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1. Advisor’s Checklist for End-of-Year Client Conversations
This was a year of heavy volatility, persistent inflation and rising interest rates with no end in sight. Now is the best time to connect with clients who are likely worried about the chances of a recession in 2023 and what it could mean for their financial lives. A few key planning conversations can help ease their concerns and remind them that their financial plan is still on track. Or, if the plan has veered off this year, together you can work to get it back on track toward meeting their end goals. — Rose Palazzo
2. 60/40 Portfolio Set To Outperform Over The Next Decade
Much ink has been spilled over the death of the 60/40 portfolio. However, declaring the demise of the 60/40 portfolio could be a mistake. Such is particularly the case as equity returns remain slated to be lower over the next decade due to high valuations. — Lance Roberts
3. Four Geopolitical Hotspots That Could Impact Markets in 2023
Some major questions for the financial markets may be answered next year: the Federal Reserve seems likely to cease its rate hikes by late winter; the political climate should be relatively quiet before the next U.S. elections in 2024; and the gridlock in U.S. Congress is likely to persist, without passage of radical legislation. That leaves one huge wild card – geopolitics, which the markets will have to carefully monitor next year. — Greg Valliere
4. Are Small-Cap Stocks Further Along the Road to Recovery?
Small-cap companies are usually the most vulnerable to volatility, with their stock prices and earnings getting hit particularly hard and early in economic downturns, much like what occurred in 2022. Yet they also tend to lead the way on both fronts during recoveries. In fact, after significantly underperforming their large-cap peers over the last few years, small-cap valuations have become more compelling. And recent earnings forecasts are adding to their recovery potential. — James MacGregor, Bruce Aronow and Samantha S. Lau
5. The Big Lie In Advisor Marketing
We’re now getting close to the end of 2022. And since the holidays are just around the corner, this would also be an excellent time to discuss gifts. We’ve all seen ads pop up from time to time as we scroll through our social media pages. I’ve watched them from an advisor's and a creator's perspective. And my advice to you is to beware of ads bearing gifts. — Joseph Lukacs
6. 24 Tips To Simplify Employee Engagement Efforts in 2023
The simplest approach to increasing employee engagement is not to gift them a VR headset. Improving employee engagement takes time but might not be as complicated as you think. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, "Employee vital signs — engagement and well-being — remain stable but not great". With only 21% of employees engaged at work around the globe. That leaves room for improvement. — Estelle Pin
7. 2023: Risk More, Win More
As we start wrapping up another year, it’s a good time to examine areas we are looking to improve. One proven way to get better results is to take more risks and then take even more risks. Overall, we avoid reasonable opportunities to utilize risk to our advantage—most likely because we have an unhealthy relationship to the word. Maybe we need to start thinking of “risk” as the “potential to win.” — Dr. Bert Shlensky
8. 5 Things Preventing Financial Advisors From Being Successful
Since I run in financial advisor circles, I hear from successful—and not so successful—financial advisors all the time. Besides the financial advisor circles I’m in, I’m also in several mastermind groups for business owners. My main takeaway from spending so much time with successful, and unsuccessful, advisors and business owners? — James Pollard
9. Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions and Do These 7 Things Instead for a Great 2023
2022 has drawn to a close. For many it still has been a stressful year post pandemic. For some it was a great year. Wherever you fell on the scale from stressful to hard to happy and healthy or a mix of both or somewhere in between, the new year provides an opportunity to reflect on the past and to gear up for your 2023 goals and dreams. It feels new and fresh and the possibilities are endless. — Lisa Grefe
10. How To Use Google Search Console to Track and Improve SEO Performance
From working with advisors over the years, we’ve found that Google Search Console is the best tool for helping improve SEO. Not only is it free, but it provides a plethora of tools and reports. These tools do everything from measuring your site’s search traffic and performance to helping you address and fix common site issues. In addition to measuring site performance, financial advisors can use Google Search Console to optimize content with search analytics, get your content on Google, get alerted on issues and understand how Google Search sees your pages. — Samantha Russell
11. Impact of Recession on Advisor Relationships
A recession is typically determined as the economy having two consecutive down quarters. However, it isn’t as cut and dried as that because everything regarding economic information is looked at in arrears. This makes it so often a recession is not declared until months after the recession has occurred. This declaration comes from the National Bureau of Economic Research, and they look at many different data points, not just stock market movements. Many investors feel we are in a recession, or at least a significant stock market downturn. How are investors responding to this market decline with regard to their relationship with their financial advisor? — Catherine McBreen