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#FA Success Ep 253: Generating Qualified Leads As A (Female) Advisor By “Cloning” Your Ideal Hypothetical Client, With Robyn Crane

November 2, 2021 07:09 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 253rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Robyn Crane. Robyn is the founder of her own eponymous consulting firm, which offers sales and marketing coaching services with a focus on female financial advisors.

What's unique about Robyn, though, is her well-defined approach for how any financial advisor can better identify the ideal type of client that they want to work with, and then implement a repeatable system to reach out to and book appointments with qualified leads that fit their ideal client profile.

In this episode, we talk in depth about why Robyn feels that, although advisors typically excel at fulfilling their promise to provide great service to their clients, the thing they need the most help with is generating new leads and then turning those leads into qualified prospects, how Robyn views the challenges that the financial advice industry faces around gender diversity not simply as a recruiting problem to solve, but more of a structural issue that prevents women from feeling fulfilled as advisors, and why Robyn feels that the key to making a foundational impact on gender diversity in the industry is in helping women learn to how to identify and replicate their ideal clients so they can build their practices the way they want.

We also talk about the specifics of Robyn’s system to start generating cold leads, dubbed the TAG Challenge, which advisors can use to book five quality appointments in five days even if they don’t have an existing book of business to generate referrals from, how Robyn teaches advisors to identify specific people to market to by “cloning” either an existing ideal client, someone in their network that wouldn’t normally work with them, or an ideal client persona that they can find online, and the simple strategy that Robyn recommends using when reaching out to cold leads on LinkedIn in order to actually get them to respond and connect with them.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Robyn shares the script she teaches advisors to use during the first meeting with a cold lead in order to learn about their aspirations and pain points, why the marketing and sales techniques that Robyn teaches her advisor clients are particularly suited for women advisors looking to grow and scale their practices, and how Robyn found that the simple act of “borrowing someone else’s belief” when she doubted herself helped her see better outcomes and enjoy more success for herself as a business owner.

So whether you're interested in learning how Robyn uses 'indirect messaging' to reach cold contacts through LinkedIn, why financial advisors should consider writing a book, or how to create 'instant expertise' and start getting noticed by prospects, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Robyn Crane.

The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (November 2021)

November 1, 2021 07:05 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the November 2021 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!

This month's edition kicks off with the big news that Schwab is working on its own internal “Personalized [Direct] Indexing” solution, that is expected to become available to both its retail investors and the RIAs on its platform, in what Schwab itself describes as a “freight train” coming for mutual funds and ETFs in what it is calling a new era of “personalization”… from the advice that advisors provide, to the (direct-indexing-based) personalized portfolios that Schwab will bring to the table. And in the process, attempt to win away a potential of trillions in market share from the existing mutual fund and ETF complex?

From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

Fidelity launches real-time fractional share trading, in what is widely viewed as a signal that it, too, is working on a direct indexing offering
Addepar acquires AdvisorPeak rebalancing software to expand from performance reporting to full-scale portfolio management
White Glove acquires Gainfully as service companies to help financial advisors increasingly acquire their own (proprietary) tech to better scale themselves
Panoramix rolls out a new Pro edition that provides both GIPS-compliant composite tracking and its own rebalancing software tool that is aggressively priced for smaller/newer RIAs

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:

Envestnet partners with Healthpilot to help advisors facilitate better Medicare enrollment choices for their clients
Flourish Crypto launches a solution that will allow advisors to trade their clients’ direct-held Bitcoin and other cryptoassets in discretionary portfolios
Microsoft launches a new Financial Services Cloud to compete against Salesforce FSC for the largest advisor enterprises
Riskalyze overhauls its Portfolios engine for major speed enhancements (and a signal that it’s investing in itself for the long run!)

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular “Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map” as well!

*And for #AdvisorTech companies who want to submit their tech announcements for consideration in future issues, please submit to [email protected]!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Oct 30-31)

October 29, 2021 02:41 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with a (Twitter-based) breakdown of the final text of President Biden’s latest “Build Back Better” Act, which is perhaps more notable from a financial planning perspective for what parts of the previously proposed tax legislation it doesn’t include (forgoing increases to the top marginal ordinary income and capital gains tax rates, restrictions on IRA contributions and Roth conversions for high earners, and reduced estate tax exemptions), than what it does (such as applying new surtaxes to income over $10 million and $25 million, and subjecting S corporation profits to 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax for high earners)… though still more changes could be in store, as Congressional Democrats debate raising or eliminating altogether the State and Local Tax deduction limit as part of the final comprehensive budget bill.

