Archives Of Weekend Reading For Financial Planners

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the window for the Department of Justice to appeal the DoL fiduciary rule to the Supreme Court has passed, in what most believe is the fiduciary rule’s final death knell… even as the 5th Circuit’s clerk office has still not actually issued its formal mandate to actually vacate the rule.

Also in the news this week is an announcement by FINRA that it is beginning the process of overhauling the back-end technology that powers the CRD (Central Registration Depository) system that handles all the registration and disclosure details of FINRA-registered representatives (in what is anticipated to be a 3-year technology project to complete), and a fascinating study from the Boston Consulting Group that finds as many as 1/3rd of advisors are discounting their fees despite the fact that a mere 10% of clients are very fee-sensitive and fully aware of what they’re paying in the first place!

From there, we have a number of behavioral finance articles, including the idea from Shlomo Benartzi that clients should “A/B test” their financial preferences before committing to a major financial decision, that our instincts as social animals to compare to other people is a driving force in our financial unhappiness (but can be ‘managed’ by getting a financially healthy role model instead), and a look at how the ongoing force of technology commoditizing products is leading advisors increasingly the direction of handling the more emotional aspects of clients’ financial decisions.

We also have several additional articles on the evolving role of the financial advisor, including a look at how most younger clients actually need more financial advice and not investment advice anyway (which can be evaluated by looking at their human-capital-to-investment-capital ratio), a discussion from Morningstar’s Don Phillips on the rise of the (non-investment) advisor, and an analysis by Bob Veres of how the evolution of the financial advisor over the past 40 years has arguably already so morphed the role of the advisor (and the role that commissions play in incentivizing advisors) that the SEC may be ill-equipped to handle the advisor of the future.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of the role our industry associations play in the financial planning profession: the first raises the question of whether the FPA will once again take up the fiduciary torch by suing the SEC over its watered-down SEC advice rule that exempts brokers from a fiduciary duty (after suing the SEC on a similar version of the same issue – and winning – nearly a decade ago); the second examines the CFP Board’s new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and how the organization has effectively shifted from a “two-hat” approach (with a fiduciary and non-fiduciary hat) into a “tattoo business” where the fiduciary CFP obligation cannot be removed once tattooed on; and the last explores the sticky question of whether we have too many professional associations and designations that create redundant cost and diluted advocacy, or if the reality is that we need multiple designations and associations to have a healthy level of competition amongst the organizations that serve financial advisors in the first place.

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with a look at why, nearly 3 months after its surprising decision to vacate the DoL fiduciary rule, the clerk’s office of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals still has not actually issued its official mandate to vacate the rule, raising the question of whether there may actually still be some other last-ditch effort afoot to save the rule… or if the clerk’s office is simply backed up on paperwork, such that the final issuance will be coming soon.

Also in the news this week is a brief recap of the Financial Planning Association’s Advocacy Day in Washington DC, where 85 FPA members spoke with Congressional lawmakers and their staff about raising the standard for financial advice (and advocating that “financial planner” should also be a protected term, along with financial advisor), and the launch of “Equita Financial Network” for women-led advisory firm owners who are seeking more infrastructure and support to launch and run their own independent advisory firms.

