Leading With Gratitude

Napkin with writing saying “practice gratitude daily”

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.…

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You Know Who’s Terrible in a Crisis? A Robot.

Robot with conversation bubble

Call me a luddite if you like, but few things annoy me as much as when I navigate to a new webpage and that, “How can I help you?” box pops up on the lower right. That chatbot entering uninvited always sends me on a frantic search for how to make it disappear as quickly…

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Is Planning Alpha Greater than Investment Alpha?

Overwhelmed financial advisor

How does that saying go? Something about how the more things change, the more they stay the same? Within financial advisory practices, this sentiment rings abundantly true in the area of portfolio construction/management. So much has changed in the past few years. For one, the pandemic altered how investors interact with their advisors. Potentially more…

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Who Needs a Financial Advisor When Markets Only Go Up?

Hand pulling electrical plug from wall socket

Like many others, I’m drawn to “comeback” stories. It’s no surprise, then, that the history of the world’s rarest and most ancient dog has stuck with me. For more than 50 years, the New Guinea highland wild dog was thought to be extinct. But in the 2010s, a few reported sightings led researchers to take…

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Marketing for Financial Advisors – Your Questions Answered

Word cloud of sales and marketing words

We received a surprising amount of feedback following our September blog about advisor marketing, so we’re back with a sequel. In these video responses (most are under 2 minutes), you’ll find answers to common questions we hear from financial advisors about how to refine their marketing activities to build and retain client relationships. Our source…

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Q&A: How Financial Advisors Can Build Better Marketing Programs

Financial advisor on video call with a client

There’s a perception that all financial advisors offer the exact same service (or, for that matter, all asset managers, plumbers, architects, etc.). Changing perception for your practice requires building a reputation, a brand, a marketing program. Toward that end, our firm hosted a webinar earlier this year with our friends Corey Keating and Ryan Stark,…

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Protecting the Financial Advisor’s Blind Side

Quarterback at line of scrimmage

The 2021 NFL Draft, which begins tomorrow, is expected to highlight more than ever that quarterback is arguably the most important position in all sports. If we stick to football and assume QB is indeed the most important role, what is second? Many cases can be made, but if money talks, then shouldn’t the answer…

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Flows Before Pros

Cell phone and computer being used to monitor GameStop stock

This is not another article about Reddit, robos, and Robinhood. Well actually, it a little bit is. But hear me out: We’ll be light on the pontification (you don’t need a 4,000th article on GameStop) but heavy on the conundrum financial advisors face and the trump card held by providers of financial advice. Adaptation or…

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‘CliffsNotes’ For Financial Advisors

Pile of books

A confession: Without CliffsNotes, I may not have made it through high school…or college. In fact, until just recently, I actually thought it was “CliffNotes” (no “s”) – but I digress. If you’re like me, these very valuable summaries are extremely helpful and efficient. With that in mind, I wanted to share three takeaways from…

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No Fluff. No Black Box. Just Actual Next Steps for Financial Advisors

Visual showing four elements that comprise elite advisor framework

You know those days, when you’re practically on autopilot as you delete, delete, delete your way through our inbox? Until it happens. A headline just grabs you. The sender is addressing a pain point you’ve been experiencing and, better yet, they’re offering practical guidance. Amazing! You click through to their website, somewhat-begrudgingly fill out the…

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