Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that President Biden released his latest budget proposal this week, which calls for a range of tax increases on higher-income and wealthier taxpayers to fund deficit reduction and the president’s spending priorities. While the budget almost certainly will face stiff resistance in a divided Congress, proposals that could affect financial advisors and their clients include increasing the top income and capital gains tax rates, raising the Net Investment Income Tax rate and applying it to pass-through income, and increasing the amount of the child tax credit.
Also in industry news this week:
- Altruist’s self-clearing custodial platform has gone live, offering RIAs of all sizes an alternative to larger, legacy custodians
- While the SEC is planning to increase the number of on-site examinations it conducts, the odds that a firm will experience an exam in a given year appear to be remaining steady
From there, we have several articles on tax planning:
- How advisors can add value to clients by helping them maximize the benefits of their Health Savings Accounts
- How the IRS could be preparing to finalize regulations that would require some beneficiaries with inherited IRAs to take RMDs this year
- Why higher interest rates affect the utility of a range of trusts used for estate and tax planning, from GRATs to QPRTs
We also have a number of articles on practice management:
- How competitive pressures and growth challenges could drive RIA M&A activity in the coming year
- A process that can help advisory firm owners craft a succession plan that matches their goals for their firm and for their own retirement
- The major role that emotions play in an advisor’s decision to sell their firm and how to prevent them from scuttling a deal
We wrap up with three final articles, all about the uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled tools for advisors:
- How a new tool embedded in Microsoft Word can help advisors craft and edit content
- How advisors can use AI-enabled tools to more efficiently generate content ideas, proofread text, and create marketing videos
- Why ChatGPT could be a valuable tool to support advisor marketing, from creating ad copy to drafting prospect emails
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
