Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that with a December 3 deadline for large RIAs to comply with new amendments to Regulation S-P related to client data protection and incident responses (as well as a June 3 deadline for other firms), some firms are working with their third-party tech vendors to change language in their contracts to ensure timely notification of data breaches, allowing the firms to fulfill their responsibilities to their clients. Which (alongside the reaction to this week’s Amazon Web Services [AWS] outage, which hindered the performance of several cloud-based software tools) could provide an impetus for firms to review their incident response and business continuity plans to ensure that internal and external lines of communication remain open and client data remains available and secure in a variety of contingencies.
Also in industry news this week:
- How this week’s AWS outage could lead some firms to assess their reliance on a particular cloud provider (including their exposure from third-party software tools)
- A recent survey found that 90% of Americans plan to claim Social Security benefits before age 70 (when they would receive their maximum benefit), creating an opportunity for advisor-client conversations that discuss the full range of considerations that inform this decision, from evaluating the various risks involved (e.g., mortality and longevity risk) to discussing the client’s personal preferences (e.g., whether to front-load their retirement spending)
From there, we have several articles on investment and tax planning:
- An analysis of the upsides and downsides of different tools (including Section 351 ETFs, exchange funds, and ‘side portfolios) that can be used to diversify a client’s portfolio with large embedded capital gains while deferring taxation
- A quantitative evaluation of whether to sell highly appreciated (but underperforming) assets and how the availability of a basis-step up affects this analysis
- Tax strategies that can help investors to get comfortable with unwinding investments with large capital gains, from establishing a “capital gains budget” for the amount of capital gains to be triggered each year to engaging in a “donate-and-replace” strategy that leverages the tax preferences of contributing appreciated securities for a tax deduction
We also have a number of articles on practice management:
- Four unconventional KPIs that can measure a firm’s productivity, including revenue per hour worked and an impact score to measure the value of different client touchpoints
- How firms and employees alike can get the most out of annual performance evaluations, from the value of tying employee objectives to firm goals to the benefits of getting upward feedback
- How investments in training, including hard-dollar commitments and the creation of formal development plans, can help firms boost employee retention and ensure a strong pipeline of next-generation talent
We wrap up with three final articles, all about workplace flexibility:
- While flexible work arrangements (both in terms of location and work hours) appear to have staying power (and can boost employee satisfaction), taking a consistent approach to implementing these programs and taking steps ensure team cohesion can help firms maximize their benefits while minimizing potential downsides
- Why maximum work schedule flexibility can sometimes lead to burnout for busy professionals and how a more structured approach (that still allows room to balance priorities inside and outside the workplace) could lead to greater satisfaction
- How declaring “meeting bankruptcy” to evaluate which meetings are truly needed (and which might be shifted to an asynchronous approach) could create greater time savings for a firm (and perhaps allow employees to shorten their workweeks)
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
