Nerd's Eye View blog

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Aug 26-27)

August 25, 2017 02:56 pm 1 Comment CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with an interesting new advisor survey on the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule, which finds that despite the claims of Wall Street lobbying firms that "small investors" will be abandoned if the fiduciary rule fully takes effect, only 3% of financial advisors themselves actually agree with the statement that they'll stop providing advice on qualified retirement accounts in a fiduciary world!

From there, we have a number of articles on the topic of health insurance and health care planning this week, including a look at the rise of "direct primary care" providers who simply charge an ongoing monthly fee (and accept no insurance) for a primary physician with easier access and shorter wait times for an appointment, the rise of "concierge medicine" and private doctors that work directly to provide holistic medical advice for a wealthy family, a new platform for advisors called "HealthStyles.net" that can be provided to clients to help them get more educated on health care issues, and another new software solution called "Whealthcare" for advisors who want to get even more involved in supporting and better analyzing the intersection of a client's financial planning and health care needs (a substantial opportunity to add value as investment management becomes commoditized).

We also have several investment-related articles, including a look at the increasingly controversial practice of order routing rebates from market exchanges to broker-dealers, a potential pilot program from the SEC to shift away from the current "maker-taker" structure of setting markets, the opportunity (and underutilization) of securities-based lending revenue to offset most or all of the expense ratio of ETFs, and the prospective rise of performance-based fees in mutual funds as a way for fund managers to differentiate their pricing and better align their compensation with the interests of their mutual fund shareholders (though it remains to be seen whether investment managers will actually be willing to adopt the practice!).

We wrap up with three articles focused on the evolving role of the financial advisor itself: the first reviews a recent Boston Consulting Group study that suggests as technology continues to expedite the administrative tasks of financial advisors, that we'll be increasingly forced to deliver more sophisticated advice, and need more in-depth formal education to substantiate our value; the second is a look at the rise of financial coaching, and the emergence of training programs for those who want to be financial coaches and financial therapists (and whether financial planners should be engaging in such training programs themselves); and the last is a look at how the generational shift in financial planners themselves, from the "founding" Baby Boomer generation of advisors to the Millennials, is creating a significant shift in the vision of what it means to be a financial planner in the first place, and is driving a growing number of young financial planners to strike out on their own to create new firms that disrupt the incumbents... exactly as the prior generation of Baby Boomer financial planners did 20-30 years ago!

Enjoy the "light" reading!

How the Fiduciary Movement Became a Global Phenomenon

August 24, 2017 08:38 am 4 Comments CATEGORY: Planning Profession

While the fiduciary debate has become heated in the US in recent years, from the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule, to the potential that the SEC will take up its own fiduciary rule, and the latest proposed revisions to the CFP Board's fiduciary Standards of Conduct, the reality is that the recent fiduciary proposals are not an isolated case. In fact, the movement to applying a fiduciary standard to financial advisors is a global phenomenon over the past decade, for which the fiduciary proposals in the US have actually been mild by comparison to many other countries that have outright banned commissions altogether!

In this week’s #OfficeHours with @MichaelKitces, my Tuesday 1PM EST broadcast via Periscope, we discuss the major fiduciary movement that is occurring globally, how fiduciary proposals have rolled out in other countries (including the U.K., Australia, India, and the Netherlands), as well as the industry shifts that commonly happen after a new fiduciary rule is implemented, and the role that technology has played in fueling this global movement.

First and foremost, though, it is important to acknowledge that the movement to apply a fiduciary duty to financial advisors is truly is a global movement. India was one of the first countries to take action, banning upfront commissions on open-ended mutual funds all the way back in 2009. Australia followed with their Future Of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms in 2012, which ultimately led to a ban on investment commissions as well. Similarly, the United Kingdom in 2013 implemented their Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which similarly led to a ban on investment commissions in the U.K., and the Dutch implemented a commission-ban that year as well. And in most countries, regulators gave the financial services industry only 12-18 months to prepare for the reforms. Which makes the recent DoL fiduciary proposal in the US, and its extended transition period, seem "mild" by comparison!

