Medical malpractice has always been on the minds of physicians, especially considering such litigation is almost becoming commonplace.

In 2011 an article in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that physicians in high-risk specialties are projected to face at least one malpractice claim during their careers. A Health Affairs from January 2013 reported that, on average, malpractice claims go unresolved for more than four years. During that time physicians are hit with emotional and financial stresses that they might not be prepared to handle on their own.

Roth IRAs haven’t been around for very long, and have really only taken off in the last few years. There are some techniques with Roth IRAs that advisers may not even be aware of. One such technique is that an individual at a private firm can have stock options issued directly to their Roth.

Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs are very different vehicles. If you’re intelligent about the way you use them, clients can reap the benefits.

While following a suitability standard instead of fiduciary standard may be within the scope of the law, wouldn’t it be better to work with people, who are, unquestioningly, working to serve your interests and not sell you products or make money off the transactions in your accounts?

Investors should not be sold a bill of goods. If a financial professional is simultaneously able to be both a fiduciary and a salesman, there is no true fiduciary responsibility.

Labaton Sucharow recently issued its second annual report about the financial services industry, “Wall Street in Crisis: A Perfect Storm Looming.” Their findings, while not surprising, are disturbing nonetheless. Here is what they highlighted:

They’re no longer just for the superrich; A new wave of family offices that cater to clients’ every imaginable financial need are courting the merely wealthy; Here’s what they offer.

You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to join a family office.

Family offices are private firms that manage just about everything for the wealthiest families: tax planning, investment management, estate planning, philanthropy, art and wine collections – even the family vacation compound.

Now many family offices are courting the merely rich.

You, your fellow physicians, and your practices often have a substantial amount of assets at risk. Have you examined how your practice would fare if it were faced with baseless lawsuits or overzealous creditors?

One would be hard-pressed to find a better entity for asset protection than a limited liability company (LLC). It can effectively insulate you and your practice from certain financial risks and offer tax benefits.

Envision a plane, full of passengers, forced to make an emergency landing on a deserted island with no hope of rescue for months. You’re the only doctor on board. It won’t be long before the injured and sick begin to seek help, regardless of your specialty back home.

While you’re competent, you are by no means well suited to treat all the ailments and injuries your survivors will present. You may not have delivered a child, performed an emergency appendectomy, treated a cardiovascular emergency or cared for a trauma patient since completing your residency decades ago. Now, you would give anything to have a trauma surgeon, ER doctor, pediatrician, neurologist, immunologist or a family physician on the island to help.

With people living longer, getting less 401K matching from employers, helping their children and grandchildren more than ever before, is it possible to create a stress free retirement?

The questions abound: will my retirement investments perform well? Will I retire when I’m planning to and will my money last? Asking the right questions seems easy; however, the answers may be more complex.

The changes in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulations governing retirement plans affect everyone — including physicians. In order to comply with the rules, you first must be aware of them.

Last summer, rather quietly, new rules from the Department of Labor (DOL) governing 401(k) plans went into effect. At the deadline all “covered service providers” must have presented the newly required fee disclosures to plan participants. The service providers were also required to disclose earnings (i.e. fees) in excess of $1,000 since every participant has the right to see an accurate breakdown of costs and fees.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” —William Shakespeare

I recently congratulated a friend and colleague who sent me an email containing a new title in his signature line. It pleased me to see what I thought was a step up on the ladder of success and I offered my congratulations.

“No,” he said, “I’m doing the same bullsh** I’ve been doing since we last spoke — but we are using new titles here.”