From there, we have a number of articles on the ongoing shifts in the broker-dealer industry, as May is the month that several industry publications issue their annual “top broker-dealer” lists and interview broker-dealer executives. Highlights include: the annual Financial Planning magazine survey, that highlights how the largest broker-dealers are adapting to the changing landscape as this year marks the first ever that fee-based revenue at the top-50 independent broker-dealers exceeds commission-based revenue; the annual ThinkAdvisor broker-dealer Presidents poll showing that in the near-term, most broker-dealers are struggling the most with technology and regulation, even as their advisors are struggling to attract new clients in an increasingly competitive environment; how the likely roll-back of the DoL fiduciary rule (and the non-fiduciary SEC advice rule) is giving a new wind to small broker-dealers, even as more and more large broker-dealers appear intent on rolling them up (which might not be a bad deal for those smaller broker-dealers in the end); how the burden of FINRA regulation is so cumbersome that not only are many advisors leaving broker-dealers to start their own RIAs, but now some hybrid broker-dealers are themselves considering whether to spin off their entire “legacy” broker-dealer and instead just focus on becoming mega-RIAs in the future; how Cambridge Investment Research embodies this trend by choosing to start eschewing broker-dealer terms like “OSJ” and “branch” as the majority of its advisors, and its revenue, now come from the fee-based side of the business; and how the increasing mobility of brokers is leading them to take a hard look at not just the costs of the broker-dealer that are subtracted from their payout grids, but all the additional ways that broker-dealers mark up their various investment solutions by 10bps – 25bps (or more in some cases).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of how the “politicization of everything” is making more and more of us have to deal with criticism and negative feedback, and the best way to handle it: the first is a Harvard Business Review examination of how various CEOs are handling the growing pressure of businesses to take public positions on controversial issues; the second looks at how, whether it’s political criticism or simply personal criticism, there are better and worse ways for us to take in criticism to actually learn from it; and the third is a good reminder that, no matter what we do, someone will likely criticize it, so often the best approach is simply to try take it all in, figure out if there is a grain of truth that merits an adjustment, and then simply move on and focus on making whatever choice is right for you (may as well, if you’re going to be criticized no matter what!).

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that financial advisor and fiduciary advocates are now calling for a delay in the public comment period for the SEC’s new “Regulation Best Interest” for brokers, suggesting there’s not enough time with the original August 7th deadline to properly test the effectiveness of newly proposed Form CRS disclosures. Also in the news this week is continued hubbub about the FPA and its beleaguered New York chapter, as the national organization not only terminates the prior chapter’s affiliation agreement but is now also taking over its remaining assets, raising questions of just how much control the national organization should have over its nominally independent chapters.

From there, we have several marketing and business development articles, including a fascinating look at new research about what makes a client actually leave and find another advisor (hint: it’s not about bad service, but a change in the client’s life that leads them to lose faith that their existing advisor can handle their new financial situation), a study that finds younger clients are less satisfied and loyal to their existing advisors but are still more likely to refer (albeit through sharing content or advisor events, and not just providing a name/introduction), and a review of various platforms/solutions that advisors can use to outsource parts of their marketing.

We also have a few articles about money and financial behaviors, from a study finding that the odds of dying rise significantly when someone has a catastrophic financial loss (i.e., losing >75% of their assets in 2 years), to another study finding that there’s so much pressure to “keep up with the Joneses” that when someone wins the lottery even their neighbors are more likely to declare bankruptcy (as they spend more conspicuously, and invest more aggressively, in an attempt to catch up), and the rising trend of marriage couples keeping separate bank accounts and not merging their finances (and instead simply showing their marital commitment with an agreement to split all expenses to their separate accounts instead).

This week includes a round-up of a few extra practice management articles too, including: how to properly pay yourself a salary (or not) depending on the type of business entity you use as a financial advisor; the “three pillars” for growing an advisory practice into a full-fledged business (organizational structure, entity structure, and [proper] compensation models); and how more and more advisory firms are hitting the crossroads where they must decide whether to hunker down and stay small, or aim to grow much larger, with all the trade-offs and changes that go along with a commitment to do so.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of the changing role of the advisor and money in our lives: the first looks at how technology is reshaping the role of doctors, in the near term by making them unfortunately more “clerically” oriented just to enter all the relevant patient data into their computers, but with the hopes that the technology will eventually free the doctors to focus more on their patients; the second explores why it’s so hard to talk about money, and powerful questions to ask to better understand someone’s finances and financial views (whether it’s a family member, or a client); and the last is a fascinating perspective of how the nature of wealth and work has transformed over the past millenium, and how the rise of wealth and decrease of costs in common goods has led us to the point that we now struggle with how to manage and define our relationship with this thing we call “money”.

