Nerd's Eye View blog

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (September 16-17)

September 15, 2023 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey indicates financial advisors are the most trusted source of financial advice for consumers across generations, and are particularly trusted among wealthier individuals. Further, the survey results suggest that advisors who offer comprehensive services tailored to the needs of their target clients are likely to be more successful both retaining their current clients and in attracting clients who might be dissatisfied with their current advisor and their service offering.

Also in industry news this week:

The SEC agreed to a series of settlements with 9 RIAs resulting from charges of improper use of hypothetical returns in advertising under the regulator's marketing rule
How several CEOs of large RIAs and AdvisorTech companies have found that receiving funding from private equity firms and taking the responsibility for the high growth expectations that come with those dollars can potentially cost them their jobs, or at least turn their leadership positions into jobs they no longer want

From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:

How advisors can use "retirement mentorship" programs to help clients nearing retirement feel more confident making the transition
While many clients look forward to the freedom retirement provides, those leaving the workplace can potentially lose certain things as well, from their sense of identity to structure in their daily lives
The range of paths available to those who have achieved financial independence that can provide purpose and fulfillment

We also have a number of articles on practice management:

Why setting clear expectations and demonstrating a culture of professionalism are crucial for firms looking to make a successful hire
What job candidates are looking for in the current tight advisor labor market and how firms can woo their top prospects effectively
How firm owners can avoid potential pitfalls when hiring and training next-generation advisors

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about the psychology of decision-making:

While it might be tempting to lament previous decisions that were (or weren't made), the likelihood that these choices would have turned out exactly as one might imagine is low
How advisors can help their clients make the most of the inevitable "plot twists" that arise in life
Strategies advisors can use to overcome the common reluctance to ask for help

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Why The Common Approach Of “Think It Over” Might Work For Product Sales, But Undermines Service-Based Financial Planning Relationships

September 13, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Psychology

For many financial advisors, encouraging new prospects to "think it over" at the end of an initial meeting can seem like a gentle way to offer the prospect space to decide whether the relationship will be right for them, while at the same time, keeping the advisor from feeling that they may be coming across too aggressively by making an immediate sales pitch. However, when a prospect meeting goes really well, and the prospect clearly sees the benefit of engaging with the advisor, ending the meeting with "Think it over" can interrupt the momentum of the meeting and send mixed messages to the prospect that, even though the meeting went really well, the advisor wasn't that enthusiastic about the potential relationship (because otherwise, why wouldn't they have asked them about the next steps to engage?). Instead, advisors can take a more direct approach in introducing the next steps to becoming a client during a discovery meeting to keep the momentum going and potentially increase the chances that the prospect will become a client.

While using an approach that encourages a customer to "think it over" can work well when selling products on a transactional basis between the salesperson and the customer (especially for high-cost products where the customer's behavioral biases come into play and offer the strategy powerful support), selling services to be rendered through an ongoing relationship (such as financial advice) is a very different process and requires a different approach to result in successful sales. In particular, financial advisors who offer ongoing services to clients can focus on 3 key areas that are unique to service-based sales as part of a successful sales strategy. These include 1) minimizing the prospect's uncertainty, 2) understanding their specific problem, and 3) being a 'true' service professional (who not only is capable of selling what's being offered but can also actually follow through and do the job with skill and expertise). Which means that it's more important for advisors to sell a prospective client on their ability to skillfully understand and solve the prospect's specific problems (rather than using tactics better suited to product sales).

For advisors who may feel anxious about coming across as too aggressive in asking for the sale in the first prospect meeting, supplying an agenda in advance that clarifies that the sale – the process of signing up as a client – will be discussed can make it easier by externalizing the issue and knowing that the prospect won't be surprised by the conversation. With this approach, the prospect still has the option to agree to take the next steps to become a client or, if they're not quite ready, to tell the advisor that they still need time to think things over. Regardless of whether they are ready or not, initiating the discussion on the next steps (and with the support of an agenda) can be an effective way to close the meeting without killing the momentum while reassuring the prospect that they would be a valued client and that the advisor is very much interested in working together.

