--- NOVEMBER 17, 2006 ---

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Tiburon releases highlights and key learnings from the break-out sessions recently held during Tiburon CEO Summit XI. A vital component to the success of Tiburon's CEO Summits is the nine break-out sessions, allowing attendees to share opinions and debate relevant topics in small groups. Facilitated by Tiburon CEO Summit Planning Committee members, the break-out sessions addressed topics such as consumer wealth, liquefaction, & the retirement income challenge; separately managed accounts & other fee-account programs, sales & marketing strategies, and the fast growing independent advisor markets. For many attendees, these small group sessions amongst industry leaders are one of the highlights of Tiburon's CEO Summits

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Context Setting

Nine break-out sessions were held at the recent Tiburon CEO Summit, allowing attendees to more informally debate trends and business strategies. Each session included no more than thirty attendees, promoting frank discussions on a wide variety of topics. The sessions were kicked off with brief presentations of Tiburon research related to each break-out session topic. Top financial industry executives such as Tim Armour (Managing Director, Morningstar), Dennis Clark (CEO, Advisor Partners), Tif Joyce (President, Joyce Financial Management), Tom Lydon (President, Global Trends Investments), Kirk Michie (Managing Director, Lenox Advisors), and David Smith (Group Publisher, Financial Advisor Magazine, Charter Financial Publishing Network), facilitated the break-out sessions, ensuring that the discussions remained lively and focused on high-level topics. The break-out sessions were grouped into three broad categories - products, markets, and advisor issues.

Product Break-Out Sessions

Product break-out sessions were held on mutual funds & exchange traded funds; separately managed accounts & other fee-account programs; and hedge funds, venture capital & private equity, real estate, & other alternative investments.

Mutual Funds & Exchange Traded Funds

	David Carroll (President, Capital Management Group, Wachovia Corporation) and Chip Roame (Managing Principal, Tiburon Strategic Advisors) discuss industry trends in-between break-out sessions

Tom Lydon (President, Global Trends Investments) and David Smith (Group Publisher, Financial Advisor Magazine, Charter Financial Publishing Network) facilitated a discussion on key trends in the mutual funds & exchange traded funds marketplace. Mr. Lydon began by sharing the latest data & analysis from Tiburon’s new research reports on the mutual funds and ETFs markets. Amongst other facts, that research showed:

The mutual funds industry is huge, with $8.5 trillion at the end of 2005 (approaching $10.0 trillion now) and 19.5% of all US consumers financial assets being invested in mutual funds
The fast growing independent advisor channels primarily utilize mutual funds, with fee-only financial advisors having 61% of client assets invested in no-load mutual funds inside fee-accounts, and independent reps having 39% of client assets invested in commissionable mutual funds and another 16% invested in no-load mutual funds inside fee-accounts
Assets is exchange traded funds are exploding, having recently reached $363 billion
Perspective is important. At $8.5 trillion and $363 billion, the mutual funds market is 23 times larger than the exchange traded funds market (or the exchange traded funds market is 4% of the mutual funds market), and mutual funds still capture 75% of all flows into the combined products

On the mutual funds side, Mr. Smith noted that the data seems to indicate a flight to quality with the lion’s share of flows going to three large mutual fund complexes. The group agreed that all of the winning mutual fund companies share some common attributes: they are low cost providers in their respective channels, they largely avoided being entangled in the mutual fund scandals, and they have provided steady performance. Session participants observed that if one is not one of the few large, well capitalized players, being a boutique player with a clear targeted niche strategy is required for long term viability. Mr. Lydon also pointed out the differences in the types of funds utilized by fee-only advisors and independent reps. Skip Schweiss (Executive Vice President, Fiserv Investment Support Services, Fiserv) pointed out that, “despite all of the fee compression and mutual fund consolidation, investors still have plenty of successful funds to choose from,” and Jerry Wagner (CEO, Flexible Plan Investments) argued that, “mutual funds will continue to grow as long as they are the primary product of choice for the growing independent rep market.” Mr. Schweiss and others also agreed that, “for a number of reasons, mutual funds are better positioned to fit into 401k platforms.”

