BCG Blog

Advisors may be hearing a lot from their clients right now. They may be hearing anything from panic to frustration to rage to dejection. So, with all that worry, what do clients most want their advisors to tell them? We did a round up of folks we know and trust and found the following themes.

Does your VPN may feel like a VPoff? In these extraordinary times, there’s so much that’s frustrating that must be abided, working from home shouldn’t be one of them. We’ve collected a few tips on how to make your work from home experience easier.

In a normal year, about 18% of Americans experience high levels of anxiety. In the Spring of 2020, 37% number of people reported high levels of anxiety and stress about the COVID-19 outbreak. How can financial advisors tailor their messages to be received most easily and absorbed by stressed readers?

While employees adjust to the new normal of social distancing, they may also be trying to adjust to the new normal of stock market volatility. Understanding how habituation works may help those employees to be savvy investors in the long run.

If families were saving for a rainy day, that day may have come regardless of what other relief may be coming. Plan Sponsors readying to change the hardship rules in their plan documents, or who may have recently done so, may want to consider how they can assist their employees during this time.

Anxious coworkers may get more anxious when they can work from home. With the liberty to check their retirement dashboards without other coworkers seeing and a highly volatile time in the stock markets, how can a Plan Sponsor help reduce some of the anxiety among employees at this difficult time?

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) increases its impact on our communities, we want to keep you updated on the steps we’re taking to protect the health and well-being of our employees while continuing to provide exceptional service to our partners as our top priorities.

Your clients may want to ask you something. In fact, your potential clients may want to ask you something. And yet you might never hear it. Why is talking about money so hard?

How Can you tune up your pitch to institutional clients without feedback? Strengthen the Emotional Intelligence of your team, know when you’re facing a stone, build opportunities for creativity in your team, and let current clients test drive your pitches.

With marketing, networking, and budget balancing tasks fighting for space in your Google calendar, you may feel that your time management skills need a tune up. Not so fast! Instead of managing your time, manage your attention.

As employers strive to offer more benefits to their employees, they may need to consider all the variables involved, including their own administrative capacities.

They may not be as cute as Baby Yoda, but digital pocket change apps may be just as appealing. Plan Sponsors may want to round out the information employees receive about them to make sure those apps rounding up purchases don’t leave employees broke or budgets broken.

Are Americans meeting savings goals for their retirement? More than 50% probably aren’t even close a new survey shows.

The lunch room is a great place to help employees learn financial literacy. How so? Simply add a Free Library to it and encourage employees to borrow a book. Here’s a list of a few great books to get started.

There will be around 10,000 people turning 65 each day for the next two decades. Those employees on the cusp of retirement may have different questions about retirement than their coworkers. While the questions may be important the framework for approaching them is more crucial.

Some estimates put the amount of employees who will need retraining in the immediate future at 54%. Your clients may be up to their elbows in figuring out reskilling programs. Here are some key points to learn about the reskilling trend.

Free is almost always good. So how can you use the free marketing of media coverage in newspapers, magazines, blogs, vlogs and podcasts to your advantage without slaving over a bunch of soon to be ignored press releases?

Want to avoid publishing marketing materials with glaring grammar mistakes? Here’s a review of common examples and a few tips.

While everyone else is planning their physical fitness reboot for 2020, employers and HR professionals may be wondering how they can improve employees financial fitness. Here are four ways to tackle financial education for your company in 2020.

It’s terrifying how little Americans have saved for emergencies. Will a relaxing of the hardship withdrawal rules by the IRS help or will it cause more leakage from retirement accounts?

How can an employer use the concept of cultural competency to ensure that their financial literacy programs hit the mark? Without cultural competency, an employer’s financial education programs may miss the mark and leave employees out.

How can you ready your business for growth? Here are solutions for addressing growth challenges in personnel, regulation and technology.

Multiple streams of income may seem like the American Dream: dollars dancing like sugar plum fairies in your head. To a lawyer, it’s something different: nightmarish compliance scenarios like mice in the nutcracker scattering everywhere.

With new titles like Chief Development Officer and Chief Growth Officer, it can be hard to know who to pitch to and who is a must not miss on a marketing invite. Here are a few insights about the newest members of the C-Suite.

