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Hard Choices: Making Key Business Decisions To Preserve Culture In Times Of Crisis

April 13, 2020 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, many financial advisory firm owners are facing tremendous uncertainty about the future of their businesses. And even those business owners who have planned ahead for cyclical downturns may still have to make hard choices about how best to navigate the current turmoil and ensure the long-term survival of the business.

In this guest post, Angie Herbers – Chief Executive and Senior Consultant at Herbers & Company, an independent management and growth consultancy for financial advisory firms – walks advisors through six steps of crisis management that they can use to cope with the unique crisis we are facing today. Because the truth is that even for experienced advisors who have been through market turmoil in the past, each crisis is different (posing unique challenges to firms at different stages in their growth), and in practice, the biggest risk to an effective crisis management response is one of “false equivalencies”, in which an advisory firm owner makes the assumption that the current crisis can be dealt with in the same manner as the last. In fact, while financial advisors may plan for aspirational growth, few businesses actually do the planning necessary to ensure they can maintain the stability of their business in the event a severe crisis turns into a protracted one.

Accordingly, there are certain steps an advisor can take to ensure their crisis management strategy is specifically tailored to the current situation at hand, and the risks that loom in the event that it does not recover quickly. The first step is an assessment of the specific crisis that needs to be addressed right now (which, in today’s environment, is the health pandemic crisis more so than it is the financial crisis) so that the advisor can focus their efforts on the right problem. This is followed by step #2, consisting of a SWOT analysis to identify the specific threats to their firm and its culture (without which, employees will leave after the pandemic passes, and just plunge the business into another crisis!) and how those threats might best be addressed. The third step is about continuity planning, and why flexible compensation and partnership pay structures are critical to maintaining resilience in times of extreme uncertainty. Next, engage in financial stress tests for the business, recognizing that stress tests that examine stability, focusing on capital allocation and cash flow instead of growth rates and profit margin, are more relevant than aspirational or functional stress tests during times of crisis. From there, it’s time to engage in strategic planning about what firms will do to fix (and prevent) the specific problems many firms are probably facing in today’s tumultuous environment. And the last step is implementation, in which strategies are implemented with a focus on the firm’s culture, clients, and long-term organizational stability.

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors, like many other business owners facing hard choices in light of the current crisis situation, can take a course of action to respond to their situation, and if the right choices are made with the intent to protect the culture of the business (as well as the employees entrenched in that culture) over everything else, chances are that the business will survive this crisis, and will be positioned to grow even stronger and better equipped to face the next crisis. But the starting point is to be ready and willing to make the hard choices necessary to ensure the business survives and has the opportunity to thrive in the long run!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Apr 11-12)

April 10, 2020 02:52 pm 2 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that, with the explosive popularity of the $350B Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses over the past week, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is already seeking a $250B expansion to ensure that the dollars don't run out. In the meantime, the White House is beginning to craft a plan about how to re-open the economy if/when/as the growth rate of the virus slows, while economic experts worry about what it will take for Americans to actually trust that it's safe to go out again (especially if there's a second resurgence of the virus later this year).

Also in the news this week are efforts by the CFP Board leading a coalition of advisor membership associations asking Congress to reinstate the tax deduction for advisory fees that was eliminated in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (as more and more Americans are seeking out financial advice regarding their current situation), S&P deciding to delay rebalancing of the S&P 500 index amidst the recent extreme market volatility (and raising questions about what it really means to be a "passive index"), and the IRS officially expanding the delayed July 15th tax filing date to include more related deadlines from estimated taxes to estate tax returns.

From there, we have several articles on how to leverage video chat tools as we're increasingly relegated to using them to stay connected to clients, prospects, and potential referrers, including how to improve video engagement with clients and prospects, how to conduct 'virtual networking' meetings, and how to leverage your smartphone to record and share high-quality video.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of how the internet has become our lifeline (and how remarkably well it is holding up as we depend on it); the first looks at how the very structure of the internet itself was actually built to be stable (a relic of its Cold-War-era respite that was trying to preemptively protect against global disasters); a deep dive into the data of what Americans are actually doing and using online and how our internet habits are shifting; and an exploration of how the coronavirus pandemic may actually end out stimulating a fresh wave of further investments into internet infrastructure that will just further build our internet capabilities for the decade to come!

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 32: Communicating Triggers And Breaking The News That The Plan Has To Change

April 9, 2020 07:04 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Now that the initial shockwaves of the coronavirus pandemic have passed, and individuals around the globe are adjusting to the current state of affairs, financial advisors are immersed in the process of updating clients’ financial plans to understand whether or how the recent market volatility has actually impacted them. As while the perpetual message for clients inclined to panic-sell has always been to ‘stay the course’, the reality is that, at some point, the market decline is still severe enough that at least some course correction in spending may be justified to appropriately address how to proceed in the aftermath of the down market we’ve experienced. Which in turn raises the question of how to ‘break the news’ that a spending adjustment might be necessary… and whether the discussion of focusing on spending (that can actually be controlled) may actually help further alleviate client fears.

