The blog
Articles & insights
Dan Solin on investing, advisor marketing and turning prospects into clients. Page 17.
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Apr 19, 2017Keep It Simple
What's the first secret of investing? It's simple. That's the secret. Simple!
Apr 17, 2017What the All-Knowing Advisor Doesn’t Know
Try incorporating this phrase into your conversations, where appropriate: “I don’t know.” It will enhance your likeability and improve your conversion rate.
Apr 12, 2017Syria, North Korea and Your Investments
Fear and anxiety are good for its business. It increases viewership. More viewers mean more revenue. Consequently, its incentivized to stoke your anxiety and encourage you to “do something” as a reaction to these uncertain times.An endless parade of smug pundits offer their (often contradictory) views on how investors should react to recent events in Syria and the looming crisis in North Korea.
Apr 10, 2017Why Conferences are a Big Charade (and how to fix them)
The basic premise of conferences is flawed. Attendees focus on the quality of the speakers and feed the myth that more charismatic speakers will contribute to a more productive conference.
Apr 5, 2017Your 401(k) Is A National Disgrace
The primary beneficiaries of 401(k) plans are advisors, record keepers and (most of all) mutual fund companies. The well-being of hapless employees is relegated to last place.
Apr 3, 2017My $50 Million Mistake
The more data you provide to someone with a pre-existing belief, the more likely they are to align themselves with their belief.
Mar 29, 2017A Trauma Nurse Is Traumatized
It’s ironic that these worthy members of our society are relegated to retirement plans with choices that are even worse than the investment options in the typical 401(k) plan.
Mar 27, 2017NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Has the X Factor
Many advisors ask me how they can emulate the conduct of advisors with the X factor. It’s a challenging question. I recently found it in an unlikely source: The commissioner of the National Basketball Association, Adam Silver.
Mar 22, 2017Ten Headlines You'll Never See in the Financial Media
It would be great if the financial media conveyed useful information to investors. If it did, you'd see headlines like these
Mar 20, 2017Why it’s So Hard – and So Important – to Empathize with Prospects
I always pose this question in training sessions: Can you describe how the prospect feels when coming to your office?
Mar 15, 2017Dead Right
There’s a way to vastly improve your returns, but it’s not very palatable: Die and don’t tell anyone about your account.
Mar 13, 2017Less is More When Meeting with Prospects
Prospects are searching for simple solutions. But we convey the impression that selecting the right advisor is intricate and complex. What’s likely to happen?
Mar 8, 2017Avoid the Lure of IPOs
The financial media was in a frenzy with news of Snapchat’s initial public offering. Who wouldn’t want a piece of those gains?
Mar 6, 2017How to Instantly Engage a Prospect
When people are responding to a question, their brains are completely engaged.
Mar 2, 2017Learn From The Mistakes of the Big Boys
The next time your broker recommends an actively managed mutual fund, show him or her these studies and ask this question...
Feb 27, 2017The Secret to the 10-Minute (or Less) Keynote Presentation
When I used to give longer presentations, I noted high engagement at the beginning of my talk, which tapered after 10 minutes or so.
Feb 22, 2017The One Question Every Broker Dreads
Here’s what’s likely to happen: You’ll never get one. The broker will have a lot of excuses (like “my compliance department won’t let me”), but the real reason for dodging this question is because the answer is devastating to the business model of brokers. They understand that, if you knew the data, you wouldn’t own any actively managed mutual funds
Feb 21, 2017The Downside of Excessive Caution
Here’s a quote attributed to Tacitus, a senator and historian of the Roman Empire: “The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.
Feb 16, 2017The Demise of the Fiduciary Rule is a Bonanza for Advisors
If the fiduciary rule is implemented, every advisor to a retirement plan would be a fiduciary.
Feb 16, 2017Straight Talk About Investor Protection
It’s actually quite simple to protect yourself from an industry known for questionable ethics, illegal conduct, and unbridled greed.
Feb 9, 2017Non-Traded REITs: Great For Your Broker
Brokers make a killing selling non-traded REITs. According to Investopedia, “front-end fees can be as much as 15%, much higher than a traded REIT due to its limited secondary market.” You can only imagine the enthusiasm brokers have for including these products in retirement plans and peddling them to gullible plan participants and individual investors.
Feb 8, 2017A Way To Really Add Value
I used to think end-of-life discussions were fairly straightforward. All that was involved was ensuring my clients had a will and a health care proxy.
Feb 1, 2017A Foolproof Way to Engage Prospects
Nothing is more important than establishing a meaningful connection with a prospect, when it comes to converting someone to a client.
Feb 1, 2017Non-transparent ETFs: For Clueless Investors Only
A non-transparent exchange-traded fund is an ETF that only reveals its holdings quarterly. Avoid them.