Compliance costing financial advisers time, money

Nearly 13 percent of registered financial advisers are losing at least a day of production each week because of compliance issues and paperwork.

The 2007 Financial Advisor Compliance and Legal Concerns study conducted by Vestment Advisors Inc. of Minneapolis revealed that 39 percent of respondents are concerned about the amount of paperwork that must be completed to meet compliance standards.

Only 7 percent of respondents said they are worried about the use of variable annuities. “If they are dealing with compliance they are not meeting with a client — which means it is going to eat into production, sales and bottom line,” said survey author Katherine Vessenes.

She said some advisers have indicated they have been told by compliance officers they cannot engage in an activity the adviser knows is legal and within regulations.

The survey asked 100 advisers at 48 broker-dealers around the country a series of questions about compliance, their view about the quality of their internal and external compliance departments, and how they would change the compliance departments for the better.

Nonfarm employment increases

Total nonfarm employment increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia during November.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that compared to November 2006, nonfarm employment decreased in 10 states and was unchanged in two. Employment increased everywhere except in Ohio, minus 0.2 percent, and Michigan, minus 1.8 percent.

The biggest year-over-year percentage gains were in Utah, 4.3 percent; Wyoming, 3.6 percent, Montana, 3.3 percent, Louisiana, 2.2 percent, and Colorado, 2 percent.

Year-over-year, national employment was up 1.1 percent and construction was down 1.6 percent.

Seasonally adjusted construction employment increased during November in only 20 states, fell in 17 and was unchanged (or within 100 of the October level) in 13 plus D.C.

‘PowerBank’ coming to Colorado

U.S. Bank is expanding its “PowerBank” customer service program to Colorado.

The initiatives was launched last year in St. Louis and Portland, Ore.

The Minneapolis-based bank said it had hired about 100 new Colorado employees as part of the initiative, and is expected to hire about 150 more by the end of the year, mostly in the Denver area. The new employees will be primarily tellers and small business specialists based in branch offices.

In addition to adding staff, U.S. Bank will extend branch hours, refurbish branch offices and increase advertising. There also will be a team dedicated to identifying and resolving service issues.

U.S. Bank, which for years held the second-biggest market share in Denver – behind Wells Fargo – dropped to third place in 2007, edged out by Lakewood-based FirstBank.

Depression might hinder HIV treatment

Depression hinders HIV treatment protocols, but effective medication reverses that outcome.

Kaiser Permanente published the information from the largest study of its kind in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

It looked at 3,359 HIV-infected patients across the nation to measure the effects of depression – with and without selective anti-depression medication – on patient use of drugs and therapy.

The researchers examined patient’s adherence to the anti-viral therapy and their T-cell counts during a 12-month period. The study found that depressed patients – 42 percent of the total group – did not take all their medication and had a lower response rate.

Those on anti-depressive medication, however, had the same outcomes as patients who were not diagnosed with depression.

Falling Sand

There is no better way to reduce the productivity of your entire office than to play the Falling Sand Game.

Racetrack owners making another run at video gambling

The 17-acre Colorado Springs Post Time Greyhound Park is one of the state’s four racetracks that wants to add video-gambling machines to its operation.

The state’s voters would be asked to approve a ballot issue if BLB Investors, the local track’s owners, move ahead on plans to promote redevelopment of the four facilities to a combination race track and casino.

Other tracks owned by the company, which purchased the multiple operations in 2005, include the Mile High Greyhound Park in Commerce City, the Pueblo Greyhound Park and Aurora’s Arapahoe Park horse racing track.

So far, discussions are still in the in early stages according to Commerce City and Aurora officials who have met with the company’s representatives. Any ballot proposal would require two-thirds approval by the Senate and House of Representatives to get the measure placed on the November 2008 ballot.

Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera said he has not been contacted by the company’s representatives.

“One of our concerns for the failed 2003 measure was there was no revenue earmarked for the cities impacted by increased gambling,” he said.

Colorado’s greyhound- and horse-racing industry has struggled ever since the state approved casino gambling in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek in the 1990s, according to the state’s gambling industry analysts.

Economist predicts further interest rate cuts

In the face of low national job growth and a surprising jump in national unemployment, the Vectra Bank Colorado Small Business Index registered 94.8 during December, up from a revised 92.7 during November 2007.

That was enough to cause Vectra Bank’s corporate economist Jeff Thredgold to believe that additional federal interest rate cuts are on the way.

Such cuts would benefit Colorado’s small business sector by improving the cost of doing business, Thredgold said. Colorado’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.1 percent in the latest month, up from the prior month’s 3.7 percent rate. Total employment rose by 43,200 jobs during the past 12 months.

“Last Friday’s nationwide jobs report was painful,” said Thredgold. “The pathetic 18,000 net job gain number was worrisome, but the sharp rise in the nation’s unemployment rate to 5 percent was just plain shocking. The Fed will undoubtedly be easing interest rates further in coming months to ward off a potential recession.”

The U.S. economy added only 18,000 net new jobs during December, below expectations. The U.S. unemployment rate jumped from 4.7 percent to a two-year high of 5.0 percent.

Commissioners approve developer park fees

The El Paso County Board of Commissioners has approved the 2008 Regional and Urban Park Fees that are paid by developers per housing unit to in turn fund regional and urban parks.

The fees for neighborhood parks are $105, for community parks $161 and for Regional parks $422.

The Board approves these fees each year based on the recommendation of the volunteer Park Fee Advisor Committee, which reviews historical, market and development data to determine the fees.

Book of Lists party a hit

More than 170 movers and shakers from the local business community attended a Colorado Springs Business Journal reception last night to celebrate the release of the 2008 Book of Lists.

They ate. They drank. They made business connections.

Photos from the reception are posted at CSBJ.com.

Violent crimes down 10 percent in Springs

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says violent crimes are down 10 percent in Colorado Springs and that overall the state is seeing fewer violent crimes.

Violent Crime Reports Jan – June 2007
City	2006	2007	% Change
Arvada	90	111	+ 23.3
Aurora	927	860	– 7.2
Centennial	92	80	– 13.0
Colorado Springs	1,068	964	– 9.7
Denver	2,196	1,748	– 20.4
Fort Collins	252	201	– 20.2
Lakewood	361	303	– 16.1
Pueblo	289	356	+ 23.2
Thornton	181	181	0
Westminster	138	131	– 5.1

During the first half of 2007, violent crime rates dropped in most of the state’s largest cities. Denver saw the biggest decrease with a 20 percent drop.

Colorado’s statistics are better than the rest of the country, which averaged a 2-percent drop.

Analysts say the drop is due in part to better technology and crime analysis, and increased police patrols.

The only large cities that saw increases in Colorado were Arvada and Pueblo, where the overall crime rate jumped 23 percent in both cities during the first half of the year.