Wealth Management
One of the toughest challenges a financial advisor will face is finding clients that are willing to trust you and let you manage their money. Suzanne Wentley, a professional writer and marketing consultant wrote a checklist article for the email marketing firm Constant Contact on how to get clients as a financial advisor. Her first action step is to nail your pitch and create a proposal packet filled with information that lets your prospective clients know what sets you apart from other financial advisors. Her next step is to improve your website ranking. She recommends a well-designed, mobile-responsive website that is optimized for SEO by integrating keywords that people search for. Wentley’s third step is to get listed in directories such as The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, Garrett Planning Network, Boomerater, Paladin Registry, and the Financial Planning Association Directory. Her next step is to request and monitor reviews. For instance, when someone leaves a review, you should respond to it quickly and professionally. Wentley’s fifth step is to find networking opportunities through LinkedIn or hosting small in-person events. Writing guest blogs is another tool to gain new clients. Look for relevant sites where your clients are likely to spend time and submit blog ideas to those sites. The seventh and final action step is to try paid advertisements as such as Google Ads and see what keywords and messaging are most effective.
Finsum:Marketing consultant Suzanne Wentley provided a seven-step action plan for getting clients, including nailing your pitch, improving your website ranking, getting listed in directories, requesting and monitoring reviews, finding networking opportunities, writing guest blogs, and trying paid advertisements.
According to a report by Nationwide, women investors are getting more uneasy about their retirement prospects as market volatility continues and inflation remains a concern. Nationwide’s eighth annual “Advisor Authority” study, which is sponsored by its Nationwide Retirement Institute, found that more than 40% of women believe the U.S. is in a financial crisis, with another 24% believing that one is looming. Women are also feeling discouraged about retirement preparedness as the report found that nearly nine in 10 women (87%) said that no matter what they do to manage their finances, they still feel blindsided by events outside their control. That marks a double-digit percentage point increase over last year as only 76% voiced that sentiment in 2022. Nationwide also noted that more than half of non-retired women investors (54%) believe that inflation poses the most immediate challenge to their retirement. Thirty-eight percent also cited economic recession as a disruptor, while 21% pointed to market volatility. The “Advisor Authority” research was conducted online within the U.S. by the Harris Poll on behalf of Nationwide in January. The survey included 511 advisors and financial professionals and 789 investors aged 18 or over with investable assets of more than $10,000.
Finsum:According to Nationwide’s eighth annual “Advisor Authority” study, women investors are more uneasy about their retirement portfolios as market volatility, inflation, and a potential economic recession remain a concern.
While it might seem like the real estate industry is performing poorly, appearances can be misleading. That is according to Todd Henderson, Co-Head of Global Real Estate DWS Group. Real estate was ranked as the S&P 500's third worst-performing sector in 2022, but Henderson believes the real estate business is a lot stronger in reality. He asserts that the market from rentals to home buyers is doing well with exception of commercial office buildings. He told Yahoo Finance that “The underlying fundamentals of real estate are quite strong.” According to Henderson, rental vacancies finished last year at 5.3%, the lowest vacancy rate on record since 1988, while the rental industry saw 7.5% income growth in 2022, the highest historically, except during the recovery from COVID. He also noted another positive development, an increase in millennial homeownership. He said this will continue to bolster housing market activity. According to recent Pew Research, from 2016 to 2021, nearly every U.S. state saw an increase in the number of young adults aged 25-44 forming new households. Henderson also notes that the market has seen an increase in cash buyers. According to data analytics firm Attom, Americans bought one of every three single-family homes and condos with cash in 2022.
Finsum:While it seems like the real estate market is struggling, Todd Henderson, Co-Head of Global Real Estate DWS Group, believes the underlying fundamentals remain strong due to rental vacancies being the lowest in years, an increase in millennial homeownership, and an increase in cash buyers.