The fact that fiduciary rules have been implemented in other countries also gives us the opportunity to see the likely fallout that occurs when financial advisor regulation changes. The common trend in most countries has been that, after adopting new fiduciary rules, the headcount of "financial advisors" appears to decline between 10% and 30%. Notably, though, the individuals who leave appear primarily to be not bona fide financial advisors, but simply those who wrote "Financial Advisor" on their business card, but acted solely as a salesperson... and simply decide they don't want to actually be responsible for giving financial advice, once the investment commissions are no longer available! Which ironically just leaves even more opportunity for the actual financial advisors who remain behind!

With the fiduciary trend occurring on a global basis simultaneously, one might wonder what it is that has led so many countries to implement fiduciary rules in quick succession. The answer, in a world, appears to be: technology. Because around the world, the rise of the internet has made it easier and easier for consumers to access the financial products they want and need directly, without a financial advisor to sell it to them (and earn a commission)... which makes consumers begin to ask "why am I paying a financial advisor for a product I could buy online anyway?" And forcing advisors to actually begin to give bona fide advice, and not just the "advice" necessary to sell a product. In turn, the rise of financial advisors actually focusing on giving advice makes the fiduciary rulemaking a natural outcome. Because when the majority of advisors actually focus on advice, what standard could possibly apply to advice besides one that requires the advice to be in the best interests of the consumer receiving the advice!?

Ultimately, though, the key point is simply to recognize that as technology commoditizes financial products and increasingly forces advisors to focus on truly giving advice, fiduciary rules to hold that advice accountable to an appropriate standard are inevitable... and thus, the fiduciary movement has quickly become a global phenomenon. Which means our battle over the DoL fiduciary rule is not merely some esoteric isolated debate going on here in the U.S... as the fiduciary movement is impacting consumers and advisors worldwide!

Why Paying Yourself 5% Interest On A 401(k) Loan Is A Bad Investment Deal

August 23, 2017 07:01 am 41 Comments CATEGORY: Retirement Planning

Borrowing money has a cost, in the form of loan interest, which is paid to the lender for the right and opportunity to use the borrowed funds. As a result, the whole point of saving and investing is to avoid the need to borrow, and instead actually have the money that’s needed to fund future goals.

A unique feature of a 401(k) loan, though, is that unlike other types of borrowing from a lender, the employee literally borrows their own money out of their own account, such that the borrower’s 401(k) loan repayments of principal and interest really do get paid right back to themselves (into their own 401(k) plan). In other words, even though the stated 401(k) loan interest rate might be 5%, the borrower pays the 5% to themselves, for a net cost of zero! Which means as long as someone can afford the cash flows to make the ongoing 401(k) loan payments without defaulting, a 401(k) loan is effectively a form of “interest-free” loan.

In fact, since the borrower really just pays interest to themselves, some investors have even considered taking out a 401(k) loan as a way to increase their investment returns, by “paying 401(k) loan interest to themselves” at 5% instead of just owning a bond fund that might only have a net yield of 2% or 3% in today’s environment.

The caveat, though, is that paying yourself 5% loan interest doesn’t actually generate a 5% return, because the borrower that receives the loan interest is also the one paying the loan interest. Which means paying 401(k) loan interest to yourself is really nothing more than a way to transfer money into your 401(k) plan. Except unlike a traditional 401(k) contribution, it’s not even tax deductible! And as long as the loan is in place, the borrower loses the ability to actually invest and grow the money… which means borrowing from a 401(k) plan to pay yourself interest really just results in losing out on any growth whatsoever!

The end result is that while borrowing from a 401(k) plan may be an appealing option for those who need to borrow – where the effective borrowing cost is not the 401(k) loan interest rate but the “opportunity cost” or growth rate of the money inside the account – it’s still not an effective means to actually increase your returns, even if the 401(k) loan interest rate is higher than the returns of the investment account. Instead, for those who have “loan interest” to pay to themselves, the best strategy is simply to contribute the extra money to the 401(k) plan directly, where it can both be invested, and receive the 401(k) tax deduction (and potential employer matching!) on the contribution itself!