However, discussion in the group was again dominated by the subject of ETFs and their adoption by advisors. Mr. Lydon noted that more do-it-yourself investors were using ETFs and Keith Gregg (Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel) suggested that the growth in ETFs is coming from opposite ends of the spectrum for similar reasons. The group agreed that with over 200 ETFs now available, institutions and small investors alike use ETFs for diversification, simplification, and low cost. There was broad agreement that ETFs lend themselves well to new innovative engineered products. Advantages of cost, tax control, intra-day trading, and transparency were cited as key advantages that will boost penetration above the current 7% at the advisor level. Vijay Advani (Executive Vice President, Global Advisor Services, Franklin Templeton Investments) suggested that, “advisors can add value by combing mutual funds with ETFs to create strategies to mitigate risks and increase returns.” Mr. Advani noted that, "ETF growth has occurred at a time when traditional mutual funds have not performed well." He questioned whether the growth would continue when active fund performance improves. Mr. Lydon pointed out that, “many advisors are poised to try their hands at ETFs but are quite unaware of some of the operational realities of trading ETFs.” He described a new blog he organized to improve the communication of timely information about ETFs at www.ETFtrends.Com. A voice of caution was raised by Mr. Advani as he noted that, a problem could occur if, "investors start viewing ETFs as they did technology stocks in the late 1990s."

Finally, Mr. Roame reminded the group that, "while ETFs are the fastest growing segment of the fund industry, they account for only $363 billion versus the $8.5 trillion in the mutual fund industry. Total assets in ETFs will grow rapidly,” he said, “but not catch mutual funds for twenty years, if ever.”

Separately Managed Accounts & Other Fee-Account Programs

Tim Armour (Managing Director, Morningstar) facilitated a discussion of separately managed accounts & other fee-account programs. Mr. Armour started the discussion with a review of Tiburon research on these topics. Amongst other facts, the research showed that:

Packaged fee-accounts have grown substantially over the past eight years to over $1.2 trillion at the end of 2005 (over $1.5 trillion now)
Many report that wirehouses dominate the fee-accounts market but just 16% of wirehouses’ client assets are invested in fee-accounts (a similar share of independent reps’ clients assets are invested in fee-accounts)
The real fee-accounts market should be defined to include the fee-only financial advisors market (RIAs) ($1.1 trillion), the bank trust accounts market ($1.0 trillion), and the high net worth money managers direct market ($0.5 trillion); when including these markets, new conclusions can be made as opposed to analyzing just the $1.2 trillion packaged fee-accounts market, which the wirehouses do dominate

The group seemed to reach census that unified managed accounts & multi-style portfolios products will become more significant than separately managed account products in the future. Ron Cordes (Chairman, Asset Mark Investment Services, Genworth Financial) mentioned that his firm was having great success with multi-style portfolios. He attributed the success to greater efficiency and back-office simplicity from the products. Several participants expressed concern regarding the use of overlay managers executing trades for active managers. Jud Bergman (CEO, Envestnet Asset Management) and Ron Cordes both defended the strategy, stating that taxes should be a driving force in the management of portfolios. Mr. Cordes noted that his firm’s collaboration with Parametric provided a powerful tax overlay to optimize portfolio decisions. Additionally, he outlined a unique retirement product which combines growth, balanced and income sleeves, which are offered as three separate tiers of one unified managed retirement account.

The group debated the lack of (and need for) customization and tax planning in separately managed accounts. Jud Bergman related that the active customization that his firm brings to investors with concentrated portfolios, offering diversification while balancing the economic risks of concentrated positions.

Other products experiencing positive flows were all ETF portfolios (John Iachello, Chief Operating Officer Pershing Advisor Solutions, Bank of New York) and laddered bond portfolios (Jud Bergman)

Mr. Roame closed by saying, “all is sorting out in the fee-accounts market; unified managed accounts are the product that should have existed all along”.

Hedge Funds, Venture Capital & Private Equity, Real Estate, & Other Alternative Investments

Tim Armour (Managing Director, Morningstar) facilitated a discussion on the alternative investments markets. He began by presenting recent Tiburon research; amongst other facts, the research showed that:

Product proliferation is incredible; there are now more hedge funds (8,600) than mutual funds (7,929), and hedge fund assets have reached $1.1 trillion ($1.7 trillion now worldwide)
Although pension plans and other institutional investors are now a greater presence in the hedge funds market, individuals and family offices still account for the majority (55%) of hedge fund assets
While most hedge funds have less than $50 million, almost two-thirds of the assets are held by the largest funds, and hedge funds-of-funds now account for 40% of all assets
Hedge fund performance data is sloppy at best, with self-reporting data varying across industry databases, and suffering from both cherry picking and survivor bias
The venture capital & private equity markets are also going quickly (with dozens of $1 billion funds being raised recently); however, many of the largest and top-performing funds are inaccessible for all except the largest institutional investors

Discussion centered on the evolution of retail distribution channels for alternative investments. Mr. Armour highlighted that as Morningstar has expanded coverage of the category to nearly 6,000 funds in its database, the firm has characterized the category as a virtual barbary coast, which must be traversed carefully. Mr. Roame explained the difficulties with hedge fund data, saying that, “in a market when performance reporting is optional, averages are meaningless”. Andrew Rudd (CEO, Advisor Software) added that database providers were unlikely to get the in-depth information from the superior performers that they sought.