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the 5th Circuit Appeals Court has denied what appears to be the last and final appeal of the states to intervene and defend the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, in what will probably prove to have been the final effort to revive it (although the court itself still hasn’t actually issued their final mandate to vacate the rule after their March 15th decision). On a happier note in the news this week, Focus Financial began the paperwork process to file for an IPO, in what would be the first ever initial public offering of an independent RIA providing wealth management (or at least, a holding company that has aggregated dozens of them together).

From there, we have several tax-related articles this week, including a look at savings strategies for high-income individuals who want to save more above-and-beyond maxing out their 401(k) plans and IRAs, workarounds for families that have (unwittingly?) saved money in grandparent-owned 529 plans and now realize the adverse financial aid consequences of the arrangement, and tips and strategies for estate tax (and broader estate) planning when working with ultra-HNW clients (where it’s not just about the technical strategies themselves, but ensuring they are properly implemented to avoid IRS scrutiny, and appropriately communicated to the family to avoid future disputes).

We also have a few practice management articles on attracting and retaining employees, including: new research that what employees want isn’t just a progression of Maslow’s hierarchy but a combination of 3 core areas (career, community, and cause); why it’s a good idea to try customizing job descriptions to individual employees (essentially fitting the job description to the employee, instead of the traditional approach of trying to find an employee who fits the job description); tips for handling underperforming employees; and why some advisory firms are exploring new employee benefits like month-long sabbaticals to attract and retain top talent.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of the advisor’s role in not just providing advice and recommendations to clients, but helping them actually implement the advice: the first looks at how coaches often command much higher fees than advisors (because people will pay ‘something’ for good advice and expertise, but even more for someone that helps ensure they actually get it done!); the second looks at how the research on trust in professionals (including advisors) isn’t just about demonstrating the advisor’s competency and expertise, but his/her “warmth” and caring (because client’s won’t implement the advice if they don’t believe it’s really in their best interests); and the last draws on Dr. Moira Somers’ new book “Advice That Sticks” and the research from the medical industry on what leads to patients actually adhering to the advice and prescriptions their doctors provide… and what advisors can learn from it about how to make our own advice “stick”, too!

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the DoL fiduciary rule still isn’t quite dead yet, with the attorney generals of three states now appealing to the full group of 5th Circuit judges to (re-)consider their request to take up the defense of the DoL fiduciary rule after the Department of Justice declined to defend it themselves, suggesting that it’s inappropriate that the judges who vacated the fiduciary rule itself should also be allowed to determine alone whether the states should be allowed to appeal their ruling.

Also in the news this week were some notable statements from the SEC’s enforcement division that its recent Share Class Selection Disclosure (SCSD) Initiative may be part of a broader enforcement policy shift where the SEC will try to use amnesty programs to encourage more advisory firms to step forward and fix widespread abuses (while the SEC focuses its resources on higher-stakes enforcement issues with less of a “broken-windows” approach to their firm exams), and an interesting survey finding that affluent clients are increasingly looking to their financial advisors to be tax experts (in addition to investment experts).

From there, we have several articles on building relationships with clients and colleagues, including one that explores why most networking meetings are useless (hint: if you really want to build new relationships, you need to engage in an activity with someone you don’t know, not just casual conversation), another looking at the kinds of (often unwitting) behaviors that advisors engage in with prospects that may prevent them from becoming clients, and the issues to consider when trying whether to spend more time socializing with clients outside of a professional setting (or not).

We also have a few retirement-related articles, from a look at why the uncertainties of retirement mean Monte Carlo analysis is especially appropriate to evaluate and craft potential retirement recommendations (because it implicitly explores a very wide range of “What-If” scenarios), to how to handle new retirees who excitedly retire early only to discover that retirement is a “total bore” for them, and a look at how the decisions of where retirees live is starting to reshape how cities develop, as retirees increasingly are not just moving to warmer climates to retire but instead are simply seeking out more distant suburbs and/or lower cost metropolitan areas.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of the financial advisory industry’s struggles with diversity: the first is a look at a recent CFP Board research study on the factors that are limiting racial diversity of financial advisors; the second is a study showing that financial advisors have the worst rate of sexual harassment (as compared to other industries); and the last shows that financial advisors also have the largest gender pay gap of any occupation, even after controlling for advisor productivity and years of experience, suggesting that the profession is still far less of a true meritocracy than is commonly believed… and that for all of these issues, there is a need for a broader change in the culture of financial services, beyond just building better “awareness” and “sensitivity training” programs.

