Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the latest of the fast-moving news on the DoL fiduciary rule, with the Texas judge who was forum-shopped in expectation of a favorable ruling by fiduciary foes coming out with an 81-page ruling that slammed the door on every industry objection to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rulemaking process, and now the latest rumor that DoL may still soon be issuing a proposal to delay the applicability date of the rule (though notably, the delay proposal itself would have to go out for public comment before it can occur).
From there, we have several technical planning articles, including: when/whether it makes sense to do after-tax contributions to a 401(k) plan; how life insurance is increasingly being issued online without a need for medical records and blood and urine samples (and at a lower cost); a retirement income comparison of the lifetime tenure payment of a reverse mortgage to an immediate annuity; and the role of QTIP trusts for “small” estates that want asset protection while still preserving a step-up in basis at the death of the spouse.
There are also a couple of practice management articles this week, from tips to prevent hackers or thieves perpetrating wire fraud on your clients, to a look at the key trends of the advisory industry (and busting a lot of myths along the way), a discussion of the key performance indicators that advisory firms should track to monitor their success, and tips on how to position yourself to grow clients when the next bear market comes along (by preparing a proactive communication plan).
We wrap up with three interesting articles: the first is a fascinating look at all the objections we as advisors tend to raise about marketing, despite the challenge that we truly believed in the value of what we provided, we should want to tell everyone about what we do; the second points out that it’s time to reimagine how advisory firm offices are physically laid out, as clients want to feel more engaged in the process (and not just feel like they’re sitting in a stately meeting room); and the last is an interesting “open letter” from a Millennial to advisors, reminding them that ultimately the problem isn’t that young people don’t want to work with an advisor, but simply that the availability of the internet and smartphones means they’re acutely aware of what they can already do easily online, and as a result will demand (and be willing to pay for) advisors provide real value above and beyond what technology can already provide.
Enjoy the “light” reading!
source https://www.kitces.com/blog/weekend-reading-for-financial-planners-feb-11-12-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=weekend-reading-for-financial-planners-feb-11-12-2
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