In our 32nd episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and financial advisor communication expert Carl Richards talk about how financial advisors can introduce discussions about sometimes-necessary spending changes, and why strength, empathy, and confidence are so important throughout the process. As importantly, even though some advisors who have stood by and defended the plans they have created for their clients may experience feelings of guilt for needing to tell their clients that some course correction is now appropriate, it is vital to remember that their clients’ financial plans have probably already accounted for the possibility of disastrous events and that these course corrections are to be expected (and may in fact be less severe than what clients fear).

Accordingly, it is not necessary for advisors to assume a defensive position out of guilt that the original plan actually does need to be adjusted; instead, they can position themselves as supportive guides for their clients, acknowledging that the turbulence has been scary, painful, and difficult, but that ultimately, they are available to work together to help the client identify if (and how) their plan needs to be adjusted. In other words, market turmoil presents an opportunity to reinforce that the financial plan is not necessarily intended as a rigid solution set in stone; rather, it is designed as a roadmap to reach a destination, and that course corrections along the way are to be expected, as ‘unpredictable’ obstacles do inevitably arise.

For clients who need to reduce their expenditures, it can be useful to point out that small, permanent cuts are generally more effective than drastic (albeit temporary) cutbacks, which can help the client maintain a better sense of control over their situation. Illustrating various ‘what-if’ scenarios (simplified by many financial planning software tools) can also have several advantages, as the process can help clients understand not only all of the different variables that can be leveraged to adjust the current projections made in their plans but also the tremendous impact that small-but-permanent long-term changes can have on their plan.

Additionally, what-if planning scenarios can be used to establish the triggers that would justify a(nother) plan adjustment (e.g., a 5% spending cut will be implemented if the portfolio falls below one threshold, or a 10% cut if a lower threshold is breached), which in practice can be helpful to alleviate clients’ anxiety (to know it’s 'only' a 5% or 10% spending cut), and to give them a sense of when it actually is important for them to check in with their advisor (and in the meantime reducing fearful phone calls and emails).

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors can best support their clients by proactively guiding them through the adjustments needed to keep their financial plans successful, and clarifying that these adjustments are not only normal, but also that they are not an indication that the plan has ‘failed’ and instead simply that course-corrections are a part of the process in the first place. And by practicing rational overconfidence to reassure clients, advisors can communicate that the financial plan is a tool to help them figure out what adjustments to make to stay on course, navigating the unexpected-yet-inevitable roadblocks and obstacles that arise from time to time.

Using Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) And Payroll Tax Breaks To Supplement (Or Replace) Paycheck Protection Program Loans

April 8, 2020 10:19 am 27 Comments CATEGORY: Debt & Liabilities

Last month, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress, introducing a $2 trillion emergency fiscal stimulus package to provide relief to individuals, businesses, healthcare providers, and government entities from the economic damage resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic. While many advisors have become intimately familiar with the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief package provided for by the CARES Act in the past few weeks, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is another potential solution for small businesses and offers loans up to $2 million for business owners whose businesses suffered economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus. Eligibility is open to many small businesses (with 500 or fewer employees), including sole proprietors and independent contractors.

EIDL loan amounts will be based on the size and type of the business, and loan proceeds can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that the business owner would have been able to pay had the disaster not occurred. Borrowers may be granted a repayment period of up to 30 years, though repayment terms will be determined based on each individual borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Interest rates will be 3.75% for small businesses and the deadline to submit applications using the expanded rules as provided by the CARES Act, is December 31, 2020.

Additionally, borrowers will be allowed to request up to $1,000 per employee (with a total maximum cap of $10,000) as an “Emergency EIDL Grant”, which is estimated to be distributed within no more than three days of the borrower’s request. The amount received as an Emergency EIDL Grant does not have to be paid back and will be fully forgiven, even if the borrower is denied an EIDL loan. While small business owners have the option to supplement PPP Loans with EIDL loans, any amounts received as Emergency EIDL Grants will reduce the amount of forgiveness of any PPP loan balances.

Further, business owners (regardless of size) whose operations have been fully or partially suspended by government order, or who have seen a significant drop in income of more than 50% compared to the same quarter in the previous year, may be eligible for the Employee Retention Credit. The credit consists of “50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19.” Qualifying wages include those paid between March 12, 2020, and January 1, 2021. Notably, though, accepting a loan from the SBA via the PPP will negate an employer’s ability to claim this credit. This can be particularly problematic for some business owners who actually stand to benefit more from this credit than they would by taking a loan via the PPP!