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the interesting announcement that SEC Commissioner Piwowar will be retiring in early July, a month before the public comment period closes for the new SEC advice rule, and raising the question of whether the SEC may end up deadlocked by the time the comments are in and it’s actually time to deliberate on a final version of the proposed rule!

Also in the news this week was the announcement that Connecticut has passed a law that would allow its municipalities to create charitable entities to fund public services as a way to work around the new cap on the State And Local Tax deduction (and raising the question of when/whether the IRS and Treasury will challenge the strategy, and if it will ultimately end up in front of the Supreme Court), and the news that a new requirement for bond markup and markdown disclosures will take effect next week, in a move that could put new pressure on size of those trading commissions (or not, since the new disclosures only have to be communicated view printed transaction confirmations that not all investors read anyway!).

From there, we have several articles on industry shifts in advisory fees, including a fascinating overview of the various new advisory fee models that are emerging beyond (just) AUM, to the fact that a segment of financial advisors not only aren’t experiencing fee compression but are actually raising their fees, and advice for firms that are struggling with fee pressures about what to do next (hint: it’s all about giving deeper advice and differentiating beyond increasingly commoditized portfolio solutions alone).

We also have a few practice management articles, from tips about how smaller and solo advisory firms can (legitimately) make themselves look more credible in the eyes of prospects, to the benefits of trying to write a book as a financial advisor, and the value of engaging in PR strategies by doing media interviews to expand the visibility and presence of the advisory firm.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of advisor introspection and overcoming challenges: the first is a look back by an advisor who launched her own solo advisory firm 2 years ago, about what it really took to succeed (hint: it’s more about the ability to adapt to challenges than to predict them in advance, and don’t underestimate the importance and value of having a supportive community around you!); the second provides some tips to pass the CFP exam from someone who unfortunately failed her first attempt (in part by possibly over-focusing on her weak areas, and unwittingly scoring low in an area she thought was her natural strength!); and the last is a good reminder that if we as financial advisors really believe the primary value of advice is not just the information and expertise, but the benefit of having an objective third-party advisor who can view the situation with emotional detachment… that arguably most of us as financial advisors should have our own advisors too (because it’s not just about the informational expertise we already have!), with the added benefit that if you really want perspective on how to improve your financial planning process with clients, you should try going through the process yourself, too!

And be certain to check out the video at the end – a fascinating look at how Will Smith’s journey into becoming the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” was driven by the failure to hire a financial advisor and make responsible financial and tax planning decisions after his first album went triple platinum, leading him to seek out new job opportunities because he was broke!

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declined the motion by AARP (and several state attorney generals) to intervene in an effort to defend the DoL fiduciary rule… which means unless the Department of Justice suddenly (and at this point, unexpectedly) petitions the Supreme Court to hear the matter, it appears the DoL fiduciary rule will officially be vacated and gone and dead for good next week on May 7th (even as debate about the SEC’s advice rule is just starting to gain momentum).

Also in the news this week was the announcement of a blockbuster private equity deal that will merge together Financial Engines and mega-RIA Edelman Financial (bringing human financial advisors to the 401(k) channel in a manner that could make it more challenging for independent advisors to access 401(k) rollovers in the future), and an interesting study that finds the average financial advisor is significantly more stressed than most U.S. workers, mostly about compliance and regulation and the difficulty in growing an advisory firm in today’s environment… even as the majority of advisors still report they are overall very satisfied with their careers.

From there, we have several articles on marketing, including a look at how much less advisory firms spend on marketing compared to most industries (and where/how they should deploy the money if they do decide to start spending), a reverse-engineered analysis of how mega-RIA Fisher Investments spends its online marketing dollars for advertising and more traffic to its websites, and why the best way to connect with prospects is still about telling your own personal story and why it is that you chose to become a financial advisor in the first place.

