Bruce Fenton in the News

Diversification Helps Many Stay Ahead of Game - Bruce Fenton quoted by The Wall Street Journal

This is the year to be an investment chameleon, not sticking to one particular tack. "In 2004 we've been dealing with a tremendous amount of fear and uncertainty," said Bruce Fenton, president of investment firm [company] Atlantic Financial. "It's been important to spread your money over a lot of areas to reduce risk."

Money Saving Strategies for Dating Singles - Dow Jones News

Allocate your assets. Apply basic financial management skills by setting up a mental or actual "envelope" in which you break out money into blocks based on need and percentage - for instance, you might set aside 10% for savings and 5% for dates, says Bruce Fenton, president of investment firm [company] Atlantic Financial Inc. If you put money in an "envelope" each pay period and don't deviate, you'll come out ahead of the game.

Bruce Fenton speaks with the Los Angeles Times about the Economy and Outsourcing, August 2004

Bruce Fenton, founder of Atlantic Financial, Inc., an Internet investment firm [company] in Westboro, Mass., says jobs moving overseas is one of two major concerns he sees in the IT industry.
“Major pressures on this sector are twofold,” Fenton says. “One is technology replacing experts — in other words, programs that can do the work of a dozen programmers. And the other is foreign competition. As IT jobs have become easier to replace, they are being sent to India and other areas.”

Bruce Fenton speaks with Money Management Executive Magazine about mutual funds and fiduciaries, August 2004

Bruce Fenton's opinion lies somewhere between that of Herz' and Wertheim's. Fenton, president of Atlantic Financial, an independent investment firm [company] with corporate and individual clients in Westboro, Mass., anticipates more institutional clients moving their money in the coming months, but not to the same degree as in the early stages of the scandal.

"It's a complex world for these fiduciaries, and it's a very serious matter for them," Fenton said. "I think some of them may have rushed to judgment because they moved out of one fund family into another that had exactly the same situation that they moved out of."

Dude, Where's My Job? - Hi Magazine article about outsourcing

Bruce Fenton is president of Atlantic Financial, an investment firm [company] with corporate and individual clients. "Our client data is handled by our clearing firm, owned by Fidelity," he says. "We don't even put the Indian outsourcers in any position; the most confidential thing is some advance news on a product."

Another big way to ensure security is to look for a professional firm. When searching for an outsourcer, Fenton made "absolutely positively" sure to ask for references and a portfolio. "That's what's easy about computer programming, you can ask them for ten Web sites that they've done," he says. "You can tell the difference between an amateur site and a professional site."

Bruce Fenton speaks with the Worcester Telegram and Gazette about EMC, August 2004

"The company created great wealth for a lot of individuals," said Bruce Fenton, founder and president of Atlantic Financial Inc. of Westboro, a wealth-management company for individuals with assets over $100,000. "I would guess that EMC is probably the most-watched local stock. Many people have done very well with EMC - and unfortunately, many have not."

IPOs:  Bruce Fenton speaks with PR Week Magazine about the market for IPOs

'I think any time a company goes public it helps them,' says Bruce Fenton, president of Atlantic Financial, an investment firm [company] out of Westboro, MA.

'They will have sort of a PR phase, the dog-and-pony show, which isn't so much to get people to buy the IPO, but to get publicity. The IPO can serve as a publicity vehicle for the company that can help its own sales that, in turn, can help it with corporate relations and (with) banking relationships.' In other words, the corporate image of a company very quickly can become media fodder that drums the company's offerings into the retail investor's mind.

Bruce Fenton on Bloomberg regarding Martha Stewart

Bruce Fenton, President of Atlantic Financial appeared on Bloomberg Radio as the sentence for Martha Stewart was announced.  Fenton commented on the effect on the stock of Martha Stewart's company, MSO.

"Overall it is clearly a bad thing for Martha Stewart and a bad thing for her company but the news could have been worse based on Federal sentencing guidelines." Said Fenton.

Fenton added "Few companies are as associated with the name of one person, even Ralph Lauren, despite a very high profile, is not as recognizable or associated with his company as Martha Stewart."

Dealing with Moonlighting Reps - Bruce Fenton speaks with Sales & Marketing Management Magazine

In our business, we are governed by a code of ethics, and if someone violates that she would be immediately terminated. The investment world is very complex, and if a salesperson is tempted to offer something to clients, receive a commission for it, and not tell the firm, she's breaking the law. Any conversation we have would be to gather information to make sure we're covering ourselves legally.

Bruce Fenton says that companies should consider a pension plan - Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News

"If you are self-employed and work solo, or own a company with a handful of employees, you can start a pension plan with benefits equal to, or even greater than, those offered by big corporations," said Fenton, president of Atlantic Financial, an Internet-based financial services firm.
Fenton said that having a SEPIRA (simplified employee pension) plan is a two-sided advantage. He noted that SEPs allow business owners to shelter up to 15% of compensation from taxes -- as much as $30,000 annually.
"With few employees, the tax savings typically outweigh the cost of the SEP contribution," he explained. "Owners can earn worker loyalty, too"

 Seven Questions to Ask Your Pension Plan Administrator - Business Journal Magazine

"Employee education benefits top management," Fenton says. "The amount of money upper-level management and owners can contribute to their 401(k) plan is based on the level of participation by lower paid workers. This is a powerful incentive, and many companies match contributions to encourage worker participation."

Practical Welding Magazine:
Getting the most for your money: 12 financial tips for Welding Professionals article by Bruce Fenton

These include the importance of contributing to an individual retirement account, retirement programs for the self-employed, tax-exempt investments, $10,000/year gift tax exclusions, charitable contributions, how much money you should keep in checking and savings accounts, liquidity, and diversified portfolios.... these 12 financial tips can provide the framework for your long-term financial planning.

The firm [company] was founded by Bruce Fenton, formerly a representative with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Worcester, eventually expanding to Wellesley Mass.  As the Internet and the stock market grew throughout the late 1990's, Atlantic Financial grew as well.  The firm's asset allocation strategies and risk reduction investing models attracted many serious corporate and high-net worth individual investors. 

The firm [company] also opened a record number of 401k plans for medium sized businesses in year 2000.  "We took a more conservative approach than many dot-coms by focusing on real business and helping real clients.  We tried not to get caught up in the venture capital and IPO mania and focused instead on steady, stable growth of the company."  Says Atlantic's President, Bruce Fenton. 

Eighty percent of Atlantic's business is in mutual funds, including pension plans, while the remainder is in standard brokerage products such as stocks and bonds. Atlantic offers some 6,500 mutual funds from such major fund groups as Fidelity Investments, Alliance Capital Management and Putnam. The company is affiliated with Fidelity, which undertakes its clearing and holds client assets.