
Eq: Financials (95)
A little forward thinking, anyone? Surely, now, there must be some…
Either way, as reported in a Global Market Insights Inc research study, by 2032, it’s anticipated the alternative financing market valuation will surge past $40 billion, according to globenewswire.com.
The trigger? The financial industry’s been revolutionized by grease lighting strides in tech – especially fintech. Borrowers and investors have been in the position to link up directly, with no use of intermediaries. You can attribute that to alternative financing platforms taking advantage of technology to dispense services that are efficient and user friendly.
Furthermore, from anywhere – and at any time -- borrowers and investors can take part in alternative financing transactions fueled by the popularity of online platforms and mobile apps, according to hk.finance.yahoo.com.
Industry trends also are being cultivated by regulatory frameworks set by governments and financial authorities.
Seems the referee threw a flag.
Between January 2018 and December 2021, SW Financial, based in Melville, New York, and the co owner of the firm, Thomas Diamante, made material misrepresentations, neglecting to include material information linked with the sale of private placements offerings of pre-IPO securities, according to thinkadvisor.com. It was a duo violation; of FINRA rules and Reg Bi’s Disclosure Obligation as well.
According to Reg Bi’s Disclosure Obligation, it’s incumbent upon broker dealers – as well as those associated – to provide investor clients, “with full and fair written disclosure, prior to or at the time of a recommendation, of all material facts relating to conflicts of interest associated with the recommendation,” as spelled out by FINRA.
Although it’s FINRA’s maiden expulsion, it’s not its first enforcement action evolving around Reg Bi, which has been around since 2020, according to the National Review.
By year’s end, FINRA pronounced, compliance examinations of 1,000 broker-dealers would be conducted.
Loose lips can, um, wreak havoc on ships.
In your branch, most advisors shouldn’t know squat about your plans; after all, they’re not buddies of yours, but competitors, according to thinkadvisor.com.
If you’re cutting the cord and bidding a non protocol firm adieu, it’s important for you to buckle down and closely abide by the prospective firm’s instructions.
In the world of missteps, a gaggle them can add significant difficulty to your transition:
Failing to Play by the Rules
Being Clueless About the Transfer Process
Taking Your Eye Off the Ball
Not Staying in Front of Clients Prior to Your Move
Meantime, you know the money? Well, follow it.
Probably not a badly conceived plan considering the consolidation on the part of Phoenix based Advisor’s Group of its network of eight brokerages into one translates into challenges, according to financialplanning.com. Those obstacles stem from the flow of thousands of financial advisors and assets work billions of dollars.
With more than 10,500 financial advisors and $490 billion in client assets, the firm will shift them to a rebranded company with a spanking new moniker, according to a report earlier this month by Moody's Investors Service.
Your table’s ready, direct indexing. The food’s hot, the beverages refreshing cold.
What else would you expect, considering that in the financial industry, direct indexing’s all that and more – as in the next big thing, according to comparebrokers.co.
Who’s it idyllic for? Those who are calling it a day in the workforce. Under those circumstances, they can unload holdings that impact taxes the least.
If you want to separate yourself from your peers, direct indexing strategies could be your answer, according to advisorperspectives.com.
They can dispense tax effective ways to manage any cash windfalls that might be on the horizon among high net worth investors. Not only that, they can shore concentrated stock positions.
In a recent interview at IMPACT, Daniel Needham, president of Morningstar Wealth Management Solutions, said his firm considered direct indexing an “important investment option for advisors to be able to deliver great advice to their clients.
“That’s the primary reason we decided to enter the market,” said Needham. “We think that direct indexing is a good way for clients to be able to have their financial capital personalized, including their values, beliefs and preferences, as well as to be tax-managed for a lot of households. Tax management should happen for every household.”
For what could be a host of reasons, your firm has an opening. Perhaps a facelift in executive leadership?
Well, you could try Indeed,
First, though, ask yourself: should you fill the gig from the inside or out? Sure, if you stick with your internal resources, he or she already knows the company – and your business, not to mention its clients and team, according to selectadvisorinstitute.com. That said, some from the outside could arrive with fresh ideas.
Factors to keep in mind when considering going outside:
Internal employees may lack the leadership ability
It’s time for a shake up
Removing top talent from the competition
As for remaining inside:
Save time and money
Your firm is already on the right track
Retention and morale
During the first quarter of the year, Avantax reported more than $228 million in newly recruited assets, according to globenewswire.com.
