Financial advisors often promote their services by saying that they can help remove emotions from investing. In theory, advisors can use a variety of risk management tools, knowledge of capital markets, and long-term investing perspectives to help their clients avoid making costly knee jerk reactions.

Brexit is just one example, but it can be a powerful case study for advisors seeking to help clients understand why emotions should be curtailed by financial professionals who are armed with capital markets expertise.

In the months leading up to the Brexit referendum, markets climbed and declined in response to changing expectations for how the country’s citizens would vote. In the final days before the vote, investor sentiment strengthened as pundits increasingly said a vote in favor of the U.K. pulling out of the European Union was unlikely.

Many investors had previously feared that Brexit would hinder economic growth in Europe and create a challenging environment for U.S. companies and business in other countries that sell products in the continent.

Indeed, Brexit is likely to mean that U.K. will have to forge new trade agreements with individual members of the European Union and is likely to have to do the same with U.S. exporters.

When the Brexit referendum surprisingly determined that voters want to leave the U.K., panic ensured. On June 24, when the results were released, U.S. equities dropped approximately 3%. It was the worst single-day decline for the S&P 500 in nearly a year and wiped away the index’s gain for 2016, according CNBC.

By the end of June 27, the index had dropped 4.07%. The decline, however, was only temporary. Indeed, during the last three days of June, the S&P climbed 4.95% and, as of July 8, had generated a total return of 4.21% year-to-date.

Investors who panicked by selling in the days immediately after Brexit are likely to have sold during a dip, only to miss the strong returns when equities bounced back. With that in mind, advisors should explain to their clients that panic selling often results in selling low and then missing out on the strong returns that typically follow market dips.

They should explain, furthermore, that using portfolio diversification to cushion declines, maintaining a long-term perspective, and understanding the role of corporate fundamentals can go a long way in helping investors avoid panic selling.

Advisors should develop illustrations that show how having a mix of asset classes could have reduced the impact upon a portfolio of the post-Brexit market decline and that portfolio rebalancing may have resulted in buying equities during the market dip.

They should also show index performance numbers that illustrate how riding out historical market declines, including the correction associated with the Great Recession, would have allowed investors to recoup losses and then eventually achieve additional gains.

Finally, advisors should point out that corporate fundamentals don’t justify a major prolonged market correction. While overall corporate earnings in the U.S. have taken a hit due to cheap oil, many industries, such as Information Technology, are experiencing strong sales and improving profits.

Innovation, meanwhile, is allowing companies like Amazon.com and Netflix to rapidly grow their earnings by disrupting traditional business models with technology. At the same time, corporations are holding near record levels of cash, which is allowing them to buy back stock, launch dividends, and conduct mergers and acquisitions at near record levels.

All of those actions provide additional support to stock prices. The U.S. economy is also likely to support corporate fundamentals. While U.S. economic growth has been slow, many developments are encouraging, with the labor market strengthening, real estate values increasing, and consumers’ finances improving.

Collecting Social Security early can help retirees assess how much they can spend because the payments are consistent. So reports Wealth Management.

Also, proponents of waiting typically point to the 8% payment increase you get for delaying the payments. However, the nominal annualized reture when waiting a year is less than 8% and retirees will miss out on a full year of payments. 

Lastly, collecting Social Security may be more attractive than withdrawing money from an IRA when considering taxes.

Read the full article from Wealth Management.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently awarded a whistleblower $3 million for information that helped the regulator crack a complex case of fraud. So reports ThinkAdvisor. The program was established more than three years ago and has paid out more than $50 million to whistleblowers.

Read the full article from Think Advisor.

Robert Renshaw has joined Edison, N.J.-based Fountainhead Capital Management as senior financial strategist. So reports TapintoEdison.

Fountainhead Managing Partner Marc Rock says Renshaw’s strength involves understanding each client’s unique circumstances and partnering with the appropriate team members to create customized strategies.

Read the full release from TapintoEdison.

2020 was a memorable year for many Bitcoin investors. However, Sean Williams of The Motley Fool, says these three “high-powered growth stocks” are poised to leave Bitcoin in the dust in 2021.

• Sea Limited (NYSE: SE): this Singapore-based company has seen its shares quintuple in the last year, but Williams say it is just getting started. Williams points to Shopee, Sea’s online shopping platform. He also noted Sea’s financial services sector.
• Jushi Holdings (OTC: JUSHF): this is marijuana stock has a strategy that allows it to build up its brand with minimal competition. Williams also points out that the Jushi execs have a lot of skin in the game.
• Fastly (NYSE: FSLY): this edge cloud services provider helps speed up and secure “the process by which content reaches end users.” Williams says that despite it being up 422% last year, as of publication of the article, it “looks to be in the very early stages of its growth.”

