Take Note of the Latest Physician Trend

Barron's

Many physicians run their own investmentportfolios, but some have gonea step farther and traded in their whitecoats and stethoscopes for a computer anda calculator—the tools of the professionalstock picker. (www.barrons.com)recently profiled 3 physicians who havechanged their career course, taking on thelife of the money manager but not quiteleaving medicine behind—a change moredoctors are making nowadays.

PROFILES IN MEDICINE

The 3 physicians profiled were Dr.Howard Furst, a graduate of NYU MedicalSchool, who now toils for MaverickCapital, a hedge fund group; Dr. KrisJenner, who received his MD from JohnsHopkins and now runs T. Rowe Price'sHealth Science Fund; and Dr. Faraz Naqvi,a Harvard-trained physician, who is nowworking at Pequot Capital, another hedgefund manager.

Wall

Street Journal

New

England Journal of Medicine

Why the desire to change professions?In the case of Dr. Jenner, his career changecame when he found that his enthusiasmfor his surgical practice started to wane.Eventually, he began reading the more often than the . He thenturned his interest in learning how companieswork into a new profession.

Wall Street Journal

Physicians who are making the transitionfrom managing their own financialaffairs to managing money for othersmake up a small but growing group,according to a recent report. Many doctors are becoming disillusionedwith their medical practicesbecause of managed-care hassles andmalpractice problems, and are turning tofinancial planning, either as a standalonecareer or as an adjunct to theirwork in medicine.

PHYSICIANS & FINANCES

One reason doctors may be attractedto financial planning as a second careeris that the field is remarkably easy toget into. Although many financial advisorsspend months studying to earn professionaldesignations, such as the CharteredFinancial Consultant and CertifiedFinancial Planner™designation, thereare actually no certification requirementsto become a financial planner.Just about anyone can set up shop as afinancial advisor.

Certainly the income that financial advisorsreceive is also an incentive, but manydoctors who get into money managementalso see financial planning as a way to helpcolleagues in the medical profession handletheir assets intelligently. The goals ofboth professions are similar, some doctor/financial planners say, because you can significantlyimprove a person's quality of lifewhen you do the job properly.

Also, doctors who go into financialplanning can help fellow physicians copebetter financially because they recognizeand understand the unique financial issuesthat MDs face. Doctors, for instance, tendto have substantial amounts of money toinvest but far less time than most to spendon managing their finances.

Dr. Naqvi believes that doctors areoften in the dark when it comes tofinance, but when a person can combinethe type of thinking doctors do with themind set you need to become a moneymanager, it can be a very powerful fusion.Dr. Furst compares a doctor's ability tomake a diagnosis based on somewhatincomplete information with an analyst'sjob of making a call on a stock withoutevery single fact in front of you.

For more information on this topic,contact the Certified Financial PlannerBoard of Standards (888-237-6275; www.cfp-board.org) or the National Associationof Personal Financial Advisors (888-333-6659; www.napfa.org).