Group Think

The Financial Planning Association and Janus announced the 2008 deadlines for entries for the Financial Frontiers Awards, a program that “promotes advanced research that expands the body of knowledge in wealth management and financial planning.” An early-bird deadline of January 31, 2008, precedes the final deadline of March 3. Fees for entries received by January 31 are $25 for FPA members and $35 for nonmembers; after January 31 and through March 3 they re $50 for FPA members and $70 for nonmembers. The FPA also invited professionals in the field to serve on the Awards judges’ panel.

Management consulting firm kasina has released the winners of its 9th annual “Top 10 Financial Intermediary Web sites.” After reviewing 101 advisor sites, each was assigned a score based on a three-tier analysis focusing on quality (50% of the score), availability (30%), and user experience (20%). The data was compiled to create the Kasina Web Index, based on a ratings scale of 1-100 for each of the three major categories. The Top 10 Web Sites for 2007 and their scores are: American Funds (70), Franklin Templeton Investments (70), MFS Investment Management (67), Putnam Investments (67), Oppenheimer Funds (66), John Hancock Funds (64), Fidelity Investments Institutional Services (63), BlackRock (59), Wells Fargo Advantage Funds (59), AIM Investments (55), and Calvert (55).