Learn more about these stocks and Williams’ thoughts by reading the full article from The Motley Fool. Williams has no position in any stocks or cryptocurrencies mention in this article. The Motley Fool, however, does own shares in all three stocks and recommends them. It does not own any cryptocurrencies mentioned.

E*TRADE Financial announced results from the most recent wave of StreetWise, its quarterly tracking study of experienced investors. In this study, respondents reflected on their 2020 investing decisions.

Highlights of the survey include:

• The vast majority are satisfied with their portfolio management. Interestingly, 71% of investors are satisfied with how they managed their investments this year.
• Most investors are steadfast in their long-term plan. In 2020, the top financial lesson investors learned was to stay the course (50%). This was distantly followed by focusing on strategic market moves (19%) and saving for an emergency fund (15%).
• Digital tools and human advice are not either/or. As the year comes to a close, the number one move self-directed investors plan to make is to use an online tool to review their portfolio (38%), followed by reaching out to an advisor (35%). Further, investors’ top financial resolution for 2021 is to use online tools to diversify their portfolio and help meet goals (33%), followed by seeking the help of an investment professional (30%).

“The year kicked off with a market shock that may define a generation in COVID-19, and as a nation we then experienced a social movement of monumental proportions in the fight for equality, only to cap the year with the most contentious election in modern history,” said Mike Loewengart, Managing Director of Investment Strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “And these next few months may continue to see pronounced volatility as markets balance winter virus woes with vaccine developments. In spite all of this, it’s encouraging to see investors tune out the noise and remain focused on long-term investment goals.”

Read the full press release from E*TRADE Financial.

While the economy still has some significant hurdles to overcome, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke past the 30,000 point mark recently. Mark Teed, an FA with Raymond James, says the market “continues to look promising” after positive COVID-19 vaccine news and the transition to the Joe Biden administration gets underway. So reports WWLP.

“With the election over, we now know what the next four years is going to look like,” Teed said, according to the article. “What it’s telling us is that next year is going to be really good. It’s starting to discount in every area, every single sector is going up.”

Teed is “optimistic” the Dow could got much higher heading into the new year.

Read the full article from WWLP.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida has forecast that the hit to the U.S. economy from the coronavirus pandemic could last for years. So reports The Hill.

In a speech, Clarida said U.S. gross domestic product probably won’t return to its 2019 high watermark for a year and the unemployment rate will not reach its pre-COVID-19 low even then.

Clarida added that more fiscal stimulus is likely necessary.

Read the full article from The Hill.

Christopher Stanton Georgia, 53, a regional portfolio manager with BB&T, was arrested on charges related to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. He plead not guilty to charges of attempting to unlawfully enter the Capitol and breaking the city’s curfew. So reports Forbes.

Georgia later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.

BB&T is a bank holding company that merged with SunTrust in 2019. Together, they’re known as Truist Financial.

Read the full article from Forbes.

Following the ransacking of the Capitol, which included the murder of a police officer, on January 6, 2021, RIA Biz shared the reactions from RIA business leaders around the country.

Here is some of what they said:

• Aaron Klein, CEO of Riskalyze, tweeted that its “extraordinarily clear” the events were “acts of domestic terrorism.”
• Ron Rhoades, a fiduciary advocate based in Kentucky, shared a quote from Abraham Lincoln: “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
• RIA Alex Chalekian, wrote that he’s “never felt like I lived in a 3rd world country... but here we are.”
• Carolyn McClanahan, principal at Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville tweeted: "Dear @RepRutherfordFL - how is law and order going for you now? I'm furious. This is not America. Impeach Trump tonight. You are going to face a reckoning at home for not standing up to this treasonous president. You too @marcorubio @SenRickScott"
• James Osborne, principal of Bason Asset Management, said President Trump is a “goddam disgrace” and asked, in a separate tweet “"Why isn't every single one of these people in jail?"

Read the full article from RIA Biz.

It is no secret that Warren Buffett, the oracle of Omaha, is not a fan of bitcoin. Yet, the cryptocurrency surged from $17,500 on December 11 o $29,500 on December 31. So reports the USA Herald.

Despite all this, Buffet has characterized Bitcoin as “a rat poison squared” and said it will result in a “bad ending.” He dislikes Bitcoin because it doesn’t create anything.

“When you’re buying non-productive assets all you’re counting on is the next person is going to pay you more because they’re even more excited about another next person coming along,” Buffett said. “Bitcoin itself is creating no value at all.”

