Gaining Perspective

Your client's heirs will fire you as often as 90% of the time within one year of your client's death because they have no relationship with you. Arlene Cogen explains how to bridge those relationships and retain assets.

Approximatley 40% of financial advisors plan to retire within the next 10 years, according to Cerulli and Associates. The CFP Board says that there are more certified financial planners over 70 than under 30. Replacing those professionals will be a challenge for the industry. The advisor profession faces a talent and hiring crisis. My guest today is Kate Healy, who is charged with solving that crisis by opening the RIA career path to fresh faces – including new graduates, career changes, military veterans, and other groups that aren’t traditionally represented in the financial advice field.

In recent years, behavioral finance has become really popular. But taking a step back, one of the biggest questions I have about this field is -- “So what?” There are so many behavioral finance theories. But where is the practical application? What can we actually do with this stuff?

Guggenheim’s macroeconomic team is predicting a recession by mid-2020. We discuss the underlying drivers of this forecast, the steps the Fed can take to address a weakening economy, and how advisors should allocate for the period ahead.

The Davis Funds is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and has been owned by the Davis family for that entire period. In addition to that longevity, the Davis Funds is notable in that it has pursued the same, value-oriented, long-term investing discipline over that period.  Chris Davis discusses the opportunities his team is pursuing in financial stocks, as well as his take on the three biggest issues facing the advisory profession: how to compete with digital advice platforms, the flow of funds from active to passive strategies, and ESG/SRI investing.

What holds advisors back from building the business they ideally want is not their environment or skill set. It is the “mindset.” Stephanie Bogan explains how advisors can overcome the obstacles that prevent them from building a thriving practice and leading a joyful and fulfilling personal life.

Yields have declined sharply over the course of the year. The 10-year yield has dropped about 100 basis points; the 30-year about 80 basis points; and short-term rates are down about 50 basis points. Can rates go any lower? How should advisors position their clients in this environment?

A self-directed IRA is very similar to other IRA accounts, with the primary difference that you can control what you invest in and how you invest in it. For example, a self-directed IRA can own real estate, precious metals, crowdfunded assets and private equity.  

Mike Hunstad was recently featured in an article in Institutional Investor magazine that was titled Why Factor Investing Isn’t Working? We at Advisor Perspectives subsequently ran an article, Factor Investing Works (Despite What Some May Say), by Larry Swedroe, director of research for BAM Alliance, in which readers might have been led to believe that Northern Trust does not believe in factors when, in truth, Mike is going to tell us that the exact opposite is true.

According to Morningstar, in the first four months of the year, funds trying to mitigate risk raised nearly $10 billion. My guest today will explain how his firm combined quality with low volatility in a suite of three funds that were launched very recently. Indeed, this approach can be seen as the “next evolution of low volatility-based strategies.”