#FASuccess Ep 034: Becoming An Advisor #FinTech Software Entrepreneur While Running Your Own Advisory Firm with Sheryl Rowling

August 22, 2017 07:01 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the thirty-fourth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Sheryl Rowling. Sheryl is the founder of Rowling and Associates, an independent advisory firm in southern California that manages more than $300 million of assets under management, and provides a combination of investment management, financial planning, and tax preparation services for clients.

What's unique about Sheryl, though, is not simply that she's built a successful advisory firm with a team of 12, but that in an effort to try and make her firm's investment management process more efficient, she decided to create her own rebalancing software... and then sell it to other financial advisors as the software solution we now know to be Total Rebalance Expert, or TRX, which was subsequently acquired just a few years ago by Morningstar.

In this episode, Sheryl talks about what it was like building a technology firm (while running her advisory firm as well!), how building an advisor technology firm differs from building a traditional advisory firm, the challenging demands of needing to iterate rapidly in a competitive software landscape, and the personal toll that it takes in trying to simultaneously run both an advisory firm and an advisor technology firm at the same time.

In addition, we talk in depth about the structure of Sheryl's CPA financial planning firm, why they decided to offer - and charge separately - for tax preparation services in addition to financial planning, the core technology stack of MoneyGuidePro, Junxure CRM, and PortfolioCenter (bundled, of course, to TRX for rebalancing) that she uses to operate the firm, and how she positions her comprehensive financial planning offering to her clients as "we answer every financial question you have, and the ones you don't even know to ask!"

And be certain to listen to the end, where Sheryl discusses her "As If" rule to decide what to focus on and how to build her ideal practice, and the newest solution she's launching for fellow financial advisors, to purchase her investment team's model portfolios and due diligence research for a flat annual fee - which, you can then implement in your own rebalancing software, but without the AUM fees of a full-blown TAMP provider.

And so whether you’re looking for fresh perspective on a comprehensive financial planning firm with a strong tax focus, or have ever wondering specifically what it takes to launch an advisor technology solution “on the side”, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

Comment Letter To CFP Board On Its Proposed Fiduciary Standards Of Conduct

August 21, 2017 07:01 am 33 Comments CATEGORY: Regulation & Compliance

In December of 2015, the CFP Board announced that it was beginning a process to update its Standards of Professional Conduct for all CFP certificants, the first such update since the last set of changes took effect in the middle of 2008. And on this past June 20^th, the CFP Board published proposed changes (including an expanded fiduciary duty) to its Standards of Conduct, with a public comment period that would last until August 21^st.

And so as the CFP Board’s Public Comment period closes today, I have published here in full my own comment letter to the CFP Board. And as you will see in the Comment Letter, I am overall very supportive of the CFP Board advancing the fiduciary standard of care for CFP professionals, and view this as a positive step forward for the financial planning profession.

However, the CFP Board’s proposed changes do introduce numerous new questions and concerns, from key definitions that (in my humble opinion) still need to be clarified further, to new wrinkles in what does and does not constitute a fee-only advice relationship (and whether and to what extent certain types of compensation must be disclosed), to uncertainties about how CFP professionals are expected to navigate important conflicts of interest, and how CFP professionals should interpret the 29(!) instances where the CFP Board’s new standards are based on “reasonableness”… with no explanation of how “reasonable” is determined, and a non-public CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission that doesn’t even allow CFP professionals to rely on prior case histories for precedence.

Ultimately, I am hopeful that the CFP Board will end up moving forward with its proposed changes to expand the scope of fiduciary duty for CFP certificants, but only after publishing another round of the proposal for a second comment period, given the substantive nature of both the changes themselves, and the concerns that remain.

In the meantime, I hope you find this public comment letter helpful food for thought. And if you haven’t yet, remember that you too can submit your own Public Comment letter to the CFP Board by emailing [email protected] – but today (August 21^st) is the last day to submit!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Aug 19-20)

August 18, 2017 02:01 pm 1 Comment CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with a slew of announcements about major broker-dealer mergers and acquisitions, including LPL acquiring National Planning Holdings (and its four subsidiary broker-dealers) from Jackson National, Kestra acquiring H. Beck from Securian and Minnesota Life, and Cetera folding in Girard Securities from being an independent subsidiary broker-dealer into a regional super-OSJ instead... a sign that as DoL fiduciary implementation looms large, broker-dealers are feeling the pressure to merge for economies of scale, and insurers are simplifying their distribution by eliminating their captive broker-dealers altogether!

