Gaining Perspective

Restrictive compliance and new, rapid-fire regulatory rules pose a challenge for independent advisors who often do not have the bandwidth to respond in a timely manner. Corporate RIAs must differentiate themselves on how they can help advisors navigate this often-confusing reality. My guests today lead one of the fastest growing independent broker-dealer/RIA hybrid platforms, CoastalOne, with over 150 financial professionals nationwide. CEO and president, Charles Reiling, and chief compliance officer, Barrett Schultz will discuss new compliance realities and challenges advisors are facing, as well as the importance of fintech solutions in the modern advisor’s practice.

If you want to call yourself a lawyer, doctor or accountant, you must adhere to strict regulatory requirements. Even electricians and plumbers must be properly licensed. But that is not and has not been true of financial planners. Anyone can call themselves a financial planner. That is about to change. On July 21, the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), the leading membership organization and trade association for Certified Financial Planner™ professionals and those engaged in the financial planning process, announced that it will lead a multi-year advocacy effort to achieve the legal recognition of the term “financial planner” through title protection. My guests today are the two individuals charged with implementing that decision.

A couple of weeks ago, DWS Group, a global asset manager and one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers, announced it was making a strategic investment in its Americas Alternatives distribution platform to make its real estate products more widely available to the retail market. The investment is part of a longer-term initiative to provide retail investors with access to DWS’s broad alternatives platform. My guests today are the two individuals charged with leading DWS’ expansion in the real estate market.

The CFP Board published a book called the Psychology of Financial Planning. This groundbreaking new material incorporates interpersonal components of financial planning and the effects of money on individuals. My guests today are here to talk about that book.

Market volatility, inflation, and talk of a recession certainly has grabbed the headlines over the past few months. As financial planners, this is your chance to differentiate yourself as you walk your clients through turbulent times. My guests today form the leadership team for one of the country's most prominent planning firms, Integrated Financial Group (IFG), IFG consists of 60 teams of financial planners in 13 states. Founder and chief strategy officer, Don Patrick, and current CEO, Land Bridgers will share what their financial planners are doing right to help their clients navigate the headlines and the uncertainty of the economy. Focusing on financial planning is at the heart of this discussion, along with the conversations financial planners have had with their clients over the years to prepare for times such as this.

In April of this year, the FlexShares team at Northern Trust conducted a survey of more than 500 high-net worth investors who work with financial advisors. The survey asked investors a range of questions about ESG investing including, but not limited to: how much they understand it, why they are or aren’t interested, whether their advisors are recommending it, and how and where they’re learning about ESG investing. My guest today will explain how she and her team used the data to identify trends across different generations, genders, and wealth brackets when it comes to ESG investing.

The S&P 500 officially fell into bear market territory during the month of May, although a late month bounce allowed it to finish the month only slightly down from April. It is down about 2.5% thus far in June. The tone of the market has changed, and it doesn’t appear to be calming down anytime soon. According to my guest today, Greg Taylor, when looking at the performance of the large-cap tech stocks, it was inevitable that the broader market would touch bear market levels. He is here to discuss the market environment, not just in equities, but across asset classes including gold and cryptocurrencies.

The most consequential decision an advisor will face is transitioning to a new broker dealer. It will affect the products they can sell, the service their clients will receive, the support they will have in running their practice, and ultimately how they will be compensated. My guest today will discuss how those transitions are being navigated by advisors who are seeking better outcomes for their clients.

As proxy season comes to a close, investors and advisors have grappled with company stewardship on a wide variety of issues. But what’s the best way to get a company to listen? Is divestment the way to go? Or must you engage with a company? And how do investors in ETFs and mutual funds make sure their voices are heard at the asset managers they invest with? Engine No. 1 focuses on engaging with companies constructively to make sure they are taking the costs they impose on society and other stakeholders into account. It operates on the belief that climate and social concerns are economic issues and companies that fail to address them will underperform for the long term.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management released its inaugural Charitable Giving Study a couple of weeks ago. It was a survey of 200 people with at least $5 million in AUM. It painted a vivid picture of high-net-worth investors’ behaviors, attitudes and experiences towards charitable giving. Some of the key findings included that only 56% had a charitable giving strategy, and that the top motivators for giving were personal satisfaction and connections. Here to discuss the findings of that study is Crystal Thompkins.