Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a recent study has found that while total financial advisor headcount across all channels only increased by 0.3% in 2023, the RIA space showed significantly more strength, with 10.4% growth, as breakaway brokers and new advisors see the potential benefits of the RIA model. Nevertheless, there is potential for many individual RIAs to expand their staffing further, with the addition of specialized planning and operations roles being seen as a potential avenue to boost firm growth.
Also in industry news this week:
- While the total number of RIA M&A deals in 2023 fell short of a record-setting 2022 amidst an elevated interest rate environment, continued interest from private equity firms and creative deal structures could boost deal flow in 2024
- While the SEC authorized 11 “Spot” Bitcoin ETFs last week, comments from chair Gary Gensler suggest the regulator will look closely at whether RIAs using these products are abiding by their fiduciary duty to their clients
From there, we have several articles on practice management:
- Why the SEC’s Investor Advocate and external consumer advocates are urging the regulator to temporarily suspend the use of mandatory arbitration clauses by RIAs
- Key mistakes advisory firms sometimes make when creating employment agreements, from not being clear with employee responsibilities to not detailing how bonuses are determined
- How to differentiate between different types of non-compete agreements, and how firms and advisors can work together to set the terms for a mutually satisfying agreement
We also have a number of articles on retirement:
- How booming stock and housing markets helped the Baby Boomer generation build wealth for retirement, despite earlier predictions that this generation could suffer amid a shift from defined benefit to defined contribution retirement plans
- Why company executives face unique challenges when contemplating retirement, and steps that firm leaders and their clients can take to promote a smooth transition
- A new survey indicates that a majority of workers would prefer to slowly phase out of work rather than retire completely all at once
We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about career development:
- The lessons one advisor learned during the first 20 years of her career
- Why thinking about a career transition not only involves the worker themselves, but also their spouse or other stakeholders
- The advice seasoned advisors would want to give their younger selves
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