We also have several compliance-related news and articles this week, including the SEC's latest Risk Alert regarding the results of its Cybersecurity initiative for broker-dealers and RIAs, a separate announcement from the SEC that RIAs can delay some of the new Form ADV updates if they have any intra-year amendments to make after October 1st (though all RIAs will still need to comply when annual ADV season rolls around next spring!), and a look at what RIAs need to remember when hiring a new (experienced) advisor and going through the registration and compliance process of onboarding.

There are also a few advisor technology articles, including a look at the new technology initiatives rolling out from the leading RIA custodians as "advisor FinTech" becomes the primary differentiator for custodians, a look at the latest updates of the Capitect client portal (and increasingly, performance reporting and rebalancing) software, and a review of the Folio Connexion (AcX) platform that advisors can use to create their own white-labeled "robo-advisor-for-advisors" solution.

And given the summer vacation season, we wrap up with three articles all focused on how to better maximize your own vacation enjoyment: the first looks at whether a mandatory scheduled vacation policy is better than a flexible or open vacation policy when it comes to actually boosting employee creativity, productivity, and happiness; the second looks at why a 2-week vacation isn't actually any better than a 1-week vacation when it comes to boosting happiness; and the last provides some (research-backed) tips and tactics about how to actually maximize the happiness of your vacation experience... for those who still have a little summer vacation left, or perhaps are already beginning to look forward to their winter holiday vacations instead!

Enjoy the "light" reading!

The Challenges Of Integrating Advisory Fee Schedules And Billing During A Merger Or Acquisition

August 17, 2017 08:24 am 4 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

There are many challenges in navigating a successful advisory firm merger or acquisition, from ensuring that the firms align on investment, financial planning, and service philosophies, to finding an agreeable valuation and terms to the transaction, and navigating the post-transaction integration process. Yet in practice one of the biggest blocking points is simply figuring out how to effectively align the advisory fee schedules and fee calculations of the two firms - for instance, when one advisory firm charges substantially more or less than the other - to the point that one of the biggest blocking points of an otherwise-well-aligned merger or acquisition is simply whether it's feasible to integrate their billing processes (especially when the firms have differences in their underlying business model, such as an AUM firm acquiring a retainer-fee firm).

In this week’s #OfficeHours with @MichaelKitces, my Tuesday 1PM EST broadcast via Periscope, we discuss the major issues to consider when integrating advisory fee schedules and billing processes, from strategies to adjust when one firm has an advisory fee schedule that charges more (or less) than the other, to reconciling differences in billing timing (i.e., billing in advance versus in arrears), and the unique acquisition problems that arise when trying to acquire retainer-fee firms.

For most, though, the biggest challenge is simply reconciling differences in fee schedules between the two firms. In situations where the acquirer charges more than the firm being acquired, there's typically a desire to lift the newly acquired clients up to the fee schedule of the existing firm - which can make the transaction a strategically positive deal for the acquirer, if it can generate more revenue from the same clients, but also increases the risk that clients will reject the new fee schedule and not transition at all (which means it may be a good idea to leave the original fee schedule in place for a year or two, to allow clients the time to adjust, and build a relationship with the new firm). On the other hand, when the acquirer charges less than the firm being acquired, it gets even messier, as if the acquirer pays "full price" for the new firm's revenue and then immediately cuts their fee schedule, the acquirer faces a substantial loss on the transaction (unless they can bring down costs in the merger business by even more than the loss in revenue!).