Ultimately, the key point is that selling products and selling services are 2 very different processes, and encouraging prospects to "think it over", while perhaps an effective product-sales tactic, is a less effective way to close a service-based financial planning relationship. Instead, by communicating that they have the skill and expertise to help the prospect identify, understand, and address their specific problems and can ultimately help them minimize the uncertainty that they've been struggling with, advisors can build and leverage valuable momentum with the prospect during the first meeting, potentially increasing the chances that the prospect will agree to become a client by the end of the conversation!

#FA Success Ep 350: The RIA Custodian As The All-In-One Investment Operating System Of The Future, With Jason Wenk

September 12, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 350th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Jason Wenk. Jason is the CEO of Altruist, a relatively new RIA custodian that has quickly grown to serve more than 3,500 advisory firms across the country, making it the 4th-largest independent RIA custodian by firm count.

What's unique about Jason, though, is how he built Altruist as an "all-in-one" custodian platform for RIAs that includes the portfolio management and performance reporting software that most advisory firms have to purchase separately… as Jason found while he was building his own TAMP a decade ago, the limitations of current RIA custodians made it impossible for his TAMP to build technology that would really make his middle- and back-office teams more efficient, so Jason decided to build an RIA custodian to solve that gap for other RIAs.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about why Jason built Altruist as a solution to help RIAs based on his own experience as an engineer, RIA owner, and TAMP owner, to leverage the economics being an RIA custodian in order to offer advisors their core investment systems at a lower cost, how Jason leveraged many of the programs' infrastructures and processes he already built while he owned his own RIA and TAMP to jumpstart Altruist in the early years, and why Jason believes that the future will inevitably involve RIA custodians providing more and more of an advisor's technology stack – for the simple reason that the economics of the RIA custody business are so strong, independent software providers may not be capable of being price-competitive with custodians in the future (and thus why so many investment software providers have increasingly been pivoting towards the managed-assets business themselves).

We also talk about how, while building his first business (a website with a low-cost monthly subscription dedicated to helping people find 401(k) solutions), Jason found that most people who needed help were retirees that needed a financial advisor which inspired him to first launch his own RIA, how Jason rapidly grew his firm and attracted hundreds of prospects per month after a client posed a question to him about a fixed index annuity which inspired him to create a blog post featuring a spreadsheet he created that calculated the internal rate of return of fixed index and variable annuities which eventually turned into an entire niche content market strategy, and why Jason was inspired to sell his RIA book of business and launch his own TAMP FormulaFolios after receiving inquiries from advisors who were interested in learning how he grew his firm to $300 million in 5 years and how they could plug into the replicable marketing processes he had built.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Jason shares how he truly believes the fiduciary standard can apply not only to how advisors serve their clients but also in how vendors serve advisors, how, even though Jason began Altruist at the age of 38 (in a world that celebrates 20-something-year-old entrepreneurs), he is grateful for the opportunities to build the businesses he did previously because it gave him the knowledge and time to be ready for launching Altruist when he did, and why, even though he has built many successful businesses within the industry, Jason is passionate about inspiring even more change and creating better industry standards, in the hopes that advisors better leveraged by technology will eventually make it so that financial advice can be afforded by anyone seeking advice… and not just mass affluent and ultra-high-net-worth clientele

So, whether you're interested in learning about how Jason leveraged systematizing processes and finding ways to cut costs for his clients and end users to build 3 successful businesses, how Jason funded his businesses by funneling the profits he made from each business into his subsequent ventures, or how custodians make money and why Jason is adamant about bringing about change, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Jason Wenk.

Outsourcing (Parts Of) The Financial Plan Preparation Process To Boost Solo Advisor Capacity

September 11, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

When a financial advisory firm owner first starts their business, much of their time is spent on finding clients that they can serve. But as they (hopefully) onboard more clients and get busier with servicing those clients, they will also find that they eventually start to run short on time. Because in addition to providing ongoing services (e.g., annual plan reviews) to their current clients, they will continue to prospect and onboard new clients as well. And at some point, they might find they hit a 'capacity wall' where they no longer have the resources to service new clients (often once they reach 30-40 clients) and where their wellbeing starts to suffer because of the time demands of a growing client base that they can no longer manage without recruiting additional help or outsourcing financial plan preparation.