Participants also discussed the difficulties in accessing the best performing hedge funds. Amit Choudhury (CEO, Pinnacle Partners) added that advisors and their clients are similarly not likely to be able to get investment access to those same superior performers. In the club-like category, access is severely restricted to preferred, relationship-based investors. The discussion migrated to the visible meltdown experienced at Amaranth and the group agreed with Mr. Choudhury’s forecast that broadly diversified fund-of-funds will be a popular format going forward. David Carroll (President, Capital Management Group, Wachovia Corporation) agreed that the fund-of-fund structure would remain popular at his firm as a way to diversify risk. Despite the potential pitfalls, the group seemed to agree that the salient need for assets with lower correlation with the equity market will drive the growth and popularity of hedge funds.

Participants also discussed the booming venture capital & private equity markets, noting that in contrast to hedge funds, pension funds hold the majority of assets. Chip Roame (Managing Principal, Tiburon Strategic Advisors) predicted that, “we may see the same consumerism rise in venture capital and private equity as we have seen in hedge funds.”

Markets Break-Out Sessions

Markets break-out sessions were held on: consumer wealth, liquefaction, & the retirement income challenge; captive advisors, (brokers, private bankers, & insurance agents); and independent advisors (fee-only financial advisors & independent reps).

Consumer Wealth, Liquefaction, & the Retirement Income Challenge

Tim Armour (Managing Director, Morningstar) facilitated a discussion on consumer wealth, liquefaction, & the retirement income challenge. Mr. Armour opened the session by outlining the amount of consumer wealth, the pending liquefaction, and the likely retirement income challenge from Tiburon research. Amongst other facts, the research revealed that:

US consumers have more than $17 trillion of investable assets, $25 trillion of financial assets, and $46 trillion of total assets
The bad news is that over three-quarters of baby boomers over the age of 55 have less than $100,000 in investable assets, the savings rate continues to hit all time lows (0.2%), and very few US households will receive an inheritance over $100,000
But the good news is that baby boomers pending retirement will drive more assets into the investable asset market due to liquefaction; specifically, the amount of wealth that will transfer into investable assets will raise overall investable assets from approximately $17 trillion to almost $30 trillion by 2010, creating a tremendous opportunity for financial advisors
At the same time, however, investors' post-retirement life expectations have increased dramatically, creating a challenge for advisors who must design portfolios for their clients that will provide for their needs during their retirement years
The average 65 year old male has a 65% chance of living past 85

The breakout session attracted a large audience and first responded to the Tiburon research finding that the IRA rollover opportunity in the future will be significant but that no player has determined an effective way to capture a higher percentage of dollars that are flowing out. The group then easily reached a consensus on the daunting public policy issues surrounding retirement income planning. David Carroll (President, Capital Management Group, Wachovia Corporation) summarized it best by observing that, “there is no immediate consequence of doing nothing” about saving for retirement. As such, the future breadth and magnitude of this issue is likely to overwhelm efforts to marshal needed resources to deal with it.

More practically, Chuck Robinson (Senior Vice President, Investment Products & Services, Northwestern Mutual) observed that his firm is, “preparing to deal with what they see as the five basic retirement needs - investments, guaranteed income, consolidation/monitoring, medical issues, and estate/legacy.” The group observed that the combination of asset managers and insurance firms will be a frequent emerging partnership in the future. Randy Merk (President, Schwab Financial Products, The Charles Schwab Corporation) observed that, “while financial advisors have developed the needed level of trust with retirees, they do not necessarily have the needed retirement planning expertise that resides with insurance firms.” Purma Pareek (CEO, Advice America) added that, “behavioral finance issues will increase the challenge for advisors as they deal with the tendencies that clients have to do exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time.” Financial providers need to develop new tools to help advisors deal with these challenges and financial advisors need to be focused on more than simply asset accumulation and income generation.

Mr. Roame summarized Tiburon’s view that, “the pending liquefaction and retirement income challenge will make it a great time to be a financial advisor, at least for the next two decades”.

