🐄 Don't Have a Cow, Man

Have you hugged a cow today?

Cow cuddling sessions are going viral on social media. The trend involves people who pay farmers in exchange for a snuggle or two with their animals. 

But cuddlers, beware. There's a new warning in town.

A rampant case of bird flu is spreading amongst dairy farms and has been confirmed in cows in nine different states.

Your best bet? Get your cuddle fix at a cat cafe instead.

- Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇

• Tips to make it into the $100M club

• The impacts of "gray divorce" on women

• Quick tips to manage all those open tabs

💰 Chasing the $100M Goal

Managing $100M of client assets is a game-changing milestone. It takes a ton of hard work, grit, and perseverance to get there.

In today's world, there are a number of factors that could make it easy for younger generation advisors to hit that target. Here are some stats from a recent FA Mag piece:

• Almost 40% of financial advisors, who collectively control around $10.4T in assets, are expected to retire in the next decade.

• By the end of this year, an average of 11,000 Americans will turn 65 each day.

• Roughly 90% of advisors who enter the industry don't make it more than three years.

While those are some promising figures, no one's going to hand you $100M of client assets on a silver platter.

Keep these tips in mind as you set your $100M Club goals:

👉  There's also only so many meaningful connections one person can make. Research shows we max out at around 150. Going beyond that could actually stunt your business growth and hurt existing relationships. 

Instead of trying to build wealth by bringing in more clients, find ways to maximize wealth opportunities for current clients.

👉 With so many advisors retiring, an opportunity to inherit a portfolio might come your way.

Retirees and those close to retirement may be skeptical to trust a less experienced advisor, but don't let imposter syndrome get the best of you.

Spend time building trust with older clients and show them they're in good hands. You know what you’re doing.

👉 The busier you are, the less time you'll have to do everything. Outsourcing tasks is a must for leveling up your game.

Things like research, compliance, and marketing take time away from prospecting and relationship management. Get help where you can.

If you're in a firm that provides these resources, make sure you're leveraging them. If not, expand your network and connect with others in areas where you need help. 

It won't happen overnight, but if you play your cards right and ride this incoming retirement wave, you'll be well on your way to $100M. 🙌

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Survey: Just 4% of Current Retirees Say They're ‘Living the Dream' [CNBC]

• Federal Student Loan Interest Rates Set to be Highest in Over 10Y [MW]

• Mortgage Rates Drop for the First Time in 5 Weeks [Y!]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• Fed President Says Rate Cuts May Not Come in 2024 [FOX]

• Recession-proof Stocks are Leading the Market's Latest Pop [Y!]

• Jobless Claims Jump to Highest Level in 9 Months [MW]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• IRS Drafts Foreign Gift and Trust Reporting Changes [TA]

• Study: Retirement ‘Fluency’ Linked to Retirement Confidence [INN]

• Wall Street Has Culled Some 1,000 Mutual Funds in Past Decade [AH]

💔 "Gray Divorce" Carries Risks for Women

Breaking up is hard to do, and it could be even harder for older women.

Gray divorce, a term used to describe divorces at age 50 or older, is on the rise. Let's take a look at some stats: 

• Between 1990 and 2019, the rate of gray divorce doubled. 

• Divorces at the age of 65 or older tripled in that same timeframe. 

• Back in 1970, only 8% of adults 50 and older were divorced. By 2019, that number jumped to 36%.

• Roughly 1 in 9 people who got divorced in 2019 were at least 65 years old.

Gray divorce could be especially risky for women in heterosexual relationships. 

➡️ Women in the gray divorce age group often come from a more traditional form of marriage. Women stayed home with the kids while men were the sole breadwinners. 

When these couples divorce, many women find themselves without any financial independence.

➡️ Women also tend to earn less than men due to a persistent wage gap, which could put them at a further disadvantage.

Your female clients may not be in the midst of a gray divorce, but it doesn't hurt to help educate them on the potential fallout. 

Give them these tips to help them protect themselves financially:

⏩ Stay active in your household finances. Women should be familiar with their family's savings and investment accounts, as well as mortgage payments and current interest rates. Even if their partner handles all financial matters, they should have a seat at the table and be a decision maker.

⏩ Have access to your own money. It's common for couples to combine their finances in a marriage, especially older generations. However, whoever controls the money could shut off the other’s access, leaving them scrambling. Encourage women to have their own bank accounts. 

⏩ Set aside some alimony. If alimony is a part of a female client's divorce, encourage them to save some. Alimony payments aren't forever, so they'll want to stretch those dollars as far as possible. Women may also need to consider some lifestyle changes to save money.

⏩ Consider a prenup. You don't need to be a millionaire for a prenup to make sense. Prenuptial agreements spell out key financial rules that come into play in the event of a divorce. Women in a full-time caretaker role can leverage this tool to avoid financial hardship should things go south.

To end on a positive note, the study found that divorce rates among younger couples have declined. Love is still in the air. 😍

🗓️ Event of the Week

Power Hour: Wednesday at 12pm ET / 9am PT

This week’s Power Hour features special guest Michael Bresler, who is considered one of the top thought leaders around AI and its influence on business and markets.

Come discover the role AI is playing in financial services, and 3 things every financial advisor needs to know!

👉️ Click to register for free!

🤖 Tech Tip

So many browser tabs, so little time! 

Manage your open tabs with these tips (these work on all the popular browsers):

• To close the browser tab you're currently viewing, Hit Ctrl + W (Windows) or Cmd + W (Mac).

• Close a tab by accident? Use Ctrl + Shift + T (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + T (Mac) to bring it back to life.

• Scroll through your open tabs by using Ctrl + Tab (both Windows and Mac). To go in the opposite direction, hold down the Shift key.

✌️Good Vibes

One recent morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis spotted a homeless man sitting on a nearby corner.

Out of the goodness of his heart, Ellis approached the man and offered him a dollar.

However, to Ellis' surprise, the man wasn't homeless. Not only that, he was a successful businessman.

The man turned out to be Matt Busbice, a developer of several outdoor brands worth more than a total of $100M!

Busbice was so touched by Ellis' gesture that he decided to treat him to some goodies at a local coffee shop, followed by a 40-second shopping spree at one of his sporting goods stores.

When you pay it forward, anything can happen! 🤩🙏 

Sharing looks good on you.

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Plus, you earn rewards. Sweet.