One potential solution for advisors nearing such a capacity wall is to hire a full-time employee to take on some of the tasks that are eating up the advisor's time (e.g., a client service associate to handle various administrative and client communication tasks, or a paraplanner or associate advisor to work on more planning-centric issues such as building out drafts of financial plans). However, some advisors might not be ready to take on the burden of hiring an employee (from the time spent recruiting and managing the hire to the dollar cost of providing a salary and benefits). For these advisors, an alternative approach would be to outsource the tasks they want to remove from their plates.

Looking at the financial plan development process specifically, a variety of outsourcing providers are available that can perform the range of required tasks, from data entry to scenario modeling to the creation of plan deliverables. Given that most advisors probably won't want to outsource the entire plan development process, they can take a methodical approach to identify the tasks that they do not enjoy and/or that take up too much of their time (i.e., creating a "Stop Doing" list) and then review the range of outsourcing partners, assessing their core proficiencies, fee models, rates, and company structures, to find the best fit for their work needs and budget.

Ultimately, the key point is that because solo firm owners who approach their capacity walls can become overwhelmed with the wide range of responsibilities on their plate, finding ways to outsource certain financial planning tasks can help free up time and help them avoid hitting their capacity wall in the first place! And while some advisors might choose to make a full-time hire to handle items from their "Stop Doing" list, others who do not feel ready to do so (or simply prefer not to bring on full-time employees) can consider outsourced planning providers as an alternate solution. And while choosing this option does involve time and monetary costs, doing so could pay worthwhile dividends – not only for the firm's growth and profitability but also for the advisor's overall wellbeing!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (September 9-10)

September 8, 2023 01:01 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the SEC this week issued a risk alert outlining how it selects firms to examine, the areas it focuses on during exams, and how it chooses which firm documents to request, details that could ultimately help firms be better prepared for their next exam and make it a shorter, less painful process!

Also in industry news this week:

Changes to CFP Board’s procedural rules went into effect September 1 and are intended to make the disciplinary process more efficient for respondents as well as CFP Board staff, and to expand the CFP Board’s ability to pursue more complaints against CFP professionals
A NASAA model rule follows in the footsteps of FINRA and CFP Board in extending the amount of time advisors can leave their jobs without having to retake qualification exams

From there, we have several articles on advisor marketing:

3 behavioral science principles advisors can put into practice to attract more clients
How advisors can build understanding and trust with their clients to foster long-term relationships
How advisors can tactfully address the behavioral and emotional challenges prospects and clients face when it comes to money

We also have a number of articles on investment planning:

A survey indicates that many advisors currently using alternative investments with clients are looking to increase these allocations to further boost portfolio diversification
While clients might be tempted to move assets from equities to cash amidst the higher interest rate environment, doing so could limit their progress toward long-term financial goals
How the new interest rate environment presents an opportunity for advisors to reevaluate their clients’ fixed income allocations

We wrap up with three final articles, all about economic trends:

How suburbs have experienced a renaissance that started well before the pandemic
Why poverty persists in the United States and what might be done to fix the problem
How a pandemic-era tax break has led to a booming business of affiliate marketers targeting small businesses

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 120: Is It Really Harder To Scale A Small RIA Today Or Are Firms Just Navigating The Growth Treadmill

September 7, 2023 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

A recent McKinsey report surveying growth in the wealth management industry predicted that the struggles of small RIA firms would increase as larger firms continue to grow and overshadow the industry... again. Although the messaging that smaller RIAs must scale to survive has been offered many times before over the past few decades, many smaller lifestyle firms and solo RIA practices have thrived in their preference to stay small. Yet, despite that many smaller firms have enjoyed success, scaling the business remain to be challenging prospects for those aiming to grow.

In our 120th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss the challenges that small to mid-size RIAs face when trying to scale and grow and how the pressures of competing with larger firms can affect those endeavors.

