Reports of Industry’s Death Greatly Exaggerated
“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Mark Twain’s famous line may be the right lens for the latest round of concern about the future of the financial advisor. For years, the wealth management industry has warned about a shrinking advisor population, an aging workforce, a wave of retirements and a next generation that […]
What Your Clients Wish You Knew About Switching Broker-Dealers
One of the most common fears we hear from advisors considering a broker-dealer transition isn’t about paperwork, technology or even the economics of the deal. It’s about their clients. Will they understand? Will they be frustrated? Will they follow? Those may be real concerns. And while no one can predict every client’s reaction, the good […]
The Summer Play Most Advisors Miss
Memorial Day is in the rearview. And with it, the unofficial start of a summer that a lot of advisors are quietly hoping will be a little calmer than the spring they just survived. The past few months were something. Markets moved in ways that required near-constant attention and explanation. Clients who had been steady […]
The Maxxing Movement and Your Move
Spend any time online and you’ll notice a major obsession with optimization. The internet calls it “maxxing.” Looksmaxxing. Statusmaxxing. Fitnessmaxxing. Sleepmaxxing. Strip away the slang, and the idea is simple: people want to get more out of the effort they’re already putting in. Better habits. Better systems. Better tools. Better outcomes. For financial advisors, that […]
UBS Declares It’s Rabbit Hunting Season
UBS may not have said, “Be vewy, vewy quiet,” but the message was clear enough. The firm is hunting for growth in the U.S. wealth management market, and an acquisition is apparently one option on the table. According to AdvisorHub, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said the firm “cannot rule out” an acquisition as it looks […]
$6B Reasons To Not Overthink A Transition
A transition affects your clients, your team, your operations, your technology, your compensation and the future of your business. It requires planning. It requires diligence. It requires hard questions. What it does not require is endless overthinking that turns every possible moving part into a reason to do nothing. That is where too many advisors […]
Why May Matters More
Seriously. Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just January? Wasn’t this supposed to be the year you finally took control of your career, explored a move to a better-aligned broker-dealer? Then the year started doing what years do. Markets moved. Headlines hit. Clients needed attention. Your team needed support. Your growth plan demanded focus. […]
What Advisors Can Learn From Tim Cook’s Exit From Apple
When Tim Cook announced he was stepping down as CEO of Apple, the reaction was predictable. People immediately started reading into it. Did he time it right? Did he stay too long? Can the next leader possibly live up to what came before? Financial advisors ask their own version of those same questions all the […]
LPL’s Recent Headlines Should Prompt A Pause, Not A Panic
For advisors watching LPL from the outside, the last few days may have felt like a lot all at once. First came the news that Scott Posner, LPL’s recruiting chief, is leaving in June. Then came another major headline: LPL is acquiring Mariner Advisor Network, a business tied to 367 advisors and roughly $31 billion […]