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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.
Advisors know all too well that many clients are facing retirement conundrums and a slew of polls, studies, surveys and the like over the past few years confirm as much. Sounds ominous, but when tapping the right partners and resources, advisors can better navigate retirement planning. That could lead to better client outcomes.
For advisors, there’s good news in the form of there being plenty of retirement issues to discuss, but the rub is more issues create the need for more insights and resources. For example, Social Security is a pertinent subject for a broad swath of clients and as advisors know, owing to the various ages at which a client can claim Social Security benefits, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here.
Additionally, with the recent passage of the SECURE Act 2.0, there are some IRA details advisors need to be aware of because they’re beneficial to clients, including new catch-up provisions and fresh guidelines pertaining to required minimum distributions (RMDs).
New Regime Mandates New Approaches
Buzz phrases such as “new normal” and “regime change” are seemingly omnipresent in financial markets – a scenario that’s only been amplified in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Structural changes are not just from the long tail of the pandemic, but aging populations and geopolitical tensions may prolong inflation and impact economic output. This new era is not going away, in our view,” observes BlackRock.
Inflation, which could be a thorn in the side of portfolios for some time, is one reason why advisors need to rethink old guard retirement approaches.
“Volatility from inflation and policy tightening is reverberating through financial markets. At the same time, the relationship between stocks and bonds has become more dynamic as policymakers seek to combat inflation,” adds BlackRock.
Beneficial BlackRock Tools
It’s one thing for an asset manager to offer commentary and pitch its own investment products. However, it’s a different ballgame when that investment house offers advisors tangible resources with which to better serve clients. BlackRock checks that box. Consider the firm’s model portfolio suite.
“BlackRock has built a range of model portfolios to help your clients meet real-life goals. Our model portfolios can be customized to your client’s risk profile to help achieve a range of outcomes. They are managed with a disciplined approach and have the ability to rebalance in difficult markets, helping portfolios stay more resilient over time,” according to the asset manager.
Then there’s the firm’s tax-loss harvesting evaluator, which helps advisors spot tax-loss harvesting opportunities “and estimated capital gain distributions in your clients' portfolios, so you can help them keep more of what they earn.”
Bottom line: The new normal for retirement planning requires advisors to be equipped with more than just income-generating and risk-reducing ideas. BlackRock has the tools to help advisors up their retirement planning games.
Related: We Just Flunked the Retirement Test