“Financial Planning Articles” is a collection of articles and research that I’ve been reading regarding financial planning, industry trends, career development, and more.
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This edition begins with two articles covering today’s client preferences and industry trends. The first provides more data points showing clients prefer technology to complement, rather than replace, human financial advice. The second suggests Schwab is positioning itself well for this dynamic, announcing this week a new version of its robo-advisor platform on a monthly, subscription-fee basis. The next two articles center around advisor marketing and public relations with the first highlighting all of the benefits of creating a client persona and how to develop one. We follow with a piece covering how advisors can effectively incorporate a public relations strategy into their practice. Finally, we conclude with an XYPN blog post detailing the first phase of launching an RIA and all of the various compliance, legal, and marketing activities to consider along the way.
I hope you enjoy.
What I’m Reading:
Study Confirms Preference for Human Advice Over Robo Advice (RiskInfo.com)
“The research revealed that, irrespective of whether they currently use a financial adviser, about the same percentage of Americans in each group agree it is important that advisers are both technologically savvy (95 percent each) and use updated technology-based tools in their practice (96 percent who have an adviser and 95 percent who don’t). Other findings included: 88 percent of Americans say technology should complement, not replace, the services of a human financial adviser. 85 percent of Americans say they prefer working with a human financial adviser rather than a robo adviser. Only five percent of Americans believe financial planning should be managed entirely by technology-based tools.“
Schwab Introduces Subscription-Based Financial Planning Option in Its Digital Advisory Service (BusinessWire.com)
“Subscription-based pricing is second nature to many of us who pay this way for other forms of ongoing access and guidance – from streaming media services to fitness and personal training memberships. We think people should have the opportunity to pay for financial planning the same way,” added Loh. “This new pricing approach is part of our focus on making the investing and planning experience easier, more modern, and more approachable. We’re looking forward to helping people get the financial help they need, whether they’re investing for the long term or have more immediate life events that require a plan.”
How To Better Attract Your Ideal Clients By Crafting A Specific Client Persona To Market To (Katie Godbout, Kitces.com)
“Be honest with yourself about who you are best suited to help with their financial planning and invest your time and money in making it abundantly clear to those prospects that you can help them. Because otherwise, by trying to sound like you can do anything for everyone (even if they wouldn’t actually be a great client for you), you reduce the likelihood of convincing the prospects you would want to work with because it’s not clear that you’re really for them….Think about it. How much money, time, and energy are you wasting on a bad fit? Being very specific still leaves more than enough room to find enough of the right clients to build a successful financial planning practice. In this case, spending time being specific means you are being strategic, relevant and resonant. This combination makes you far more likely to be successful.”
How Financial Advisors Can Run Their Own PR (Stephanie Ross, Creative AdvisorMarketing.com)
“Again, not only does your pitch need to align with your audience’s needs (reporters and writers) and who they serve (their readers), but it also needs to be worthy of attention in the first place. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see anyone make with PR and pitching — financial advisor or otherwise. It’s not enough that you care about the story. You need to consider if (and why) other people care, too.”
Planning For Your First 12 Months As An RIA Owner (Kate Ross, XYPlanningNetwork.com)
“It can be overwhelming to sort through the many facets of taking this leap, from ensuring all your registration paperwork is properly completed to knowing which software will be most valuable to creating your initial marketing strategy. There is a seemingly endless list of details to consider, and often not a lot of extra time to dwell on each of those details.”
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