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Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that during the lull of the delayed Department of Labor fiduciary rule, the SEC is proactively working on its own version, and a first proposal could be released as soon as the second quarter of 2018. In fact, in anticipation of the coming rule, the CFA Institute has submitted a somewhat controversial comment letter suggesting that as the SEC proceeds, the best solution may not be to just harmonize with a uniform fiduciary rule for all broker-dealers and RIAs, but instead to focus more on the titles that advisors use and simply require those who hold out as such to be registered as investment advisers (and be subject to a fiduciary rule under current law!).

At the same time, this week's news also included newly proposed legislation in New Jersey, that would require brokers who are not fiduciaries to clearly and explicitly disclosure that they are not and have no obligation to act in their clients' best interests, as delays in a national fiduciary rule are leading to a growing momentum for states to take up the fiduciary slack in their stead. And the Wall Street Journal also published an investigative report about how even at discount brokerage firms like Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade, which are known for not using commission-based brokers, that their Financial Consultants are still receiving bonus incentives on top of their salaries that introduce problematic conflicts of interest in their recommendations (further supporting the need for a fiduciary rule).

From there, we have a slew of advisor technology articles this week, including: a new cybersecurity platform initiative in the advisory industry called cleverDome; why financial advisors should be concerned about the recent news of computer chip vulnerabilities Meltdown and Spectre (and another reason/reminder of why it's so important to promptly patch your computer with software updates!); how "robo" tools are coming to life insurance now, both streamlining the process of applying for insurance, and even the time it takes to underwrite the coverage (as algorithms and data feeds begin to replace requests for paper medical records and human underwriters); a favorable review of Advyzon (which provides a combined CRM and portfolio accounting/reporting tool for investment advisers); and a look at some of the financial data startups that are trying to compete with Bloomberg in the independent financial advisor community (including YCharts and Sentieo).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of time management and personal productivity: the first looks at what the research tells us about the most (and least) productive times of day for decision-making or creative work; the second provides a fascinating look at how our struggles with time management may simply be a modern-world iteration of the age-old philosophical question about how to find better focus and meaning in our lives; and the last is a simple but effective technique to help avoid distracting "opportunities" that may come along in your business... just provide a quote that is drastically higher than your usual prices, and let the prospective client either say no (but then it was their decision, not yours), or perhaps even yes (and properly pay you for the off-focus work, giving you dollars you can then re-deploy more productively in the business!).

Enjoy the "light" reading!

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Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that both New York and California are now working on plans to convert their no-longer-fully-deductible state income taxes into either a higher state payroll tax, or an option to making a "charitable" contribution to a state fund instead (where the state would offer a dollar-for-dollar credit against taxes, and as a charitable contribution it would remain deductible for Federal tax purposes). Also in the news is the announcement that Citigroup is also leaving the Broker Protocol, but that even as the Protocol unravels, FINRA still doesn't believe there's any reason for the organization to get involved even as the number of temporary restraining orders and arbitrations by wirehouses against former brokers begins to rise.

From there, we have a number of retirement-related articles this week, including a research study that finds what appears to be a significant increase in male mortality rates immediately after early retirement (at age 62), another study showing that mortality rates are rising and that life expectancies in retirement may be starting to shrink (especially as prospective retirees struggle to save and retire later, although ironically shorter retirement time horizons may mean retirees need less to retire than they once believed), a look at all the different types of senior housing arrangements that are emerging as the mass wave of Baby Boomers decide how they want to live in retirement, and why the key to helping retirees be happy may be less about maximizing their retirement portfolios and more about minimizing their regrets in retirement.

We also have several articles on practice management and career development, from tips on how to better navigate your career in an existing advisory firm, to best practices in how to find a mentor, and why truly being a professional financial advisor is about more than just being financially successful but actually committed to being a bona fide professional.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of (non-traditional approaches to) New Year's resolutions and improving your business and life in 2018: the first explores what it takes to have a truly impactful New Year's resolution for your advisory firm (hint: it's about actually establishing a better infrastructure for the firm to be successful); the second explores how it may be better to set goals on how you will allocate and use your time rather than just setting business goals for revenue or growth; and the last looks at how the perennial New Year's resolution of trying to be more productive may just be a mental trap, because the real issue is not figuring out how to be more productive to achieve your goals, but taking a fresh look at why you're pursuing them and whether you're even pursuing the goals that will actually make you happier in the long run!

Enjoy the "light" reading, and hope you had a Happy New Year!

