1. The 4 Success Habits of Highly Successful Advisors
It has been said that habits determine 95% of a person’s behavior and are the most important determinant of the type of person you will become. That can be frighteningly ominous for financial advisors who spend little time focused on developing successful habits. — Don Connelly
2. What Are We Really “Selling” in Professional Services?
It is a simple enough question but knowing what we are REALLY selling makes a profound difference to an advisers’ business success. So what are we really selling? People in the industry tend to answer by saying “product”….people think they are selling insurance product, or wealth creation products, or taxation products….or sometimes they say “service”…trusted advice, planning skills, analysis…stuff like that. — Tony Vidler
3. How Soon Could the Federal Reserve Finish Hiking?
At its first meeting in 2023, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to raise the Federal funds rate target range by 0.25% to 4.50%-4.75%. The statement language and press conference were somewhat dovish. In the statement, the committee softened its tone on inflation, stating that inflation pressures have eased but remain elevated, and removed the Russia/Ukraine war and COVID-19 pandemic as contributing to higher prices. — Jordan Jackson
4. Soft Landing Or Recession?
The stock market is betting on a Goldilocks scenario. Jerome Powell doesn’t foresee a recession, instead he forecasts a soft landing. Apollo is bettering the soft landing scenario with an optimistic “no-landing.” Regardless of which description you choose, all three are bets that a recession will not occur. — Michael P. Lebowitz
5. Portfolio Implications of a Post-Peak Inflation Climate
2022 was a historically volatile year for global markets, as rapid monetary policy tightening led to steep losses across equities and bonds. In the second half of the year, inflation started to decelerate from multi-decade highs and markets started to find clarity around a possible end date for rate hikes. But with monetary policy expected to stay tight, investors face further deceleration in economic growth in 2023—and possibly a recession. — Caglasu Altunkopru and Aditya Monappa
6. The FTX Collapse Should Create a Reckoning for Private Market Due Diligence
Last year’s stunning collapse of FTX has inevitably led to questions about whether founder Sam Bankman-Fried intentionally misled and defrauded his investors. But, it also begs a more fundamental question: How did the due diligence carried out by FTX’s large institutional investors miss the red flags? — Christian Salomone
7. 7 Ways To Generate Leads
The days of cold calling and outbound marketing techniques are coming to a close as inbound marketing has become the way of the future. When it comes to driving more leads to your advisor website, however, how do you do this? And how do you make sure that they are qualified leads that have the potential to become clients? — Samantha Russell
8. Markets Are About To Hit a Brick Wall
The US government is running out of money… Washington politicians are in a standoff… Is a big dip coming?... Remember this quote over the coming months ... — Stephen McBride
9. Technicals vs the Fundamentals. Which Is Right?
For investors, relying heavily upon either the “votes” or the “weight” can lead to more disappointing outcomes over the long term. As I have noted previously, many investors missed out almost entirely on the market’s advance from 2009 to the present for various valid, fundamental reasons. Yes, they missed the crash in 2008 but lost far more in missed capital gains over the ensuing decade. — Lance Roberts
10. My Simple Trick To Get Prospects to Finally Book an Appointment
You’ve hosted a workshop or a webinar. Prospects came. You crushed it. People seemed interested. Maybe you even had a couple specifically say to you… "Please call us to set something up! We’ve been needing to do this for years". Yay, a warm lead!! — Libby Greiwe
11. Important Tips for Building a Durable Practice
Registered investment advisors (RIA) frequently espouse the virtues of long-term investing to clients. When comes to building their practices, they should heed that advice. Of course, as is the case with investing and portfolio management, there are right and wrong ways to go about building a practice for the long haul. Of particular importance for advisors that have been in the industry for a while and are either looking to extend the life of their practices or ready for a sale, the strategies and tips that worked years ago may not be applicable today. — Todd Shriber