The Secret Ingredient To Managing Taxes
People seem to love to shorten language into acronyms. FAANG, CAGR, EPS – and now we even have DOGE! – need I say more? When it comes to designing portfolio management systems, we think plenty of asset managers and financial advisors think of the acronym as RRE, whereas we believe it has to be RRET:…
Read MoreManaging the Self-Destructive Behavior Of Clients
Let’s face it, as a financial advisor, managing client assets is not usually the hardest part. Rather, the bigger challenge can be managing client expectations. I think this data from Natixis Investment Managers starkly illustrates the point about expectations: When asked in 2023, investors said they expect their investments to earn 12.8% above inflation over the…
Read MoreWebinar Highlights: Building An Elite Culture For Your Wealth Practice
Many people within financial services like to think this industry is unique. Like on a faraway island, you-just-could-not-possibly-understand-us kind of unique. In my opinion, thinking like this helps explain why we see so much insular recruiting of talent, bespoke tech stack building, and overly complex investment models. While there certainly are unique attributes about our…
Read MoreHow to Improve the Odds You Are Hired by New Clients
Plenty of quantitative measures support the oft-cited analogy between a financial advisor and a football quarterback. Football players view the quarterback as a leader on the field and in the locker room while investors look to their advisor for guidance and reassurance throughout the year. Quarterbacks call a play that fits the situation on the field…
Read MoreWebinar Highlights: The Next Generation of Liquid Alts
As the head of Blueprint Investment Partners, I had a unique opportunity to moderate a virtual panel discussion with three of the biggest names in the liquid alternatives space last month: Bob Elliott, Corey Hoffstein, and Jerry Parker. I was energized by what I saw and heard, as well as inspired to share some video…
Read MoreWhat Would You Say…You Do Here?
“So, what do you do?” “I’m a financial advisor.” (Not true.) “Oh, so you pick stocks?” “Yep!” (Also not true.) It’s funny how after many years in this business my response to the question of, “What do you do?” has shifted. I used to attempt to explain that Blueprint Investment Partners supports financial advisors by…
Read MoreIf It’s Not Repeatable, It’s Not a System
Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to hear that I read “Atomic Habits”…again. In 2018, James Clear wrote this remarkable book that has reportedly been purchased every 15 minutes since publication*. Additionally, his 3-2-1 Thursday newsletter is followed by more than 2 million people. Before I finish this blog, he will have sold…
Read MoreAre You Working IN Your Business Or ON Your Business?
When I talk to executives and business owners as part of my work with family offices, private equity firms, and boards, I often hear comments like this: “I want to grow my business, but I do not have the time to address [you name the issue].” The REAL issue is often that they are so…
Read MoreSystematizing the Referral Process For Financial Advisors
Remember that episode of “Seinfeld” where Uncle Leo gets Jerry’s father a last-minute appointment with a top notch back doctor? And when Jerry’s father accuses the office of stealing his wallet, Uncle Leo is mortified since he gave a personal recommendation and asked the back specialist for such a big favor. Although this scenario was…
Read MoreLeading With Gratitude
Recently I was skimming through minutes from a weekly Blueprint Investment Partners Leadership Team meeting and something made me stop and chuckle. Each person had shared some good news from their week, and one had offered that she and her husband managed to shop for AND assemble several pieces of IKEA furniture without any squabbling.…
Read More