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1. 10 Market Factors Advisors Should Eye for 2022
Financial advisors should identify and communicate their top investment priorities for clients. As financial advisors and clients start to dive into holiday mode, and 2022 sneaks up, there are numerous factors impacting how the markets function. Advisors should be taking these into account. — Rob Isbitts
2. Answering the Most Confusing Question in Crypto
When you buy a crypto… What are you really investing in? In today’s special edition of the RiskHedge Report, we’ll set aside the gains cryptos have been handing out of 6,000%, 8,000%, and 12,000%… To answer this basic but crucial question. — Chris Reilly
3. It's Time to Take Futuristic Views on Infrastructure
Infrastructure is one of 2021's most prominent investment themes and as is par for the course when the government is involved, the infrastructure package that's been discussed for nearly all of this year hasn't been signed into law. While Capitol Hill is failing infrastructure investors (again), the asset class is still worth discussing with inflation-wary clients. It has an established history of beating inflation and many of the funds in this category sport higher yields than broad market equity and aggregate bond funds. — Todd Shriber
4. When Clients Want to Buy Something They Don’t Understand
Advisors sometimes find themselves in awkward situations. Your client calls with an unsolicited order. You must follow their instructions. It’s obvious the client doesn’t understand what they are buying. What should the advisor do? This is a problem that often surfaces in Asia, where buying and selling stocks is often approached from a gambling perspective, like betting on racehorses. Their friend bought a stock. They talked it up. The other friends want to buy it too. If this is a transaction, like a stranger buying a quart of milk, it might be OK, but as an advisor, you are looking to develop an ongoing, long term relationship. — Bryce Sanders
5. The Reason You Don’t Meet Most of the Referrals That Are Made
For those of you who read this blog regularly, the idea that you don’t meet most of the referrals that are made won’t be new. For clarity, about 42 percent of clients say they provided a referral in the last year; advisors report meeting referrals from about four percent of clients. That data comes from our on-going investor research, in partnership with the Investments & Wealth Institute. — Julie Littlechild
6. 55 Companies Pay No Taxes and There Is a Reason
A tweet by President Biden on October 20, 2021, got my attention: “Here’s the deal: If you spent $3 on your coffee this morning, that’s more than what 55 major corporations paid in taxes in recent years.” The president has used this statistic in speeches or interviews 10 times since April, when the Washington Post ran a story headlined, “Dozens of America’s biggest businesses paid no federal income tax—again.“ — Rick Kahler
7. Investing In Startups: Understanding How Exits Can Impact Your Investment Strategy
There’s never been a better time to diversify your finances by entering the world of startup investing. As of September 30, 2021, startups have already raised $240 billion this year, even amidst economic volatility thanks to the pandemic. Startup investing is an exciting endeavor — though it can be highly risky with 90% of startups not making it to an initial public offering (IPO). Nonetheless, it can also be incredibly lucrative, particularly when an investor bets on the right business. — KingsCrowd
8. 4 Critical Issues Facing Financial Advisors Right Now
In the year and a half since the beginning of the pandemic, the financial advisory industry has undergone massive change, impacting the way financial advisors practice their trade as well as the behaviors and habits of clients. Much of that change was underway before COVID but has accelerated or come more sharply into focus because of it. — Don Connelly
9. Can Advisors Focus On What Investors Want?
The financial services business was built upon an investment management foundation. For decades, individuals with significant assets did not have access to the tools or knowledge regarding how to invest their assets. But in the past few decades, the abundance of online investment and financial planning tools have become readily accessible to most individuals. At the same time, the size of the wealth markets has increased substantially due to greater access to investments and overall greater wealth within the country. These changes have, however, changed the role of a financial advisor. No longer are investors just seeking investment advice. They are looking for more complex advice. However, financial advisors are most comfortable providing investment advice. This leads to significant gaps in the relationship between investors and their advisors. — Catherine McBreen
10. The Secure Act Changes Everything: The Money in Motion will be Trillions
Hasn’t the phrase Money in Motion always been the siren call to advisors signaling opportunity. In the defined contribution space, the Money in Motion that is about to happen may be the largest ever. We have all know for decades that the retirement system in the U.S. is broken. It broke over time when the defined benefit plan began disappearing and the 401 (k) became the de facto replacement, something that was never supposed to happen. — Lou Day
11. Discover and Reach New Markets Through Snowflake Data Marketplace
In this episode of The Data Possible Podcast, Vince Trotta, Head of Data Marketplace Deal Strategy at Snowflake, discusses the growing importance of data and how Snowflake’s Data Cloud—a global network where thousands of organizations mobilize data with near-unlimited scale, concurrency, and performance—can help firms and professionals achieve their goals. — Discovery Data