In the world of finance, staying ahead of the curve isn't just about making smart investments or offering the best rates, it's about streamlining your operations to deliver top notch service efficiently. That's where technology and AI come into play, revolutionizing how financial institutions handle their backend operations. And here's the kicker - most of these tools are easy to adopt and have already passed muster with compliance teams, making them ready for immediate implementation.

Let's start with client onboarding - often the first impression a client has of your institution. Gone are the days of endless paperwork and time-consuming manual checks. With AI-powered tools, verifying a client's identity is now a matter of seconds, not days. Imagine a system that can instantly cross-reference multiple databases to confirm clients' identities while they sip their morning coffee. That's the power of AI in action, and many of these systems are designed with financial regulations in mind, making them compliance-friendly right out of the box.

In our ever-evolving financial landscape, it is imperative to prioritize financial education and ensure accessibility to savings for everyone, regardless of their background or income level. Saving at every stage of life is crucial, and it is never too early or late to start. By empowering younger generations to take charge of their financial futures, we can foster a more inclusive and equitable financial system.

Enter the Great Wealth Transfer: It is forecasted that an astounding $84 trillion to be transferred over the next two decades. But where will this wealth flow? A significant $11.9 trillion will be donated to charities, while $72.6 trillion in assets will be passed down to heirs.¹ This massive transfer of assets will profoundly impact younger generations—Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z— who have struggled with economic downturns, soaring college tuition, and sky-high housing costs. They are also the least financial savvy generations to date.

If you work with clients on financial planning, having insurance conversations to protect their assets as well as the plan are essential!  Most of us do a great job at detailing the importance of life insurance but many times, the disability insurance conversation gets left out.  This type of coverage is incredibly important to your working female clients. Why?

1. Women are significant contributors to the household income. 66% of women with children under 18 are either the primary breadwinners or part of a dual income household (i).  49% of women report being their family’s main breadwinner, an increase from 37% in 2000 (ii). It’s clear that a loss of income due to a disability would be detrimental to their ability to pay their bills as well as their overall long term financial plan.

Robin Woodell, founder of Emerald Financial Group, has been educating and assisting clients with financial wellness for over 18 years. Before embarking on her career in financial services, Robin lived her dream of becoming a professional opera singer. With a degree in education and Master’s in Vocal Performance, she traveled the world performing opera. After 8 years and a series of life changes, she left the performance world and found her new passion in financial planning and, soon after, created Emerald Financial Group.

Leah Williams had a vision: Create a financial advisory service tailored specifically for women. Her passion for helping people achieve financial independence was ignited, in part, by experiencing the loss of her brother and a challenging divorce. Leah understood firsthand the importance of financial planning in navigating life’s expected and unexpected events. She has been in the industry nearly 9 years, part of that time being spent training and mentoring new professionals.

“There are only four kinds of people in the world––those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

- Rosalynn Carter, Former First Lady of the United States

As professionals in the financial services industry, where challenges are the norm and uncertainties abound, we know the impact ‘mindset’ can have on us and the people we lead. A positive mindset is an invaluable asset, but it isn’t necessarily something we are taught to develop. I practice several strategies to help cultivate my own positivity and put myself, as I call it, “in the place of what is possible.”

Finding the good during challenging times.

In building wealth, a topic that many don’t spend enough time on is learning how to protect the very wealth they are creating. Weather forecasts are looked on to let all of us know when rainy days are moving in. During times like these, most people grab an umbrella before heading out for the day. These same sensibilities apply around managing life’s financial uncertainties.  

While most people have car and home insurance, a question to ask is whether a person also has the insurance protection they may need if they themselves or someone in their household caused a major accident or someone was severely injured in their home or car?

Throughout my career in practice and management, I've collaborated with Agents and Financial Advisors to enhance their businesses. Many, if not all, have lamented the struggle of having too much on their plate and too little time to manage it all effectively. Time management stands as one of the pivotal aspects of running a successful business, and it's particularly crucial for business owners who must accomplish more within the constraints of limited time.

Across human history, the number three has held significant symbolism. I propose that every business can be dissected into three major components.

We want to unlock the potential because a lot of financial advisors are unaware of the tremendous effects the 7702 changes had on cash value life insurance products issued on or after January 1, 2021. Statistics show that tax planning is a high priority for your clients, yet few advisors are having these conversations. Until now.

7702 Changes

Galentine’s Day, traditionally observed on February 13th is a day dedicated to celebrating the bond between female friends. While it’s typically associated with informal gatherings among girlfriends, it’s also a perfect opportunity to foster camaraderie, encourage support, strengthen connections, and cultivate friendship among colleagues. Here are some creative and empowering Galentine’s Day event ideas for the workplace:

Lunch Potluck with a Twist: Encourage colleagues to bring their favorite dish to share with the team. To make it more exciting, organize a “recipe swap” where employees can exchange their recipes along with a short story about why it’s their favorite. This not only builds a sense of community but also opens the door for interesting conversations.

