Top Advisors Analyze Current Market Climate with Harvard Business School Professors

Waltham, Mass. (February 10, 2009) —A group of nearly 30 elite financial advisors affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network gathered together in Boston, Massachusetts to attend the broker/dealer’s Chairman’s Retreat. In conjunction with Harvard Business School (HBS) professors, Chairman’s Retreat utilizes a classroom format and the HBS case study method. Attending advisors examined the current market climate in order to provide continued leadership and education to clients.

Chairman’s Retreat is Commonwealth’s highest level of recognition and is structured as an intensive, high-level educational experience. Attendees, along with senior officials at Commonwealth, reviewed curricula and listened to lectures under the tutelage of two HBS professors.

Forest L. Reinhard, John D. Black Professor of Business Administration at HBS and an authority on analyzing the economic, political, social, and legal environment of business, led an analysis of the current economic situation. Frances X. Frei, associate professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management unit at HBS, guided case study analyses of Apple Inc. and Ernest Shackleton’s epic voyage on the Endurance—two powerful examples of advancing leadership in challenging environments.

“Each Chairman’s Retreat advisor is a proven leader in any environment,” said Wayne Bloom, Commonwealth’s CEO. “But we know these are extraordinary times, and by partnering with HBS professors, our advisors receive tangible tools and resources to strengthen the core of their firms so that they can continue to provide the highest level of communication, education, and service to their clients.”

Attendees were required to review and analyze each case before arriving at Chairman’s Retreat. While in the classroom, Professor Frei assisted advisors in extracting primary principles of service excellence from Apple and Ernest Schackleton and applying them to the businesses of independent financial advisors.

“I have forged strong relationships with each of my clients and attending Chairman’s Retreat exemplifies my continued commitment to being their primary financial consultant in any economic environment,” said Nick Cosentino, Commonwealth advisor and CEO and President of Financial Foundations in Framingham, MA. “It’s not enough to rest on my past successes, and by attending Chairman’s Retreat I have had the unique advantage of viewing my clients’ circumstances in light of the economic changes that are shaping our financial future today.”

Founded in 1979, Commonwealth Financial Network, member FINRA/SIPC, is celebrating its 30^th anniversary as the leading, privately owned independent broker/dealer, with offices in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California. The firm supports more than 1,200 independent registered representatives nationwide and makes available a comprehensive array of financial products and services.



Contacts:
Emily Guadagnoli
Senior Public Relations Specialist
Commonwealth Financial Network
www.commonwealth.com
781.736.7980, x9639
eguadagnoli@commonwealth.com