NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2006 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Barron's magazine and R.J. Shook, author of "The Winner's Circle" books rating America's top financial advisors, recently hosted the first annual "Top Women Advisors Summit" at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes from November 15-17. Attending were 77 of the Top 100 women financial advisors in the U.S., as ranked by R.J. Shook and published in Barron's June 12, 2006 issue. These elite financial advisors led the event's breakout sessions on the business of delivering wealth management for high-net-worth individuals and institutions.
Also in attendance were more than 300 women financial advisers who were designated as the top annual producers of their firms. Firms sending attendees included Ameriprise, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, LPL Financial Services, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., R.W. Baird, Smith Barney, UBS, and Wachovia Securities, among others.
The Barron's/Winner's Circle Top Women Advisors Summit is designed as an exclusive, invitation-only event for women who are the opinion leaders and influentials of the financial industry. Attendees enjoyed the unique opportunity to discuss and debate the best practices in wealth management with their peers from competing firms.
"We were pleased to bring together the top women financial advisors for the first time, with the common goal of improving the performance of the financial services industry," said Ed Finn, editor and president of Barron's. "These women are at the top of their game, and we were thrilled to provide a platform for them to share their challenges, philosophies and success stories with other top performers."
R.J. Shook noted that, "Scores of Winner's Circle advisors have told me that once they've reached the top of their firms, there are fewer people -- oftentimes no one -- to share ideas with. For this reason, we're bringing the 'best of the best' together to share ideas and discuss how to keep raising the bar for their practice, and for the industry."
Sessions at the Top Financial Advisors Summit addressed a range of industry issues -- from building a team and compensation issues, to incorporating foundations and endowments into your practice, to using media relations to build a brand.
The Summit was sponsored by AIM Investments, AON, Calamos Investments, The Hartford, IXIS Asset Management Advisors Group, MFS Investment Management, Nuveen Investments, Putnam Investments, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Vanguard, and Van Kampen Investments.
The Top 100 Women Financial Advisors article from the June 12 issue of Barron's can be read here: www.barrons.com/top100women and www.barrons.com/top100women2; the complete list of the Top 100 Women is accessible here: http://tinyurl.com/ycgzoy.
About Barron's
Barron's magazine, published by Dow Jones & Company since 1921, is America's premier financial weekly. Barron's reaches an influential audience of corporate decision makers, institutional investors, individual investors and financial professionals.
Each issue provides readers with a complete market wrap-up of the previous week's activity, plus in-depth, sophisticated news reports and an outlook on the week to come. Barron's covers what happens when money and markets come together -- who wins, who loses and for what reasons.
Each weekend, Barron's is read by people eager to prepare for the market's opening bell on Monday morning. Barron's comprehensive combination of reporting and statistics aptly arm these readers for the shocks and turmoil of market battles to come.
Barron's is read intensely-cover-to-cover, week-after-week-by some of the most powerful people in the world, people who need this information delivered in a timely, accurate and reliable manner for their professional success and their personal, financial well-being.
The Barron's logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2638
About R.J. Shook
Through exhaustive, in-depth studies in the financial services industry, R.J. Shook has developed a unique expertise in identifying success patterns and characteristics of the industry's top producers. Since September 2002, he has published a yearly ranking of the top advisors in America. A frequent contributor to business periodicals and the author a numerous books on the subject, Mr. Shook is a recognized authority on best practices in the financial services industry. He frequently gives speeches, conducts workshops and leads panel discussions on topics and issues of concern to financial services professionals and their organizations to which they belong.