Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” – this week’s edition kicks off with the news that CFP Board this week released a checklist of ethics guidelines for the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. The guide notes the promise of AI-powered tools for a variety of functions, including generating meeting summaries and ideas for public-facing content, but warns against reliance on these tools for work that requires a reasonable understanding of assumptions and outcomes (e.g., developing recommendations for clients) given the chance of mistakes or ‘hallucinations’ by AI tools, suggesting that advisors who take a systematic approach towards the use of generative AI (e.g., by establishing firm-wide policies for its use) could benefit from the efficiencies and creative power that can come from these tools while ensuring the accuracy and security of client data!
Also in industry news this week:
- The Department of Labor’s (DoL) Retirement Security Rule remains in limbo as the Trump administration has been granted time by a court to decide on its approach to the Biden-era rule
- The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is back in effect (at least for now), with a deadline of March 21 for affected businesses (including some RIAs) to file the required Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report
From there, we have several articles on retirement planning:
- How advisors can help hesitant retired clients spend more by transforming portfolio assets into regular income streams
- How stress testing retirement plans (and leveraging flexible income strategies) can help build client confidence to spend more in retirement
- While sequence of return is often a focus of advisors and clients alike, a positive sequence of returns can allow clients to increase their retirement income over time
We also have a number of articles on client conversations:
- Why a combination of open- and closed-ended questions can help advisors explore clients’ goals and pain points as well as focus them on potential planning solutions
- How advisors can reframe client questions to unearth hidden assumptions and expand the range of planning possibilities available to them
- A scorecard that can be used to assess an advisor’s ability to make clients feel understood during planning conversations
We wrap up with three final articles, all about interpersonal communication:
- Why asking for “advice” rather than “feedback” can provide more actionable information for those looking to improve their performance
- Six (and a half) components that make up a good apology, from taking accountability head-on to identifying ways to ensure the subject of the apology doesn’t occur again
- How honesty, credibility, and sincerity are at the heart of the best compliments, which can boost workplace productivity and relationship quality
Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!