Captive Advisors (Brokers, Private Bankers, & Insurance Agents)

David Smith (Group Publisher, Financial Advisor Magazine, Charter Financial Publishing Network) and Tif Joyce (President, Joyce Financial Management) facilitated a discussion that addressed captive advisors, including brokers, private bankers, & insurance agents. Amongst other facts, the research showed that:

There are now 250,000 captive advisors, including over 65,000 wirehouse brokers, over 60,000 bank reps, over 50,000 property & causality insurance agents, and over 30,000 life insurance agents
Captive advisors dominate consumers’ investable assets, with wirehouses and banks each contributing about one-third (36% and 32% respectively)
But captive advisors are growing slower than other channels; with independent advisors growing client assets at 16% per annum, full-service brokers (11%), banks (3%), and insurance companies (2%) trail behind

The group began its discussion by reflecting on potential conflicts of interest and various strategies of leading firms. Driven by earlier conversation, Mr. Smith commented that recently Smith Barney and Citigroup distanced themselves from the potential conflicts of interest while earlier in the day, David Carroll (President, Capital Management Group, Wachovia Corporation) presented Wachovia's strategy of operating both an investment management business (Evergreen Investments) simultaneously with a brokerage business (Wachovia Securities).

On a more tactical level, Mr. Joyce, who himself was previously a rep at Ameriprise Financial, explained the merits of independence, stating that it can be a competitive advantage for an independent rep to promote their independence from the large corporate wirehouses. But Chuck Robinson (Senior Vice President, Investment Products & Services, Northwestern Mutual) and Alan Spiegelman (Wealth Management Advisor, Northwestern Mutual) balanced the view saying that the captive environment serves many advisors well. Mr. Robinson also noted that Northwestern Mutual was now the fifth largest broker/dealer.

Mr. Roame summarized Tiburon’s view that, "the independent market will likely far out grow the captive environment in numbers of advisors and assets under management, but the captive environments' profitability will continue to make it a force."

Independent Advisors (Fee-Only Financial Advisors & Independent Reps)

David Smith (Group Publisher, Financial Advisor Magazine, Charter Financial Publishing Network) and Tif Joyce (President, Joyce Financial Management) facilitated a discussion that addressed independent advisors, including fee-only financial advisors, independent reps, and the emerging group of hybrids. Mr. Smith, using Tiburon research, offered the group the needed data; amongst other facts, he shared that:

There are now over 110,000 independent advisors (82,000 independent reps and 30,000 partners at fee-only financial advisors), well more than the number of wirehouse brokers
Independent advisors though still control just one-third of the assets of full-service brokers ($1.2 trillion versus $6.2 trillion)
Although both referred to as independent advisors, the independent rep and fee-only financial advisor markets are quite different (e.g, independent reps average $12 million assets under administration while fee-only financial advisors average $56 million assets under management; independent reps invest 15% of client assets in fee-accounts while self-reported fee-only financial advisors invest 85% of client assets in fee-accounts; independent reps have an average account size of $142,000 while fee-only financial advisors average $510,000)

The group initially focused on gaining a more clear distinction of the regulatory, practice ethics, revenue, and valuation factors that distinguish these markets. Mr. Joyce, citing Tiburon research, asserted that fee-only advisors generate more revenues, work with wealthier clients, and ultimately develop businesses with higher valuations. However, everybody agreed that the broker/dealer model or commission model was not going to die.

The discussion progressed into the nuances around wealth management as a business model (a common theme at the CEO Summit), and which group best provided the services that may define that term. Andy Putterman (President, Fortigent, Lydian Trust Company) expressed the view that the distinction is more in terms of advisors' approach to working with clients than the products or services offered, and Jeff Lancaster (Managing Principal, Bingham, Osborn, & Scarborough, Boston Private Financial Holdings) used his firm's model as an example of wealth management, and indicated that it was both an approach, and a set of products or services. Mr. Smith summarized the group’s opinions with the idea that, “whether your legal distinction is fee-only financial advisor, independent rep, or hybrid, you probably think of yourself as a wealth manager”.

Mr. Roame added that, "independent reps will continue to grow in numbers but fee-only financial advisors seem to be capturing the greatest share of the assets". Mr. Roame also noted that for the first time, the number of independent reps was greater than the number of wirehouse brokers.

Advisor Issues Break-Out Sessions

Advisor issues break-out sessions were held on sales & marketing strategies; benchmarking & best practices; and mergers & acquisitions.