Also in the industry news this week:

Democrats introduced the Social Security 2100 Act this week, which would increase Social Security benefits for almost all recipients, while also raising tax revenue by applying FICA taxes to incomes above $400,000, to stave off the projected depletion of the Social Security Trust fund
The SEC released a Risk Alert highlighting deficiencies regarding everything from fee calculations to marketing disclosures on various ETFs and mutual funds (albeit mostly smaller ones that are marketed toward and used by retail investors, not advisors)

From there, we have several articles focusing on inflation, including:

Why the U.S. is not likely to be facing hyperinflation, despite increased speculation to the contrary as ‘regular’ inflation has ticked higher
How today’s economy differs from the high-inflation and low-growth stagflation era of the 1970s
An analysis of how stock returns have (or, in practice, really have not) correlated with inflation over time

We also have a number of practice management articles, including:

How ‘scope creep’ causes advisors who charge fixed fees to end up doing more work for the same fee (and what to do to avoid it)
How client segmentation is often recommended to improve efficiency, but can actually restrict a firm’s growth if there are too many client segments
A case study of a financial advisor who charges a moderate ($1,000/year) annual retainer fee to provide ‘factual’ financial education on demand (but not more expensive, personalized advice)

We wrap up with three final articles around the theme of financial advisor business models:

How the increased number of functions that TAMPs perform for financial advisors (and the reality that not all TAMPs perform the same functions anymore) may be making the term ‘TAMP’ obsolete
Why, despite competition from independent channels and fee-only RIAs, the number of large wirehouse brokers has stayed fairly constant (while their assets under management have actually increased)
How the SEC has failed to keep up with the “Great Convergence” of the financial product sales and advice industry, and why it needs to clarify who should be permitted to hold themselves out as a financial advisor

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

Leveraging The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Limited Waiver: New Rules, Deadlines, And Eligibility

October 27, 2021 07:07 am 22 Comments CATEGORY: Debt & Liabilities

Since 2007, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program has offered borrowers with Federal student loans the opportunity to have those loan balances canceled after making 120 qualifying monthly payments while working in public service. In practice, the program’s strict requirements for loan forgiveness have been confusing for borrowers and poorly administered by service providers, which has led to frustrating disqualifications for borrowers who thought they were on the path to forgiveness. To address these issues, the U.S. Education Department announced an overhaul of the PSLF program on October 6, 2021, that will expand the types of loans and repayment plans that will be eligible for forgiveness under the PSLF program.

The overhaul includes a waiver that will give borrowers who work for a qualifying employer the ability to apply their repayment history towards the 10-year repayment period, even if they had previously been repaying their loan on an ineligible repayment plan or loan type. Additionally, it will count payments that may not previously have counted due to minor technicalities, such as paying one day late or being a penny off the required payment amount. Importantly, the waiver only runs through October 31, 2022, so advisors with eligible clients can help them ensure the proper paperwork is filed in time.

One of the key changes in the overhaul expands the type of loan payments that will be eligible for PSLF, and will now permit the inclusion of Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Perkins Loan repayments toward the PSLF requirement of 120 qualifying monthly payments. Previously, only Federal Direct Loan repayments were eligible for this requirement. Importantly, borrowers with FFEL and Perkins loans will need to consolidate their loans into a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan and submit the PSLF employer certification form to the Education Department by the October 31, 2022 deadline in order to be eligible for forgiveness under the PSLF program.

Another key change in the PSLF program overhaul expands the type of repayment plans that will be eligible for PSLF, and will now permit Federal Loan payments under any repayment plan made prior to October 2021 to be eligible for PSLF. Previously, a borrower must have used an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan to be eligible for PSLF.

Notably, some borrowers that the PSLF overhaul does not help are those with private student loans or those who consolidated their loans with a private lender. Even if a borrower made payments for several years under a Federal student loan before opting for private student loan refinancing (perhaps upon finding out their payments did not qualify for PSLF), there would be no relief for them from the PSLF waiver. Which underscores the importance for advisors to consider whether clients with Federal student loans will qualify for relief under the new PSLF guidelines before making the irrevocable decision to refinance into private loans.

Ultimately, the key point is that while the PSLF overhaul creates opportunities for more Federal student loan borrowers to take advantage of the program, there is a limited period for eligible borrowers to act to ensure they qualify. Advisors can review clients’ student loan records, employment, and payment histories to assess whether they might benefit from the waiver, and then support submission of required paperwork before the October 31, 2022, deadline. With potential savings from PSLF forgiveness in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, reviewing PSLF eligibility could be one of the most valuable services advisors can offer clients over the coming months!

