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 novocain and root canals? Because a large number of consumers […]
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 on now and steps financial professionals can take to make
“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 financial advisors only engage with one spouse, which often results
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 ways, and focusing solely on the beliefs and goals of
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 advisors come up short: Tax planning. In fact, a recent
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 InsurMark since 1997, when he began his career as a
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 is by making it easier to personalize advice and add
As an advisor, you know it’s vitally important to talk with clients about longevity. We do it every day. Yet, these conversations often fall flat with clients, and let’s face it, those dime-a-dozen longevity calculators don’t help. If you want to get to “Yes” with more clients—yes to both financial and healthcare planning—you need to
That famous line from the 1967 film “Cool Hand Luke” was delivered by Captain (actor Strother Martin) after giving Luke (played by Paul Newman) a whipping in response to a smart aleck comment Luke made while toiling on the chain gang. In the movie, this communication problem didn’t turn out so hot for Luke. Failure
If you’re struggling to grow your advisory practice, you’re not alone. Just look at the numbers! According to David DeVoe, Chief Executive of DeVoe & Co., RIA average organic growth has plummeted in recent years, from 9% in 2017 to 3% in 2020, with a slight uptick to 4% in 2022. DeVoe cites a lack