	Larry Chambers (Contributing Editor, Investment Advisor, Wicks Business Information) and Ken Fisher (CEO of Fisher Investments) debate marketing strategies during a break-out session

Sales & Marketing

Tif Joyce (President, Joyce Financial Management) and Kirk Michie (Managing Director, Lenox Advisors) facilitated a discussion around sales & marketing strategies. Mr. Joyce highlighted Tiburon Strategic Advisors key findings, including the opportunity in targeting prospective clients by type (retirement plan rollovers continue to be the largest pool), by size (mass affluent are overlooked), gender (women are more inclined to rely on financial advisors than men), and ethnicity (changing dynamics in minority segments of the US population). Amongst other facts, this research showed that:

The sweet spot seems to be with the 24 million households that have $100,000-$1 million (28% of total US investable assets) and even more so with the 4.3 million households that have $1 -$5 million of investable assets (50% of total US investable assets)
Small business owners (39%), corporate executives (28%), and professional occupations (25%) are the key sources of wealth
Retirement plan rollovers (44%) and other sources of new money (19%) account for two-thirds of incremental assets being captured by financial advisors
Wealth concentrated primarily on the coasts; California now has 859,000 $1 million households, it is followed by Florida (265,000), Texas (204,000), New York (185,000), New Jersey (175,000), Illinois (172,000), Massachusetts (120,000), and Virginia (107,000)
A key opportunity for all types of advisors is to break out of the heavy reliance upon client referrals (54% even amongst the fastest growing fee-only financial advisor segment)

Among attendees, Ken Fisher (CEO, Fisher Investments) reliance on direct mail marketing was unique. Mr. Fisher’s advocacy for "dropping junk" mail and citing the fact that he was, “probably the only person there who almost couldn’t attend because the timing of the conference was in conflict with the Direct Marketers Association conference” set his firm apart from many others. Taken together with his firm’s $34 billion in assets, and his ranking as #320 on the Forbes 400 listing of wealthiest Americans, his viewpoint deserved attention.

Scott Hanson (CEO, Hanson McClain) chimed in on Mr. Fisher’s comments as another advisor with a direct mail campaign that targets households in the geographic area most desirable for his firm. Mr. Hanson has also employed media (hosting a radio show and writing a newspaper column), and targeting a specific type of assets (retirement rollovers) and a specific demographic (telephone company retirees). This niche marketing approach has successfully allowed Mr. Hanson to, as he noted, "work with the masses and live with the classes.”

Jeff Kanaly (Vice Chairman, Kanaly Trust Company) and Andy Putterman (President, Fortigent, Lydian Trust Company) discussed their firm’s efforts to increase sales through traditional sales and business development (Kanaly Trust Company), and generating referrals through client appreciation events (Lydian Trust Company).

Against that backdrop of increasing opportunity, however the primary finding amongst the participants was the heavy reliance on passive client referrals as the primary strategy for developing new business. Mr. Joyce noted that, "a wide variety of sales & marketing strategies exist but most advisors do nothing." Most of the attendees left the break-out session shaking their heads over the opportunities they’re not pursuing, and with a fresh resolve to take more strategic and focused actions consistent with the better practices gleaned from the research, and a few of their more proactive peers.

Mr. Roame summarized that, "with a competitive playing field crowded with over 400,000 financial advisors, marketing through referrals, advertising & public relations, focused target & niche marketing, seminars & direct marketing, and other marketing strategies will be key to success. Numerous opportunities exist, execution is the key".

Benchmarking & Best Practices

Tom Lydon (President, Global Trends Investments) and Kirk Michie (Managing Director, Lenox Advisors) facilitated a discussion on benchmarking & best practices. Mr. Michie opened the session by providing highlights of the conclusions from Tiburon’s thirteen advisor benchmarking tools, including www.FABestPractices.Com.

There is not significant variance in the number of partners across firm sizes; financial advisors with less than $250,000 of revenues average 1.4 partners, while those generating $1 million or more in revenues average 1.8 partners
But almost always, the number of employees grows with revenues; those same financial advisors with less than $250,000 of revenues have an average of 2.3 employees while their larger $1 million + counterparts average 9.4 employees
Technology use is still amazingly limited; Yahoo is the second most widely used data & research service
Almost 40% of independent advisors plan to retire in the next fifteen years but fewer than one in five has a written succession plan
Less than 1% of all advisors have done a client satisfaction survey as part of their company development

Mr. Michie noted that tools are getting more complicated and essential in the business, but the most important aspect of success in the firm is creating and maintaining a strong client relationship. Kurt Brouwer (CEO, Brouwer & Janachowski) echoed many of the broader findings based on the research that his firm has completed. Burnie Sparks (President, Client Group, Bailard) noted, and it was confirmed by other participants in the break-out session, that while many advisors plan to retire, very few have developed viable succession plans.