We also have a few practice management articles, from a discussion of why it’s a good idea for every advisor to take a week to track their time (and better understand how they’re splitting their time between client service, growth, and administrative tasks) to understand what they might want to change to improve their personal productivity (and happiness), to an exploration of how to set the right “foundation” for providing a good experience to clients, and why it’s better to not just be an expert for your clients but their counselor (or trusted “consigliere” instead).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of using credit cards instead of cash and the rise of travel rewards cards: the first is a review of the biggest and most popular standalone travel rewards cards (including American Express, Chase, and Citi); the second looks at how travel rewards cards have remained remarkably durable and popular over the span of more than 30 years now, but how their benefits are shifting away from increasingly devalued points and towards various “perks” instead, and how the rise of both credit and debit cards, online purchases, and systems like Apple Pay are making it increasingly easy to go “cashless” altogether… at least, as long as you don’t need to tip your local service provider!

Enjoy the “light” reading, and Happy Star Wars Day!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that while it appears the Department of Labor is not going to defend itself against the recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals loss that would vacate its fiduciary rule, a coalition of three state attorney generals (from California, New York, and Oregon) are petitioning the court to be allowed to defend the fiduciary rule in the DoL’s stead, and mega advocacy organization AARP has also filed a similar petition to take up the case, requesting an en banc review of all 17 appeals judges (beyond just the 3 who made the original ruling). Also in the news this week is turmoil in Australia over its fiduciary rule that took effect several years ago, as it turns out that just banning commissions and having a best interests obligation may not be enough to protect consumers, without actually breaking up vertically integrated product manufacturers and distributions that, even without commissions being paid, are still finding ways to incentivize their advisors to give overly conflicted advice (and providing a potential roadmap for the next stage of the fiduciary debate in the 2020s!?).

From there, we have several practice management articles this week, from a look at why the top producers are the least happy in broker-dealers (when normally businesses would try their hardest to make their top producers the most satisfied!), to a discussion of the key issues to consider in finding a new broker-dealer that might make you happier in the long run, why it’s a bad idea to focus on trying to be the “best” at what you do (and instead focus on the standards, process, or habits that will get you to being the best), and why even great financial advisors often hit a wall in their businesses (because eventually, it’s not actually about being a great/better financial advisor, but learning to be a great/better business owner and CEO of an advisory business!).

We also have several tax-related articles, including: a discussion of the confusion that has emerged since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the entertainment deduction for businesses but kept the meals deduction (leading to questions of when a meal is “entertainment” and when it’s just a meal); an analysis trying to quantify the economic value of using retirement accounts (finding that it’s mostly about the ongoing tax deferral of interest, dividends, and capital gains, and not about the tax deduction you get up front for contributing!); and the last looks at how estate planning is changing since the adoption of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or RUFUDAA for short) to facilitate digital estate planning.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of behavioral finance and decision-making: the first looks at how natural selection appears to favor getting larger (in both nature, and in business), yet ultimately larger species (and businesses) tend to get so large they accelerate their own demise and extinction, which means that while the key when you’re small is to get bigger (for safety and economies of scale), the key when you’re big is to be paranoid about avoiding the potential extinction event you may not otherwise be able to adapt to quickly enough; the second explores our human tendency to explain “lucky” events with narratives, to the point that we seem to discount the value of efficient algorithms in part because they’re so efficient there’s no compelling narrative to explain them; and the last looks at fascinating research that finds the decisions we make actually change our own preferences, causing us to repeat similar decisions in the future (even if we don’t remember the original one), which helps to explain why small bad choices can often compound into big ones, but similarly suggests that making small positive choices can compound into highly favorable long-term outcomes!

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the official release of the SEC’s new Advice Rule, which aims to lift the standards for brokers giving advice recommendations with a new “Regulation Best Interest” but stops short of imposing a full (and uniform) fiduciary rule, while also raising the possibility that brokers would at least be restricted from using the “advisor” or “adviser” labels (but not for hybrid B/D-RIA firms that actually comprise the overwhelming majority of all brokers in the first place).

