Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that affluent Americans believe they need an average of $5.5 million in assets to both retire and pass on a legacy interest (though many have yet to establish an estate plan), according to a recent survey. At the same time, they also overwhelmingly recognize the value of financial advisors, not only for increasing their wealth beyond what they could have achieved on their own, but also for helping them feel more prepared and less stressed about their finances!
Also in industry news this week:
- A recent survey indicates that financial advisors continue to move towards ETFs and away from mutual funds when it comes to client portfolio recommendations, though a majority of advisors continue to see a role for active management in the investment management process
- A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging Reg BI violations at Fidelity, including a push for advisors to push customers to use the company’s own higher-fee managed accounts rather than lower-cost funds, which, if found to be true, could lead to a wider SEC investigation and sound a warning for other firms that might be engaging in similar practices
From there, we have several articles on tax planning:
- Amidst a broader tax enforcement push, the Treasury Department this week announced that it plans to crack down on “basis shifting” transactions used by certain partnerships to reduce their tax bills
- A recent Supreme Court ruling regarding buy-sell agreements indicates the value advisors can add by reviewing these arrangements to ensure they meet their clients’ needs without creating an additional tax burden
- How financial advisors can help clients avoid (increasingly punitive) estimated tax penalties, from determining the amount they owe to leveraging strategies to pay the taxes efficiently
We also have a number of articles on advisor marketing:
- While an advisor might be tempted to spend most of a prospect meeting explaining their personal story and the value they can offer, active listening could be a more effective approach to build trust with the prospect and increase the chances they decide to become a client
- How using a simple visual “road map” can help tie together for a prospect an advisor’s verbal explanation of their services and the next steps if the prospect decides to become a client
- How flipping pain points into positive, achievable goals to work towards can help prospects better understand the value an advisor offers
We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about the cost of car ownership:
- How a combination of elevated sticker prices and interest rates are combining to dramatically increase the cost of purchasing a new (or used) car
- How the math behind the decision of whether to drive a car ‘into the ground’ or buy a new one has changed in recent years
- Why car insurance premiums have spiked well beyond the overall inflation rate during the past year
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
