Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce suggested in a recent interview that she would like to see the SEC give advisors more leeway to provide customized solutions to clients (rather than feeling required to take a regulator-prescribed “check-the-box” approach) and would like to ease the compliance burden on smaller investment advisers (perhaps expanding the SEC’s definition of small firm in the process) to reduce the entry and operational barriers for these firms. Which, if implemented under the new administration, could provide relief for investment advisers, particularly smaller firms that already have to balance compliance with client service, marketing, and the other duties that go into running a firm.
Also in industry news this week:
A recent survey finds that while advisors are increasingly using passive investment vehicles, many are taking the time to look beneath the hood to examine the makeup of different indexes in order to choose the best option for their clients
A survey of advisors working at enterprise firms shows a significant increase in their adoption of artificial intelligence tools over the past year, with common use cases including predictive analytics, marketing, and summaries of meeting notes
From there, we have several articles on Social Security:
The Social Security Administration has reversed a policy enacted last year that limited overpayment ‘clawbacks’ to 10% of monthly benefits, which will have the effect of reducing the monthly payments of some Social Security recipients to $0 until the overpayment is recovered
How the relationship between income and longevity could play a role in policy efforts to raise the Full Retirement Age in order to help shore up the Social Security system
A white paper shows the impact (in dollar terms) for clients of various proposals to put Social Security on sustainable footing
We also have a number of articles on practice management:
As growth-driven (rather than retirement-driven) RIA M&A activity increases, deal terms and cultural fit (and not ‘just’ headline valuations) are becoming increasingly relevant
Why a “curated cultural competition” with limited suitors rather than an “auction” focused on price could better serve the interests of RIA buyers and sellers alike
How firms can approach unsolicited acquisition offers, from analyzing the different compensation elements being offered to assessing whether the buyer shares a similar approach to financial planning
We wrap up with three final articles, all about building better habits:
12 ways to build better habits, from breaking big goals down into smaller chunks to sharpening the ability to say “no” to opportunities that might distract from the goal at hand
How “commitment strategies” can reduce the amount of willpower required to start and maintain new habits
How running “tiny experiments” can help individuals build better habits while viewing their progress from a more impartial perspective
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
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