I officially started in the financial services industry in May of 2022 when I joined my father’s firm, Premier Planning Group. As a second-generation financial professional, my journey to this career has been deeply rooted in community. I grew up listening to my dad talk about his work at the kitchen table and I met his partners and clients at conferences, social events and throughout my local community. I witnessed the support of his colleagues in the business. As I considered the possibility of financial services as a career, I learned from an early age that this profession is about people—the people you help, the people who help you, and the power of community.

That power of community—and, specifically, of intentionally building a strong community—has never been more valuable now that I’m a young financial professional launching my career.  I am amazed at the opportunities this role provides to reach out and make real connections. In addition to working with some of the younger family members of my dad’s clients, I’m also responsible for creating my own book of business. I find incredible satisfaction from forming a solid, meaningful connection with people who are at the beginning of their journey, as I help them make sound financial decisions that will impact their future. I’m honored to include those clients as part of my community—but they’re not the only part.

We can always be certain of one thing regarding taxes: changes will happen. This is so even though stability of the tax rules would likely be one of the most significant factors in fostering a robust economic environment. Tax legislation is a patchwork quilt reflecting the government’s often conflicting needs to raise revenue, promote fairness, enforce compliance by reluctant or evasive taxpayers, enable voluntary compliance by the willing taxpayers, stimulate favorable behavior, promote political ideology and implement public policy. The political climate is ever-changing, and with it, tax laws evolve and change.

With the dawn of 2024, we are inching closer to December 31, 2025, at which time most of the provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will sunset. Of course, Congress could act in the meantime, but absent any specific relief, many tax rules will revert to their 2017 versions. Of particular note are the following:

Most older generations believe that a millennial is a 21-year-old living in their parents’ basement trying to figure out a career path. As shocking as it might be, the oldest millennial is turning 42 this year and the youngest is turning 27. A good portion of my peers and I fall in the younger Generation X and older millennial generations.

The challenges those of my generation faced now and in the past five years have been unique and uncharted territory to the older generations. The conversations I have with my own clients are topics I never saw being a priority the past few years. Coming out of the pandemic, the two largest concerns are how can I spend more time with my family and how can I pursue my entrepreneur dreams?

American Business icon T. Boone Pickens once said, “A fool with a plan can outsmart a genius with no plan.” There’s a lot of truth–and irony-in Pickens’ often quoted perspective of the business planning process! The truth is that business planning is the glue that ties your business goals to your purpose. It’s the vehicle that helps you to think through the process of cause and effect. The irony is that too many companies have a plan but tend to sidestep the strategy markers deemed critically important to successfully execute on their plan. 

I believe that business owners must have a growth mindset and be willing to upset the status quo. If they are not willing or ready to review every part of the organization – the people, the processes, and the structure – with a critical eye, the opportunity for real change and projected outcomes will be muted, at best. 

If you peruse the collection of professional attire in my closet you will find- naturally organized in rainbow color order- a number of bright pink, floral, and sparkly things. There are neon blazers, polka dot dresses, and sweaters with ruffles and shiny buttons. I have no shame. I own so many dresses that I could wear a new dress every day for 68 business days without repeating. You will find a blue skirt with tigers and a red shirt with small white hot air balloons. I think it's fun.

But it's taken a long time, the weathering of some sexist remarks, and the encouragement from women who paved the way before me to develop the confidence to bring my feminine style into an industry dominated by white men in white shirts and blue suits.

Success is frequently misconceived as a straight line to an end result that everyone agrees upon. In reality, defining it can be a complex equation that is highly subjective. With a learning mindset, so much valuable growth can occur while traversing those twists and turns. As an achiever, the tendency is to seek out that next specific accomplishment as the defining memento of success. The challenge here is that so many final outcomes are simply out of my control. 

I recently finished "The Gap and the Gain" by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy, and it's paradigm-shifting. The concept is to measure backward to reflect on where you started and how far you've progressed. Ideals are effective motivators to drive us forward, and they can likewise be the weights that pull us down from a level of happiness that yes, we CAN and should enjoy. We grow, achieve, promote, etc., at different rates. It's empowering to know that at every given moment, we can choose to honor the successes that we've already earned and that are unique to each of us. Thought for the day: focus on the gain (measure backward) and not the gap. #empowered #personaldevelopment #thegain #driven #foodforthought #tangiblesuccess

You have lunch with your top client’s tax advisor. You brainstorm ways to create a better experience for your mutual clients and exchange meaningful information.

The tax advisor is so excited about your value proposition they give you several referrals. Sound like fantasy? With a little insight, this can be reality. Bonus – you get to write off lunch!

While reading The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday on a flight this morning, I was struck by this profound quote: "The path of least resistance is a terrible teacher." Think about that one for a moment. It's easy to believe that discomfort=wrong direction.

Can that sometimes apply? Of course. But if we live our lives fighting all discomfort and hiding behind a mantra that success and achievement should be painless, then we really can't expect to make substantial leaps forward.