Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (September 30-October 1)

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that RIA custodial platform Altruist announced that it is offering its portfolio accounting software for free to advisors who custody with the firm, offering the opportunity to advisory firms to reduce the costs of their tech stacks and perhaps presaging competition among custodians to offer more software capabilities for their advisory firm clients!

Also in industry news this week:

• After experiencing a downturn over the past few quarters, RIA M&A activity ticked higher in the 3rd quarter amid continued interest from sellers and increasing costs for internal succession
• A recent study shows that housing-related costs are more likely than healthcare spending to cause unexpected spending shocks for retirees

From there, we have several articles on investment planning:

• How expense ratios for index funds can vary, even for an issuer’s funds tracking the same index
• While ETF fees have tended to fall over time, this fee compression appears to be slowing as investors show interest in actively managed funds and some issuers raise their funds’ expense ratios
• How investors in actively managed mutual funds are sensitive to higher fees and the factors that increase this sensitivity

We also have a number of articles on advisor marketing:

• Best practices for advisors using webinars to market to prospective clients
• How to create an effective email newsletter, from identifying the target audience to developing a unique voice
• Why structure and discipline are crucial elements for creating a successful advisor podcast

We wrap up with 3 final articles, all about how to work more efficiently:

• How advisors can use 4 different types of leverage to boost their incomes
• How calculating the “Return On Hassle” can provide clarity into the full costs and returns of a particular investment or decision 
• How both “macro” and “micro” focus can contribute to productive, fulfilling work 

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

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