In Financial Crisis, Webinars Help Financial Advisors

Advisor Products' Webinars Are Helping Financial Advisors Communicate With Clients During The Financial Crisis

WESTBURY, NY--With clients in financial crisis and suffering the largest portfolio losses in decades, hundreds of independent financial advisors have turned to a weekly webinar series for help. About 125 financial advisors each week attend the webinars to hear about how to communicate with their clients during the credit crisis, many of whom have suffered frightening financial setbacks.

"The global credit crisis has devastated almost every corner of the investment world, and financial advisors have not been immune to the pain," says Andrew Gluck, president and CEO of Advisor Products Inc., the Westbury, New York, company sponsoring the webinar series. "Financial advisors need a weekly reminder about the message they must communicate to clients to help them get through this financial crisis and to help keep the proper perspective."

The Vanguard Groups' Fran Kinniry, recently warned webinar attendees that the 10-year stock market performance statistics reported at the end of every calendar quarter were about to turn negative. With the strong bull market period of the fourth quarter of 1998 falling out of the 10-year numbers, and being replaced by the bear market performance of the fourth quarter of 2008, Vanguard's Kinniry said that long-term performance of stocks will suddenly look poor relative to bonds and other less risky asset classes. Kinniry, who heads the investment strategy group at Vanguard, one of the nation's largest mutual fund companies, urged financial advisors to tell clients that the dismal statistics on stocks show their risk and that Vanguard expects investors to be rewarded for assuming stock risk over the coming 10 years.

Other speakers at the financial crisis webinar series have included designers of financial planning software systems, business coaches, experts on alternative investments, and marketing consultants. Sessions have focused on investing in distressed securities, opportunities in fixed income markets, and how independent financial advisors can benefit from the fall of major Wall Street brokerages during the credit crisis.

Advisor Products, Inc., which makes websites, client newsletters, and brochures for financial advisors, invites advisors to attend the webinars for free. "We have been placed in a privileged position by the hundreds of advisors that use our services, and helping the profession get through this fallout from the credit crisis is our way of giving something back," says Gluck, who was a financial reporter at newspapers and magazines before founding Advisor Products in 1996. "We’ve played an important role over the years in helping financial advisors communicate with clients through the bull market of the late 1990s, the 9/11 tragedy, and the bursting of the tech-bubble. We’re simply sharing what we’ve learned."

The financial crisis webinars are held Fridays at 4 p.m. EST. The January 9 session features estate planning expert Scott Farnsworth of Sunbridge Legacy Network and Dr. Linda Strachan, a retirement distribution expert and VP of Marketing for NaviPlan and Profiles, two widely used financial planning software applications for financial advisors. You can register for future webinars and replay previous sessions at http://gluck.advisorblogcentral.com.

About Advisor Products
Advisor Products makes websites, client newsletters, brochures and other marketing services for about 2,000 independent financial advisory firms. The Westbury, N.Y. company, which was founded in 1996 by veteran financial writer, Andrew Gluck, also provides logo design, marketing copy, stationery and email newsletters for financial advisors. It hosts websites customized for advisors with financial planning content for high-net-worth individuals and hosts email account services geared to financial advisors. Many of the nation's leading Registered Investment Advisers, independent Registered Representatives, and independent broker/dealers rely on marketing and technology services provided by Advisor Products.