Practice

With more and more Baby Boomers living longer and the senior population increasing faster than younger generations, we are entering the age of longevity. It's crucial that advisors help clients plan for this new chapter, said Louise Schroeder, a financial advisor and owner of Personal Financial Solutions, Inc.

It is often said that when men plan, the gods laugh. Nowhere is this perhaps more true than when it comes to planning for retirement. While we all acknowledge the risk that finances can play on our retirement plans, the reality is that threats to our retirement plans can come from all areas of our lives.

Big changes to the continuing education requirements for planners are expected next month following a meeting of the leadership of the CFP Board.

Clients with family members with a special need, be it developmental, physical, cognitive or a mental illness, make up a significant number of clients, but the majority of advisors are not serving them, said Mary Anne Ehlert, a financial advisor and founder of special needs advocacy firm, Protected Tomorrows.

Some people say social media for advisors is a waste of time. Not so for Cathy Curtis, of Curtis Financial Planning, now a division of ClearRock Capital, LLC. Curtis has social media use to thank for the merger.

Before choosing an advisor, Ed Slott believes every client should ask these 10 important questions. (And some top advisors weigh in with their best answers.)

Advisors flock to the Financial Planning Association annual conference to rub shoulders with and learn from peers with big client rosters and multibillion-dollar assets under management. But more than 100 attendees of the nearly 2,000 planners here have a far more modest AUM: zero.

To attract clients, brokerage firms should be offering a mix of in-person as well as online, self-directed investing and retirement planning options, according to a recent report by Aite group.

Financial advisors have a bad reputation with women. Most feel slighted by the industry and see it as catering only to male wealth creators. They resent the assumption that women are disinterested in financial matters, are not good with money, and "should not worry their pretty heads about it." They are dissatisfied customers, who have real economic power. And they are unhappy that the financial services industry does not provide products and services to meet their needs

In a bullish sign for the planning industry., Financial Planning's Retirement Advisor Confidence Index - a monthly barometer of business conditions for wealth managers - rose in October.