Even when smaller RIAs didn’t have access to many of the resources that help advisory firms operate and grow decades ago, they were still successful because many of them learned how to leverage their relevance by intimately and impactfully understanding and addressing their clients' unique financial challenges. And for many firms, this specificity and relevance has been amplified by homing in on a particular client niche, allowing them to focus on very specific types of problems that their clients face. Yet, while cultivating impactful relationships with clients has always been a powerful means of maintaining a firm's relevance and success, many business owners are challenged with growing their firm, even with the boon of abundant technology and platform solutions available today that make it easier than ever before for small firms and solo advisors to be successful.

As while a business grows, there are more employees, clients, and operational logistics that come with growth that the firm must manage. And as these elements of growing a firm increase, problems also increase, and more solutions are inevitably needed to solve for those problems. Some firm owners believe the solution to address these problems is to add resources and grow further until they reach some attainable point they imagine where all their problems will become manageable and their growth can be capped, allowing them finally to maintain their firm at a comfortable equilibrium level. The reality is, though, that as a firm continues to grow, new problems will always arise and it is very rare for a firm to address with growth, to the extent that at some point they no longer need to grow! Which suggests that identifying a firm's expectations for success is what's most critical, as a firm who wants to stay small needs to define what success means to them in terms other than growth – whether that means they earn more revenue per client, develop a more focused niche, or enjoy a shorter workweek.

Ultimately, the key point is that despite surveys that may foreshadow the demise of the small lifestyle practice, small (and mid-size) RIAs are not going away anytime soon. Small firms who want to stay small can increase their success by finding more impactful and/or efficient ways to remain relevant to their clientele and provide meaningful financial planning services. And smaller firms who truly want to grow have more options than ever before that will help them succeed – from choosing the right platform, merging their business, or acquiring other businesses to help them grow and scale more efficiently and effectively. In the end, understanding which path to success a firm owner wants to pursue can help them decide whether scaling for growth is really the solution that will give them the best options for solving the issues they face today, or whether they need to remove themselves from the constant cycle of growth objectives and identify the real objectives that represent a successful future for the firm!

How Advisors Can Help (Not-So HNW) Clients Maximize Asset Protection By Assessing Strategies, Tools, And Education

September 6, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

Financial advisory clients are routinely concerned about lurking threats to their hard-earned wealth in the form of a large unforeseen judgment on a liability claim. While asset protection is a popular planning topic for High-Net-Worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth clients, those who are not HNW are susceptible to the same threats to wealth. However, while some protection options come with a high cost (that might not be practical for non-HNW clients), asset protection can come in many forms, some of which do not involve excessive fees or complexity. Which means that by taking into account a client's net worth, realistic liability risks, and level of sophistication, advisors can help assess what types of strategies may be appropriate for the client to explore.

Notably, certain client assets have built-in creditor protection without the use of (often expensive) products or tools. For instance, qualified plan assets (e.g., 401(k) and 403(b) plans) offer purportedly unlimited creditor protection for plan participants, meaning that if an individual were to be sued or file for Federal bankruptcy protection, balances in these accounts would not be at risk. However, these benefits do not automatically extend to other types of retirement accounts (such as IRAs), the protection for which varies by state. Other sources of (often) built-in protection include homestead protection for a primary residence (some exemption is offered by most states, though not always automatically in place) and the benefits of joint account ownership (e.g., tenancy by the entireties and community property).

For other assets, insurance can represent the first line of defense against liability for a client, with other tools to fill in the remaining gaps, insulate assets from each other, and protect against any judgments that exceed coverage limits. For instance, an umbrella insurance policy can be an effective way to protect against significant personal liability claims in excess of any existing coverage the client possesses. Beyond insurance, advisors and their clients can also consider options such as the use of corporate entities such as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) for business interests, and estate tax planning tools such as Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) that can offer both estate planning and asset protection benefits for married couples.

