Utilizing Options Overlays with ETFs: An Advisor's Perspective

Cathy Curtis says you don't have to have a product or a company to brand; you can be your own brand. But what does being your own brand mean?

A wave of financial innovation and regulatory reform is revolutionizing Wall Street and popularizing new asset classes aimed at democratizing the flow of capital and giving smaller investors and businesses greater opportunities to prosper. As a result, the financial services industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation that is rapidly rendering traditional banking and brokerage revenue models obsolete, conventional capital raising strategies unfeasible and typical asset class returns negligible.

NowStreet’s new webinar series, “Capitalizing on Financial Innovation” is designed to help broker-dealers, investment bankers, financial advisors, issuers and investors capitalize on this surge of industry disruption. Part I of this timely webinar series will focus on crowdfunding and is aimed at properly preparing investors, asset allocators and issuers for the forthcoming Crowdfunding Revolution. Webinar participants will be armed with the latest financial and legal knowledge from renowned crowdfund industry experts. They will also learn how to employ the social tools needed to succeed in this emerging industry.

Moderator:
* Dara Albright, Founder, NowStreet

Panelists:
* Richard J. Salute, CPA, Consultant with extensive expertise in capital markets and securities regulations
* Douglas S. Ellenoff, Partner at Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole
* Ruth Hedges, CEO of Funding Roadmap

Emerging markets have truly evolved, with the four major countries that became synonymous with emerging markets — Brazil, Russia, India and China — facing slower growth and some of the hiccups of development. Now, many smaller countries not top of mind with investors are exhibiting some of the growth expected of emerging markets.

So, what exactly are emerging markets now and how should investors allocate their money to these markets? Where within this universe are the best opportunities, given that some of these smaller markets like Turkey and Thailand have logged double-digit gains in 2012 while Brazilian and Chinese names have lagged? And what about bonds? Where is the opportunity? Corporate debt? Local-denominated bonds?

Join this live roundtable discussion as experts share their thoughts on where the best opportunities lie and where emerging markets are headed in 2013.

Panelists:
* Reshma Kapadia, Staff Writer, Barron's Magazine (Moderator)
* Bruce Brewington, PM, Forward Management, LLC
* Rob Lutts, CIO, Cabot Money Management
* Robert J. Luna, CEO, Surevest Capital Management

Is social media really necessary? For that matter, what is social media? Carl Richards talks about how breakfast might be your best social media tool.

With returns in conventional asset classes diminishing, institutional money has been flocking to better performing alternative assets such as PE. This “smart money” also knows how to navigate the tax code in order to maintain more of the appreciation. Particularly with interest rates dwindling down to zero, limited growth opportunities on public stock exchanges and tax rates imminently on the rise, how can smaller retail investors recapture portfolio yield without much of it going to Uncle Sam?

Join us for a timely webinar that will provide new strategies for creating and maintaining wealth.


Moderator:
* Dara Albright, Founder, NowStreet

Panelists:
* Richard J. Salute, CPA, Capital Markets and SEC Practice Consultant for CohnReznick
* Maureen Mattera, CPA, Director, CohnReznick
* James A. Jones, Director of Business Development, Accuplan and Founder, AlternativeAssetsIRA

As global markets remain volatile and the uncertainty of the sustainability of developed markets persists, investors are looking for investment opportunities that potentially offer both relative safety and prospects for growth.

Join Hugh Young, Aberdeen's Managing Director and Head of Equities, and Anthony Michael, Aberdeen's Head of Fixed Income Asia-Pacific, as they discuss the opportunities they are finding in the Asian region in this live video roundtable.

What are the key industry sectors that will drive medium term growth in Asia-Pacific? Can your client's portfolio benefit from these emerging stars? Can you manage the high-growth and risk trade-offs? Join Sath Rao, VP of Emerging Market Innovation at Frost & Sullivan, as he leads 2 panelists to discuss the key trends that are providing unprecedented opportunities in Asia-Pacific.

Moderator:
* Sath Rao, VP of Emerging Market Innovation, Frost & Sullivan

Panelists:
* Michael McGowan, Portfolio Manager, Forward International Real Estate Fund
* R. Burns McKinney, CFA, Managing Director, Portfolio Manager/Analyst, NFJ Investment Group

On November 15, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission held a long anticipated forum to tackle JOBS Act implementation.

Chief discussion points included:
•Removing the prohibition on general solicitation in Rule 506
•Crowdfunding
•Establishing a new Regulation A-type exemption with an offering ceiling of $50 million
•Secondary trading platforms

This important webinar will provide an overview of what transpired at the November 15th meeting and discuss how it will impact America’s financial markets. Webinar attendees will gain valuable insight into how the new rules are being employed as well as how these changes will affect broker/dealers, financial advisors and wealth advisors. Listeners will also attain a broad understanding for what is being done to foster issuer transparency and facilitate the due diligence process.

Moderator: Dara Albright, Founder, NowStreet

Panelists:
* Douglas S. Ellenoff, Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole LLP
* Vincent Molinari, Founder and CEO, GATE Technologies
* Richard J. Salute, CPA, Capital Markets and SEC Practice Director
* Sara Hanks, Co-founder and CEO, CrowdCheck

The votes are in, but what does the result mean for you and your clients?

Join our panel of experts as they discuss:
- Outlook for the economy and how the political agenda will affect the prospects for growth
- Likely impact of the election on the stock and bond markets
- Questions that advisors are likely to hear from their clients, and how to answer those inquiries

View this webinar live to participate in live voting and Q&A with the thought leaders.


