Displaying items by tag: advisors

As the 2024 golf season kicks into gear and the warm weather sets in, financial advisors and businesses might want to consider planning for fall golf outings now. Summer and Fall offer ideal conditions with well-maintained courses, pleasant weather, and peak performance after a summer of play. 

The season also presents excellent deals at golf destinations nationwide or even abroad for those seeking Caribbean getaways or links golf in the UK or Ireland before their season ends. 

For advisors and businesses opting to stay stateside, prime golf destinations like Myrtle Beach, Scottsdale, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Trail offer diverse experiences to cater to various preferences and budgets. With fall golf trip bookings already on the rise, early planning ensures securing preferred travel dates and tee times for a successful outing.

Finsum: Lifestyle and activities can deepen relationships for advisors on both sides of their business, structuring more than legs but also business  potential.

When transitioning between custodians, advisors need to be on the lookout for options that could improve their practice. One of the first things to look out for is discussions around a pricing strategy rather than resorting to fixed rates marking the inception of our the plan. RIAs should look for custodians that understand their unique business before proposing a suitable pricing structure. 

A good custodian will seek insights into operations before tailoring pricing. Personalized solutions will consider a variety of factors that lead to custom solutions such as growth stage and client dynamics. By embracing flexibility and collaboration, RIAs can feel empowered when navigating custodial transitions effectively, ensuring a prosperous future for their businesses.

Look for custodians that are open to this flexibility when it comes to this sort of pricing structure and make sure they understand your business when changing providers. 

Finsum: Clients are seeking flexibility and understanding with their advisors and RIAs should look for a similar approach when it comes to custodians. 

A major trend in wealth management is personalization. Due to new technology, financial advisors are now able to offer customized products and solutions without sacrificing scalability. It can help clients reach their financial goals while also creating a stronger relationship between advisors and clients.  

A survey conducted of high net worth investors by PwC showed that 66% are interested in more personalization, while 46% are looking to change or add new advisors within the next couple of years. For advisors, offering personalized solutions will be increasingly important in terms of recruiting and retaining clients.   

Personalization is also impacting model portfolios. Until recently, most model portfolios were built around the traditional portfolio, combining stocks and bonds, which limited customization. Now, there are more options to customize model portfolios, including factors, themes, and values. 

According to research from MSCI, wealth managers can allocate to these strategies without worrying that they would have an adverse impact on a portfolio in terms of returns or diversification. Further, these model portfolios are customized but still retain their core benefits. For advisors, this means spending less time on investment management and more time on client service, financial planning, and growing the business. 

Finsum: Personalization is a major trend in wealth management. Now, model portfolios can be customized, which brings a variety of benefits for advisors and clients without having an adverse impact on returns or diversification.

US annuity sales reached $113.5 billion in Q1, 21% higher than last year. It was also the second-highest quarterly figure on record after the fourth quarter of 2023, according to LIMRA. There was solid and impressive growth across nearly every category, and the organization anticipates that sales will remain strong for the rest of the year. 

Bryan Hodgens, the head of LIMRA research, noted, “The remarkable sales trends over the past two years continued into 2024. Favorable economic conditions and rising investor interest in securing guaranteed retirement income have resulted in double-digit sales growth in every product line.” 

Fixed-rate deferred annuities accounted for the biggest share of sales at 42%. This segment generated $48 billion in revenue, a 16% increase from last year. 85% of fixed-rate deferred annuities had durations of less than 5 years. 

Fixed-indexed annuities set a new record in terms of quarterly sales at $29.3 billion, 27% higher than last year. The next highest contributor were income annuities. Among this category, single-premium immediate annuity sales were $4 billion, a 19% increase from last year, and deferred-income annuities were at $1.1 billion, 35% higher than last year. Registered index-linked annuities saw $14.5 billion in sales and continue to be the fastest-growing segment with a 40% growth rate.

Finsum: Annuity sales maintained their hot streak with a new record for Q1 sales and the second-highest quarterly figure. LIMRA attributes this to high interest rates and unease about the economic situation. 

Prudential conducted a survey of 198 financial advisors to gain insight on how they are investing and constructing portfolios for retirees. 80% use separate portfolios that are specifically designed for retirees. Additionally, the use of targeted portfolios was higher among advisors who were more knowledgeable about planning for retirement. 

Another takeaway from the survey is that 50% of retirees prefer to live off of income from their portfolios. Thus, advisors need to ensure that their portfolios generate income for clients while balancing other factors like total return and diversification.

In terms of asset classes for retirement portfolios, advisors favored long-term fixed income, US large-cap stocks, and TIPS. Advisors who were more knowledgeable about retirement planning favored long-term bonds and TIPS to a greater degree than less knowledgeable advisors. 

The survey also showed that most advisors are constructing retirement portfolios themselves or with the assistance of third-party recommendations or allocators. Advisors with less knowledge about the subject were more likely to outsource portfolio construction. 

Most advisors are helping clients plan for retirement by optimizing for goals such as flexibility in spending or timeframe. This is in contrast to other approaches, which include using a bucket strategy or segmenting the portfolio into different strategies for different purposes.

Finsum: Prudential conducted a survey of financial advisors. Those with more knowledge about retirement planning favored long-term bonds and tend to use differentiated strategies.