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Sustainable funds that invest based on factors such as a company’s carbon footprints and workforce diversity were able to attract new investments in 2022, despite a broad market selloff. According to Morningstar, investments into U.S. ESG funds including stocks, bonds, and other categories fell to $3.1 billion in 2022 from $69.2 billion a year earlier, while conventional funds that don’t consider ESG factors, saw more than $370 billion in withdrawals last year. Fixed-income funds accounted for about 75% of sustainable inflows or $2.4 billion. Sustainable products are benefitting from capital chasing greener investments in response to a warming planet, while governments and regulators are increasingly setting ambitious climate targets. This is pushing companies to shrink their carbon footprints. Morningstar’s associate director of sustainability research, Alyssa Stankiewicz, stated, “Investors are experiencing more and more the first or secondhand effects of climate change and societal inequality, and that’s driving their desire to want to have a positive impact.” Some of the ESG fixed-income funds with the largest inflows invest directly in renewable energy and low-carbon transit alternatives. For instance, the Calvert Bond Fund saw $413 million in inflows last year, the third-highest inflow of any sustainable bond fund last year, according to Morningstar.
Finsum:Amid a broad market selloff last year, sustainable bond funds continued to see inflows while non-ESG funds experienced $370 billion in withdrawals as investors chased greener investments in response to a warming planet.
Alternative investment platform CAIS recently announced that Graham Capital Management, L.P., a global alternative investment firm with approximately $17.9 billion in assets under management is adding select alternative investment funds on the CAIS Marketplace. Graham specializes in providing quantitative and discretionary macro strategies. The announcement coincides with positive performance across macro strategies over the last year. The Graham fund currently listed on the CAIS marketplace has undergone a third-party due diligence process conducted by Mercer and will be made available to thousands of RIAs and independent broker-dealers who oversee more than $3 trillion in assets. As part of the announcement, Brian Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Graham, stated, “2022 was a strong year for macro and a reminder of the importance of portfolio diversification. We are optimistic that the opportunity set for our strategies will continue to be strong, so we are particularly excited about the timing of our partnership with CAIS.” While the private wealth channel has historically been under-allocated to alternatives compared to institutional investors, a recent CAIS-Mercer survey found that nearly 88% of advisors intend to increase their allocations to alternatives over the next two years. This follows news in January when CAIS announced that its platform is adding Reverence Capital Partners funds.
Finsum:Due to rising demand for alternative asset classes, CAIS announced that Graham Capital, which specializes in discretionary macro strategies is adding select funds to the CAIS marketplace.
UBS Wealth Management lured away a team generating $4 million in revenue from Merrill Lynch in Sarasota, Florida, as the wirehouse continues to keep up its recruiting efforts. The group, led by advisors Brian Mariash and James Barton “Bart” Lowther, had overseen around $640 million in assets. Their practice, called Mariash Lowther Wealth Management, joined UBS on February 24th and includes advisor Jesse Perez and client associates Shannon Murphy, Dionysios Skaliotis, and Sovanna Sok. Mariash had been with Merrill for the last 14 years. He started at the now-defunct firm GunnAllen Financial, moved to Wells Fargo predecessor A.G. Edwards after less than one year, and then joined Morgan Stanley in 2008. Lowther started his career at Merrill in 2010. According to the UBS announcement, Mariash and Lowther had been partners for the last 10 years. As part of the announcement, Greg Kadet, UBS’s Florida market director stated, “The team’s experience, dedication to clients, and passion for philanthropy are a great addition to our business as we look to continue to expand and enhance our ability to serve clients in this growing market.” UBS has been accelerating its recruiting efforts with a special bonus last summer and continues to court million-dollar-plus producers. For instance, it previously landed a Morgan Stanley team, led by Peter E. Black, who generated $3 million in annual revenue in Princeton, New Jersey.
Finsum: UBS continues its recruiting efforts with the announcement that it lured away a Merrill Lynch team generating $4 million in revenue in Sarasota, Florida.