Nerd's Eye View blog

Kitces & Carl Ep 80: How Advisory Firms Evolve Their Specializations Over Time

February 24, 2022 07:05 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

In recent history, implementing a niche or specialization has given many financial advisors a competitive business and marketing edge over the growing number of advisors in the industry. For many, the challenge may not be so much about choosing a niche, but more about when to begin taking steps toward committing to a particular niche and how to let it evolve over time, because taking action toward any major business decision can feel scary and risky, especially when there is uncertainty as to where the business will be years down the line. Oftentimes, the fear of choosing and committing to a niche can be so overwhelming that it stalls the advisor from taking action and making progress, leading to lost business opportunities.

In our 80th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss the importance of flexibility when exploring a chosen niche, when to course correct the plan as the initially chosen niche evolves over time, and deciding how far in advance to start planning in the first place.

As a starting point, it’s important to remember that even the most well-laid, analytical plans consist only of best guesses for the future, and that there will be inevitable changes that must be considered. And while financial advisors are typically strategists that enjoy creating detailed master plans for what lies ahead, creating excessively rigid plans to implement a niche decades into the future with no potential flexibility may end out to be more detrimental than helpful. Instead, arranging plans recognizing that niches and specializations will shift and evolve (a lot like our lives and preferences!), can help advisors be more successful in a chosen niche than they could have imagined at the start.

While some advisors may have a general idea of what they want to pursue as a niche, it’s important to note that a niche worth pursuing may not always present itself until later down the road. Other advisors may choose to pursue multiple niches throughout their career and may not end with the niche they began with. But by approaching marketing strategies and niche exploration with the understanding that there is no way to know how things will end out, advisors can incorporate changes into the planning process to maintain momentum as they gather new information that will help them course correct along the way and get to the right spot in the end.

Ultimately, the key point is that advisors don’t necessarily have to choose – and commit to! – a niche at the start of their careers. Instead, as opportunities to select a niche are presented to the advisor, taking steps toward a shorter 3- to 5-year plan (instead of a longer-term 20- or 30-year plan) allows the advisor to explore the niche and decide if it is a good fit. Regardless of whether the initially chosen niche is the one the advisor will stay with, the time spent exploring a niche is an investment for advisors. Because, more often than not, the true value of the process is reflected by the actionable steps that are taken as a result of exploring a niche, which will ideally leave the advisor in a better place than where they started!
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“Why Now?”: One Question Financial Advisors Should Ask To Convert Prospects Into Clients

February 23, 2022 07:05 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Client Trust & Communication

For financial advisors, one of the main challenges of the initial meeting with a prospective client is demonstrating the value of financial advice – and showing the prospect how they would benefit from becoming a client. But it isn’t always easy for advisors to articulate this value in a way that resonates with the prospect. Because even though the advisor might be able to name several ways in which they could help the client – like professional investment of the client’s investments, behavioral coaching, and retirement planning – it’s possible that none of these will seem relevant to the prospect’s immediate problems.

Much of the research on quantifying the value of financial advice has revolved around the benefits to clients’ investment portfolios, but investment management is not always the highest priority for prospects (nor is it always the main component of an advisor’s services), so advisors often focus on other, less tangible benefits (like behavioral coaching) when explaining their value. However, even though clients of financial advisors often do value these intangible benefits – as research studies have shown – they ironically tend to recognize that value only after they become a client, meaning that many intangible benefits don’t actually tend to make great selling points with prospects either!

A better way for advisors to demonstrate their value might be to first ask the prospect what has caused them to reach out to hire a financial advisor at this particular moment during their first meeting. The “Why now?” approach identifies important nuances around the prospect’s specific pain points, which helps the advisor understand their deeper concerns beyond a generic need for financial advice. And having identified those concerns, the advisor can better understand what the prospect really values – and can subsequently tailor their own value proposition in a way that truly resonates with the prospect.

