2017’s Biggest Practice Management Issues
December 28, 2017 | Grace Williams | Financial Advisor IQ
It’s been a memorable year for every industry but for financial advising in particular, top-of-mind issues kept advisors on their toes. Whether advisors were waiting on the seemingly never-gonna-happen advent of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, watching the insanely bull market keep rolling, or weathering client expectations, the art of practice management threw them some zingers during this past year.
Advisors face a mixed bag of dilemmas surrounding hot-button topics over the turn of any calendar year. When handled well, these moments allow FAs the chance to reassure clients that they’re abreast of the topics and able to help manage them through the situations at hand. Additional kudos occur when FAs can demonstrate that they share the same concerns as their clients, and that they want to provide top-notch services for them. But, let’s be honest: We all know that when the phone rings and it’s a client on the other end of the line, putting it all together isn’t always so simple.
Take, for instance, the DOL rule. When first introduced, the rule sent ripples through the industry as it decreed advisors must prove they are working on their clients’ best interest rather than their own. Despite revisions in the aftermath of its introduction, the ruling loomed large as one of the top issues advisors faced at the end of last year. Yet for all its attention-gathering steam, advisors and investors waited and watched as the proposed ruling went from one of the hottest topics that needed addressing to a dormant, ice-cold afterthought.
