Why the Financial Advisor Market Isn’t Shrinking, and 4 more must-reads for your business

Starting fresh

Change is inevitable as a new year arrives, but that doesn’t have to mean change for the worse. In fact, if we move with the times, this could well be your best year so far. Here are a few articles I have found useful this month to push that New Year energy in a positive direction for 2019.

Let’s start as we mean to go on.

3 Reasons Why the Financial Advisor Market Size Isn’t Actually Shrinking

Michael Kitces

Ever since I joined the Australian Financial Services industry in 1991 the average age of advisers has been 55. I’m never quite sure how that’s possible, but hey. So the number of advisers must inevitably fall at some point, right? Here’s a really interesting exploration of why that may not be true from Michael Kitces.

It also looks at how technology, that was meant to kill off jobs in other industries, actually led to more employment – and how that might apply to us too. While this is an analysis of the US industry numbers, much of it is likely to apply here in the UK. Worth a look.

Why recruiting alone won’t boost number of women advisors

Kimberly Foss

A 2013 study by the Insured Retirement Institute found that 70% of women seeking an advisor preferred to work with another woman. But according to a survey by Cerulli Associates, as recently as 2017, only 16% of financial planners are female.

The advisory world needs to do more to encourage young women into the financial planning workforce, and to nurture their growth once they’re onboard.

Stuck in the Mid-Sized Firm Rut?

Angie Herbers

You might have read that advisory firms in the middle, caught between large national firms and small one-person shops, are under threat of getting squeezed out of business. Not so according to Angie Herbers, who says that mid-sized firms can compete on an equal basis, unless they’re still being run by the seat of the owner’s pants.

Time to get more businesslike. Read on to find out how to go about that.

How Positive Thinking Builds Your Skills, Boosts Your Health, and Improves Your Work

James Clear

Research is beginning to reveal that positive thinking is about much more than just being happy or displaying an upbeat attitude. Positive thoughts can actually create real value in your life and help you build skills that last much longer than a smile.

Read on to find out more.

How to be Relevant in a Multiracial Financial Advice Market

Juliette Fairley

Here’s some great advice for anyone looking to work with different racial communities to their own. “Racial diversity is very high on the uncomfortable discourse list, which suggests that it needs more attention and conversation,” said Lazetta Rainey Braxton, financial advisor and chair of the Association of African American Financial Advisors.

Increased diversity can also contribute to a firm’s bottom line. Companies in the top quarter for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians, according to a McKinsey & Company report.