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IRA Year-End Reminders

By Eric Eros | Case Planning Qualified Plans IRA year-end reminders 2021 is right around the corner The following reminders can help you

Roth Conversion Considerations for Retirees

By Erica Eros | Case Planning/Retirement Consultant The recent Medicare premium and deductible increase may affect retirees on a fixed income If

3 Tips for Gaining New Clients in 2021

By: SPS Family Practice Management With 2020 in the rearview mirror and the economy slowly reopening, many financial representatives are trying

SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING: New Year’s Resolution – Beneficiary Designations

By Vivian J Villers, CFP, AIF, CWS New Year's Resolution - Beneficiary Designations As part of comprehensive planning, it is

Special Needs Planning: Giving Strategies for a Person with a Disability

By Vivian J Villers, CFP, AIF, CWS As we approach the holidays, I thought it would be helpful to review some gifting ideas for people

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The Annual SPS Family Advisor Summit 2020 Is Almost Here!

By Becky Steffens | Senior Growth Strategist Like pretty much every event in 2020, the SPS Family Advisor Summit will be very different than in

SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING

By Vivian J Villers, CFP, AIF, CWS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN AND THE BASICS Almost everyone knows someone who has a child with a disability

Roth Conversion Considerations

By Erica Eros | Qualified Plans Converting a Traditional IRA or employer-sponsored retirement account to a Roth IRA may offer more flexibility at

THINK LIKE A CHILD

Keith Craig | Marketing Consultant I want to momentarily take you back to childhood days Those days where, as a kid, you had a million ideas

3 Tips for Improving Client Engagement with Your Website

By Becky Steffens | Senior Growth Strategist Think back to the last time you searched for a product you were planning to buy or a company whose

SPS Family Supports Special Operations Warrior Foundation

By Becky Steffens | Senior Growth Strategist While the year 2020 has been pretty unpredictable, SPS Family's drive to support veterans-based

3-Time WealthManagement Industry Award Winner for 2020!

By Jennifer Bacarella, Sr Vice President | Firm Development In case you missed it, SPS Family was a THREE-TIME WINNER at the annual

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT…DO YOU NEED IT?

By Keith Craig and Ken White | Practice Management Practice Management - do you need it The answer is you're already doing it You're not just

BEHAVIORAL FINANCE AND HOLISTIC PLANNING

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning / Practice Management Comprehensive, or holistic, financial planning describes a multidisciplinary approach a

Sigma Financial Corporation Named Runner-Up in Broker-Dealer of the Year Award!

What the Broker-Dealer of the Year Awards Means to Us By Jennifer Bacarella | Executive, Director of Firm Development Every year, Investment

Silent Auction Held to Benefit the Parkland Scholarship Fund

By Jennifer Bacarella, Executive, Director Firm Development Last week, SPS Family held an in-house silent auction to benefit our fourth year of

Strategies for Clients Who Need Cash During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Erica Eros | Case Planning - Qualified Plans The COVID-19 pandemic has led to temporary changes to the IRA withdrawal rules The Coronavirus

5 Things I Learned as a Panelist at the InvestmentNews Women Adviser Summit

By Jennifer Bacarella, Executive, Director Firm Development I have been associated with InvestmentNews Women Advisor Summit for a few years now

PANDEMIC DOWNTIME? USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

By Keith Craig and Ken White | Practice Management We are experiencing unusual times! Times like we have never experienced before, and times we

Behavioral Finance – Reopening the Economy & Consumer Behavior

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning & Practice Management Behavioral Finance - Reopening the Economy & Consumer Behavior When COVID-19

BEST PRACTICES for this UNPRECEDENTED TIME

By Keith Craig and Ken White | Case Planning With Excerpts from Financial Independence Group (FIG)'s COVID-19 Response As the coronavirus

The power of “unsubscribing”

By Kristi Delongchamp | Firm Development Unsubscribe! Free yourself Are you like me and get so many emails nowadays that you spend more time

Transitions Can be Tough – Happy Music Helps!

By Michele Bergeron | Firm Development We know how stressful transitioning your book of business to a new broker-dealer can be Throughout the

We Care About Our Representatives…and it’s not just talk.

By Michele Bergeron, Firm Development All Broker-Dealers say they care about their reps, but do they show it At the SPS Family, actions speak

SPS Family Named 4-Time Finalist for 2020 WealthManagement Industry Awards

We are proud to announce that the SPS Family has been named a 4-time finalist in the 2020 WealthManagement Industry Awards (the

Behavioral Finance and Current Events

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning Behavioral Finance and Current Events The Coronavirus Pandemic and COVID-19: quarantines, temporary business

We Cultivate Next Generation Financial Advisors

By Jennifer Bacarella | Executive Director of Firm Development We Cultivate Next Generation Financial Advisors As an executive of SPS Family

2020 Pandemic High School Graduations

By Kristi Delongchamp | Firm Development Graduating from high school is a time for celebrating accomplishments, enjoying prom and senior

Behavioral Finance: Implement Behavioral Finance in Your Client Interactions

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning Behavioral Finance: Implement Behavioral Finance in Your Client Interactions While financial professionals

What Are We Proud of at SPS Family?

By Jennifer Bacarella | Executive Director of Firm Development One of the questions we get asked most during recruitment is, "How are you

Behavioral Finance: Helping Yourself and Your Clients During These Uncertain Times

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning Behavioral Finance: Helping Yourself and Your Clients During These Uncertain Times The Coronavirus, or

“Must-Ask” Questions when Looking for a new Broker-Dealer!

