As we go to press, banks have been turning in better-than-expected earnings reports. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand it should be a relief to you and your clients that the sector appears to be rising Lazarus-like from death's door. The bailout apparently worked and our industry should be moving back onto a solid footing. Even beleaguered Citi and Bank of America, which are still struggling against huge losses, came out better than expected even if it was just from onetime asset sales.

One the other hand, the startling success of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs—let's face it, a bank in charter only—may further the stigma among the public and your clients that the American taxpayer has been scammed, forced to bail out firms that will now use the results of that bailout to enrich the same greedy creeps who got us into this trouble in the first place.

I refer to the buzzworthy Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi that accuses Goldman of being responsible for and profiting from every bubble since the Great Depression. The case may be overstated, but there certainly appears to be a case. I'm wondering if you're hearing any fallout from your clients and colleagues about this.

Add to that TARP watchdog Neil Barofsky's report to Congress that "the very credibility of TARP (and thus in large measure, its chance of success) depends on whether the Treasury will commit to operating TARP with the highest degree of transparency possible."

More than ever, if you put your clients first, talk to them regularly and meet their needs to the best of your ability, the rest will stay just background buzz. Or at the very least, if your clients raise questions about the buzz, you can agree that it's shocking, but has nothing to do with your relationship with them.

Meanwhile, we don't know where the market is headed from here. Economists from JPMorgan and BlackRock are saying we've hit bottom and are on the mend. I tend to be optimistic, but prefer to walk on the safe side. Whether volatility picks up again or the market stays flat for years, this issue is full of tips on how to keep your clients assets growing under difficult scenarios. Dave Lindorff's cover story on "safe" investments examines where to look for yield in today's market. Of course, nothing is safe when it comes to the market, but if your stocks are paying dividends and your bonds have significant payouts, you have some built-in downside protection.

Likewise Lindorff's article about building annuity ladders shows you one way to help clients nearing retirement build in some measure of certainty about their future income stream.

Finally, it's August, vacation time! Howard J. Stock shows you how to become a part of your clients' happy memories by helping them plan for vacations in retirement or otherwise—the payoff for years of discipline and saving. Hopefully you, too, are taking a break to enjoy the summer and create some memories of your own.