Archives Of Weekend Reading For Financial Planners

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that 'upstart' RIA custodian Altruist has raised a huge $50M of fresh investment capital to fuel its ongoing growth, even as questions arise as to how quickly the platform is actually growing and whether Altruist is ultimately really an RIA custodian, or a platform TAMP, or a technology firm that overlays custodial services... though arguably Altruist's ongoing growth (and ability to attract investor capital to fuel that growth) despite the murkiness of its 'categorization' may simply highlight how the traditional dividing lines between each are continuing to blur as advisors expect more and more from their advisor platforms (whatever they may be labeled)?

Also in the industry news this week are a number of interesting studies:

• The latest Charles Schwab "Modern Wealth" survey finds that consumers have substantively reined back what it takes to be "wealthy" and "financially happy" as expectations adjust in a post-pandemic world
• A T. Rowe Price study highlights how next generation clients are interested in financial advice, but want to talk about different topics (that are more relevant to them) and prefer flat- and subscription fees over the AUM model when seeking a financial advisor

From there, we have several interesting articles on mergers and acquisitions and advisory firm valuations:

• How often the best way to increase an advisory firm's valuation is to simplify and do less (which makes it easier for an acquirer to quickly integrate the firm and thus be willing to pay more)
• As large advisory firms look more like platforms and platforms provide more advisor-support services, the lines between "selling" and "being recruited" are beginning to blur

We've also included a number of articles on financial advisor marketing:

• How to apply Donald Miller's "StoryBrand" approach to show the value of financial planning to prospects (by highlighting how the financial planning process will transform them)
• Why advancing technology is making it easier for any advisory firm to become a "storyteller" using online tools for easy-to-create videos
• The benefit of marketing an advisory firm's services (i.e., actually focusing on the services the firm will provide) over simply trying to highlight its intangible value

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of how even "small" advisory firms can be very financially successful:

• Why advisor platforms struggle to be profitable supporting advisors until they're at least $100M of AUM but advisors themselves can be wildly profitable at less than half that amount of AUM
• The importance of doing an "audit" on your own client roster to identify who the really profitable clients are (and those who aren't)
• How growth usually does not lead to economies of scale in advisory firms, which means greater profitability is not about adding more clients in the hopes that margins improve, but about getting smaller and more focused instead

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Department of Labor has withdrawn its proposed new Independent Contractor Rule, that would have made it easier for many firms to treat their "gig economy" workers as contractors and not employees (an increasingly controversial issue), but also would have further cemented the treatment of independent advisors as independent contractors with their platforms... leading the Financial Services Institute to join in a lawsuit challenging the withdrawal of the rule as the independent broker-dealer advocacy organization pushes to preserve contractor status for independent advisors.

Also in the industry news this week is an emerging debate between Riskalyze and various "portfolio stress testing" competitors about what is the best way to evaluate a client's risk tolerance and the prospective risk of a proposed portfolio.

From there, we have several interesting articles on retirement:

• The Social Security Administration is testing a new, shorter version of the Social Security statement that would more clearly highlight the increase in retirement benefits for each year that they're delayed
• How the SECURE Act has impaired the outlook for trusteed IRAs (and where they're still worth considering)
• The rise of aging-in-place technologies is increasing how long seniors stay in their homes... which may be quickly leading to an overbuilding glut of senior housing
• The rise of automatic enrollment 401(k) plans is leading to a rise in early withdrawals and 401(k) loans (that lapse), raising questions of whether the industry may be pushing too hard to automatically enroll those who really can't afford to save?

We've also included a number of articles on credit cards and cash flow planning:

• The pandemic is leading to the largest ever pullback in the use of credit cards and may be spawning a new era of credit responsibility (and a new surge of credit card issuers marketing to get more people to sign up for new cards!)
• Considerations when swapping to one of the 'hot' new credit card deals and giving up a long-standing credit card (that may be a foundational pillar in one's credit score)
• How keeping significant cash on hand (or in the bank) may be a significant drag on returns but a worthwhile trade-off to sleep well at night?

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of the emerging in-person/virtual hybrid work environment:

• How to think about the kinds of tasks that should return to being in person, versus the ones that might be better suited to remain virtual
• Tips for recognizing team members in a virtual environment (when you can't just call everyone into the break room or gather around a desk to celebrate a win)
• How advisory firms are shifting in their own business approach with clients now that offices are re-opening to in-person meetings, but it turns out not all clients want to return to in-person!

