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1. ESG Is Dying Its Inevitable Death
ESG scoring and mandates remain a subject we have contested since it sprang to life in 2020. The push of “woke activism” on, and by companies, to meet nebulous or artificial standards has led to various bad outcomes. — Lance Roberts
2. When to Exit Your Practice? Your Best Timing Is Unique to You
Deciding when to retire is a very personal and difficult decision. As financial advisors, we are fortunate that most of us can choose when we retire (exit our practice) and can usually wait until we are fully prepared. However, since retirement is such an enormous change, we are naturally inclined to ignore hints of the approaching need to retire. We need to listen to ourselves and the people around us. — Christine Timms
3. Thriving in the Retirement Boom: Insights for Advisors With Sean Murray
Sean Murray is the Head of Retirement at Envestnet. Envestnet is a firm focused on delivering an ecosystem of technology, intelligence, and investment solutions that together can support advisors in building portfolios that align with client priorities around sustainable investing. — Power Your Advice
4. New Client Profiles Help You Spot Fresh Opportunities To Connect
Most financial professionals know that inside their book of business, there are people with challenges and specific needs that could be improved, maybe even solved, with the right conversation. Sometimes all it takes is to look at these situations through a new lens. — Alliance for Lifetime Income
5. The Government Can’t Afford Higher for Longer, Much Longer
Jerome Powell and his colleagues endlessly reassert their “higher for longer” plan for interest rates. They aim to weaken economic growth, bringing inflation back to pre-pandemic levels. The Fed has little choice because the government can’t afford the Fed’s higher for longer stance for much longer! — Michael Lebowitz
6. How Advisors Can Help Clients Avoid Financial Regrets
Regrets are a part of life and anyone that says they don’t have at least one regret is probably fibbing. With the benefit of hindsight, any regret is preventable, including those of the financial variety. If there is a silver lining regarding financial regrets, it’s that these issues can be fixed and they highlight the need for more ordinary investors to connect with advisors. Not surprisingly, the current environment is accentuating clients’ financial regrets. Two years of inflation and rising interest rates will do that. — Todd Shriber
7. Elevating the Client Experience
2023 markets are proving to be a perfect storm of opportunity for advisors. Product complexity and market volatility are driving clients’ desire for stability and support. Clients are searching for insight & advice on navigating their financial futures, and many need a trusted advisor that provides value at each touchpoint. Anything short of that, and clients start looking to add a new advisor or switch providers altogether. — Michael Roth
8. Buy This Stock … but Not Until August 3rd
Coinbase was just handed the US crypto market on a silver platter. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been insisting that “most cryptocurrencies are securities.” If he were right, it’d be disastrous for crypto because securities must comply with US securities laws. These laws were written in the 1930s. They predate computers, never mind crypto. A crypto couldn’t follow these laws if it wanted to. Many have tried. All have failed. — Stephen McBride
9. Minding the Trimesters of Retirement
Don’t be fooled by the early stages - longevity has implications. I’m often challenged by advisors and industry executives, “We don’t hear a lot of complaints from retirees. So why do you say most retirements will be a trainwreck??” It would be in very poor taste to observe there were very few complaints from the passengers of the Titanic – during the first four days of their voyage. — Steve Gresham
10. How Clients Behave When Money Gets Tight
Ronald Reagan was known for many things including the question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” (1) The question was asked in the televised debate between Carter and Reagan in 1980. It’s been said the question helped Reagan win the election. With inflation making it’s impact felt, clients are not feeling better off. From a financial planning point of view, what are clients doing differently and how can advisors help them weather the storm? — Bryce Sanders
11. The Secret To Getting Paid as a Financial Advisor: It’s Not About Being Popular
With all the social media available nowadays, some advisors tend to concentrate on posting content in hopes of getting more likes or followers. They believe the more popular they are, the more clients they’ll have. While I'm all in favor of getting your voice heard and out there, is it the right strategy to focus most of your energy on attracting new potential clients? — Joseph Lukacs