Another benefit of the “Why now?” approach is that it sets the stage for good follow-up questions. By inviting the prospect to go deeper into how they might be struggling with whatever prompted them to reach out, the advisor can let the prospect articulate – in their own words – why they need financial advice, and how the advisor can help them resolve their immediate pain points. Which means that, rather than the advisor having to guess at what the prospect might value, asking “Why now?” gives them the answer – while reinforcing to the prospect why reaching out was important to them to begin with!

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that every prospect has (at least) one reason for reaching out, and that there are unique ways they can benefit from the advisor’s services. By identifying those reasons, understanding how the prospect wants to be helped, and clarifying the urgency that prompted the prospect to make contact in the first place, the advisor can personalize their response by articulating their value in a way that will resonate with the prospect and that connects to solving their problems (all while affirming the prospect’s reason for being there in the first place)!Read More...

#FA Success Ep 269: Accelerating The Fee-Only Transition By Acquiring A Commission-Based Book Of Business, With Michael Hartman

February 22, 2022 07:02 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 269th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Michael Hartman. Michael is the founder of Hyperion Financial, an independent RIA based in Shillington, Pennsylvania, that oversees almost $60 million in assets under management for 75 client households.

What's unique about Michael, though, is how he fast-tracked his transition away from his insurance roots to become a fee-only RIA… by making the investment to acquire a commission-based book of clients and convert them to fee-only as well.

In this episode, we talk in depth about the way Michael built a financial planning fee model with a base financial planning fee and then offsets AUM fees against his ongoing planning fee if clients want him to manage assets after creating the comprehensive plan, how Michael and his team leverage a client service calendar and ‘surge’ meetings to more efficiently create a high-touch experience for their clients, and how Michael and his firm present clients with a one-page ‘financial snapshot’ at every meeting to remind clients of their financial goals and reassure them those goals are on track.

We also talk about how Michael’s discovery of the financial planning world through publications and podcasts inspired him to pursue a career change as a financial advisor; how, after being weighed down for years by the contractual obligations of the insurance companies he worked for, Michael realized he needed to acquire his CFP designation to take his career to the next level; and how Michael ultimately recognized he needed to become an independent firm owner to achieve the freedom to serve clients the way he craved and achieve his personal business aspirations.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Michael shares how he persevered through losing 3 out of 6 of his team members (including his wife) while trying to transition the insurance company he worked for into the financial planning space; how taking a personal “pause” with an 8-week road trip gave Michael the clarity to purchase a local insurance firm and convert it into an independent RIA; and how Michael has lived firsthand the challenge that, much like being a parent for the first time, research and preparation can only get you so far, and at some point, you just have to take the leap to make your business what you think it can become.

So whether you’re interested in learning about how Michael guided his newly purchased insurance brokerage firm through fee and model transitions, how Michael encourages other advisors to actively seek advice and resources from professionals outside of their immediate circles to expand their career opportunities, or how Michael believes the hardships and failures he encountered are part of the journey toward personal and professional growth, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Michael Hartman.

What Advisors Really Want From Their (Independent) Advisor Technology: Opportunities And Threats

February 21, 2022 07:08 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

The financial advisor marketplace is an incredibly fractured one, where even the largest mega-firms with 10,000–20,000 financial advisors have only single-digit market share, and tens of thousands of advisors operate on an entirely standalone basis as solo advisors. Which means it’s incredibly difficult for most advisor-technology solutions to grow and gain market adoption because of the challenges in just reaching advisors… one firm at a time. It also means that it’s very difficult to figure out which technology tools are ‘best’ and most popular amongst advisors.

To address this, the industry has produced a number of advisor technology studies, but most are conducted via ‘open-link’ surveys, which are subsequently distributed by the vendors themselves to their users, turning the surveys from objective measurements of adoption and satisfaction into a ‘voter turnout’ exercise for the vendors. Which is why last year, Kitces Research launched its own Independent Advisor Technology study, using a more robust sampling methodology to get a clearer perspective on what tools are really the most popular and most liked within the advisor community.