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with a deep dive into the new "SECURE Act 2.0" legislation that this week passed the House Ways and Means Committee... which means it may still be months until the legislation is ultimately finalized and passed, but provides a good indicator of what's coming next from Congress in the world of retirement planning, from a new increase in the RMD age (from age 72 to age 75 by 2030), expanded catch-up contributions, inflation-indexing the limits on Qualified Charitable Distributions, and even the creation of a new "Office of Retirement Savings Lost and Found" to help workers track down old 401(k) plans.

In addition, there are several additional industry "news" articles, including:

• A New York Appeals court strikes down the state's Best Interest standard for annuity agents
• Ric Edelman's RIA Digital Assets Council launches a new 13-hour online course in cryptocurrency and blockchain

From there, we have several interesting articles on retirement:

• The IRS acknowledges it made a recent 'error' in Publication 590 and that the new 10-year rule for inherited retirement accounts will not require annual distributions in each year (just a liquidation by the end of the 10th year after death)
• How options-based strategies may become the next big thing in retirement income strategies, and why Registered Index-Linked Annuities (RILAs) may be especially well-positioned to provide a cost-effective solution
• How the pandemic is spawning a new wave of early retirees with a "life-is-short" mindset who want to retire and enjoy more of their lives while they can

We've also included a number of practice management articles on the theme of growing and scaling an advisory business:

• A new white paper from Bob Veres and Matthew Jackson explores how the advisory firm of the future is not just incrementally better than the current offering but an entirely different solution
• How hiring a CEO to professionally manage an advisory firm can be the key to growing to the next level
• A look at publicly traded RIAs and investment management firms shows that despite "robo" fears, multiples for advisory businesses continue to expand in the current environment

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of the future post-pandemic workplace:

• How Google was once known for creating campuses that did everything they could to keep employees there, but is now rebuilding for a future where employees are in the office less and less
• The way workplace "perks" are changing where the new key is "flexibility" for workers
• How suburban retail space may become the new big office space as demand for traditional centralized office space continues to wane

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with a recap of the key provisions in President Biden's new "American Families Plan", which includes not only a wide range of provisions regarding child care and education for children, but also a number of "revenue-raisers" of significant pertinence to financial advisors, from higher top ordinary income tax brackets, to a new (much-higher) top capital gains rate, and the elimination of step-up-in-basis rules that would cause all unrealized gains to become taxable as capital gains at death.

In addition, there are several additional articles around this week's tax proposals, including:

• How estate planning may begin to change if step-up-in-basis really is eliminated
• How the concentration of wealth in equities is leading tax policy to shift away from raising ordinary income tax rates and towards rising long-term capital gains rates in particular

From there, we have several interesting articles on retirement:

• While retirement is traditionally viewed as the end of work, considering the positives of work (from having a sense of identity to a purpose to get up every morning) may actually provide the key to what leads to a happy retirement
• Increasing longevity, along with an increase in our "productive" years, is leading to a rethinking of work and when we "should" retire
• Living longer in our later years is leading to a rise in how many people live long enough to experience a cognitive decline, creating a focal issue for financial advisors who are often the first to observe such issues in their clients

We've also included a number of practice management articles on the theme of improving services to clients:

• Why the real key to understanding what clients want isn't just about getting feedback on what you're doing but client input about what they actually want
• The limitations of being a data-driven firm when it comes to figuring out what clients might want that the firm is not already doing (and therefore can't be evaluated in the existing data)
• How the best firms adopting more technology are not using it to expedite client interactions but to free up time for more meaningful interactions instead

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of the ongoing evolution of the advice business itself:

• Why higher standards for financial advisors could actually increase growth and retention rates (as consumers are more likely to seek out a financial advisor in the first place when they have more financial trust in advisors)
• The challenges of emerging "point and click" credentials and why it's important to distinguish between advisor certificates and actual certification
• How the coming decade may witness a transformation of the planning profession, from how firms leverage technology to how the world of advisors is regulated (or, alternatively, begins to peer-review and regulate itself?)

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the industry news that Morgan Stanley is selling off the E*Trade Advisor Services platform to Axos Financial, a retail-focused online-bank-plus-robo-advisor that is looking to pivot into the business of RIA custody and use E*Trade's RIA custody unit (and its $13B of RIA assets) to immediately gain some economies of scale to compete in the RIA custody business.

In addition, there are several notable industry studies hitting the news this week, including:

• EY reports that affluent clients want more "digital services", not in lieu of a financial advisor, but offered by their financial advisor (and are even willing to pay more to get them!?)
• Spectrem Group highlights the services that clients want from a financial advisor to earn their fees, and finds that "only" 2/3rds even want investment management, which is now almost tied with the number who want financial planning (but not necessarily investment management paired with it!)

