Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that the Department of Labor released the final version of its Retirement Security Rule (a.k.a. the Fiduciary Rule 2.0), which is set to go into effect in September and (if it survives anticipated legal challenges) would represent a significant shift toward greater fiduciary standards in the financial services industry, including by defining as a fiduciary act a one-time recommendation to roll funds from a company retirement plan to an Individual Retirement Account (closing what historically was a loophole that the fiduciary obligation only applied to “ongoing” advice, such that one-time sales transactions avoided its scope).
Also in industry news this week:
- The Federal Trade Commission released a final rule that would ban most non-compete agreements, which could lead to an increasing number of non-solicit agreements (and, potentially, lawsuits regarding their enforcement) between financial planning firms and their advisors
- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a risk alert outlining how some investment advisers are failing to comply with its marketing rule, from making misleading statements about adviser awards to claiming that a firm operates free of conflicts of interest
From there, we have several articles on client communication:
- How jargon checks, standardized communication frameworks, and post-meeting surveys can help advisors overcome the “curse of knowledge” when communicating with clients
- 5 mistakes that can undermine client meetings, from asking too many closed-ended questions to engaging in conversations on political topics
- How paying attention to the phrases and idioms clients use frequently can help advisors build trust and rapport
We also have a number of articles on cash flow planning:
- How the explosive growth in many of the ‘hidden’ costs of homeownership could impact clients’ budgets
- How financial advisors can help clients analyze the choice of whether to rent or buy a home, from modeling unknowable financial variables to helping them explore the non-financial considerations of the decision
- How advisors can add value for clients navigating a continued elevated mortgage rate environment
We wrap up with three final articles, all about effective networking:
- How financial advisors can network more effectively, from tactics that can make conversations more memorable to choosing when to enter an existing conversation
- How advisors can evaluate financial advisor conferences and other networking opportunities to make the most worthwhile investments of their time and money
- Tips to master the art of small talk, from seeking out common interests to managing the inevitable end of the conversation with minimal awkwardness
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