In addition to helping clients identify which assets might already have creditor protection and selecting the tools and products that could help protect other assets, advisors can play an important role in ensuring that asset protection plans do not run afoul of the law or are not subject to reversal. For instance, because most states have adopted the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (UFTA), any transfers made less than 4 years prior to a creditor claim in those states may be reversed, which means that if a client gives something away (or transfers it for less than fair market value) with the intent to 'outsmart' creditors by transferring or hiding assets, then a judge can order the transfer undone and the asset returned to be used to cover the creditor claim (assuming the claim is made less than 4 years after the transfer).

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors can play an important role in helping their clients protect their assets, both in terms of educating clients on the protections they currently have and the options available to protect other assets, as well as in helping them avoid pitfalls that could put their asset protection plan at risk. Which means that knowing how to use the pantheon of strategies and understanding existing laws can help an advisor provide clients with the highest and best asset protection for the peace of mind their clients seek!

#FA Success Ep 349: Building The Marketing System Around Your Advisor Content To Get Real Marketing Results, With Olivia Luper

September 5, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 349th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Olivia Luper. Olivia is the Founder of Lexicon Advisor Marketing, a virtual outsourced digital marketing company that specializes in working with financial advisors to generate a steady flow of prospects.

What's unique about Olivia, though, is how she started out as a ghostwriter creating content for financial advisors and their blogs, but saw first-hand that great content alone doesn't generate prospects if there isn't more of a marketing system around it… so she expanded her firm to begin offering a full suite of outsourced marketing services to make the content actually generate results, from building lead magnets and mailing lists, to running social media ads to grow the list further, to writing the emails that get readers to actually schedule a first meeting.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Olivia has developed a 3-step process to building a marketing strategy for her advisor clients by focusing first and foremost on clarifying the advisor's message and vision for the firm, crafting an execution plan for top to bottom marketing funnel, and then if advisors don't want to do it themselves, providing ongoing implementation of the strategy, how Olivia has found success for her advisor clients using social media – even paid social media ads – not by trying to get clients directly but simply getting them to the advisor's website to collect an email address that will be used to turn them into a warmer lead over time, and how Olivia warms up those new email contacts with a welcome email sequence of 7 emails over the span of their first month that is structured to not only engage with prospects, but to help build trust and nurture the relationship with the advisor to increase the likelihood of the prospect becoming a client in the future.

We also talk about how, after having her son and just finishing her Master's degree in English, Olivia found herself between careers and was recommended by her mother-in-law (who also works in the financial advisor space) to try specializing in financial advisors because she saw the need for Olivia's content marketing expertise in the financial services industry, how Olivia experienced some frustration early in her advisor work because she was good at creating content for advisors and getting it out there but realized that advisors didn't know how to draw prospects to it to sustainably scale their growth, and why Olivia believes that most advisors are too timid about communicating the value of what they can provide to their prospects and that the key to better marketing success is about being more willing to simply share stories about how the advisor has helped other clients in similar situations.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Olivia shares how, while she was growing her business, she had a moment of reckoning for herself when she realized that she was employing marketing scripts that were too 'salesy' and focused on maximizing revenue and revamped her own marketing process to better align with how advisors aim to help their own clients in the first place, why Olivia believes that younger, newer advisors can find build more successful careers by being self-aware to find the types of clients they want to work with most and becoming increasingly well versed on the financial issues those specific people face, and why Olivia now feels fulfilled in her career as she can dive deep into her passion of helping advisors get unstuck and find the marketing messages that feel truly authentic to them so that they can continue to find more of their ideal clients and grow their firms, too.

So, whether you're interested in learning about why Olivia takes the time to learn about her advisor clients' vision and goals for their companies to make sure their marketing strategy is in alignment and can really help them grow, how Olivia structures each of the 7 emails in her welcome email sequence, or how Olivia develops marketing funnels to connect with warmer leads, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Olivia Luper.