Choosing the right clients, and how you decide to forgo those that aren’t for you, can ensure business success, even when it seems crazy to turn clients away. Here’s why.

Dig deeper into the Millennial insult "OK Boomer"and you’ll find that the emotions behind the snark belie legitimate retirement worries of a generation. Here's how financial advisors can use what they see in OK Boomer social media posts to answer those worries with their expertise.

Socially Responsible Investing now tops $30 million in AUM. Is Impact Investing catching up? Read on for details on a new survey in Impact Investing and how this may show a trend.

As open enrollment time for health care plans comes around again, employees may be confused about the role that a HSA can play in both their retirement. In fact they may be surprised at some of ways they can use an HSA.

Employees can do more than previous generations to make sure the kids in their life can afford college, and that means Aunties and Uncles too. There could even be tax benefits for setting aside extra for the little ones in their lives.

Plan Sponsors who conduct seminars for their employees may want to plan educational programs for the upcoming year on these top worries from their employees. Here are five suggestions.

Employees who are stressed about having appropriate skills for their jobs may take matters into their own hands to learn important skills. Plan sponsors can use these platforms to help their employees learn how to be just as savvy at planning for retirement as in cranking out field reports in SalesForce.

With the coverage of the continuing climate crisis increasing, so may be the calls for caution around products that consider themselves environmentally friendly. Employees may want to be just as wary of allegedly green investment funds.

Many employees may think investing in the stock market is too risky. If risk is an issue, why not explain risk management using the same tools your company uses?

Keeping up with technology for your financial advisory firm may feel like trying to keep tabs on your teenager. It’s more than watching trends. It’s about being able to see how trends in tech may pose a risk to your clients or their business.

Potentially risky microloans aren’t for all investors, but they may help some investors diversify their accounts and given the potential for consolidating (and getting out from under) credit card debt, they may also help a lot of middle class would-be borrowers.

Your firm can thwart ethics and compliance problems early on by encouraging employees to ask questions and spot potential problems early on through a compliance friendly environment.

While the U.S. news media seems steeped in the benefits of mindfulness and learning to concentrate or focus, maybe its time to hear the benefits of unfocusing for a little while.

In the wake of an unexpected separation, employees may be focused on their immediate major financial needs. Retirement planning is most likely the largest, but farthest from top of mind, for most couples. Yet, Plan Sponsors may be able to help with just a few tweaks to their EAP information.

There may be something deeper in the recent revival of interest in Bitcoin, and Plan Sponsors should take note.

For some advisors the last five years have been like a dust storm, obliterating any boundaries of where we’d come from. And where we had planned to go? How can you get back, and stick with, your own goals?

In late 2016 two female focused financial platforms faced off. One survived. How does that success help advisors understand financial feminism?

While you may wish that those rules would go up in a puff of smoke, you definitely don’t want the communications to disappear in 24 hours. That means when it comes to ephemeral communications you need to be on your toes.

Not too long ago the lawsuit pending against Anthem was settled for a remarkable $23.6 million figure. And while that amount may give plan sponsors pause, several other aspects of the case are worth noting. Here’s a deep dive into several parts of the lawsuit and settlement that can help plan sponsors.

Planning for an audit sounds like rooting for a root canal, but unlike unwanted dentistry, planning for a plan audit can significantly lessen the pain involved. Here we detail both IRS and DOL audit processes so you can be prepared.

Employees may want to treat retirement like their laundry: set it and forget it. But retirement, and any investing, isn’t as easy as lather, rinse, repeat. Here’s how plan sponsors can help employees appropriately use automatic investment tools.

Recent decisions and plea agreements between FINRA and financial advisor firms show that internal compliance controls are more important than ever. We’ve reviewed a few examples from the agency to give you a sense of how to avoid similar pitfalls.

A financial advisor may keep the doctor away. Two new studies show that financial advisors may play an important role in worker’s sense of well-being. Knowing the numbers may help you understand how to help your clients even more.

While many may be watching the market for the next signs of recession, it may be smart to also keep an eye on the courts. Here is a quick overview of what to keep in mind from the highest court for the Fall of 2019 on ERISA.

For those who work as advisors to plan sponsors, understanding how their benefit software may change is crucial to maintaining a good customer service. It’s also crucial to know when that benefit software may change. So, what’s new in benefit software?