Even where advisory firms reasonably align on fee schedules, though, it's also necessary to consider whether they have the same billing timing - in particular, whether both firms consistently bill in arrears or in advance. Because differences between the two firms in their billing process can lead to substantial disruptions in cash flow for either the acquirer, or the newly acquired clients! After all, if the acquirer needs to switch the new firm from billing in advance to billing in arrears, the firm could be forced to wait up to six months without receiving any new revenue from the new clients! And if the acquirer needs to switch in the other direction - from billing in arrears to billing in advance - then the first invoice to the clients may have to be a "double-billing" of the last arrears fee and the first advance fee all at once (which increases the transition risk for the acquiring firm!). In fact, even differences in the billing calculation process - such as when one firm bills on end-of-quarter balance, and the other uses average daily balance - can create billing gaps between expected and actual revenues!

And of course, this all assumes that both the acquiring and selling firms were both charging AUM fees in the first place. In the case where the acquiring firm charges AUM fees but the acquired firm charged retainers, it can be even more challenging to transition the retainer clients onto the AUM firm's fee schedule (especially since many retainer-based firms proactively "sell against" the disadvantages of AUM fees, which effectively chases away potential buyers who may want to convert the business to their own AUM fee schedule). In turn, this means the marketplace of potential acquirers for retainer fee firms is drastically smaller, and retainer fee firms may have more difficulty finding an acquirer that will pay them a "fair" price - particularly for firms that charge retainer fees to clients who do have assets and "could" pay AUM fees (as the situation is different when using retainer fees to serve younger clients, or other "non-AUM" types of clientele).

Ultimately, though, the key point is simply to recognize how important differences in advisory fee schedules and billing processes can be when you’re looking at a potential merger or acquisition. As a result, doing detailed due diligence on advisory fee schedules is crucial. In particular, advisors should be evaluating any differences in the level of fees charged to clients, the timing of those fees, how those fees are calculated, and whether two firms have fundamentally different approaches to billing altogether. Of course, fee schedules don't need to be identical in order to successfully navigate a merger, but approaching a merger with a clear understanding of the potential risks and opportunities involved is crucial!

How The Human-to-Human Connection Helps Facilitate Positive Behavior Change

August 16, 2017 07:01 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Client Trust & Communication

As financial advisors, we understand that one of the most important (and difficult) things we can do for our clients is help facilitate positive behavior change. And not just change that keeps clients from doing “bad” things (like selling at a market bottom), but also change that enables them to do “good” things (like saving more for retirement).

Unfortunately, behavior change is hard, but the good news is that the difficulty of enacting behavior change also means it is one of the most valuable things we can do as financial advisors. And the human-to-human connection – and the social commitments we feel – provide some powerful incentives to enact behavior change… which means financial advisors serving as an “accountability partner” to their clients have the potential to drive more successful behavior change than what clients can do on their own.

In this guest post, Derek Tharp – our Research Associate at Kitces.com, and a Ph.D. candidate in the financial planning program at Kansas State University – analyzes some existing research in the contexts of weight loss and alcoholism to explorer the power of the human-to-human connection in holding us more accountable (than we can be to ourselves alone) to accomplish our goals and behavior our behavior.

In other words, the unique power of the human-to-human connection means clients can achieve better behavior-change outcomes with a financial advisor than they may be able to achieve by themselves or through the use of technological tools. Because when a human is involved, we often have few options for totally avoiding the unfavorable perceptions we think others may have about us if we don’t follow through on our goals… which can be highly motivating. In the case of technology, while it may provide useful behavior change reminders… we can always just turn off the technology, and feel very little guilt. But it’s far harder to just “turn off” an existing relationship with another person.

Of course, this still doesn’t mean that enacting behavior change is easy. It is very difficult, but by acknowledging the social pressure that exists within an advisor-client relationship, we can use strategies – such as setting clear action items for clients based on “SMART” criteria, and encouraging clients to leverage social forces in contexts outside of the advisor-client relationship – to can help clients improve their financial well-being. Ultimately, we human beings are herd animals, and as financial advisors we should keep that in mind as we develop strategies to help clients achieve their financial goals!

#FASuccess Ep 033: Building An Online Marketing Machine That Takes Over Your Advisory Business with Jeff Rose

August 15, 2017 07:01 am 9 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the thirty-third episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Jeff Rose. Jeff is the founder of Alliance Wealth Management, a solo financial planning firm with just one support advisor that oversees more than $40 million in client assets in Carbondale Illinois, a rural town of barely over 25,000 people.

