Selection of 401k Advisors through quantitative and qualitative measures
Fred Barstein in his short Fred TALK video explains the best strategies for picking a good financial advisor for your 401(k) or 403(b) plan. He says that both quantitative and qualitative measures should be considered. On the quantitative side, you should check experience (assets, number of plans, and years in the business), ability to act...Read More
What is the current biggest worry for Plan Sponsors?
With Fidelity’s newest Plan Sponsor Attitudes survey released, we have a lot of great new data to take a look at when it comes to plan sponsors and their 401k plans. The biggest headline that 401kSpecialist noted is that Plan Sponsors’ biggest worry has shifted from reducing costs to educating participants to how to effectively...Read More
5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Be a Better Financial Advisor
How can one excel above the competition as an advisor? Here are five things you can start doing right now to become a better financial advisor and in turn grow your business: 1. Avoid Conflicts-of-Interest If you as an advisor are looking to serve your clients for a long time making a career out of...Read More
The Proof Is In The Pudding: How portfolio crash testing worked for me.
In the last post I discussed my history using Portfolio Crash Testing’s (PCT) big brother, Riskostat. Riskostat shares the same DNA with PCT, but Riskostat contains more features like risk factor decompositions, marginal contributions to risk, etc. All the things that quant geeks require in a system. But PCT makes the information more accessible and easier...Read More
15 Weekly Stats: Week of August 13, 2018
Matt Meyer and Michael Robinson are founders of The BluePrint Insurance Services. Their mission is to be the premier insurance partner for RIAs and comprehensive financial advisors. The BluePrint provides an operational insurance platform that allows our partners to provide the highest level of insurance access and support. We feature weekly update with permission: Contact...Read More
The Complete Guide to the 404(c) Diversification Report
Below is your complete guide (with corresponding screenshots) to the 401kFiduciaryOptimizer 404(c) Diversification Report: Diversification addresses a plan lacking diversifying investments; it does not address overlap in the menu. It is based on adjusted similarity (the formula is right on the Diversification page at the bottom). The menu is diversified according to ERISA if “participants...Read More
A new way to think about visually dynamic tools for financial advisors
As noted in an article from WealthManagement.com, visually dynamic tools with a great education message are a huge weapon for advisors in the modern world. With the kind of advancements we’ve made in fintech, it’s no surprise that investors of today are very much visual learners. We have so many tools that can provide a...Read More
Why prospecting through social media is a must for financial advisors
We all know how important it is to upkeep prospecting techniques if we want to grow our business. The majority of advisors who became successful in the industry are able to do just that by staying focused and disciplined when it came down to building their practice. Along with the constantly evolving world of technology...Read More
The importance of “HENRYs” for Retirement Plan Advisors
Nowadays it seems that high earning millennials are a very popular topic for financial advisors, or more importantly the approach on how to appeal to them. 401kSpecialistMag remarks that they are a fast-growing segment of the population and “retirement plan professionals risk losing them to robos if they ignore the opportunity.” Advisors really need to...Read More
From Client to CEO: Does Portfolio Crash Testing Really Work?
At Larkspur-RiXtrema, we create great tools for advisors. Our tools combine quantitative rigor with user friendly interfaces and often, a measure of prospecting to help an advisor grow their business. Lately we have been focusing many of our blog posts on Portfolio Crash Testing (PCT). Those of you who have spoken with me about PCT...Read More