Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week adopted new rules that will lift the amount of regulatory AUM below which an investment adviser can be considered “small” (for the purposes of evaluating the economic impact of new regulations) from $25 million to $1 billion, which will cover 75% of RIAs under this new definition and is likely to provide relief for relatively smaller firms by forcing the SEC to more carefully consider how new regulatory proposals would impact the overwhelming majority of RIAs that don’t even have the size capacity for a dedicated compliance role.
Also in industry news this week:
- Data from Cerulli Associates finds that firms looking to move ‘upmarket’ are frequently outsourcing specialized services (e.g., trust and estate planning) while leaning into an ensemble team model to attract and serve wealthier clients
- The IRS has established a new correction program for fixing certain IRA errors, though the number of available errors is limited and requesting relief will come at a cost
From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:
- Four potentially costly assumptions that can hurt a retirement plan and how financial advisors can effectively stress test client plans for a range of contingencies
- How advisors can use actuarial data, unique client characteristics, and (free) online tools to better estimate client lifespans when crafting a retirement plan
- The important role of capital market assumptions in determining a sustainable retirement income plan and how advisors (and their clients) can prepare for a range of outcomes
We also have a number of articles on advisor marketing:
- Characteristics of an effective content marketing campaign, from offering personalized lead magnets to proactively reaching out to leads who show interest in the firm
- While an advisor might first consider clients who have been enthusiastic from the start to provide a testimonial, those who were initially skeptical of working with the advisor could be particularly effective
- How advisory firms can refresh their “meet the team” pages to demonstrate the firm’s personality and differentiate themselves from the pack
We wrap up with three final articles, all about parenting:
- Tactics parents can use to organize their (limited) time, from holding a weekly check-in with their partner to outsourcing certain tasks to free up time for more enjoyable pursuits
- While they might not appear on a college or job application, household chores can provide benefits for children, from doing their part to support the family ‘community’ to building a stronger work ethic
- How the decision of whether to buy a $7 stuffed toy is a microcosm of the challenges parents face navigating spending decisions and money lessons with their children
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
