11 Most Read Articles of the Week!

1. Want Double-Digit Returns? Hold Cash.

So, you want double-digit returns in 2022? Hold cash. Sounds crazy, I know. Especially today with the mainstream financial media headlines and big shots like Ray Dalio, who laments how ravaged cash is due to inflation. While that is indeed true for a long-term investment portfolio to a degree, maintaining a decent cash emergency reserve and going a step further with a financial vulnerability cushion can get you to double-digit returns. — Richard Russo

2. How to Discuss Performance with Clients

“How did I do last year?”  It’s January, a time of reflection.  Clients want to know how their investments performed in 2021.  They like rankings and comparisons.  Competitors attempting to lure them away ask about their returns.  They are smug, as only people with 20/20 hindsight can be!  You need to initiative the performance discussion.  How do you do it? — Bryce Sanders

3. How to Talk About Referrals in a Volatile Market

“Bill – I was thinking that the volatile market conditions we’re experiencing might be a great time to ask for referrals. What do you think?” That was a question posed to me in a workshop about a week ago. The answer isn’t a simple “yes” or “no.” As usual, “It depends.” — Bill Cates

4. Becoming An Authority Is About More Than Just Specializing

Specializing—building a niche for yourself in white space that only you own—is an essential step on the road to authority. But becoming an authority is about more than just specializing. Authority comes from deep investment in your specialty: the thinking, writing, speaking, consulting and sharing you do with your audience that ultimately transforms them. — Rochelle Moulton

5. Will Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF Rebound in 2022?

Cathie Wood’s ETF was definitely through the wringer in 2021, wiping most of the gains made in the previous year. The ongoing tech weakness and volatile crypto markets are expected to keep the Ark Innovation ETF under pressure this year as well. — Finscreener

6. Getting Clients to Write Their Own Referral Script

We all know that stories are incredibly powerful and that’s particularly true when it comes to articulating your value. It’s also true that stories can support your referral efforts because they are shared more easily and readily. — Julie Littlechild

7. Should You Buy Payment Disruptor Stocks in 2022?

There’s a big “threat” looming over one of my favorite groups of stocks. After years of running higher, these stocks reversed course in 2021… And are now trading at a steep discount. But while most folks are getting this story completely wrong… I’ll show you why this “threat” is presenting a great buying opportunity. — Stephen McBride

8. STP Investment Ushers in a New Dawn of Wealth Management Tech

Those in the wealth management space have seen the recent evolution of increasingly complex demands placed on firms, brought on by the need for a more digitally focused client experience and accelerated by the pandemic’s rapid global disruption. — Todd Shriber

9. Does Face-to-Face Time Really Fuel Referrals?

Virtual meetings are efficient, but if there is one thing that can help any professional fuel referrals it is face-to-face time with clients and influencers. Actual getting-together-with those other humans more often tends to lead to better or deeper relationships, and more opportunities to be positioned for referrals and recommendations.  And more meetings mean more opportunities to ask for referrals bluntly if you are that way inclined, right? — Tony Vidler

10. 10 Examples of Amazing Advisor Websites and Why They Work

Phew, 2021 was quite the year! We are excited for everything that 2022 has in store, but before we get too far, we wanted to share ten of our favorite sites from the last year. And just as in the past, having a strong online presence is so incredibly important to drive more leads. So, check out these awesome websites and you’ll see why we love them plus the reasons that they work. — Samantha Russell

11. Develop Your Differentiation Strategy To Get More Business

Your competitive advantage comes from “deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value,” according to Professor Michael Porter. “Strategies may center on low-cost leadership, technical uniqueness, or focus.” — David Leo