That’s in light of sustained interest on the part of independent financial professions and accounting firms intent on expansion.
Calling Donnie Deutsch….calling Donnie Deutsch.
Line, um, two. Go ahead.
Good thing, too, because, like a vigorous workout, developing a brand -- from pinpointing a name to a logo, can almost feel as if it’s pushing you to your limits What’s more, if branding and marketing isn’t in your DNA, the challenge is magnified, according to lpl.com.
Your creative chops aside, to build your financial practice, your best bet’s a methodical approach:
- Define your value proposition
- Pick your DBA name
- Develop a logo
- Develop a Website
- Execute with Consistency
Brand equity, of course, is the gauge of the perceived value of a brand name product, according to quatrics.com.
Nurture yours – because it abets your ability to squeeze more out of profit margins.
Brand equity is defined by the added value associated with a brand name that rings a bell among those who hear it. In fact, when it comes to brand loyalty, it’s all in. That’s not all; it can help ascertain pricing.
Fixed income: yer up.
While it was hardly a go to when rates were south, they’ve rediscovered their mojo, with a hefty infusion of capital, according to prominent investors at a recent major industry conference in Beverly Hills, reported money.usnews.com.
Fund managers at the Milken Institute Global Conference said among popular products are bond funds.
So, what’s going on? Well, given the uncertainty over interest rates, a potential recession and U.S. debt default, stocks and real estate are getting the cold shoulder.
"Things are very different now," said Elizabeth Burton, a managing director and client investment strategist at Goldman Sachs.
"You get a good sense of consensus at these conferences," noted Katie Koch, president and CEO of investment firm TCW. "And I think people are still feeling a little too good."
Heading into the second quarter, Principal Financial Group indicated there were opportunities for investors in fixed income; that is, if they’re up to brooking rocky times in the short run. The tradeoff? Results in the long run, according to seekingalpha.com.
Financial practices have an opportunity.
And it’s golden.
According to Tim Gerend, executive vice president and chief distribution officer at Northwestern Mutual, his firm’s annual Planning & Progress Study found that more than half of U.S. adults are anxious about their finances, reported thinkadvisor.com. This was part of remarks he made at the recent 2023 LIMRA Distribution Conference in Orlando.
On top of that, as for their financial future, they feel far from certain.
Fortunately, to help them prop up their security, Americans embrace the idea of seeking the help of financial advisors to help them formulate financial plans.
While that means the opportunity is ripe for the industry to build its impact and assist those who need it, Houston, we have a problem: the dearth of financial professional to handle the load.
That said, advisors should bear this in mind: If they’re not leveraging social media, you have company according to blackrock.com.:
Forty four percent of financial advisors don’t indulge. Okay, so that might not prevent you from succeeding, ask yourself a question: how will your growth remain on track given that among young investors, social media’s their “go to” when considering and choosing financial professionals among service providers.
Be a pal, huh, and give it a little elbow room. Fueled by institutions and financial advisors intent on seeking to tailor traditional indexes to meet the preferences of beneficiaries, direct indexing’s growing – and quickly – according to al-cio.com.
While direct indexing isn’t exactly new to the rodeo, its use has been spurred by current day computing power, according to a report by Jason Kephart, Morningstar’s director of multi-asset ratings, and his team.
Now, keep in mind, it’s not only your clients with the greatest wealth and complex investment portfolios who should be riding the direct indexing bandwagon, according to Randy Bullard, global head of wealth at Charles River Development, reported investmentnews.com.
“I think every financial advisor should be accessing direct indexing for their taxable client accounts,” Bullard said at the recent ETF Exchange conference in Miami.
“A direct indexing solution is uniquely designed to catch money in transition, and it’s suitable for all types of investors,” he said. “That’s the transition the industry is starting to go through. Once you conquer the operational complexities of direct indexing, it becomes a broad market solution.”
Last year, transitions among financial advisors lost a little ground, according to Investnews.com, reported linkedin.com.
But, tada, independent broker-dealers picked up almost 1,000 advisors in 2023.
The morale of the story? The volume of transitions is secondary; in the world of recruitment, what reigns supreme is lassoing top producers capable of expanding the business.
Up to date technology’s one way snag advisors.
One word to capture technology’s role in drawing fresh talent: “significant,” according to Jim Frawley, CEO and founder of Bellwether.
