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1. Is the Housing Market About To Crash?
More than eight million Americans lost their homes. Another 10 million lost their jobs. And the average home lost over a quarter of its value. Now, many folks think we’re rushing toward another 2008-style housing crash. According to a recent survey by Cinch Home Services, 53% of prospective homebuyers believe the real estate market will crash this year. I understand where their fear is coming from… — Stephen McBride
2. Is Financial Planning Worth Paying Money To Get It?
Many investors think financial planning should be free. For years, major firms provided some degree of planning at the start of a relationship. It served to get to know you better and also to identify needs one of the firm’s products could address. This can become a problem when a firm’s product range is limited. Financial planning can also be bought as a stand alone service. Is this a good idea? — Bryce Sanders
3. Advisors: Is It Time To Quit?
“I quit.” “Enough already. That’s it. No more. It’s over.” Ever had a day like that? I have. I used to quit my business when a tough stretch dragged on for too many months. Maybe you’ve felt the same way at times. It feels great to just quit. Then, I start planning my retirement to a Greek island (that’s my fantasy anyway – what’s yours?). Eventually, it passes. — Brett Davidson
4. 14 Categories of Differentiators That Matter
I’ve written about the topic of differentiation many times and I suppose I will continue to do so until I ride my bicycle (or kayak or golf cart) off into the sunset. In my latest book, Radical Relevance, I provide 17 “rules of relevance.” Rule #5 is Only Differences that Matter, Matter. So, first and foremost, anything you use to distinguish yourself must be relevant to your prospect. Otherwise, you might as well be invisible. — Bill Cates
5. Are Millionaire Investors Friends With Their Advisor?
There is a fine line between professionalism and friendship that many relationships do not cross. Many individuals have seen their physician, accountant, or lawyer many times over several decades of working together, which brings a familiarity to the conversations and interactions, but might stop short of being viewed as a “friend”. Other individuals start these relationships from the perspective of friends, and it develops into a professional interaction as well. — Catherine McBreen
6. BlackRock Backs Advisors with Robust Retirement Suite
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager and the biggest issuer of exchange traded funds. The investment Goliath also offers an extensive suite of resources for registered investment advisors (RIAs), including macroeconomic insights, tech-driven portfolio and tax evaluation tools and, yes, avenues for improving retirement planning. — Todd Shriber
7. Where Your Value Proposition Really Fits In
A well crafted and well articulated Value Proposition is the key component in any good marketing strategy. Even though it is the most important part of the entire marketing message, it is not the first thing however… — Tony Vidler
8. I Walked Into the Mercedes Dealership…
I walked into a Mercedes shop in New Orleans the other day and was shocked… All I saw were electric vehicles (EVs). Rows and rows of them. I had to walk all the way to the back of the store to check out the “old school” gas-powered models. My estimate is seven out of 10 cars in the shop were electric. And the way the trend is going, it won’t be long before gas cars are considered “classic.” — Chris Wood
9. Why Haven’t Investors Panicked ... Yet?
Just the other week we got our first big surprise of the year; the failure of SVB and a few other banks. I believe the second big surprise of the year is the fact that investors haven’t panicked. In fact, the S&P 500 index is actually higher today than it was on March 10, when the FDIC took over SVB and all of this came to light. — Jay Mooreland
10. Marketing To Gen-Z: What Works And What Doesn't
Most financial advisors ignore Gen Z thinking they don’t have capital. But this is a big, fat $100 million mistake. Why? Well, Gen Z has more than $100 million in buying power. They make up 20% of the population. And if you don’t start getting ahead of this trend now, you might find yourself without a business in 10-15 years. That’s the bad news. — James Pollard
11. Everywhere You Look, Confidence is Plunging
The american public increasingly has little or no confidence in banks, a grim new poll shows. The survey, conducted by the Associated Press and the University of Chicago, shows only 10 percent of respondents have “a great deal” of confidence in banks and other financial institutions. This lack of support was roughly equal in both political parties. — Greg Valliere