From there, we have several interesting articles on investments:

• How establishing "financial habits" can be the best way to overcome the tension between what we "want" (in the short-term) and what we know we "should" do (but may struggle to do) in the long term
• The five "superpowers" of being a good investor, including Restraint, Curiosity, Creativity, Patience, and Courage
• A look at William Bernstein's new book "The Delusion Of Crowds" and why we have a tendency to invest with the herd (even if sometimes doing so leads us straight into a bubble!?)

We've also included a number of practice management articles on the theme of culture:

• How independent firms by and large score well on culture (82% of advisors are proud of their firm's culture) but wirehouse firms are struggling tremendously on culture (with only 43% proud of their firms, and providing a key indicator of why the breakaway broker trend continues?)
• Why it's better to hire for "culture-add" than just "culture-fit" alone
• Tips for advisory firms to create a more data-driven culture where decisions are made on all available data (which must start with the firm's leadership itself)

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of productivity and focus:

• How a sense of "overwhelm" often isn't a result of being short on time, but doing work that is misaligned from our needs and values
• How offering "Office Hours" to connect with other professionals can expedite networking in a time-efficient manner
• How to find your own personal focus and decrease distraction with a personal Kanban system

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with a look at President Biden's newly proposed infrastructure plan, which may inject as much as $2.3T into the economy to tackle long-standing infrastructure projects that have long had bipartisan support... but still faces criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, and a "price tag" that is leading to proposed tax increases on both businesses and high-income individuals that may generate a lot of tax planning discussions for financial advisors and their clients in the months to come.

In addition, there are several other notable news items this week, including:

• The CFP Board is kicking off the next round of its $10M/year public awareness campaign with a new set of TV commercials and radio ads on the value of seeking out a CFP professional
• A new consumer study on pre-retirees that finds they are a much more age-diverse group than the traditional view of "those aged 55 - 64 within 5 years of retirement"

From there, we have several articles on advisor marketing to describe fees and value:

• The benefit of stating advisory fees directly on the advisor's website, and tips on how to do so and position the fees effectively
• Why it's often better to offer a 'low-cost' reasonably priced service than a "free" one (that usually really isn't)
• How "simply" being an accountability partner that helps clients actually do what they plan to do can be a major enhancement to justify an advisor's value for the fees they charge

We've also included a number of articles on industry recruiting trends:

• An emerging push to shift the broker-dealer and RIA custodian recruiting model from a commission-based to a flat-fee model
• How Schwab is pressuring recruiters to get paid directly from the RIAs they recruit, in an effort to force more transparency
• How earnouts for advisor acquisitions were on the rise in 2020 but are on the decline again in 2021 as acquisition demand heats up

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of maximizing our focused productivity:

• How interruptions reduce our focus, but knowing that an interruption is coming can actually help us to focus and work faster
• Why focusing is often difficult because we spend too much time thinking about what we give up by focusing and not what we gain by doing so
• Why "success" in the end isn't just about having good ideas, but actually executing them... which usually means getting focused on the very few things that will have the most impact if executed well

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the announcement that the CFP Board is updating the Principal Knowledge Topics of the CFP exam to reflect the ever-growing focus on behavioral coaching for clients that emerged from its latest Practice Analysis of what financial planners do in practice with clients, adding in not just a "behavioral finance" educational component but an entire "Psychology of Financial Planning" category that will become incorporated into CFP curricula (and the CFP exam itself) in 2022 and beyond.

In addition, there are several other notable studies about financial advisors and financial advice in the news this week, including:

• The majority of consumers earning more than $100,000/year use a financial advisor, and a whopping 95% of them say the advisor is worth it (but more than half of consumers think financial advisors are far more expensive than they actually are!)
• The overwhelming majority of consumers working with a financial planner agree that it's better to focus on the long-term and ignore short-term market volatility (though it's not clear how often financial advisors change their clients' minds to be more long-term, or simply attract long-term-oriented clients and then help them to stay on track?)