#FA Success Ep 252: Navigating The (Non-Linear) Growth Path To $100M Of AUM In Under 5 Years, With Kyle Moore

October 26, 2021 07:06 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 252nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Kyle Moore. Kyle is the founder of Quarry Hill Advisors, an RIA in St. Paul, Minnesota, that oversees $165 million of assets under management for 137 households.

What's unique about Kyle, though, is that, while he’s been able to generate very strong growth for his advisory firm in just 5 years since launching it in 2017, the path hasn’t exactly been a linear straight line of growth, as Kyle has navigated a plethora of the all-too-common challenges and experiences that advisory firm owners face as they build their practices in the early years.

In this episode, we talk in depth about Kyle’s three main channels for growth, including local search on Google, his personal network, and digital marketing through blogging, how one of Kyle’s first clients ended up being a super-referrer that gave Kyle’s firm a big initial boost that he was then able to compound as he continued to grow, and the specific steps Kyle took to become findable online, including building backlinks from directories like the FPA, asking clients for Google reviews, and buying keyword-rich domain names that redirect back to his main website.

We also talk about how Kyle’s first entry-level job as an associate planner gave him the opportunity to learn as much as he could without the pressure to accumulate assets or sell products, how Kyle’s desire to be his own boss led him to turn down an offer to be a lead planner with the advisor who first hired him and instead launch his own planning firm, and the decision-making process that Kyle went through when he finally got to the point where he needed to make his first hire to help absorb the growth in his business.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Kyle shares why, despite building a business that was growing well, he decided to onboard a partner who ultimately had a different (but complementary) skill set, the process that Kyle and his (new) partner went through when determining ownership and valuing their merging practices, and the benefits that Kyle has gained from participating in practice management coaching programs like Limitless Advisor (along with some of the business-owner pitfalls that he’s been able to avoid as a result).

So whether you're interested in learning about how Kyle became 'findable' using local SEO, how he merged his firm to form a partnership, or how he grew his firm to $100M of AUM in less than 5 years, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Kyle Moore.

Using Asset-Map To Develop A (Gestalt) Visualization Of The Holistic Financial Plan

October 25, 2021 07:04 am 9 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

When preparing comprehensive financial plans, financial advisors must consider their clients’ entire financial situation, which consists of a variety of distinct components, ranging from investment account balances to diverse sources of cash flow to retirement goals and more. In isolation, each separate component might give a financial advisor only a certain limited perception about their client, but falls short in providing a full picture of who the client is and what they aim to achieve. Financial advisors can apply the principles from one school of thought, Gestalt psychology, which posits that humans perceive their environment in a holistic manner that is different from the sum of its individual parts. By doing so, they can create holistic plans that are relatable to clients on a much more meaningful level, as they consider not just the quantitative aspects of the client’s financial life (e.g., their assets, liabilities, income, and expenses), but also the important qualitative factors such as goals, lifestyle preferences, and personalities.

In order to help advisors and clients see the bigger picture, the company Asset-Map created a tool that works well from a Gestalt perspective by providing a graphic summary of a client’s entire financial situation. These summaries are presented as a one-page, mind-map-style report, which helps advisors to quickly draw out patterns and formulate holistic perceptions that are relevant to the client’s broader environmental contexts, including where they are in their career, their family situation, and stage in life. Asset Maps can also be very useful for advisors to have more targeted and fruitful conversations with clients, as the advisor can easily and quickly target specific areas that need to be reviewed. For example, because Asset Maps separate income and assets by spouse, advisors can easily assess the relative life insurance needs of each spouse, and even have a better idea of each spouse’s individual Social Security considerations. This valuable context can be highly relevant to making sense of a client’s actual situation as a whole, and can also be a useful way for some advisors, who may initially feel hesitant to present this division (perhaps fearing that the spouse with lower income may feel less valued when incomes are displayed this way), to broach these discussions in the first place. Because the details here – the income and assets belonging to each spouse – are what provide a level of additional clarity that would have otherwise gotten washed away had those details not been broken down by spouse.

For clients, an Asset Map provides a useful summary of their household, showing them how all the individual pieces of their financial lives interact and create their broader financial situation. Having all the information in an easy-to-understand format and in one place also can provide clients with the reassurance that their advisor has captured and considered all of their financial details (and help them to easily see if they need to let their advisor know about any pieces of important data that may be missing!). Which means that as long as the advisor is proactive in keeping the client’s information updated, clients can be reassured that their financial situation is being managed from a more comprehensive perspective.

Ultimately, the key point is that by analyzing a client’s financial situation with Gestalt psychology principles in mind, viewing the whole picture as a complete unit rather than analyzing the individual parts separately, financial advisors can visually take stock of the client’s broader financial situation. This can result in not only better-informed and more confident clients, but also improved client data tracking and financial planning recommendations!