion this past weekend, I listed the things that I’d be covering in my presentation.

When I got to number four, “Find the Money to Make Goals Reality”, I heard a faint, “Hope you’ve got a magic trick for that one” from the front row.

I always enjoy audience participation but that comment was a gift (I know you weren't expecting the word gift there). It gave me the opportunity to focus on number four for a while.

My reply went something like this, “We all know that we have limited resources and many of us believe that that we should subtract fixed costs from income to “Find the Money to Make Goals Reality”.

I go a step further. My contention is that nothing is fixed and if your so called fixed costs (mortgage, taxes, high end vehicles etc.) are preventing you from achieving your goals, then you either need to reevaluate your goals or your lifestyle.

People come to America from all over the world. Many of them share housing and live modestly while they save and invest in futures together; in true pioneer fashion.

Many of us that are born here have no sense of the pioneer spirit, couldn’t imagine sharing a living space and are out there all alone trying to make a business a success.

In light of the current economy maybe we she revisit the pioneer spirit that made America ~America.”

That may not have been my most popular response of all time. But as much as I’d like to be popular, that’s not my purpose. My purpose is to educate and be an advocate for financial security.

To that end, I encourage you to spend a few minutes listing your goals and your fixed costs and making sure that they are in sync so that you can create the life you want for yourself and your family.