The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (September 2023)

September 4, 2023 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the September 2023 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 news that WiserAdvisor, one of the longest-running lead generation services in the industry, has acquired IndyFin, a startup advisor rating platform that had aspired to be the 'Yelp for Advisors' – which on the one hand provides WiserAdvisor with an opportunity to jump into the business of client reviews and ratings (which has garnered significant interest from multiple AdvisorTech startups hoping to promote such services in the wake of the SEC's new Marketing Rule allowing client testimonials), but on the other hand, raises questions about how much demand there really is for a standalone advisor rating tool, since few advisors are likely to accumulate enough ratings from current or former clients to actually draw in new clients (and advisors with enough clients to get a critical mass of reviews likely have enough clients that they can just rely on client referrals… or don't even need to add new clients anymore?).

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

Former United Capital Partners founder/CEO Joe Duran is reportedly exploring the launch of a new RIA 4 years after selling his firm to Goldman Sachs, with a reported emphasis on providing lead generation opportunities for advisors on its platform – which if successful, could provide a new model for boosting organic growth without the high cost of outsourcing to a third-party lead generation service or relying on inorganic growth via mergers & acquisitions.
Onramp Invest, the platform that aimed to solve the challenges of cryptocurrency investing for financial advisors, was acquired by Securitize, a platform specializing in blockchain-based tokenization of private market investments, suggesting that advisors' interest in recommending digital assets for their clients – already limited during previous rallies in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies – has declined further amid the price crash and ensuing scandals that have happened in the year-plus since
Wealthtender, a lead generation and advisor rating service, has announced a partnership with custodial account provider UNest to bring its find-an-advisor technology to UNest's customer base of parents opening investment accounts for their children – which, while expanding Wealthtender's footprint in the competitive lead generation market, raises questions about how large of a potential customer base UNest can provide (and whether Wealthtender will be able to secure any larger enterprise partnerships that can help it secure a spot as the "One and only" advisor rating service)

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

With AI technology proliferating in the financial services industry, regulators are increasingly concerned about possible conflicts of interest if the technology can be manipulated to recommend a company's products and solutions over others (despite being under a technological veneer of 'objectivity'), as highlighted most recently by the SEC issuing proposed regulations for RIAs for evaluating and eliminating conflicts of interest in their technology, and Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin sending a request for six companies from different areas of the industry to detail their use of AI in their business practices
Over the last 10–15 years, a number of AdvisorTech providers have gained the majority of market share in certain core categories like financial planning and CRM; but as the most recent Kitces Research on AdvisorTech has found, a new crop of tools has arisen in more recent years that has garnered higher satisfaction ratings than the incumbents, and have been steadily gaining market share – suggesting that the traditional advisor tech stack might eventually be upended and replaced by a new 'next-generation' tech stack that reflects the growing shift of advisors into deeper financial planning and non-AUM fee models

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular "Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map" (and also added the changes to our AdvisorTech Directory) 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 (September 2-3)

September 1, 2023 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state's fiduciary rule for broker-dealers can stand, potentially opening the door for other states to impose similar standards that exceed the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Best Interest rule.

Also in industry news this week:

A legal challenge to FINRA's operations as a self-regulatory organization has the potential to upend the current regulatory system for broker-dealers and their registered representatives
A recent study indicates that while many consumers appear confident handling their finances on a 'DIY' basis during their careers, the percentage seeking professional financial advice increases as they approach retirement

From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:

Why some individuals believe they need to save more money than they really do in order to have a sustainable retirement and how advisors can support them
A recent study suggests that average inflation-adjusted spending among retirees decreases by 3% annually, a sharper decline than previous estimates
The value in deciding how much is 'enough', and how advisors can support their clients in doing so

We also have a number of articles on practice management:

Best practices for giving praise and constructive criticism to motivate employees and help them grow
How developing and communicating a clear strategic plan can not only set the long-term direction for a firm, but also help employees better understand the value of their work
Why advisor happiness leads to better client service, and how firms (and clients) can assess whether their advisors are happy

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about wealth:

Why those in the upper class are taking a more understated approach to displaying their wealth compared to previous generations
The services and skills that can help advisors move 'upmarket' and attract wealthier clients
How "social debt" can serve as a psychological and financial challenge for wealthy individuals and what they can do to avoid this burden

Enjoy the 'light' reading!