From there, we have several articles on advisor marketing:

• Why it's important to "get mad" in speaking about the frustrations and 'financial injustices' in clients' lives to get them motivated to work alongside a financial advisor to solve those issues
• Thinking differently about 30-second or even one-sentence "elevator pitches" to open the curiosity loop with prospects (or quickly figure out if they're not a fit and move on)
• Why good branding isn't just about showing your value and Values but also tackling head-on the primary objections that result in not getting business the way you're currently doing it

We've also included a number of articles focused on retirement planning:

• Who exactly will be eligible for the new "free" COBRA health insurance subsidy that just took effect at the start of April
• How technology is changing the way we engage as we get older to "get more life from our longer lives"
• 5 different "types" of retirement savers based on their psychographic tendencies to save for and be optimistic about the future (or not)

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of maximizing your own career and productivity:

• How perfectionism is the enemy of delegation, and the way to break through if you're stuck trying to figure out what you're comfortable delegating
• A framework to build your own career plan as a young financial advisor
• Creating a system for and around yourself to pull your focus away from the $10/hour tasks that can be delegated and towards the $10,000/day tasks that only you can uniquely do to add the most value to the business

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with a look at the new health insurance planning opportunities that have emerged under the American Rescue Plan, from the potential to receive several months of "free" (tax-credit-subsidized) COBRA coverage to new rules for Premium Assistance Tax Credits that can produce thousands of dollars in tax savings for those who buy health insurance from state insurance exchanges in 2021.

From there, we have several articles on advisor marketing:

• What is a "Retargeting Ad" and why retargeting can be an especially efficient way for financial advisors to spend their marketing dollars
• Why "Email" continues to be the #1 most popular marketing channel for financial advisors (and is becoming more popular with the rise of email marketing automation tools)
• What it takes to become "an authority" where your expertise attracts your ideal prospective clients
• The rise of website providers dedicated to working with financial advisors to produce websites at a "reasonable" (i.e., not $20,000+) cost

We've also included a number of articles focused on retirement planning:

• Why new retirees are beginning to look at taking a "gap year" between the end of work and the beginning of retirement (to better figure out what they want to do, and where they want to live, in retirement)
• How "retirement" itself isn't just a phase, but continues 6 sub-phases in retirement (that advisors can help their retired clients navigate through)
• A new approach to thinking about more "flexible" retirement spending strategies and why "spending flexibility" itself is a continuum along which retirees can choose an optimal spending strategy
• The rise of new Social Security training programs, from the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) program to the new Registered Social Security Analyst (RSSA) certification

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of (re-)drawing the line between work and home life:

• How work itself is increasingly becoming "omnipresent", where "are you available" isn't a question of whether you're actually available and have time, but whether you're ready and willing to give attention to work at that moment
• How the pandemic gave rise to the staycation (taking a vacation but staying at home), and now the work-from-home work is leading to the rise of the "workcation"
• The ways that businesses are (re-)designing Paid Time Off programs in the modern environment, from more flexible sick-plus-vacation time, to "forced" vacation days, and floating holidays

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the big tax planning news that the IRS is delaying the standard April 15th tax filing deadline until Monday May 17th instead... providing some welcome relief to tax filing deadlines, and more time to implement recent tax law changes (from Recovery Rebate checks to non-taxable unemployment insurance), and creating a quagmire of misaligned deadlines as Q1 2021 estimated tax payments (and many state tax return deadlines) remain with the original April 15th deadline!

Also in the news this week are a few other industry headlines, including:

• Sorting through the confusion of how RMDs will work in 2021, between the 2020 suspension of RMDs under the CARES Act, new life expectancy tables taking effect in 2022, and the new age 72 onset of RMDs under the SECURE Act
• The ongoing rise of state fiduciary rules is creating a growing patchwork of dissimilar regulations troubling both small firms with clients across state lines and large firms with entire branches that span multiple states

From there, we have several articles on personal and team productivity:

• How real productivity is not about getting 'more efficient' with your time, but getting clearer about what the Most Important Thing (M.I.T.) is to be doing with the limited time you have
• The results of one company that has been testing out a 5-hour workday to balance productivity and employee satisfaction
• How author John Steinbeck achieved epic levels of productivity (including 33 books and a Nobel Prize) by staying largely inactive most of every day

We've also included a number of articles focused on personal finance tips:

• The most popular Password Managers to use to keep financial (and other) accounts in good order
• Tips on what to keep, shred, or scan as financial records increasingly move online
• A profile of Mint.com and how it has unfortunately languished in recent years of non-development (yet remains astonishingly popular)

We wrap up with three final articles, all around the theme of what it takes to become and remain "rich":

• How often the pathway to becoming rich involves taking concentrated risks but staying rich is almost always about diversifying away from them
• Why being "rich" is a relative phenomenon that's all about comparing who you spend time with (making most of us feel not-rich even if we are!)
• The difference between being "rich" and being "wealthy" (and why it takes different skills for the latter than the former)

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

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