“Weekend Content for New Financial Planners” is a collection of podcasts, articles, videos, etc. that I’ve been consuming regarding breaking into financial planning, industry trends, career development, and more.
This installment begins with two articles from New Planner Recruiting’s co-founder Caleb Moore. Moore provides tips on how to handle a downmarket for both job seekers and firms (as a new advisor or career-changer, “seeing” the employer’s perspective can be especially helpful). Given the turbulent markets amid the pandemic, we next look at a couple of investing-related articles. The first comes from The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig covering how the market collapse and economic slowdown affect the human brain (relevant, of course, for clients, but also as we go through this professionally and personally as well!) and provides some tips for coping. Next, distressed securities investor and author Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital penned a letter to his clients that provides insight on his thoughts on the market pullback. Perhaps surprisingly, his takeaways appear simplistic, yet “knowing what we don’t know” may be the most valuable asset for investors at this time. Finally, with the White House signing this week’s CARES Act, I link to Jeff Levine’s GIF-and-meme-infused Twitter thread to provide some insight (and entertainment) on what to expect.
I hope you enjoy.
Seeking Opportunities In A Down Market (Caleb Brown, New Planner Recruiting)
“We’re already starting to see firms who charge via assets under management (AUM) slow the hiring process or temporarily put it on hold. What does this mean for aspiring planners seeking opportunities? Until fears associated with the economy, market and overall way of life are calmed, the career opportunities in financial planning might not be as plentiful as they were just a few short months ago. There are still firms hiring so don’t get discouraged but the effort required for candidates to get hired into quality positions will be higher.”
Recruiting Opportunities In A Down Market (Caleb Brown, New Planner Recruiting)
“For firms that have been struggling to attract talent and hire top performers, this can be a great time to build out your dream team, as some firms did in the 2008-2009 downturn, as difficult times mean even great future team members may be looking for (or forced into seeking out) new opportunities.”
This Is Your Brain On A Crashing Stock Market ($) (Jason Zweig, The Wall Street Journal)
“Combat the contagion of other people’s stress however you can. Warren Buffett reportedly calms himself by looking at snapshots of his family. Social isolation is a threat to your portfolio as well as to your mental health. Without normal social contact, it’s much harder for people to regulate their emotions, says Jamil Zaki, a social psychologist at Stanford University.”
Oaktree Client Letter (Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital)
“‘The bottom’ is the day before the recovery begins. Thus it’s absolutely impossible to know when the bottom has been reached…ever. Oaktree explicitly rejects the notion of waiting for the bottom; we buy when we can access value cheap. Even though there’s no way to say the bottom is at hand, the conditions that make bargains available certainly are materializing. Given the price drops and selling we’ve seen so far, I believe this is a good time to invest, although of course it may prove not have been the best time.”
CARES Tweet Thread (Jeff Levine, Buckingham Wealth Partners)
“OK, buckle your seatbelts, because this is about to be a wild ride! The Senate has officially passed a $2 trillion relief package, which is actually $6 trillion when you count the loans, etc.). Time to dissect this ‘puppy’…”
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