Mr. Roame encouraged the group to focus on the best practices that could be proven, including, “conducting client satisfaction surveys at least partially to uncover client referrals." Mr. Roame further said that, "benchmarking and best practices profiles present two of the best ways to learn."

Mergers & Acquisitions

Tom Lydon (President, Global Trends Investments) and Kirk Michie (Managing Director, Lenox Advisors) facilitated a discussion on mergers & acquisitions. Mr. Lydon opened the session presenting highlights of Tiburon’s recently released research report on succession planning, firm valuations, & the growing acquisition market for financial advisors:

Half of all independent advisors intend to sell their business upon retirement, with selling to an existing partner of employee being the most popular planned strategy (32%)
Six types of buyers have emerged for financial advisor business, including financial buyers, strategic buyers, and others
Amazingly, independent advisors still believe a revenue multiple to be the most logical valuation method (assuming the business will be ongoing, Tiburon believes that discounted cash flow is the only logical way to value firms)
There is still a great disparity between the number of listing buyers and sellers, and over three-quarters of listing sellers have less than $50 million assets under management

Jeff Kanaly (Vice Chairman, Kanaly Trust Company) expressed his frustration, saying that he had, "spent the past year trying to identify and acquire another firm” and outlining issues like culture and investment approach as significant roadblocks to successfully completing a deal. Mr. Lydon noted that, "while there are six types of buyers, there is a misalignment between buyers and sellers." Ken Fisher’s (CEO, Fisher Investments) declared that, “below a certain size, there is no market” for these types of firms. Jon Foster (CEO, E*Trade Wealth Management, E*Trade Financial) jumped in with some of his recently gleaned insights as his firm seeks to migrate its clients to wealth managers by acquiring firms in key markets, and referring their existing clients.

Tom Lydon led the discussion toward whether firms were buying practices or businesses and used his own firm as an example of more of a practice, though he has a succession plan in place and other hallmarks of a more institutionalized business. Burnie Sparks (President, Client Group, Bailard) and Kurt Brouwer (CEO, Brouwer & Janachowski) described their own firms as both practices and businesses, and Mr. Brouwer suggested that while, “there are more buyers than sellers, the most successful sales are internal." In summing up the challenges of buying a practice as opposed to a business, Mr. Foster pointed out that, "E*Trade bought Brown Company, another discount broker, in 18 days, but it takes one to two years to buy a wealth management firm."

Interestingly, little discussion in the session focused on either price, or whether the number of deals that actually done merits all of the attention this area seems to generate. Tiburon’s recent findings indicate that there are a large number of potential buyers, very few sellers, and fewer still with meaningful levels of assets or revenues. Mr. Roame concluded that, "this is a very small market compared to the 120,000+ independent advisory firms."

Additional Information
Please click the links below for more information on Tiburon's CEO Summits:

2007 - 2009 Tiburon CEO Summits

Tiburon will continue to hold semi-annual CEO Summits in 2007 - 2009. Dates are April 18-19, 2007, October 10-11, 2007, April 9-10, 2008, October 15-16, 2008, April 8-9, 2009, and October 7-8, 2009. Spring 2007 speakers include John DesPrez (CEO, John Hancock Financial Services, Manulife Financial), Steve Lockshin (CEO, Lydian Wealth Management, Lydian Trust Company), Jim Riepe (Retired Vice Chairman & Senior Advisor, T. Rowe Price Group), Paul Schott Stevens (President, Investment Company Institute), and others to be announced. Fall 2007 speakers include Stephanie DiMarco (CEO, Advent Software), Mike Fraizer (CEO, Genworth Financial), George Gatch (CEO, JP Morgan Funds Management, JP Morgan Chase), and others to be announced. Spring 2008 speakers include John Hailer (CEO, IXIS Asset Management Advisors, Groupe Caisse D'Epargne) and others to be announced. All of these CEO Summits will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotels in San Francisco, CA and New York, NY.

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Tiburon Strategic Advisors

Tiburon Strategic Advisors, based in Tiburon, CA, was formed in 1998 to offer market research & strategy consulting services to all types of financial institutions and investment managers: