I did an interview over the weekend for a Columbia graduate student seeking both professional and participant commentary about the state of the 401k industry. He wasn’t expecting to hear a whole lot of positive considering the recessionary environment, but he genuinely wanted to know how attitudes and advice regarding 401k investing had changed.

The issue of how to practice is a big one for financial advisors. Regardless of whether you’re starting a business from scratch or moving an existing client book from one firm to the next, the decisions you make will impact your earnings potential and the mood of your office. Is it better to work on a commission basis or collect fees?

Over the past few months I’ve fielded more questions than usual regarding overhauling 401k plans and switching providers outright. The concerns have come from employees and business owners who have found that all or most of the investments in their 401k plan correlate too closely with the major stock and bond indexes.

Some of my clients have baulked at the idea of making a contribution to their traditional or Roth IRA accounts for 2008 before the April 15th deadline. The idea of pumping more money into stock and bond investments in the midst of this ‘economic storm’ is an eerie proposition for some.

I often explain financial planning to my clients as a science whose applications aren’t terribly difficult. It boils down to creating a savings and investment program within the framework of your income and assets.

The Labor Department has finally decided to increase disclosure requirements by retirement plan service providers regarding compensation arrangements and other potential conflicts of interest. In a nutshell, service providers of all types will be required by DOL regulation 408(b)(2) to have a written agreement which clearly elaborates on the various compensation arrangements within the plan which ultimately get paid by plan participants.

Whether or not you liked George Bush, his budgets over the past four years have consistently called for more tax cuts and extensions for expiring tax provisions which would otherwise hike taxes. Last year, Bush extended the lower marginal tax rates on ordinary income and the preferential rates on capital gains and dividend income.

Russell Bailyn is a Wealth Manager with Premier Financial Advisors, Inc., an independent financial planning and investment advisory firm located in Manhattan. Mr. Bailyn is also a registered representative with First Allied Securities, Inc., a FINRA/SIPC member broker/dealer firm.

Financial Advisor Magazine reported this month an average earnings drop of over 30% this year for financial planners.* Yikes! Why is my industry suffering? Don’t people need the help of skilled advisors now more than ever?

Personal finance can be a tricky subject to master. You may feel comfortable with the stock market or perhaps you’ve taken on a mortgage or two, but there probably are a few areas you haven’t mastered yet.

There was an article in Boomer magazine this month about prospective retirees who may be thinking twice about their retirement plans in light of the recently sour economy. It sounds like a reasonable concern to me.