Many billionaires and investors do not agree with Buffett. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who is the second richest man in Mexico, characterizes Bitcoin as his best investment. Billionaire venture capitalist expects Bitcoin to rocket to $1 million per coin in the next 20 years.

Read the full article from the USA Herald.

Franklin Templeton announced the introduction of Tango, a turnkey roboadvisor designed to empower advisors to provide personalized, goals-based wealth management at scale.

The solution is a collaboration between three industry leaders—Franklin Templeton, Bambu, and Apex Clearing. Franklin Templeton provides the personalized, goals-based portfolio management advice to advisors through its proprietary Goals Optimization Engine. Bambu's white-label platform is the digital solution for clients and advisors, while Apex facilitates trading and custody through its modern back-end platform built for safety, scale and speed.

“Tango is a single solution built on the expertise of three partners, each providing a unique offering for advisors, and it is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts,” said Harshendu Bindal, director of Digital Strategy and Wealth Management for Franklin Templeton. “As the industry continues to move towards digital platforms and technology-based services, investors increasingly expect a seamless digital experience. Tango will give advisors the ability to focus on growing their client relationships with professional management, personalized to their client’s specific goals, without the demands of increased back-office responsibilities or up front charges that are typical of many robo platforms.”

Read the full press release.

There are three things financial advisors can do to outperform the competition. So reports Financial Advisor Magazine.

They include:

• Proper Pricing: Don’t offer discounts because proper pricing is the most critical tool you have. You need to be compensated properly for the value you provide. That’s why you need to have a pricing model that includes flat fees and other non-asset-based fees. This way you are protected in volatile markets.
• Focus on the Future: Have a plan to bring in new clients. This can include seminars, educational events and other events that showcase you as an industry leader.
• Building Your Team: “The RIAs that hire with high-performance individuals in mind and focus on members that can pull their own weight put themselves at an advantage,” according to the article. “It's essential to be selective when hiring for the sake of overhead and team performance.”

Read the full article from Financial Advisor Magazine.

Millennial investors and those from Gen Y are looking for financial advisors to broaden the scope of their conversations. Doing so can help deepen trust and increase satisfaction. So reports the National Association of Plan Advisors. 

The finding comes from a new report, entitled Future of Client-Advisor Relationships, from AIG Life & Retirement and the MIT AgeLab. The study is based on a survey of more than 2,000 people ages 30 and 75. 

https://www.lifeandretirement.aig.com/financial-professionals/mit-age-lab-study
In addition to traditional topics related to financial and retirement advice, investors are looking to engage advisors about their career, health, future care, housing, and identity protection.

Read the full article from the National Association of Plan Advisors.

The coronavirus has caused a lot of changes, including the way FAs communicate with clients. And, some of those changes may be permanent. So reports Think Advisor.

In fact 57% of investors noted in a recent poll that communications with their advisor has changed, and 62% say they would keep at least some of the new methods after the pandemic ends. Those new methods include phone calls, emails, video chats, text messages, social media, snail mail and even in-person.

Read the full article from Think Advisor.

Do you have more work than you can handle? Need to hire staff to help? U.S. News & World Report has some tips for you.

Meredith Moore, founder and CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies, said she realized she needed to hire a junior advisor who could work with clients who didn't fit her ideal profile. However, she needed an advisor that had an outlook that aligned with her own. 

Instead of simply placing a help wanted advertisement, she created a paid one-year intensive class focused on practice management. The class had strict rules on attendance and assignments. Candidates had to watch videos, listen to podcasts, and other work that required hours of study. 

Moore also didn’t require the candidate to bring over a big book of business. Instead, she split her cases with him. "There is a misconception that AUM means everything when considering hiring advisors, but actually there are other qualities that often outweigh the importance of AUM," says Ryan Shanks, co-founder and CEO of FA Match, according to the article. 

Shanks also said that hiring a newer advisor gives a firm the opportunity to better mold the individual when it comes to a firm’s culture and when dealing with clients. 

Stoy Hall, for his part, knew he needed to hire two junior advisors. Hall is the executive director and senior wealth advisor at Centric Wealth. He found one junio advisor while speaking on a college campus and the other via LinkedIn after a correspondence over a period of time.

He says that hiring can be difficult. “I learned that not everyone is fit for this industry,” he said, according to the article. “Some people need to experience the corporate side over the independent side." He also said that not everyone is cut out to be in an advisory role, but that doesn’t mean they might not be valuable to your firm. Therefore, advisors should consider what non-advisory roles someone may be able to fill if they seem like they can bring value to a firm.

Other places, like Wambolt & Associates Wealth Management Partners, operate an internship program with the goal of identifying college students close to graduation who may make good hires later on.

Read the full article from U.S. News & World Report.