Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that Charles Schwab’s latest RIA benchmarking study shows that firms saw significant AUM growth in 2023, thanks in part to strong equity market performance, but also thanks to organic growth initiatives that brought in additional assets from new and existing clients. The study also identified attributes of “top performing” firms across a range of metrics, finding that they are more likely than other firms to have a clear ideal client persona, client value proposition, and marketing plan.
Also in industry news this week:
- While the number of RIA M&A deals has not surged in 2024, the average size of deals has increased, demonstrating interest from (often private-equity-backed) firms in pursuing larger targets
- Off-channel communication tops the list of concerns amongst RIA compliance professionals, with advertising and marketing coming in a close second, according to a recent survey
From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:
- How the timing of inflationary periods, as well as a client’s spending patterns, can influence whether their portfolio will last throughout their retirement
- A recent study suggests that many near-retirees reduced their savings rate and tapped existing assets during the recent inflationary period, with some retiring sooner, reducing the assets available to support their retirement income needs and demonstrating the potential value of a financial advisor to help them navigate this period
- How advisors can incorporate “sequence-of-inflation risk” into client plans to account for the volatility of inflation and its impact on the sustainability of a retired client’s financial plan
We also have a number of articles on client communication:
- How the use of visuals can give advisors more confidence in their knowledge of complex financial topics and explain them more effectively to clients
- Why those who receive advice (financial or otherwise) sometimes ignore it, from incongruent lived experiences between the advice giver and recipient to the “Curse of Knowledge”, and what advisors can do to increase the likelihood of client follow-through
- While behavioral ‘nudges’ can be effective at getting individuals to make one-time decisions, additional action is often needed on the part of financial advisors to help clients fully understand the implications of the choice being made and stick with it for the long run
We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about Artificial Intelligence (AI):
- While the AI field has received significant hype during the past couple years, its momentum appears to be slowing, with companies facing questions about their long-run profitability and impact
- 7 workplace use cases for the current generation of AI tools, from email organization to summarizing lengthy articles and data sets
- Why AI adoption amongst businesses might take longer than initially thought, despite the initial surge in interest in the technology
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
