If you read our recent blog, “Struggling with organic growth? Here’s what’s holding you back,” you know that organic growth for advisors has tanked since 2017, with growth rates hovering around 3-4%. At the same time, some advisory firms are growing exponentially, at rates of 20%, 30%, 40% and more. What are they doing that struggling advisors […]
One of the biggest challenges nagging advisors today is how to accelerate organic growth. It’s no secret that organic growth for advisory firms has tanked in recent years, going from a rate of 9% in 2017 to 3-4% in recent years. It’s also no secret that the world has changed drastically since 2020, especially when it comes to consumer behavior and expectations. Yet, many advisors haven’t changed how they do business, and that’s a problem.
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 have declared that the 60/40 portfolio is dead. But is
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 marketing budget, what tasks you should handle yourself vs. hand
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 generation born between 1981 and 1996 takes a very different
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
