Whether it’s something straightforward (“Should my client set up a Simple IRA or a 401(k)?”) or an issue that’s more involved (“Now that the business has grown, should we implement a non-qualified executive benefit plan?”), non-specialist advisors need the expertise to address these questions and help walk their retirement plan clients through their choices with meaningful information.
For generalist financial advisors across the industry, the lessons of late 2018 are clear: Scrambling through the retirement plan “busy season” each year increasingly raises the risks of underserving retirement plan clients. In the process, this creates openings for competing financial advisors to swoop in and take not just the plan business, but the advisory relationship with the business owner as well.
Paul Lofties is senior vice president and head of wealth management at Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services, and Doug Baxley is vice president of retirement and fiduciary Services at Ladenburg. These thoughts were distilled from Ladenburg’s annual ELEVATE fee-based