1. Why Investors Fire Advisors
As with a marriage, no one ever enters into a relationship with an advisor with the expectation that they will leave the advisor for someone else, or to manage their investments on their own. Unfortunately, sometimes it becomes necessary to stop working with an advisor and begin working with a different advisor, or to even start managing assets without help. This doesn’t happen too often, and the reasons for it occurring vary. — Catherine McBreen
2. How To Increase Prospect Engagement
I often hear from financial advisors who, for various reasons, are reluctant to contact prospects who remain in their pipeline. Many are hesitant to pick up the phone because they don’t feel they have anything new to offer, which, in their minds, would amount to an untimely interruption or even an annoyance. Best to avoid calling them, right? — Don Connelly
3. Advisors: It’s Not Different This Time — You Are!
What a difference a decade makes! Advisors are talking about the difficulty of working with distressed clients. Some say, “This is a challenging time, but not nearly as tough as the Global Financial Crisis.” But even more advisors are saying, “This isn’t the same as the last correction. I’m not sure how to help my clients.” — Ken Haman
4. How Advisors Can Avoid the Three Deadly Sins of Cash
On the surface, cash appears to be one of the least controversial asset classes and it’s usually not one that elicits strong feelings one way or the other among advisors and clients. That’s a good starting point, but the fact remains that there are some “sins” advisors can commit when it comes to sizable cash positions. — StoneCastle Cash Management
5. Prepare for the December Oil Shock
Energy companies are making a killing this year… At the time of writing, the US’s largest energy firm Exxon Mobil (XOM) knocked it out of the park with its third-quarter profits… Exxon made $20 billion—its best performance ever. It made more money than Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOG). Apple (AAPL) was the only US company that made more profits than Exxon in Q3. — Justin Spittler
6. Why the Right Clearing Relationship Matters
Clearinghouses are often viewed as the middlemen of financial markets, and the services they provide are essential. Independent broker-dealers know as much and those looking to grow and streamline their firms also know the value in establishing the right clearinghouse relationship. Axos Clearing, a subsidiary of Axos Financial, is a premier partner for establishing durable, high-quality clearing relationships. — Todd Shriber
7. Building a Marketplace for Real Estate Investing with Donal Mastrangelo
Donal Mastrangelo is the Head of Distribution at LEX markets. LEX is a new way to invest in real estate, turning individual buildings into public stocks. This offers a new way for investors to access the benefits of fully underwritten commercial real estate. — Power Your Advice
8. How Can Millennials Ride Out the Current Market Storm?
2022 has been a year of remarkable volatility across asset classes. Stocks, bonds and cryptocurrencies have been rocked by a confluence of challenges that could be described as a “perfect storm.” This volatility stems from a number of factors: COVID-19 and its impact on growth in Asia; the war in Ukraine and its impact on global commodity prices; severe economic slowdown thanks in part to a massive fiscal drag; midterm elections, which lead to uncertainty surrounding future policy; multi-decade high inflation; and steadily rising interest rates as global central banks shift policy from accommodative to restrictive. — Jack Manley
9. Pride Sells: Use This to Your Advantage
Does this situation sound familiar? The stock market has been behaving badly for some time. You have done research, consulted experts and prepared advice for different clients. Your strategy is to take advantage of opportunities others might be missing. You are taking a leadership role. Put another way, you are giving advice, which you feel is what advisors should do. But there is one problem: Your client isn’t as confident moving forward. Can you win them over? — Bryce Sanders
10. Why Settle for Average Adviser Performance When You Could Be Outstanding?
Advisers frequently settle for being average, and it is definitely not because they want to be average but because they don’t really know what it takes to elevate their performance exponentially. Average adviser performance can be turned into outstanding adviser performance by making the changes that make the difference. — Tony Vidler
11. Why Aren’t RIAs Making a Bigger Impact?
If you were going to refer a friend or relative to another financial planning firm (not yours), who would you send them to? I’m guessing you’re not going to refer them to a big, branded player. It’s much more likely to be another independently owned firm. Why? — Brett Davidson