By Matt Vigo "Must-Ask" Questions when Looking for a new Broker-Dealer! The fact of the matter is switching broker-dealers is actually very

Implement Behavioral Finance in Your Client Interactions

By Cheryl Harwell | Case Planning Implement Behavioral Finance in Your Client Interactions While advisors can't completely offset biases that

The “Broker Protocol” FACTs & FAQs

By Matt Vigo The "Broker Protocol" FACTs & FAQs FACTs The "Broker Protocol" (Protocol) is an agreement that was created in August

Two business professionals working on laptop

BEHAVIORAL FINANCE

By Cheryl Harwell BEHAVIORAL FINANCE Behavioral finance is becoming a much more popular discipline in the field of financial planning and

Jenny’s Blog, Stardate 04.07.2020

Jenny's Blog, Stardate 04072020 by Jenny Bacarella, Executive, Firm Development It's Tuesday! Truthfully, I can't tell what day it is

SPS Family Adding APEG to TechStack

SPS Family Adding APEG to TechStack by Kristi Delongchamp Ann Arbor, MI - [January 24, 2020] - The SPS Family has expanded its robust

5 Tips on Attracting Women to Your Firm

By Jennifer Bacarella, Executive Management, Director of Firm Development We have a real need for more female financial advisors in

Building Relationships: Kindness Goes a Long Way

By Jennifer Bacarella, Executive Management, Director of Firm Development Kindness goes a long way In fact, kindness defines every part of a

An Editor’s Musings on Usage and Style

By Ken White, Editor / Writer I have always enjoyed English, but freely admit the language can be confounding Certain mistakes drive me

Ten Fallacies about Identity Theft and Cybersecurity

According to the Privacy Rights Clearing House, approximately 10 billion records have been lost or stolen from businesses, schools, government

My Summer at Sigma and Parkland

Final Blog by intern Sabrina Lieberman I'll be honest - when I first walked into Sigma Financial and Parkland Securities on a snowy January

5 Tips to Budget for Christmas in July

5 Tips to Budget for Christmas in July We know that it's July, and no one is eager to be reminded of snow and sludge However, given that Americans

The Importance of Interns

The Importance of Interns in conversation with Randall A Hoover In fall 2016, Randy Hoover presented The Power of Internships at our Practice

5 Tips for Boosting Your Summer Savings

Summer spending can drain your bank account before it's time to drain the pool While summer is a fantastic time to take advantage of great weather

5 Things to Know About a 529 Plan

Whether a child is 8 or 18 years old, you and your clients should financially prepare for his or her college education Many clients have questions

5 Ways to Connect with Your Clients’ College Students

In our last blog post, we discussed the importance of connecting with your clients' college students However, we recognize that financial planning is

Memorial Day 2017 – Reflections and Thoughts

The President of Sigma Financial Corporation, Parkland Securities, LLC, and Sigma Planning Corporation - Jerry Rydell - has been a lifelong proud and

5 Reasons to Connect with Your Clients’ College Students

Your clients are thrilled because this fall those 529 Plans are finally going to good use! The summer before entering college is an exciting, hectic,

THE BUCKET LIST

THE BUCKET LIST A great movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman follows two men on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they

Are You on Track for Retirement? Your Personal Super Bowl Sunday…

With the New Year comes new opportunities, changes, and reflection I think I am correct in saying that most people work with the hope of someday

‘Tis the Season for Giving…Corporate Responsibility and Charity Selection

'Tis the Season for GivingCorporate Responsibility and Charity Selection The holidays have a way of bringing out the generosity in people As a

How Effective is Your Customer Service?

You may think that you are doing everything you can to achieve good customer service You are cordial; you send out a monthly newsletter; you even

Seven Ways to Show Your Clients They Are Appreciated

Seven Ways to Show Your Clients They Are Appreciated Regardless of your business, catering to your clients is important Customer appreciation does

Labor Day 2016: The Value of Work

Labor Day 2016: The Value of Work Work Nothing happens without work Work allows our families, community, and society to function May you and your

Encourage Your “Intrapreneurs” to Innovate!

Encourage Your "Intrapreneurs" to Innovate! Are you trying to grow your business, and seeking ideas on how Why don't you give your staff the ability

Happy employees = Satisfied Customers!

Happy employees = satisfied customers! "A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected" Author Unknown "If you take care

What does Freedom and Independence mean to you?

What does Freedom and Independence mean to you Celebrating the 4th of July is great fun It is a joy to gather with friends and family, for wonderful

Women Are Valuable Financial Advisors…

The number of women in finance may not be as typical as you might find in other professions According to Investopediacom, based on an Investment News

Is Your IBD Listening to You?

In the day-to-day life of a broker-dealer, the happiness and satisfaction of its representatives should be among its primary concerns We consider

Back to the Basics: Effectively Communicating Across Generations

Are you effectively communicating with your clients across different generations In this industry, we all know that effective communication is the

What are you doing in anticipation of the proposed fiduciary rule?

What are you doing in anticipation of the proposed fiduciary rule We've all been bombarded with numerous articles about the fiduciary rule proposed

Are the Hawks Circling?

Are the Hawks Circling Let's consider the following scenario You have been a representative with your broker-dealer for the past 15 years, and when

Succession Planning: What Happens When a Purchasing Advisor Dies?

Succession Planning: What Happens When a Purchasing Advisor Dies When you own a financial planning business, do your ownership rights extend to your

Make the connection that could Change your career.