Just like their attorney, advisors may have specific forms they prefer to use again and again, scripts work for making sure all points are covered in talking to new clients or in describing the risk of an investment. Similarly, scripts can work for ethical situations. Here’s how.

Not only are other options out there for communicating with your clients besides the boring PowerPoint slides but your competition may be using them. Here’s a run through of a handful of the best alternatives to Powerpoint and also how the other game in town can help you communicate with new audiences.

Can you name what you've built, won, earned, sold and mentored? Having your elevator pitch polished and ready may help in a chance encounter with a potential client, but brag sheet may help you be more flexible in presenting your experience to potential clients over the long term.

There’s plenty to love about IRAs. For some employees looking at an IRA may be the first step towards a larger, more robust retirement plan. For others, it may quench some fears around stock market stability which gets them started in investing.

Positivity can increase your immune system, reduce your risk of heart attack and possibly even lower your rate of depression. But, can such happy vibes be good for investing and retirement readiness?

If your company, like most relies on outside contractors, your employees scratching their heads about why the contractor’s get better benefits. Here’s a few tips on how to talk to employees about benefits.

Boosting employee engagement can sometimes come from new leadership or management. But it can also come without such a massive shake up. Your management can change their tune without throwing the band off the stage.

20% of Americans are missing out on an employer match in their retirement accounts. Read on for why that might be and what plan sponsors can do.

Employees are more willing ever to consider jumping ship for other opportunities. How can a plan sponsor keep up with an increasingly mobile workforce?

Benefits and perks are a major consideration in weighing job offers. Nearly 80% of those surveyed would take additional benefits over an increase in salary. Read on for more on benefits that capture recruit’s attention

So how does a plan sponsor beat news of overnight success stories to encourage saving for retirement? By using the same behavior that they want an employee to engage in: start small by using examples that are easy to digest.

After years of stagnant wages and industry shake ups, it seems like the economy has settled and your clients can pose for selfies as they float down easy river. So how do you get those clients to be ready for the next round of rapids?

With all eyes on the federal government’s various efforts at reforming the fiduciary rules for financial advisors and administrators, attention may have slipped from the States.

Clients are doing their homework more on potential advisors. So before you start that new push for more clients, make sure you can make it as easy as possible for clients to find the information they are searching for.

You don’t have to look too far to find the road to Wall Street littered with the shells of robo-investing platforms that just couldn’t make it. So if the algorithm has a case of the blues, what takes its place? A love of research-backed stories.

The newest buzzword in business lingo may already be baked in to your financial services. How can you show your clients you’ve been “future proofing” their investments all along?

Think hobbies are only important for work life balance? Think again. Research shows that learning new skills can help you advance your career. Aside from networking opportunities and potential referral sources, having a passion outside your job can make you better at it. Here's how.

In 2017, we wrote about how Investment Monitoring was a gaining prominence in financial advisory services. In the two years since that article, risk management and investment monitoring has become even more widespread. What’s changed?

The advice given to many about how to pay down debt or save for a specific event, like a wedding, anniversary vacation or new house, is to create separate savings accounts. But can you have too many accounts? Is there a price to pay other than marital harmony or peace of mind?

Just like you probably don’t need the fifth set of towels in the guest bathroom, employees may be holding onto investments or savings processes that are no longer needed. So how can plan sponsors help their employees spring clean their investment plan?

While most Plan Sponsors would think that creating tools that help employees see how their small indulgences add up, and usually add up to keeping them from saving, is helpful, there is a small contingent of voices arguing against that advice.

When it comes to money, children may learn more from by the actions we take than by the words we say. For parents working with a tight budget, whether in the short or long term, this can lead children to grow up with unwarranted concerns about money. How can plan sponsors help parents prevent that?

If the topic of retirement planning is slightly grim, how can a plan sponsor help employees learn to save, and learn to talk to each other about saving? Vacation planning might be a gateway into learning important aspects of saving for retirement.

Knowing where retirement planning happens may help advisors understand the hidden limits an investor or client is facing. Location may be everything if retirement planning happens at work.

A new DOL rule would allow multiple, smaller employers to band together to offer group retirement plans. To qualify the employers must have a common affiliation – they must operate in the same industry or trade or be companies with the same owner or be in the same geographic area such as a city or county.