What's fascinating about Jeff's advisory business, though, is not just that he's been able to successfully grow his firm in an area with a far more limited natural market than being in a dense metropolitan city, but that recognizing the constraints of his local geography, Jeff decided to develop an online blogging strategy to get more prospects. And after 9 months of toiling away with nothing to show for it, he landed his first "digital" client – a widow with $2M who had simply Googled "certified financial planner in Illinois" – and become obsessed with digital marketing. Nearly 10 years later, Jeff's online marketing efforts have been so successful, he's generating more than $100,000 per month in revenue from his online efforts, and is powering leads not only to his own advisory firm, but is also providing a high volume referrals to an outside insurance business for people who just need term insurance, as well as referring additional prospects to a number of other financial services firms as well.

In this episode, Jeff talks about how he built his digital marketing platform, the setbacks he's had along the way, and how it powers his advisory firm, which he has made so efficient that he's able to spend only 1-2 days per week to keep it running, with a combination of Redtail CRM, Blueleaf, InStream Wealth, and Slack, while he continues to leverage his blogging platform to grow new revenue streams.

And be certain to listen to the end, when Jeff talks about the major move he's about to make – literally, moving over 150 miles away from his own advisory firm – where he goes for inspiration and new ideas, and why, despite or perhaps because of his financial success, his primary focus is now on getting even more efficient about the work that he does, so that he can spend more time with his four kids as well.

And so whether you’ve been curious to know what it takes to successfully build a blog and digital marketing presence that generates new clients, or want to see how success online can bring new opportunities beyond just the advisory business alone, or simply want a glimpse into a hyper-efficient solo advisor’s firm, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

Self-Publishing Your Own Book As A Financial Advisor In 6 Months

August 14, 2017 07:01 am 9 Comments CATEGORY: Marketing

In an increasingly competitive landscape of nearly 300,000 financial advisors, it's hard to stand out and differentiate by simply providing great service and offering comprehensive financial planning advice. For more and more advisors, the path to differentiation is by pursuing some kind of niche or specialization... but even then, it's still difficult to prove that you're a "recognized expert"... even for those who have been working in a niche for an extended period of time.

One effective way to communicate and "prove" an advisor's expertise is by publishing your expertise in the form of a book - to literally be the one who "wrote the book" on the subject! Unfortunately, though, for most advisors the idea of writing a book is truly daunting. Successful advisors are already busy enough as it is, and those who don't have the level of success they want need to spend more time trying to find new clients. How does anyone possibly find the time to write an entire book... especially if you're not naturally a skilled writer?

As it turns out, though, there is a method to writing a book as a busy professional (even if you're not writing-inclined to begin with!). In this guest post, Zach Obront of Book In A Box shares some of his own thoughts, tips, and best practices for financial advisors who are interested in writing and publishing their own book, including a detailed timeline of the process, as well as the costs associated with each step. Because it turns out an advisor can publish their own book in "as little" as about 6 months of time, and under $6,000 of outsourced help on everything from interviewing, writing assistance, editing, layout, and design!

And the path is particularly appealing for financial advisors, as the reality is that for clients that pay ongoing revenue for ongoing financial planning services, it can take as little as one or two clients to more than recover the entire investment cost to create your own book. In fact, the upside business potential of generating "just" another 1-2 leads per month, and improving your close rate by 10%, is so significant, that most financial advisors will profit far more by getting clients from publishing a book than they will ever get in book sales anyway. Which means it's actually quite effective to simply give the book away for free - a glorified business card that can instantly establish your credibility as an expert!

The bottom line, though, is simply to recognize that the process of writing a book is not nearly as daunting as most fear... as long as you know how to break it up into manageable pieces, and outsource the tasks that are outside of your expertise (as the truth is that there are ample freelancers available for you to hire to help with every step of creating your own financial advisor book!). So if you've been thinking about writing a book for some time, or are just curious to explore new marketing ideas for demonstrating the unique value you provide to clients, I hope that you find this guest post from Zach to be he helpful!