Yet also in the news this week is the acknowledgement that advice itself continues to be increasingly central to both the investment adviser and broker-dealer model, with a research study from Cerulli Edge showing that the majority of clients are now receiving some kind of financial planning services from their investment adviser or broker (up from 1/3rd just 5 years ago), and a consumer study from J.D. Power which found that even as Millennials demand higher quality technology from their financial institutions, it’s still the financial advisor relationship that actually drives Millennial loyalty to a firm!

From there, we have several articles about the insurance industry, including a recap of the highlights from the recent Intercompany Long-Term Care Insurance (ILTCI) conference about the latest trends in the LTC insurance industry (including that traditional LTC insurance is stabilizing but carriers are still rolling out more flexible hybrid life/LTC policies as well), a discussion of the rules regarding the important but often overlooked 2-year Incontestability Period for life insurance policies, and a look at how the fact that most people have declining needs for life insurance over time means that layering multiple life insurance policies with separate time horizons may be more cost efficient than just buying one large 30-year term policy.

We also have several advisor-technology articles, including a look at how some firms are starting to try to proactively leverage artificial intelligence to support the productivity of financial advisors, a second that looks at the growth of the new United Capital “FinLife CX” platform (which can be bundled to an advisor’s existing CRM instead of requiring the advisor to use theirs), and the (re-)emergence of FinFolio 2.0 as a competitor in the space of portfolio accounting and reporting solutions for advisors.

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of financial independence and retiring early: the first explores the growth of bloggers that show consumers (especially Millennials) how to live frugally in order to retire early, with the caveat that the most successful bloggers in the space may be achieving early retirement primarily because they earned a well-above-average income, not because of their frugal spending habits; the second goes deeper in exploring the “FIRE” (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement that is attracting more and more interest from Millennials in particular; and the last is a fascinating discussion about whether and at what age someone should try to retire early to balance out their earnings and life potential with their desired standard of living and freedom… at least, for those who have the incomes that make it possible to save enough to do so in the first place!

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…

Enjoy the current installment of “weekend reading for financial planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the SEC will be conducting an Open Meeting of all 5 commissioners next Wednesday, April 18th, specifically to discuss its widely anticipated proposals regarding new fiduciary requirements for brokers and investment advisers. Also in the news this week is a series of proposed “principles” that SIFMA is advocating the industry should adopt for best practices around account aggregation.

From there, we have several articles about how advisors charge for their services, including a new study from Cerulli Associates finding that the use of fixed financial planning fees is on the rise, the announcement that Fidelity is converting its entire financial advisory services to retail clients into a single unified (AUM) fee schedule, a survey from Pershing finding that leading advisory firms that focus on holistic planning are not feeling pressure to cut their fees (but are feeling pressure to offer new services to justify the fees they do charge), and a new Risk Alert from the SEC on RIAs that are failing to engage in proper billing practices with clients (usually not out of intended malfeasance, but simply lax processes and procedures for executing their billing in the first place).

We also have several tax-related articles, including suggestions on the key points to review on clients’ 2017 tax returns as tax filing season comes to a close, the rise of the DAPT (Domestic Asset Protection Trust) for both estate planning and asset protection benefits, and the challenges of tax reporting on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency transactions (for which active cryptocurrency traders may have a very large volume of individual lot transactions, and the IRS is increasingly scrutinizing whether such investors are actually properly reporting their transactions and gains).

We wrap up with three interesting articles, all looking at the changing landscape of both industry standards and the organizations that serve advisors, including: a challenging article raising the question of whether the FPA is really fulfilling its vision to be a professional organization with local chapters, or is operating more like a trade organization that consolidates power to its national headquarters; a look at whether the CFP Board is doing enough to provide guidance to CFP certificants about how, exactly, they should be complying with the CFP Board’s new fiduciary standards to manage and mitigate conflicts of interest; and a look from Bob Veres at how it seems increasingly inevitable that the entire future of financial advice will be fiduciary… the only question is whether regulators will require the financial services industry to clarify who’s actually serving as an advisor versus a salesperson in the first place.

Enjoy the “light” reading!

Read More…