Want to increase your email newsletter's open rate? Adding color may seem like a great option. But before you go tossing handfuls of brights across your page, you may want to stop and read a few key tips on color theory.

Recently, many institutional investors showed signs of tiring from the non-traditional investments like timber that seemed to mark the last five years. What’s causing the change?

Plan Sponsors can use the news about recent drops in life expectancy to help educate employees about the need for individualization in retirement planning.

Is it possible for plan sponsors to encourage retirement readiness in their employees by capturing some of the excitement about Marie Kondo? You bet! The Frugality and Minimalism trends can help employees overcome old beliefs about savings.

With access to financial information getting easier thanks to new and proposed regulations from the SEC, it may be worthwhile for employees to know where to look to find the best financial information about companies and funds.

Can Plan Sponsors use the news of government employees’ use of loans from retirement accounts as a backstop to unemployment to help employees understand their retirement options? Here are a few key points to borrowing from retirement accounts that employees may need information about.

The urge to get rid of student loans is constant and distracting, and probably a little sweaty. But employees look and listen before refinancing their student loans to make sure they end up with a better bargain.

Resilience has been a hot topic in parenting and work-life balance discussions lately and for good reason. Resilience helps employees face life stress without negative impact on productivity. Employees can be taught to build resilience and be more ready to face unexpected financial events without too heavy an impact on their retirement readiness.

Lately, it seems like most financial news seems to question conventional wisdom as often as they apply it. So, if it’s being questioned more often, is the wisdom even conventional anymore? Now more than ever, employees may need more individualized advice.

Childless couples may have different needs in retirement planning, the biggest of which may be not be treated like they won the lottery because they don’t, or can’t, have children.

Socially Responsible Investing, such as ESG Funds, continues to show strong performance. Here’s an update on how the SRI market has faired since our last post in 2017.

New studies show that Millenials (or Gen Z) are starting to treat the term capitalism negatively. How can advisors adjust their messaging and communications to avoid the negative feelings about capitalism?

Retirees with jobs in retirement may be a growing new trend. What do advisors need to know about the new trend of choosing a retirement job and how that impacts retirement savings?

With HSAs now a near must for many employees, clients may be asking questions about how best to offer HSAs and FSAs to their employees. Those clients may also wonder how HSAs interact with plan coverage.

Americans are, without a doubt, retiring later. Does that mean they now need less to money stashed away for retirement? Have Americans changed the tried and true standards for retirement readiness?

Burnout leads to terrible decisions. As they burn the candle at both ends, employees may be making financial decisions that are equivalent to lighting piles of money on fire. How can plan sponsors help?

With 1 in 3 Americans having less than $5000 in retirement, many will need to spend their later years catching up. What do employees need to know about IRS rules on setting aside extra savings in their fifties?

Want to find a new way to get ideas about retirement across to your employees? Try using examples from the movies to engage your employees on retirement readiness.

In 2018, California created new regulations that require greater diversity on corporate boards. How can advisors use these changes to increase collaboration and client contact? The key may be how boards may become more focused on company culture.

While they make for explosive interpersonal interactions, Presidential races may also cause concern among your clients about what impact a hotly contested presidential race might have on the stock market. It turns out those concerns are based in truth. Presidential elections do impact stock markets.

The key to finding the right people might be to focus more on how you find them and less on your job description or interview process. Letting go of what you’ve always tried and trying these ideas might help you find your client’s new favorite staff person.

as competition on advisor fees heats up a return to the basic business school principles of price setting might help ease stress and help create a workable plan to fill your pipeline of business prospects.

How can you help an employee bridge the gap from their current self who works hard and saves for retirement instead of eating out more often and their future, older retired self who gets to play with grandchildren? One method may be simply to communicate with the future self.

A new trend of working more than one job to cover rising health care costs or make up for stagnant wages has some employees nearing retirement asking how they should plan for retirement. Do they retire from everything?

It is the season to worry about a recession. Actually, many employees often worry constantly about recessions and the resulting uncertainty in their finances. Reducing worry in your employees, for whichever reason generates it, can help them continue to be productive.

Employees who may be in the eye of a personal storm, like divorce, death of a loved one, or other upheaval, may not recognize that their decision making is decreasing in effectiveness. And importantly, those life events often involve changes to retirement accounts.