Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that subscription-based advisory firm Facet Wealth has raised $100 million from venture capital firms in a Series C funding round. At a time when private equity firms are buying up AUM-based RIAs for their current income generation, the venture capital firms’ huge investment in Facet suggests that they see the real potential for Facet’s subscription fee model to become the next big business model for financial advisors in the future.
Also in industry news this week:
- Advocates for the fiduciary standard have sent a letter to the SEC requesting that it adjust its guidance to allow RIAs to specifically use the word “fiduciary” on their form CRS to better differentiate themselves from broker-dealers who are not full-time fiduciaries
- A study finds that higher-income individuals have better investment returns in their Roth IRAs, suggesting that they (and their advisors?) are more often leveraging best practices in asset location to use the tax-free accounts to hold assets expected to appreciate the most
From there, we have several articles on advisor technology:
- Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini’s acquisition of digital asset portfolio management platform BITRIA will give advisors a new way to invest client assets directly in cryptocurrencies (not just crypto futures) via SMA or TAMP structures
- Fidelity plans to introduce a direct indexing product for retail customers with a $5,000 minimum investment, in a sign of the strategy’s growing popularity not only for tax benefits but also for allowing investors to adjust indexes based on ESG/SRI or other preferences
- Four years after acquiring Junxure CRM, AdvisorEngine has released AdvisorEngine CRM, an upgraded cloud-based offering that perhaps signals a bet on the growing importance of CRM at the center of the advisor tech stack
We also have a number of articles on advisor marketing:
- Why specializing in a niche can help an advisory firm overcome many of the challenges of marketing to prospective clients
- How serving a niche can help advisors focus their communications, be more intentional with their marketing budget, and scale their practices more effectively
- Why being bold in marketing may seem scary but ultimately helps advisors stand out from the rest in a crowded marketplace
We wrap up with three final articles, all about how to enhance your lifestyle:
- The steps you can take during the daytime to sleep better at night
- How to design a home gym that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing
- How living a ‘rich’ life does not necessarily involve significant assets or material possessions, but rather features the experiences that are important to you
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
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