Overall, the results of the Kitces Independent AdvisorTech study show a remarkably tight link between the technology that advisors deem most important (which has the highest demand), and advisor satisfaction with those tools, signaling that, in most categories, the marketplace really is remarkably efficient at iterating on in-demand software to meet advisor needs.

However, the latest Kitces research also shows that a shift is underway, with a number of advisor software categories in the aggregate gaining far more advisor satisfaction than their current adoption reflects, signaling the potential for accelerated growth in key categories (including advice engagement, plan monitoring, specialized planning tools, and the billing and eSignature process of client onboarding). At the same time, a number of ‘traditional’ advisor software categories (including CRM systems, performance reporting, compliance, digital marketing, and especially account aggregation) are particularly prone to disruption from new competitors. And in some categories (like trading and risk/behavioral assessments), advisors are so dissatisfied with the current solutions that a disproportionately high number of firms are building their own solutions from scratch, rather than buying anything in the existing marketplace!

Which shows how, as the advisor value proposition increasingly shifts from a focus on product sales and portfolio management to the delivery of advice itself as a service for which advisors charge fees, there is an emerging gap in advisor technology to solve the problems of advice delivery itself. And at the same time, while the leading advisor technology firms are trying to add (or even acquire) complementary features to become more ‘all-in-one’ systems, advisors are increasingly looking to alternatives to implement a more ‘best-of-breed’ approach to fill in the unique gaps they’re experiencing in their own firms.

In the end, though, the latest Kitces Independent Advisor Technology research shows that the advisor technology marketplace remains incredibly robust, and that, despite more than 300 offerings on the AdvisorTech Solutions Map, and existing incumbents who continue to retain their market leadership in the core of the advisor technology stack, there is still a great deal of opportunity for new firms to grow and capture market share, especially as the advisor business model itself continues to change and evolve!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Feb 19-20)

February 18, 2022 02:02 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, according to population and moving data with increased relocations during the pandemic’s era of remote work, the states that lost the most population in 2021 were those with the highest personal income tax rates (and likewise, the states that gained the most population were those with the lowest tax rates), which, while not definitively proving that tax rates were a primary factor for remote workers taking advantage of the freedom to live and work anywhere, does show that Southern and Western states (which make up the majority of lower-tax states) continue to hold allure for workers seeking a lower cost of living or better economic opportunity.

Also in industry news this week:

The CFP Board issued new guidance and case studies focusing on satisfying their “fiduciary-at-all-times” duty of care, navigating the seven-step financial planning process as a solo advisor, and managing conflicts of interest in compliance with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct that has been in force since June 2020
A new research study from TIAA concluded that high school coursework on personal finance has no impact on a student’s likelihood to eventually save for retirement or own a home (though previous research has suggested that financial literacy education can at least improve young adulthood credit and debt behavior)

From there, we have several articles on client communication:

An extensive new study from FPA concluding that advisors may overrate their own communication skills, as compared to how clients view them, suggesting the need for a more systematic approach to gathering both quantitative and qualitative client data to understand clients’ personal and financial priorities in more depth
Why, when clients of financial advisors fail to act on recommendations, it may not be a sign of their being unwilling to act so much as not (yet) being ready to act – and how pushing the client to take the “right” action can actually have the opposite effect (and cause the client to even further delay a needed course correction)
How the nature of financial advice is expanding beyond the strictly financial aspects of clients’ lives (although clients may not yet be willing to go too far beyond the boundaries of their financial lives)

We also have a number of articles on retirement:

How data from both the United States and United Kingdom show that average annual spending after inflation declines throughout retirement, and the implications for creating financial plans
Why mini-retirements can not only be relaxing, but also create significant tax planning opportunities in the low-income years (that can even help to offset the long-term cost of taking extended time off from work!)
How advisors can apply the lessons of those pursuing financial independence at an accelerated pace, not just in terms of savings habits, but the mindset it takes to FIRE early (from ignoring social comparisons to getting clearer about what is ‘Enough’)

We wrap up with three final articles, all about how negative emotions can actually lead to self-improvement:

