11 Most Read Advisorpedia Articles of the Week!

1. What Are Clients Worried About?

Clients have historically seen obstacles to investing.  There’s always unknowns on the horizon.  It’s been said: “The market climbs a wall od worry” yet few investors will see that logic as a reason to forge ahead.  As their financial advisor you need to acknowledge their fears, respect them and make the case for moving ahead. — Bryce Sanders

2. Bearish Engulfing Patterns in The Nasdaq 100

Candlestick charts have been around since the 1700s in Japan. They were to found to provide a unique way of viewing supply and demand of the rice market. — Andrew Thrasher

3. Sounding Good or Doing Good? A Skeptical Look at ESG

In my time in corporate finance and valuation, I have seen many "new and revolutionary" ideas emerge, each one marketed as the solution to all of the problems that businesses face. Most of the time, these ideas start by repackaging an existing concept or measure and adding a couple of proprietary tweaks that are less improvement and more noise, then get acronyms, before being sold relentlessly. With each one, the magic fades once the limitations come to the surface, as they inevitably do, but not before consultants and bankers have been enriched. — Aswath Damodaran

4. The Best Advisors Adopt a CEO Mindset to Scale their Business

Barrett Ayers from Adhesion Wealth and Clint Sorenson from WealthShield have both focused their businesses on providing outsource support and solutions that help financial advisors scale and do more for their clients while continuing to focus on what matters most when running their business. — The Power Your Advice Podcast

5. Why 60/40 Portfolios Will Fail, And How To Fix Them

I have written extensively about the inevitable decline, demise and irrelevance of so-called 60/40 portfolios, which allocate 60% of assets to some form of stocks, and the other 40% to some form of bonds. It is a subject that is very popular in professional investing circles nowadays. