Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" - this week's edition kicks off with an interesting article from Investment News, highlighting that while there's a growing discussion of how advisors can use "big data" to improve their businesses, asset managers may already be using "big data" insights by tracking every metric they can about us as advisors, to figure out which might be interested in using their company's investment products!
From there, we have several technology-related articles this week, including: a new "platform" bundled-technology partnership between portfolio reporting software Black Diamond and financial planning provider MoneyGuidePro; a review of one advisor's good (and some challenging) experiences using the eMoney Advisor account aggregation portal with clients; issues for advisors to consider as Windows 10 rolls out later this summer; a review of an emerging new financial planning software provider called WealthMinder; and a first look at a coming "Financial Health/Wellness" app coming out soon from FinanceLogix.
We also have a few more technical-competency articles this week, from a discussion of key issues to consider when clients become eligible for Medicare (e.g., when it is, and is not, ok to delay enrolling in Medicare!), to the issues that must be raised with clients who are thinking about retiring abroad, to a first look at how estate planning strategies may change if recent White House proposals are enacted that would eliminate the stretch IRA.
We wrap up with three interesting articles: the first looks at how financial planning services should be offered to younger clients, who actually experience a high volume of major life transitions that necessitate planning advice (from job changes to starting businesses to starting families) but may have little need for "traditional" planning software and its retirement-centric Monte Carlo projections; the second looks at a new open-source "robo" platform called Wealthbot.io, which would allow any advisory firm to hire a developer and adapt the platform for the needs of their particular practice and clientele (think "Wordpress for robo-advisors"); and the last is a call-to-action from FPA National board president Ed Gjertsen that financial planners need to step up and get more involved with the Financial Planning Coalition's advocacy efforts, especially as the Department of Labor fiduciary proposals loom large, and FPA prepares for its National Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill this coming Wednesday, June 24th.
Enjoy the reading!