“Good technology is a game changer and committing to the tech of the future will be very attractive to those being recruited,” said Frawley. “This includes adopting certain aspects of AI and automation and at least being open to investigating other opportunities to free up time and elevate them. Advisors today are looking at tech to make their offering more attractive and substantial. Tech is also becoming their biggest competitor.”
And you might say recruiting pays off.
For example, leveraging its organic recruiting initiatives, during this year’s first quarter, Cetera Financial Group layered on nearly $3 billion in assets under administration, according to thinkadvisor.com.
More...
You strategize, financial advisors.
According to Fidelity Investments, the portfolios they’re putting together for clients reflect not only swelling caution but returning to diversification globally, reported investmentnews.com.
“This isn’t just about moving to cash when you sense trouble, we’re seeing allocations dialing up safety within the individual asset classes,” said Mayank Goradia, head of investment product analytics and strategy at Fidelity Institutional.
Among items that rose above the pack in Goradia’s report: a 32% average allocation to fixed income across all the model portfolios. That’s the highest level since the first quarter of last year.
Meantime, here’s a regular Rubik’s cube of a process for you: turning the financial portfolio of a prospect – or existing client – to the recommended investment strategy, according to advent.com.
Hardcore diligence oversight along with the right tools, constraints – such as taxes and restrictions – can at least temporarily put the process on ice and, over time, take a portion of the client base off-model. The result: performance dispersion like investment goals.
With the waters of volatility in the banking sector taking five – or, perhaps, 10 – the market’s turning its sights to some incomplete biz: disinflation, according to swissre.com.
Due to “decisive government and central bank actions,” what might have ballooned into a systemic financial sector crises – on both sides of the Atlantic, at that -- which would have put a damper on merging markets, was sidestepped. But stemming from stubborn core inflation pressures and tight labor markets within advanced economies, in May, the Fed and European Central Bank’s expected to hike policy rates.
Meantime, call it a game of adjustments.
In the first quarter, Gateway, which is focused on low-volatility equity investments, made adjustments in its portfolio, according to barrons.com.
The low down: it wielded the scissors, shoring its stake Apple stock and putting the old slash on its General Electric investment. At the same time, it purchased Altria Group stock (MO). The stock trades – as well as others -- were disclosed by Gateway in a form it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Third party strategists life of financial industry party
Written by FINSUMThe financial industry’s not just casually tweaking its monthly expense reports and watching things unfold.
Nah uh. As it sachets toward holistic wealth management and “goal based” planning, the industry recognizes the importance of acquiescing asset management to third party strategists has mounted, according to wealthmanagement.com.
In two step with that escalating need is spiraling opportunities to accomplish that mission. While within the largest firms, already advisors can access model portfolios, now, their counterparts have more options.
And, hey, model portfolios tout more than a few advantages.
For example, there’s ease of use. “Model portfolios can be used as a complete solution for investors that prefer a hands-off approach to achieving their investing objectives,” said Colby McFadden, CEO of Quiver Financial, an Investment Advisory Firm in San Clemente California, according to forbes.com.
“Model portfolios can be used as a complete solution for investors that prefer a hands-off approach to achieving their investing objectives,” said McFadden.
Another: diversification. The need for a thick wad of money to pluck down on multiple asset classes? No need, noted Mark Kennedy, president of Kennedy Wealth Management in Calabasas, Calf. Some can have a minimum as low as $10,000 to start.”
Up and up she goes: acquiescing asset management to third party strategists
Written by FINSUMThe financial industry’s not just casually tweaking its monthly expense reports and wolfing down popcorn, watching as things unfold, you know.
On contraire. As it sachets toward holistic wealth management and “goal based” planning, the industry recognizes the importance of acquiescing asset management to third party strategists has mounted, according to wealthmanagement.com.
Meantime, the need to accomplish that mission is spiraling. While advisors within larger firms already can access model portfolios, now, additional options are available to their counterparts.
And, hey, model portfolios tout more than a few advantages.
For example, there’s ease of use. “Model portfolios can be used as a complete solution for investors that prefer a hands-off approach to achieving their investing objectives,” said Colby McFadden, CEO of Quiver Financial, an Investment Advisory Firm in San Clemente California, according to forbes.com.
Another: diversification. The need for a thick wad of money to pluck down on multiple asset classes? No need, said Mark Kennedy, president of Kennedy Wealth Management in Calabasas, Calf. Some can have a minimum as low as $10,000 to start.”