Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey found that Americans’ top “burning questions” when it comes to retirement include the amount they need to have saved to retire comfortably (with respondents expecting to need $1.26 million), whether Social Security will be there when they need it (with those in Generation X particularly concerned about this issue), and whether inflation will rise after they retire. Notably, financial advisors are well-positioned to address all three of these ‘pain points’ (whether by creating a retirement income plan, letting clients know about the (true) state of the Social Security system and the effects of different policy choices, or creating an asset allocation that mitigates against inflation risk), presenting an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to solve the key issues facing their ideal target clients and attract more prospects in the process.
Also in industry news this week:
The RIA channel continues to attract advisors away from wirehouses and broker-dealers, though new advisors continue to predominantly enter the industry through the latter channels
A recent Supreme Court ruling puts retirement plan fiduciaries in the spotlight with the potential for a flood of legal actions, including against sponsors of relatively smaller plans
From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:
A list of the top considerations for financial advisors and their clients when it comes to deciding whether to make traditional or Roth contributions to retirement accounts
How Roth contributions and conversions can offer both financial and psychological benefits for clients
Why pre-tax retirement contributions can potentially be a better option than Roth contributions in clients’ peak earning years, even if they expect tax rates to increase in the future
We also have a number of articles on marketing:
How advisory firms can position themselves for stronger organic growth amidst a volatile market environment
How advisors can overcome the feeling of having a scattered marketing approach by defining “who” they want to serve and “how” they want to reach and engage them
What advisors are doing to attract next-generation clients, from being willing to focus on their short-term ‘pain points’ to meeting them in the online spaces they frequent
We wrap up with three final articles, all about artificial intelligence:
How advisors can build “custom GPTs” that can perform a variety of functions without requiring any coding experience
While generative AI tools can help individuals take on ‘thinking’ tasks, relying on them could reduce users’ own critical thinking capabilities
Why using AI notetaking tools to record and summarize meetings could lead participants to be more cautious when contributing to discussions
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
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