How experiencing sadness, anger, and anxiety can actually make you happier and smarter in the long run
Why learning to get comfortable with the loss of the known (as opposed to reducing future uncertainty about the unknown) may be the key to getting comfortable with change
How addressing, rather than avoiding, regrets can lead to self-growth, and perhaps fewer regrets in the future

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

The Four Types Of Direct Indexing And Technology Solutions For Advisors

February 16, 2022 07:01 am 8 Comments CATEGORY: Investments

First introduced in the 1970s, index funds have grown in popularity over time thanks to their ability to provide broad-based diversification at (typically) very low costs, making their benefits available to investors of any level of wealth. And while mutual funds and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have been the dominant way for investors to get index exposure, thanks to improved technological capabilities and reduced trading costs, direct indexing – buying the individual component stocks within an index – has emerged as an alternative tool with a range of potential use cases.

Historically, direct indexing was developed as a means to unlock the tax losses of individual stocks in an index – even if the index itself was up – and was primarily used only by the most affluent investors (who had the highest tax rates and benefitted the most from the available loss harvesting). However, direct indexing can be used not only to harvest tax losses but also to harvest capital gains (particularly for those taxpayers in the 10% and 12% tax brackets). In addition, direct indexing can provide tax benefits to investors who are charitably inclined by allowing them to donate the underlying shares within an index that have the largest gains, thereby helping them to maximize their tax savings.

For those whose primary goal is to benefit from a more personalized indexing strategy that still gains broad market exposure while specifically adjusting for personal preferences, using a personalized index can ensure the investor’s capital will support the exact industries or companies they wish to support (while also saving on the management fees otherwise charged by more packaged ESG/SRI mutual funds and ETFs).

The direct indexing framework also is relevant for advisors whose default strategy is to own “the market” (i.e., broad-based index funds), but who also want to overlay various rules that subsequently modify or tilt the allocations based on their own (or their clients’) investment preferences or outlook, such as over- (or under-)weighting certain sectors, factors, or segments of the market.

Finally, direct indexing can be used to help a client with a large, highly appreciated or concentrated investment position, or one whose human capital is tied up in one company or industry. For these clients, an advisor can build around the holdings committed to an existing company or industry by diversifying the remaining assets into an index, better positioning the client away from exposure to a potential downturn in their company’s (or its industry’s) performance.

The distinctions between the four types of direct indexing are important, as the various uses of direct indexing necessitate very different capabilities from the platforms themselves. Which in turn means that more than multiple different indexing providers can each have the potential for breakout success, by building the best-in-class solution for a particular direct indexing approach… while recognizing that what it takes to be most successful in one direct indexing category may be very different from what it takes in others.

Ultimately, the key point is that the value of direct indexing is no longer limited to tax benefits for high-net-worth clients. The developing uses for direct indexing – personalized indexes, rules-based advisor investment strategies, and customized completion portfolios – can benefit a wider range of clients. And while it remains to be seen whether direct indexing will start to displace mutual funds and ETFs in advisor-managed portfolios, its expanded uses, increased outside funding into direct indexing providers, and growing platform capabilities, suggest that direct indexing’s value to advisors is likely to expand in the future!

#FA Success Ep 268: Centralizing Departments To Systematize And Scale A $2B AUM Advisory Business, With Patti Brennan

February 15, 2022 07:07 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 268th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Patti Brennan. Patti is the CEO of Key Financial, an independent RIA based in the Greater Philadelphia area that oversees more than $2 billion in assets under management for nearly 800 client households.

What's unique about Patti, though, is how she has scaled her firm by centralizing her departments into a unique team structure, and systematizing processes amongst her client service team – not lead financial advisors – to create a high-touch experience for her clients.

In this episode, we talk in depth about how Patti adopts the “Starbucks” model where her advisors create tailor-made plans for each client by utilizing customizable templates, how Patti has designed a concierge-style client services department that she refers to as ‘key’ client services (a play on the name of her firm, and because she wants her clients to feel like they are key), and how Patti has, in the vision of KFC’s Colonel Sanders, leveraged her personal image and reputation as a symbol of her brand and marketing, even if she is not the forerunner of each client’s relationship with the firm anymore.

