Gaining Perspective

The fastest-growing financial advisory firm this year, according to SmartAsset, is Integrated Partners. It has added nearly $1 billion in recruited advisory assets this year to date.

Studies show that customized marketing makes clients feel more appreciated and understood. In today’s episode, we are going to learn how to implement your own efforts to surprise and delight clients.

My guest today, Ken McAtamney, says we are witnessing the “Mother of All Recoveries,” with yearly growth at a level not seen in decades. He expects this recovery to last years, not months or quarters. Unlike the post-global financial crisis recovery, he says this cycle will likely be driven by domestic demand, not relying on China’s stimulus to drive the global economy.  I am going to ask Ken about what led him to this forecast.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note is 1.62%, and that is up approximately 130 basis points from its low of 32 basis points in March of last year. Moreover, the central debate among economists is whether the U.S. faces a new regime of inflation and higher rates, or whether inflation will be only transitory, as the Fed expects. This context of volatility and uncertainty about interest rates makes the job for advisors who want to generate steady income for their clients exceedingly difficult. Here to discuss one solution to that problem is Scott Kefer of Victory Capital.

New York Life Insurance recently celebrated its 175th anniversary. It is the largest mutual life insurance company in the U.S., with approximately $605 billion in assets under management. It is very committed to helping advisors deliver innovative solutions to help their clients achieve financial security in their retirement. Here today to talk about some of those solutions and the ways in which New York Life educates advisors is Dylan Huang.

Today’s episode will focus on advanced tax-planning issues. There are a couple of issues that my guest, Steven Jarvis, says will come as a surprise to advisors. The first is qualified disaster retirement plan distributions reported on form 8915-E. This was an election that had to be made for 2020 but Steven keeps running into advisors who are caught off guard that their clients' tax preparers made this election and even more advisors that aren't even checking to see if this applies to their clients. The second is the Augusta Rule. This isn't new but is not widely known. It potentially allows for two weeks of tax-free rental income including business owners being able to rent their personal residence to their business and deduct the expense on the business side without having to include the income on their personal return as taxable.

The global energy landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade, primarily as a result of the significant growth in production and exports of oil and natural gas from the United States. Energy infrastructure companies have played a significant role in facilitating the growth of US energy production and moving the US towards energy independence all while generating fees that support generous dividends. Here to discuss the income opportunity and current tailwinds for the energy infrastructure and MLP space is Stacey Morris.

Earlier this month, Protective Life Corporation announced enhancements to its variable annuity product line, recommitting to the space.  We are going to talk about those enhancements, which include the addition of four investment managers for its subaccounts, as many new sub accounts for its commission and fee-based products. Throughout its history, Protective’s variable annuity products have allowed the company to deliver high-quality, trusted support to advisors and their millions of customers across the country. Understanding what financial professionals and clients need when it comes to asset protection and growth to lifetime income and wealth transfer solutions, the company is investing resources to strengthen its variable annuity product suite. 

David Swensen, the manager of Yale’s endowment who passed away earlier this month, wrote the following in his 2005 book Unconventional Success: Southeastern Asset Management (sponsor of the Longleaf Partners mutual-fund family) exemplifies every fundamentally important, investor-friendly characteristic conducive to active-management success. Portfolio managers exhibit the courage to hold concentrated portfolios, to commit substantial funds side by side with shareholders, to limit assets under management, to show sensitivity to tax consequence, to set fees at reasonable levels, and to shut down funds in the face of diminished investment opportunity.

My guest today, Christine D. Moriarty, has more than 25 years of experience coaching individuals, couples and business owners on their finances.  Her focus has been the intersection of emotions, behavior and money.  She brings deep experience in financial planning to national conferences for planners.