Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the big news that State Farm is pulling the ability of over 12,000 of its insurance agents to sell securities products (mutual funds and variable annuities) next April when the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule takes effect, implicitly acknowledging their agents are not providing (fiduciary) advice, and redirecting customers to a "self-directed" customer call center instead... a precedent that may or may not be repeated in the coming months as more major firms reveal their DoL fiduciary plans as the April 2017 effective date looms. Also in the news this week was an announcement the Financial Engines, the massive provider of 401(k) managed accounts and retirement investment advice, is pivoting fully into financial planning as it rebrands its 125 Mutual Fund Store branch locations into "Financial Engines Advisor Centers" to provide personal financial advice.
From there, we have several technical articles this week, including a reminder that with open enrollment coming on October 15th it's a good time to review retirees' Medicare Part C and Part D plans, a discussion of why it's so important to ensure that retirement account beneficiary designation forms are up to date (and how it may be impossible to fix a botched stretch IRA after the fact), and a look at all the different ways that long-term care insurance can potentially be deducted for tax purposes (depending on whether it's purchased directly as an individual, or under various types of business entities).
We also have a series of articles on retirement trends around spending and (continuing to) work, from one study that found we're materially happier when we have a substantial account balance in a checking or savings account (even if the cash is 'idle' and not invested), to another that notes new research studies are finding the 'traditional' even spending plan throughout retirement is actually a terrible way to maximize our happiness, how more and more advisors are talking about at least part-time work in "retirement" to help handle today's low-return environment and the uncertainties of a long retirement time horizon, and a look at whether the growing number of retirees choosing to continue work suggests that perhaps a multi-decade retirement shouldn't be the goal in the first place and that instead it's better to simply plan for a series of "Acts" punctuated by "Work Intermissions" instead.
We wrap up with three interesting articles: the first is an article by John Bogle about how the DoL fiduciary rule is here, it's time to get used to it, and its arrival was really just the inevitable culmination of growing consumerism as businesses increasingly have to respond to consumer demands; the second is a fascinating profile of Robert Moses, who was arguably the most powerful figure in the history of New York City, responsible for building many of its most famous bridges, parkways, and landmarks, and who simultaneously exhibited an incredible Competence to achieve results and terrible personal behaviors that made him widely hated (yet still incredibly successful); and the last is a look at the rising role of technology in financial planning, and how artificial intelligence may be able to help advisors have better conversations and create more engagement with clients... an inevitable future that we'll eventually get used to, despite the fact that now it still seems a bit "creepy"!
And be certain to check out Bill Winterberg's "Bits & Bytes" video showing the awards announcements for all the Best In Show winners of the 2016 Orion Fuse hackathon, including Best Work Saving Development from Orchestrate, Best Business Intelligence from industry newcomer Sisense, and the overall Best In Show winner from compliance provider RIA In A Box!
Enjoy the "light" reading!