Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category

It’s Hard to Stay Out of the Political Fray……

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

It’s hard not to shake your head and say WTF? Regardless of your political affiliation, we should all be embarrassed by way that our elected officials are behaving. I don’t usually do politics here, and I’m not going to take sides. I just wanted to get this off my chest:

  • To some extent, the damage has already been done – at least to our country’s reputation. I have no idea if a deal will be done by Tuesday, but even if one is, our international standing has been diminished – hopefully only temporarily, but tarnished nonetheless. Can you hear the Chinese laughing? While they will be hurt in the short-run by the loss in value of their U.S. bonds, they win long-term.
  • Even if there is an agreement, the odds of a ratings downgrade remain very high – the process has shown Washington to once again be dysfunctional and unable to compromise.
  • A downgrade, or even the continued threat of one, hurts our economic prospects and increases the odds of another recession. This fight over the debt ceiling and our government’s inability to devise a plan to significantly reduce the deficit – which must eventually happen – has in the short-run significantly increased the odds that interest rates will rise, economic growth will slow and the deficit will actually get worse as the carrying costs of our debt increase . Almost wants to make you cry, doesn’t it? Talk about unintended consequences.
  • Even under the best scenario of a last-minute deal that is sizable enough to prevent a downgrade, businesses have already lost confidence in the government, and as uncertainty continues to grow, businesses will continue to be reluctant to invest. New jobs will be scarce. In fact, many companies have been increasing layoffs over the past few weeks. Unemployment will remain high for the foreseeable future.

If I seem kind of down on this whole thing, I am. I hope that I’m missing the silver lining – but I don’t think that I am. The situation is bad. But it is the reality that we all have to live in and run our businesses and daily lives in. Sometimes, reality sucks. Now is one of those times.

The leadership of our country has failed us. The vocal ones as well as the silent ones.

We all know that the deficit must be reduced, that our entitlement system must eventually be reformed because there is not enough money to pay the benefits indefinitely, that spending must be brought under control and that the arcane tax code needs to be rewritten. Everyone should pay their fair sure. But class warfare, name calling and rhetoric are not the answer.

This does not have to be a zero sum game.

If any one of us ran our businesses the way that our elected officials are running are government, we would have been fired long ago – probably by the Board of Directors at the insistence of the shareholders. Guess what – we are the shareholders.

Hmmm…..

AK Affiliate – Zenith Creative Group – Announces Exciting New Alliance

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

 MARKETCOUNSEL FORMS ALLIANCE WITH ZENITH CREATIVE GROUP

MarketCounsel Clients to Receive Special Offers on Zenith’s Design and Branding Solutions

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. – May 17, 2010 –MarketCounsel, a leading provider of comprehensive business and regulatory consulting services to independent registered investment advisers, today announced an alliance with Zenith Creative Group, a full service marketing agency that specializes in helping entrepreneurial financial services professionals promote their businesses.

MarketCounsel clients will receive a special discount on all Zenith services. In addition, Zenith has developed customized packages exclusively for MarketCounsel clients to help with branding strategy, corporate identity, marketing collateral, copywriting, website development and search engine marketing.

“For some time, we have identified a great need for a marketing and design firm specializing in the investment advisor niche; Zenith Creative Group has filled that gap.  Through this alliance MarketCounsel continues to address the needs of investment advisors in managing their growth as businesses,” said Brian Hamburger, Managing Director at MarketCounsel.

“In today’s competitive marketplace, financial services professionals need to clearly distinguish themselves. With this alliance, MarketCounsel’s advisor clients can choose from the full spectrum of Zenith’s online and traditional services to create distinct brand images and marketing collateral,” said Andy Klausner, Founder and Principal of Zenith. “We are very excited to begin this mutually rewarding partnership.”

“We are very pleased to form this alliance with Zenith Creative Group. Their strategy team understands the unique needs of financial services professionals, while their distinguished creative team brings tremendous experience to this market.  Together, they complement our mission of serving as a full resource for investment advisors seeking custom solutions in growing their businesses,” said Marc Cohen, Executive Vice President for MarketCounsel.

Through their Trusted Partner Program, MarketCounsel maintains relationships with a network of leading service providers to offer its members with unparalleled service and value.  The companies agree to promote one another’s interests, provide exclusive special access to products and services to one another’s clients, and to coordinate the delivery of such products and services through unique platform integration.

 For more information or to speak with MarketCounsel, please contact Carol Graumann at (973) 732-3521 or carol@jcprinc.com.  You can also visit www.marketcounsel.com.

About Market Counsel

MarketCounsel is the leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firm to the country’s preeminent entrepreneurial investment advisors. Its comprehensive service offering delivers sound, yet business-savvy, regulatory compliance solutions. The firm pairs an impressive roster of compliance professionals with state-of-the-art technology to meet, anticipate,and exceed the exacting needs of its clients. From the start-up of an investment advisor through its RIA Incubator program to the outsourced compliance department capabilities of the RIA Institute, MarketCounsel’s service platform consistently delivers on the promise of trusted counsel within the wrapper of extraordinary service.

About Zenith Creative Group

Zenith Creative Group offers a complete spectrum of online and traditional marketing solutions to help financial services professionals distinguish their businesses. Zenith helps create their ideal business – one which reflects their personality, clearly articulates their value-added, impresses with its professionalism and helps them reach their goals.