Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (April 11–12)

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a survey from Cerulli Associates finds that 68% of affluent investors are willing to pay for financial advice, up significantly from the 38% who said the same in 2010. In addition, while willingness to pay for advice increased with wealth, even those with less than $100,000 in assets appear to be largely open to paying for advice. Further, the survey also found that asset-based fees for advice for advice are favored over commissions by investors and that clients are largely willing to accept firms’ fee increases…as long as the value proposition the firm offers merits it.

Also in industry news this week:

New research suggests that while the percentage of newly widowed women who leave their financial advisors is significantly lower than previously assumed, attrition amongst this group is still three times as much as other clients
A new income tax on high earners in Washington state has some residents considering a move and demonstrates the impermanence of state tax policy for the broader group of clients considering where to live today or in retirement

From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:

How incorporating available rates on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) into advisors’ analyses of Social Security claiming strategies can lead to more accurate “breakeven ages”
At a time when staffing at the Social Security Administration is strained, advisors can encourage their clients to take several steps to ensure they receive their benefits on time
How the availability of six-month ‘reversible’ delays in claiming Social Security could make certain clients more comfortable with pushing out the age they claim benefits

We also have a number of articles on investment planning:

How the design of certain value and growth index funds leave investors holding stocks with poor prospects for future returns
While investors are used to comparing expense ratios for (active) ETFs, bid-ask spreads can also vary widely and affect the total cost of an investment
Why growing one’s pool of capital and using it to support favored causes directly could be more effective than seeking out investment funds that (attempt to) exclude disfavored companies or industries

We wrap up with three final articles, all about smartphone use:

Two strategies that can help individuals who have previously struggled to reduce time spent on their smartphones
Why smartphones might be better characterized as “displacement machines” for more meaningful activities rather than as a “poison” that should be avoided altogether
Lessons learned by a group of college students who underwent a week-long smartphone ‘fast’ and how they can apply to working professionals as well

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!