Practice Management

Two experts discuss the most noteworthy issues in today’s retirement planning space.

Speaking to attendees of the 2018 DataDisrupt conference in New York, Morningstar’s first chief data officer reflected on the recent creation of his role and what it says about the future of financial services.

“Personal data can tell you so much more beyond just providing insights into individual client behaviors. You can take these streams of data, clean them up and extract valuable insights that look across the book of business to highlight trends and challenges that are not really visible on a case-by-case basis.”

They plan on using it to better understand clients’ needs.

Firms have made strides in the previous decade in terms of adopting self-service, web-based solutions—but the existing “fixed decision tree” approach is not sufficient for the next evolution in client service.

Independent advisory shop founder Joe Gordon talks about winning new plan business from brokers and bank advisers who are “seriously fumbling the discussion with clients about fees and fiduciary change.”

Expert attorneys warn the new non-enforcement policy binds only the DOL and IRS; state regulators and private plaintiffs could potentially seek to bring an action for alleged non-compliance with impartial conduct standards.

This will mean shifting their current focus from Baby Boomers, TD Ameritrade learned in a survey. 

Following up on a broad discussion of market volatility, John Diehl, SVP of strategic markets for Hartford Funds, encourages advisers to consider new means to separate their service offerings from the competition; he also offers a sneak peek at some forthcoming research produced in partnership with the MIT AgeLab. 

When it comes to valuing and transitioning their business, 61% of advisers have a goal for the value, and 48% used a recurring revenue multiple to calculate that goal.

This enables corporations to expense their contributions at a higher tax rate, according to Cerulli. 

However, only 35% of advisers have worked with their clients to develop formal retirement plans.

Almost half of advisers who left their firm moved along with a larger team in 2017, versus 34% in 2012, according to data shared by Fidelity Clearing and Custody Solutions; advisers moving to an independent broker/dealer more often depart as a team versus other movers.

More than 60% of advisers polled by Cerulli Associates agree that client demand for “financial planning” is increasing; at the same time, broker/dealers are refining their digital planning support for advisers in order to retain top talent.

The goal is to motivate more women to become financial advisers through business network referrals.

With so much uncertainty now overhanging the future of the DOL fiduciary rule expansion, the onus is squarely on advisers, broker/dealers and recordkeepers to decide how they will respond; we hear from one small advisory firm in Northern Ohio that will carry on with business as usual.

Working Texas Tech University, Advisor Group has published a new survey examining how young professionals entering the advisory filed think about their current work and future career prospects; researchers also highlight the importance of community engagement for elevating the advisory profession. 

Looking to 2018 and beyond, traditional advisers, brokerage firms and banks are widely (and aggressively) seeking to integrate digital advice into their service offerings; the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning offers a digital advice road map to help make sense of it all.

Annually, the top tier of retirement plan advisers from across the U.S., including the PLANADVISER Top 100 and the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Plan Advisers of the Year, gather in Orlando, Florida, for three days of discussion and debate; reserve your spot today for the 2018 event. 

Josh Robbins, lead strategy officer for the direct-to-sponsor plan provider America’s Best 401K, offers a closer look at the virtues and potential weaknesses of the firm’s “disruptor” model and short sales cycle.