We also talk about how The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey motivated Patti to form systems to get past just visualizing her business goals and move toward actualizing them, how Patti was inspired to increase her firm’s yearly goal after hearing an advisor describe bringing in $50 million in AUM in one year when she wasn’t growing at even half that rate, and how she focuses on optimizing her team’s individual talents to create a well-oiled organization.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Patti shares how she realized that to truly scale her business, she needed to let go of fear and learn to trust her team to implement her plans and vision, how Patti feels newer advisors would benefit most from working at a firm that is growing and has potential to keep growing, and why it is important as a leader to show vulnerability, admit mistakes, and master the art of apology.

So whether you’re interested in learning about how Patti organizes the departments in her firm to create an efficient workflow, why Patti places importance on cultivating deep, long-lasting relationships with both her employees and her clients, and how Patti stays inspired to continue setting and achieving goals, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Patti Brennan.

Financial Advisor Office Hours: A Step-By-Step Guide To Maximizing Your Time

February 14, 2022 07:03 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Practice Management

For financial advisors in the early phases of starting their own practice, especially in the fee-only part of the industry, being successful often comes down to the resources and advice available to the advisor. A call with a mentor or peer to ask something as simple as, “Was this hard for you, too?” or “Is this a good choice?”, or even just to ask for references and resources can provide not only monumental comfort but also affirm an entrepreneur’s choices, thus allowing them to take the next step forward – and hopefully to become a successful advicer in the meantime! However, the advisors on the other end of the call, who are eager to give back to the community that originally gave them support and mentorship, often face their own challenges as they look to provide support to up-and-coming advisors without overwhelming their own calendars and potentially stalling the growth of their own firms.

In this article, Meg Bartelt, founder of Flow Financial Planning, explains how (and why) she developed her own “Office Hours/Ask Me Anything” system, how she prevents time creep, and how advisors can develop their own systems of mentorship and trust.

From an overarching perspective, Meg’s Office Hours structure – 45 minutes, every Friday, with up to three people – starts from a time management perspective. Many advisors looking to give back begin with a very open structure. For example, Meg started by setting aside 30 minutes each Friday to have one-on-one discussions with whoever wanted to talk to her. However, more advisors began to reach out, and more slots were added – plus, conversations occasionally went over 30 minutes and ate into even more time! Designating a set block of time for Office Hours for multiple people at the same time helps manage both expectations and time for advisors on the call. And, of course, advisors are not obligated to hold weekly Office Hours. Biweekly or even just monthly meetings can be more than sufficient.

Once an advisor has decided how frequently to hold Office Hours, all that’s left is to get started. Initial set-up doesn’t have to be complex: a sign-up system, such as ScheduleOnce (which Meg uses) or Calendly, and a social media post or email broadcasting the service may be sufficient depending on how much of a following the advisor already has. Preparation can also be minimal; Meg asks participants for their contact information only, and often enters Office Hours without having done any research or advance preparation for the session.

Ultimately, the key point is that giving back to the advisor community doesn’t have to be hard, complicated, or time-consuming. Sometimes, it’s as simple as lending expertise, empathy, and community when an advisor needs it most. One connection, insight, or aid can be all it takes to help transform a young advisor’s career – but first, one has to start by opening the door!

Weekend Reading for Financial Planners (Feb 12-13)

February 11, 2022 02:14 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 Financial Planning Association, under new Executive leadership and a renewed Board focus, is now explicitly stating that its ‘core member’ will be a CFP professional. In addition, leaders of the organization reiterated the importance of the FPA’s local chapters, which had come under threat in a proposed 2018 restructuring plan. Together, these measures signal a return to the organization’s roots as a ‘home’ for CFP professionals with strong local chapters, as the beleaguered membership association tries to reignite its growth against a backdrop of strong and steady growth of CFP professionals themselves.