The CARES Act provides further relief for employers (including self-employed individuals) by deferring 2020 payroll tax payments due between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2020. However, business owners who have debt forgiven under the PPP are ineligible for this benefit. Essentially, employers must pay 50% of the deferred payroll taxes by December 31, 2021, and the remaining 50% by December 31, 2022. Self-employed individuals will have 50% of the ‘employer equivalent’ of their self-employment taxes deferred as well, with 25% due by December 31, 2021, and the remaining 25% due by December 31, 2022.

Ultimately, the key point is that many business owners across the country (including self-employed individuals and independent contractors) who have suffered economic injury due to the Coronavirus crisis have several options of emergency relief available to them provided by the CARES Act. From the Payroll Protection Program to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and the deferral of current-year Payroll Taxes, financial advisors with clients who own businesses (and even financial advisors themselves) have some tools to help their clients cope with the ongoing crisis.

#FASuccess Ep 171: Transitioning From Successful Wholesaling To Financial Advisors To Becoming One Instead, with Tom Kennedy

April 7, 2020 07:06 am 3 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 171st episode of Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Tom Kennedy. Tom is a wealth advisor at Global Wealth Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Houston, Texas where Tom works with a base of nearly 400 clients.

What's unique about Tom, though, is that he made the transition into being a financial advisor from a successful 10-year career of working as a wholesaler to advisors, allowing him to get intimately familiar with the advisory firms in his area and network his way to a firm that was acquiring a book of 400 clients at the exact moment that Tom was ready to make a transition.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about what it's like to shift from the wholesaler business to the advisory business. How the required skillset of wholesalers to meet with and talk to lots of people is a natural fit for working as an advisor as well, the way the advisory business allows for more and deeper relationships than the traditional volume of required meetings for wholesalers, the appeal of shifting into an advisory business where every year doesn't start back at $0 the way the commission-based wholesaling business does, and the real-world challenges of making a transition away from a wholesaling job that typically pays far more in the short run than most advisory firms could feasibly offer, but why it was still appealing to Tom to make the shift anyway, for its long-run potential in the advisory business.

We also talk about how Tom actually made the transition itself. Why he decided to get a CFP certification while he was still working as a wholesaler, the way he approached firms to interview for opportunities, how he assessed the various firms that he was coming in contact with to figure out which would be the best for him to work with as an advisor, and why, even as someone with deep experience and a natural skillset for business development, it was still more appealing for him to find a role where he could take over an existing book of clients and not just start developing his own client base from scratch.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Tom shares why, despite the long-term earning potential of the advisory business, he found it appealing first and foremost as a change in work-life balance from the 10-year grind as a wholesaler, the biggest surprise to him in transitioning from an employee-wholesaler model to becoming an independent advisor, about what it really means to be an independent business owner, and the lessons that Tom incorporated into starting his advisory firm based on what he'd seen as best practices in other firms from all his wholesaling years.

The Latest In Financial Advisor #FinTech (April 2020)

April 6, 2020 07:08 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the April 2020 issue of the Latest News in Financial Advisor #FinTech – 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 and wealth management!

This month's edition kicks off with the news that Vanguard is now actively piloting its “Digital Advisor” robo-advisor platform, which is being positioned as a ‘downmarket’ 0.15%/year fully automated alternative at half the price of its human-CFP Personal Advisor Services (at 0.30%/year)… though by building various custom allocations of existing Vanguard funds, looks in practice more like a “custom target date fund” solution that is actually pricing up Vanguard’s existing funds at 3X the cost (as a fee for designing the asset allocation) instead?

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

Envestnet partners with Compliance Solutions Strategies to build a new “Form CRS Automator” with the June 30^th effective date (and May 1^st first filing date) for Form CRS looming large
Schwab announces that its new PortfolioConnect service has rapidly grown to more than 1,000 RIAs, immediately making it a contender as one of the most popular portfolio performance reporting solutions for RIAs (and free for Schwab-only RIAs!)
Morningstar acquires Canadian financial planning provider PlanPlus to compete internationally, but in the mix, will get the opportunity to scale up FinaMetrica as a competitor to Riskalyze in the US?
fpPathfinder launches a Redtail CRM integration to facilitate interactive financial planning checklists for client due diligence and compliance purposes.

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including Addepar raises another $40M of capital as it launches “AddeparGo” to compete with middle-market RIAs and broker-dealers, a slew of companies from Hidden Levers (portfolio stress testing) to AdvisorPeak (portfolio rebalancing) offering free access to their software amidst the coronavirus bear market, and an explosion of open APIs as more AdvisorTech providers relegate themselves to the background as “engines” to power advisor dashboards that are increasingly being built within CRM systems.

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

I hope you're continuing to find this column on financial advisor technology to be helpful! Please share your comments at the end and let me know what you think!

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