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HomePut Your Brokers and Bankers in Competition
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 25th, 2009 12:00 PM |
Every global financial enterprise has been hard pressed to maintain, let alone grow, revenues given the economic turmoil. With assets held in portfolio experiencing increasing levels of delinquencies and defaults, these institutions are all forced to set aside more reserves. How do businesses respond? Cut expenses and increase fees wherever and however possible. Who pays? You!!
I regularly see a sleight of hand at work on behalf of banks, insurance companies, money managers and other financial intermediaries to generate greater fees. While you will regularly be solicited with new and improved product offerings, how often are you getting the call that a fee is being increased and you may want to shop around for a better rate.
In an attempt to help you navigate this landscape, I strongly encourage you to approach your brokers and bankers and request a grid-like structure highlighting the basic products on one axis and the fee structure on the other axis. While more structured products and specialized services can be worthy of higher fees, a whole host of basic products fall into the plain vanilla category. (more…)
Leading Wall Street Analyst Speaks
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 22nd, 2009 4:29 PM |
I worked in the mortgage business on Wall Street for 23 years. During that time period I had the good fortune of developing relationships with some of the finest minds in this sector. While I do not know Laurie Goodman personally, I can tell you that there is no one individual in the market today whom investors follow more closely when it comes to developments in this space. While Ms. Goodman does work in a business that is actively engaged with investors, I have always appreciated her perspectives as being untainted by bias and merely reflecting an extremely professional and honest outlook.
What does Ms. Goodman think about President Obama’s plans for housing? It would appear that there may be all sorts of unintended consequences and misaligned incentives in this proposal. Regrettably plans that are well intended often do not necessarily achieve their desired results. I strongly recommend you read Mortgage Plan Aids Liars About Income to gain a fuller appreciation of this proposal.
LD
“Where’s The Money??….!!”
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 29th, 2008 6:38 PM |
I thought about providing an outlook for 2009. I considered offering further opinions on Obama’s economic plans. Perhaps a review of the Bush economic program would be well received. Then yesterday, the lead editorial in my local newspaper asked “Where did the bailout money go?” I had my answer. In previous pieces I have touched upon why I thought there was a very good chance why this money would not flow through the system. I hesitate to continue to refer back to my piece published on November 12th (The Wall St. Model is Broken…and Won’t Soon be Fixed), but for new readers I do firmly believe it is as good as anything I have read or seen in any publication in explaining how we find ourselves in our current position.
Please allow me to digress for a second. I will admit that I am not a movie buff, but I do enjoy films that focus on the success of underdogs, have a measure of financial intrigue, or perhaps a combination of the two. Not surprisingly, a few of my favorite movies are, Rocky, Jerry Maguire, and The Sting.
