Ready or Not: The Year That Pushed Advisors Into Tech
COVID-19 forced many advisors to adopt technology, even if they were reluctant to do so. Here are stories of advisors who are making it work.
Paul Feldman
Muddling Through The Middle
We all have been disrupted — many of us haven’t seen loved ones and friends in person, business is a bit more challenging, kids aren’t in the best learning environment (sometimes that might mean they are in your working environment) and of course there are the health effects of COVID-19, sometimes very dire effects.
How can you find the right firm for that first job and entry to the advisory world? It can start with reading and understanding a firm’s ADV, delineating between what is on the firm’s website and what they reported to the SEC, and coming up with the most pertinent questions.
Imagine this: you’re great at your job. You make sales, you manage your clients’ assets well and you’re an attentive advisor who makes sure to follow up. But you can’t get a call back from referrals and your prospects aren’t scheduling appointments. You can’t figure out why.
The Smoke In Our Eyes
As my neighbor yelled at me on our front stoop, he stopped for a moment while he clearly had a…
A virtual presence went from being optional 10 years ago to a necessity in essentially every industry and profession. But having a social media account or a website is only the standard in our digital age, so planners are becoming innovative with their approach in the new wave of online engagement.
The job interview is crucial to achieving career success. While you may know the answers to personal questions when you sit quietly in a room, the pressure of an interview can cause you to second guess your answer and lead to a less than organized response.
Financial abuse occurs in 99% of all abusive relationships, making this one of the most important types of abuse to watch for. Advisors have a special ability – and therefore a special responsibility – to detect and combat financial abuse.
Financial Planning Association (FPA) Knowledge Circles are gathering places for like-minded planners who want to engage in dialogue about best practices and trends on particular topics. The Knowledge Circles, very much like “sections” in law or business, allow for more in-depth examination of issues, financial planning resources, regulations, etc.
Our Shot
Like millions of viewers, I was captivated by Hamilton recently…
Financial planning is moving from advisors being the beholders of the right answers, towards planners being the guides of helping people make confident, informed choices throughout the uncertainties of life.
Though businesses have been hard hit by COVID-19 and the ensuing global recession, business owners still need financial services and advice just as much as – if not more than – they did before the crisis. This diverse group can bring a variety of engaging work for financial advisors, but also requires specialized financial skills.
Threat Reassessments
When I left for the night from my first newspaper editing job, I had to be careful.
How The Life Insurance Industry Can Cut Racism’s Deep Roots
American College President George Nichols relays his own experience to help others understand the struggle in black communities.
So you want to be a financial advisor? There are positions available in an industry that needs young people to reach the next generation. Regardless of how you approach your search, be patient with yourself and the process; unfortunately, there is no secret sauce to finding your next opportunity.
We’ve been conditioned to think leadership is only attained by a position of power, or that it’s a skill you must be born with. The truth is, leadership skills can be honed and developed. Real leadership starts with a commitment to creating positive change for you and others.
Finding personal connections with prospects can be more challenging in this altered form of business, so we must consider the most thoughtful and impactful ways to connect while physically separated.
American College CEO Opens Up About Black Life In A White World
American College President George Nichols relays his own experience to help others understand the struggle in black communities.
Pro bono financial planning has always been a hallmark of the financial planning field, but it needs to be ingrained in everything we do. The next generation of financial planners need to embrace the importance and impact of pro bono just as the legal, medical, and dental professions have.
From closed businesses, stock market crashes and income reductions (including an absolute stop of income for some), cash flow is being affected in ways unlike previous recessions. This makes the pandemic a real test of forced retirement.