Presenters:
- Robert Huebscher, CEO, Advisor Perspectives (Moderator)
- Clarke D. Camper, SVP, Head of Government Affairs and Public Advocacy, NYSE Euronext
- Peter Lefkin, SVP of Government and External Affairs, Allianz of America

We all know the baby boomers have changed what it means to be retired, but so have the Silent, G.I. and Lost generations before them, and so will Generation Jones, Gen X and the Millennials going forward. What you may not know is that each generation brings with it a cyclical pattern of attitudes and beliefs that influence how they view the world and how they approach retirement and investing. This session will examine the formative experiences of various generations, how they shape your client’s attitudes and beliefs, and how you can use that knowledge to develop stronger and deeper client relationships.

Marketing in today's world is all about creating conversation and building relationship through frequent interaction. Prospects want to get to know you over time yet this important "Relationship Marketing " is the single most over-looked area of a financial planner's marketing efforts. In this engaging how-to session, you will learn the 6 steps to create your own relationship marketing system that welcomes your lead, builds rapport, and helps convert prospects to clients ...all while you are working on different parts of your business or enjoying life outside the office! You'll see why you are missing most of the people who are interested in working with you and how to turn your web site into a powerful communication tool. You'll also find out how to use technology to automate critical follow-up with your existing and former clients to help keep you top of mind for their next planning project.

Want more prospects? The most important part of getting referrals is being specific about what you want. This session covers six ways to identify potential prospects so it’s easy for people in your network to endorse you.

Global emerging markets are supported by strong fundamentals, rising consumer demand, strong growth rates and attractive balance sheets, all of which point to attractive long-term investment opportunities.

Despite this strong story, many investors are reluctant to invest outside the U.S. This webinar will discuss the state of the world’s emerging economies and how they are an important component to a well-diversified portfolio.

Discussion points:
•Overview of emerging economies
•Potential opportunities and risks
•Regions and countries that are the most and least attractive
•How emerging markets fit an asset allocation strategy

Panelists:
•Cara Esser, Morningstar, Closed-End Fund Analyst
•Peter Taylor, Aberdeen Asset Management, Senior Investment Management, Global Emerging Markets
•John Cole Scott, Portfolio Manager, Executive Vice President, Closed-End Fund Advisors

Short video featuring interviews conducted at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference

- What are the most common questions advisors are asking about dividends?
- When looking into dividend investing, what factors should advisors consider?
- How do you think dividend investing will evolve in the future?


Featuring:
* Jesper Madsen, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Matthews Asia
* David Nadel, Director of International Research and Portfolio Manager, The Royce Funds
* David Chalupnik, Managing Director, Head of Equities, Nuveen Asset Management

Short video featuring interviews conducted at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference

- What are the most common questions advisors are asking about ETFs?
- When looking into ETF investing, what factors should advisors consider?
- What kinds of ETFs are out there?
- What is the biggest change to happen in ETF investing?
- How do you think ETF investing will evolve in the future?


Featuring:
* Erik Liik, CEO, FocusShares
* Marie Dzanis, Head of Sales and Servicing, FlexShares ETFs
* Edward McRedmond, SVP, Portfolio Strategies, Invesco PowerShares

Short video featuring interviews conducted at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference.

- Why is alternative investing popular among financial advisors?
- What are the most common questions advisors are asking about alternatives?
- How can advisors be better educated in this area?
- How do you think alternative investing will evolve in the future?

Featuring:
* Kamal Bhatia, SVP and Product Director, OppenheimerFunds
* Jerry Chafkin, CEO, AlphaSimplex
* David Schassler, Director, Manager Research, Van Eck Associates
* Peter J. Batchelar, VP Product Management, Virtus Investment Partners

Short video featuring interviews conducted at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference.

- Growth trajectory: emerging markets vs. developed markets
- Questions financial advisors should ask when considering investing in emerging markets
- How emerging markets will evolve in the future

Featuring:
*Joel E.D. Wells, PM, Alpine Woods Capital Investors
* Matt Ryan, PM, MFS Investment Management
* James Rehlaender, Managing Director & PM, E.I.I. Realty Securities
* Michael McGowan, PM, Forward International Real Estate

Short video featuring interviews conducted at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference.

- What are the most common questions advisors are asking about retirement?
- What advice do you have for financial advisors investing in retirement?
- How do you think retirement investing will evolve in the future?

Featuring:
*John Ameriks, Principal, Vanguard
*Jim Danaher, Managing Director, Defined Contribution Solutions, Northern Trust

When was the last time you spoke with your clients about their life goals? Gaining a client's trust is not as complicated as we think. It's about asking the right questions and accommodating the aspects of their lives that matter most. So stop worrying about learning the latest tricks - let's start with the basics!


About Carl:
Carl Richards became an accidental artist with his simple sketches that make complex financial concepts easy to understand for thousands of people every week on The New York Times Bucks blog. Richards’ art, which he refers to as Visualizing Finance, has its first showing at the Kimball Art Center, in Park City, Utah. His commissioned work is on display in businesses and educational institutions across the country. His sketches also serve as the foundation for his first book, The Behavior Gap: Simple ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money (Portfolio/Penguin). Carl appears regularly on National Public Radio’s Marketplace Money, writes a column for Morningstar Advisor, and keynotes financial planning conferences and visual learning events. You can find more of his writing and sketches at BehaviorGap.com. A Certified Financial Planner, Carl serves as the director of investor education for BAM Advisor Services and lives in Park City, Utah, with his family.