Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a recent study indicates that nearly a third of advisors in the independent broker-dealer channel have considered transitioning to the RIA channel during the past year as they seek higher payouts and not just “independence” but greater autonomy over how they run their businesses and serve their clients. At the same time, the study found that potential breakaway brokers view the operational and compliance requirements of transitioning to and doing business as an RIA as a major concern, which could lead some of them to either leverage the growing number of service providers available to RIAs, or perhaps join an existing corporate RIA platform to take advantage of its existing infrastructure.
Also in industry news this week:
- Large asset managers offering hybrid digital-human advice services are eating into the market share of purely human advisors, signaling that a smaller firm’s ability to offer a differentiated value proposition could be a key to success in the coming years
- A recent study indicates that tech-forward advisory firms not only are seeing greater client and AUM growth than are other firms, but also are associated with greater advisor income and job satisfaction
From there, we have several articles on healthcare planning in retirement:
- Why framing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as “Medical IRAs” could lead clients to better leverage their potential for tax-advantaged, compound returns and have more money available for healthcare spending in retirement
- How financial advisors can help clients evaluate the health insurance options available in early retirement, from staying on their previous employer’s plan through COBRA to obtaining a (potentially subsidized) plan on their state health insurance exchange
- How advisors can adapt clients’ financial plans to account for the unpredictable healthcare expenses they will experience in retirement
We also have a number of articles on practice management:
- How the ongoing competition for advisor talent and a lack of viable successors at many firms could drive a flurry of RIA M&A activity in the coming years
- Instead of pursuing an outright sale, a ‘merger of equals’ can give owners of firms with similar sizes and compatible cultures an opportunity to boost profitability and scale relatively quickly while maintaining a high degree of control, though successfully consummating a deal requires delicate negotiations between the potential partners
- A review of the revenue and profitability metrics that are most often used to value RIAs, and how selling firm owners can maximize the ultimate payout they receive by negotiating the underlying terms of the deal
We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about handling challenging political conversations:
- How preparation and empathetic listening skills can help a financial advisor prevent political conversations from derailing client meetings
- How advisors might respond when clients want to make major portfolio changes based on the upcoming presidential election
- How teams can create ground rules to promote constructive discussion on political issues and other challenging topics
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
