I want to know what parts of a financial advisor’s day are the most painful, the most mindless, the least efficient. I want to know this because I’d like to confirm my suspicions of an industry-wide problem: that the business of financial advice is largely inefficient, and that inefficiency lies in technology. Two Problems, One [...]
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We made a new friend! We’re very excited to announce our new integration with leading financial planning software, MoneyGuidePro! Combining our secure, hassle-free, single-source data connection with MGP’s powerful planning tools, the life of a financial planner in the digital age has never been better. With all of your client data in one place, including [...]
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“Even I went down a path of reckless spending before finally waking up.” Fiscal Cliff The Economy’s Trajectory in 2013 Metaphors are… How do we talk when we talk about finance? In metaphors. Metaphors are so ingrained in our language that it’s hard to recognize when we’re using them or even do something about it when [...]
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Why seek out fads? Fads are temporary–they fade away or get pushed out by the next one. If I asked you to name 5 fads right now you’d rattle them off in 30 seconds, but the fads you’d tell me have come and gone–they’re in the past. The real challenge is in identifying current fads–the [...]
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Forgetting someone’s name is bad. Remembering someone’s name who doesn’t remember yours, on the other hand, is impressive. In the advisory business, your contacts–whether clients, colleagues, friends, acquaintances–are your livelihood. Forgetting (or remembering) a name could be the difference between a new client and a disappointment. What can we do to make sure that we [...]
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1. Brevity We’re all busy. The same questions are always being asked. Every business person, financial advisors included, has a specific canon of questions they’re (incessantly) asked, and it’s likely that your questioner is aware of this fact. Have your answers ready. Craft them thoughtfully and honestly, but have them (loosely) memorized. Be brief. When [...]
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It’s hard out here for an advisor… Perhaps the biggest contradiction inherent to financial advisors is that the job itself requires two very different skill sets: People skills (for earning, engaging, learning about, and managing clients) and Analytical skills (to make sound suggestions regarding a clients assets) These skills are often siloed in other businesses [...]
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Everyone wants your story… Facebook was probably the first social network to figure out that humans crave a good story. And thus Timeline was born, giving us context (in the form of cover photo and timeline) over which to lay all of our little plot-points (statuses, pictures, notes, new friends, etc.) so that our digital stories are [...]
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The Tech Landscape Financial advisors have a strange relationship with technology–the whole industry does. Traders work with some of the most impressive technology in the world, but it’s a double-edged sword: Global trading has become so high-tech and fast-paced that the technology is outgrowing our our own faculties, as evidenced just this week by the single [...]
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There are lots of useful analogies for financial advisors: co-pilot and quarterback, personal trainer and even mechanic, but I think I’ve found another to add to the list: doctor. Inspired by #FTACon12 This week, I noticed that my Twitter feed was peppered with tweets tagged #FTACon12. On the particular day I made this observation, it appeared that [...]
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