CHICAGO - More than a thousand financial planners from around the country descended on the Windy City for the Schwab Impact conference. The event gave them a chance for them to gain market intelligence, schmooze with peers, shop for new technology, check out new investing products and learn a few smarter ways to run their business.
Financial Planning was there to cover the event. Here are a few of the most interesting things our team heard.
1. Paperless Productivity
David Lincoln, of Family Office Exchange, reported that a firm it works with undertook a two-year process to go entirely paperless. It wasn't entirely a green decision, though. The firm (which Lincoln only referred to by a pseudonym) said the change had slashed the time involved in hunting for client files. It told Lincoln's firm that it expects to get a 7% drop in the amount of staff hours required per client relationship.
2. Get Personal with Gen Y
Stop thinking of Gen Y as "they." When trying to speak to younger prospects, you need to connect with them by understanding them as individuals said generational characteristics expert, Cam Marston. Think about how your offering affects their lives and their future. Youve got to get out of you and into them, Marston said.
3. Worried About the Fiscal Cliff?
So is Charles Schwab (the man, not the company). He said there's a "high probability" that the U.S. will go over fiscal cliff at year's end. He also predicted a resolution in the spring, however. (And he pointed out a bright side: A tough spring may offer investing opportunities.)
4. Going Mobile
Neesha Hathi, senior vice president of Charles Schwab's Advisor Technology Solutions, reported that 25% of US online adults have an interest in using their mobile device as a main channel for their personal financial life.
5. Funding a Handoff
Schwab announced it would help provide financing for junior partners seeking equity in a firm. The program is now in a pilot phase aimed at larger firms; and Schwab said it expects to make several loans over the next few months.
6. Succession Planning, Part 2
7. Get a Process
8. Global Uncertainty
Moderate your expectations for the Middle East, said Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "I don't think we've bottomed out' in the Middle East," he said. The so-called Arab spring may sound like a three-month event but it could last 30 years," he said.
9. Loss and Grief
Got a client who's lost a spouse to death or divorce? As challenging as it may be for an advisor to ask clients about a painful loss,