Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news of a survey indicating that about 90% of financial advisors would switch firms based on bad technology at their current firm, and that 44% have already done so. The survey also suggests that a firm’s tech stack can affect its ability to attract and retain clients, with 93% of advisors who said they work with state-of-the-art technology reporting that they have added new clients as a result of another firm’s bad technology, and 58% of all advisors surveyed reporting they had lost new business due to bad technology.
Also in industry news this week:
- A House committee has advanced a bill that would extend several expired business-related tax measures from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and would increase the value of the Child Tax Credit
- The SEC released its examination priorities for 2024, which include a focus on advisers’ adherence to their duty of care and duty of loyalty obligations, including when recommending complex investment products
From there, we have several articles on marketing:
- How financial advisors can address the “Curse of Knowledge” to communicate more effectively with prospects and clients
- How advisors can overcome “impostor syndrome” and market themselves effectively when serving a niche clientele
- How advisory firm owners can better align their staffing and marketing expenses with their growth goals
We also have a number of articles on retirement planning:
- A variety of limits and rules related to retirement planning are changing in 2024, introducing several potential opportunities for financial advisors to use with their clients
- Why financial advisors and retired clients themselves might both be responsible for the relative lack of popularity of immediate annuities, despite the potential benefits they offer
- How retirement income guardrails could help retired clients spend down their assets in a sustainable manner in a variety of market environments
We wrap up with three final articles, all about Artificial Intelligence (AI):
- How Enterprise Large Language Models could help advisory firms overcome the privacy and compliance challenges of using publicly available AI tools
- Why skilled human translators continue to survive amidst competition from AI, and the potential lessons their experience offers for financial advisors
- Why certain AI tools are less cost-effective than human workers for many job functions
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
