The Death of the 60/40 Portfolio Has Been Greatly Exaggerated. Here’s Why.
Mark Twain famously said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” The same may be said for the 60/40 portfolio, the 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds rooted in diversification and pioneered by economist Harry Markowitz decades ago. In recent years, numerous financial pundits…
Your Path to Advisor Marketing Mojo Starts Here
If you want to grow your advisor practice and don’t want to buy leads (which we generally caution against), you need to figure out the best way to market YOU. There are several variables to consider, like what dollar amount you should allocate to your…
How Advisors Can (and Should) Serve Millennials to Fuel Business Growth
If you’re a financial advisor intent on building a sustainable, growth-oriented practice, marketing to Millennials should be a top priority. But that doesn’t mean you can (or should) market to Millennials the same way you market to their predecessors, Baby Boomers and Generation X. The…
Creating Exceptional Experiences Pays Dividends for Advisors Who Get It Right
A few years back, a survey by AARP revealed that nearly half of the 40–59-year-old respondents would rather make an appointment with a dentist than a financial advisor. Ouch! Where’s the love? Why does our industry strike more fear in individuals than the purveyors of…
Four Boxes Advisors Should Check Off Their To-Do Lists in 2024
It’s a new year, and 2024 is chock full of opportunities for ambitious advisors who are willing to act strategically to capitalize on them. That’s right, this is not your generic New Year’s resolutions for advisors type of blog post. We’re talking about what’s going…
Involving Family in Financial Planning Is Good for Clients and for Business
“Retirement Is a family affair.” Those words of wisdom were shared by Steve Gresham, senior education advisor for the Alliance for Lifetime Income (ALI), on a recent episode of The Breakthrough Advisor Podcast. Retirement affects everyone in the family (primarily spouses and children), yet most…
Widows drop advisors like flies. How to avoid becoming a statistic.
The first conversation an advisor has with a surviving spouse shouldn’t be after a client has died. There are many reasons to include both spouses in financial planning conversations, yet many advisors fail to do so. Spouses often look at investing and retirement in different…
Clients desperately need help demystifying taxes. Are you ready to step up?
Many financial advisors stick in their lane. They provide timely advice regarding investment opportunities, retirement account management, Social Security options, life insurance, legacy planning and philanthropic guidance. Yet there’s one area where affluent clients would really love their advisors to provide insight but most financial…
InsurMark’s New President Jeff Maxey Shares His Vision for the Future
InsurMark recently celebrated the company’s 40th anniversary. Along with that milestone, came a changing of the guard, when company founder Steve Kerns passed the reins of leadership to Jeff Maxey, who was named President of InsurMark this past July. Jeff has been a fixture at…
How FinTech Helps Advisors Boost Revenue Via Personalized Experiences
FinTech—the technology available to help financial advisors enhance, streamline and grow their practices—is growing by leaps and bounds. Just take a look at the Kitces Financial Advisor Technology Map! One of the many ways FinTech can help advisors both serve clients better and boost revenue…