Also in industry news this week:

The SEC has proposed a new rule that, if it comes to pass, would require investment advisers to significantly beef up their cybersecurity planning and reporting
More than a year after Regulation Best Interest was implemented, a FINRA report has found that many broker-dealers are failing to live up to many of its requirements designed to protect consumers

From there, we have several articles on broker-dealers:

How FINRA will start to identify “high-risk” broker-dealers under its new Rule 4111 after June 1, 2022, providing the first significant test of whether it will truly incentivize firms to rid themselves of their problem brokers
How major independent broker-dealers like LPL Financial and Commonwealth Financial Network have changed their recruiting incentives to align with the industry’s broader shift to advisory services over product sales (by providing forgivable loans based on AUM, not the advisor’s trailing-12 GDC)
How the headline payout rate offered by many independent broker-dealers often obscures hidden costs paid by both advisors and clients, and can frustrate advisors who want to offer more fee transparency and keep a higher percentage of the revenue they earn

We also have a number of articles on investing:

Why investors are pouring money into ultra-short-duration bond funds in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate hike
How ETFs in model portfolios that are affiliated with the model portfolio provider themselves are likely to have higher fees and lower performance than those that are not similarly conflicted
How Legos as an asset class outperformed the S&P 500 over a nearly 30-year period (at least for those who managed to hold on to their original, unopened sets!)

We wrap up with three final articles, all about attracting and retaining talent:

How the current tight labor market has led to a ‘Great Upgrade’ in which many employees are leaving their current jobs… for new ones that offer better pay and work-life balance
Why the recipe for happiness on the job goes beyond quantitative measures such as compensation and into qualitative aspects, including a feeling of earned success and being able to serve others
How to identify the ‘Non-Fungible People’ in a company, and why these employees are the most important to retain

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

Kitces & Carl Ep 79: Finding Your Future Specialization By Interviewing Your Current Clients

February 10, 2022 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Traditionally, financial advisors built their clientele by working with anyone who had the financial wherewithal to buy whatever products or services they had to offer. And as advisor platforms have become increasingly open architecture, advisors have had an increasing number of offerings available to work with an ever-widening range of clientele. However, at the same time, the fact that ‘any’ advisor can offer almost ‘any’ product has made it more difficult for a particular advisor to differentiate themselves from other advisors. For many advisors, the solution to this challenge is to get more focused – which means choosing a specific niche or a specialization and differentiating themselves by offering an even more specific offering for their particular clientele. The idea may seem simple in concept, but implementation of a niche or specialization can feel daunting, risky, and even downright scary!

In our 79th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss how to begin the process of finding a niche, ways advisors can conduct research to decide if a chosen niche is a good fit for their firm, and, once a niche is chosen, how to begin attracting new clients.

As a starting point, it’s important for advisors to understand the types of clients they already serve. Compiling a list of existing clients and differentiating them through qualifiers such as occupation (and whether they have enough revenue to be financially viable) can give clarity as to whether a potential niche already exists. From that list, advisors can then choose 5-10 (reasonably remunerative) clients they like working with and decide if they would like to work with more of that same type of client. A good way to approach this is to consider whether there is a common problem these clients face, and if the problem would be interesting for the advisor to solve for more prospective clients who face the same challenges.

Once a set of clients has been chosen, advisors can set up meetings over coffee or lunch with the intention of learning more about the types of issues these clients face, and what it would take to attract more clients like them. By interviewing these clients and asking a predesigned set of questions, advisors can gain an understanding of the viability of the proposed niche. Taking this a step further, information gathered can be used to write a white paper that can serve as both a reference for market research, and as a handout back to the interviewed clients so that they may share it with others potentially within the same niche to help attract future clients.

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors considering a change in their business focus may not have to look far to find their niche or specialization. Communicating with current clients gives an opportunity for advisors to discover how they can not only help them, but future clients with similar financial planning issues. Which means choosing a niche doesn’t have to be a grandiose declaration that feels foreboding and irrevocable; it can be as simple as just taking a renewed focus on a segment of clients that are already “working” for the business and pursuing more clients just like them!