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Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the stunning revelation from a Wall Street Journal investigative report that a substantial number of the Public Comments submitted against the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule (and supporting its delay) were actually fake comments posted in the names of real people who didn't even know their names had been used (and more often than not were actually in favor of the fiduciary rule as written). In the meantime, with the DoL fiduciary rule is delayed, New York's Department of Financial Services has released its own proposed regulation to subject insurance and annuity agents in New York to a state-level fiduciary rule instead (after Nevada implemented a similar rule a few months ago). Also in the news this week was the release of updated "guidance" from the IRS clarifying that deducting a prepayment 2018 property taxes in 2017 is only permitted if the county had actually assessed (i.e., the homeowner had become liable for) the tax.

From there, we have investment related articles this week, from a look at the rise of "digital marketplaces" for alternative investments like iCapital and CAIS that aim to make it easier for independent uses to use alternatives, to a discussion of technology tools that are being developed to allow "direct indexing" (where clients own an index by using software to manage a portfolio of the underlying components of the index, without needing to pay a mutual fund or ETF), and a comparison of some of the most popular "model marketplaces" that gives advisors the opportunity to use third-party models by retain control of (and responsibility for) implementing the trades themselves.

We also have several retirement planning articles, from an interesting discussion on the hazards of investing in the markets with the plan to buy "safe" (e.g., annuity) income later, Wade Pfau on strategies to manage sequence of return risk in retirement, and a discussion from Bill Bengen on how to monitor retirees' ongoing current withdrawal rates to identify those who may be in trouble.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of the way our economy is being reshaped: the first looks at the rise of robots and automation in sectors that were previously thought to be less exposed (e.g., restaurants and hotels), finding that while some jobs may be eliminated, new ones are also being created, and the net job impact could actually still be positive; the second is an interesting 10-year retrospective look from the Cleveland Fed at the factors that led to the financial crisis, the impact of the aftermath, and how the Fed looks differently at the banking system and its risks today; and the last is a fascinating discussion of how in the past, local areas of economic opportunity could create "boomtowns" that attracted those in search of jobs and higher wages (e.g., Chicago grew from 30,000 people to over 2 million in just a few decades), but in today's world interstate mobility is actually down, and the reason appears to be local housing policies in major metropolitan areas that have made it so expensive to move that people are not able to take advantage of the job opportunities there... which ultimately may help to explain why the U.S. has experienced more sluggish GDP growth in the aggregate over the past two decades!

Enjoy the "light" reading, and have a Happy New Year!

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Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (which was formally signed into law by President Trump today), which will brings substantive corporate tax reform, and a slew of tax changes for individuals... many of which impact financial advisors directly, from the potential for a new deduction for pass-through advisory businesses (as long as their income remains below a certain threshold), to the repeal of the deduction for investment advisory fees.

Also in the news this week was the release of the 2nd version of the CFP Board's proposed changes to the Standards of Professional Conduct (which would keep the "fiduciary at all times" rule, but removes the presumption that consumers can even rely on a CFP professional to actually be providing financial planning), a new TD Ameritrade study on breakaway brokers finding that they are increasingly forsaking the idea that broker-dealers will be able to successfully navigate the DoL fiduciary rule (and thus are opting for the RIA channel instead), the latest Fidelity RIA benchmarking study that finds advisory firm growth rates, profit margins, and fees are all under pressure, and a new Investor Bulletin from the SEC warning about hybrid B-D/RIA firms that may be inappropriately using (and/or failing to fully disclose) the costs of their wrap fees.

From there, we have several practice management articles this week, including guidance on why it's so important to find a business focus in the face of declining profit margins for advisory firms, why RIAs need their own "Zillow" platform that can reasonably estimate a true value of the advisory firm in an increasingly unbalanced market of one-time sellers and experienced serial buyers, what advisory firms should be doing now (while times are good) to prepare for the next inevitable bear market (whenever it may occur), and the reasons why Millennials require a fundamentally different approach to engaging financial planners (because they don't need advice on how to manage their accumulated resources... they need help developing policies that will allow them to accumulate those resources in the first place!).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of sexual harassment and diversity issues within our own financial advisory world: the first notes that recent sexual harassment revelations from Morgan Stanley's Harold Ford, and Sallie Krawcheck's #metoo story, may only be the tip of the iceberg in what is still a very male-dominated advisory industry; the second raises the question of whether sexual harassment in advisory firms may be even worse in the small-firm environment (where the harasser may be the boss and founder, and there's no HR department to file a complaint with); and the last looks at how to better have these conversations about diversity and inclusiveness, which can be challenging and awkward even for those who are well-intentioned.

And be certain to scroll down to the end, for a light-hearted video on the ongoing Bitcoin crazy, as the cryptocurrency experiences yet another highly volatile week.

Enjoy the "light" reading, and have a happy holidays!

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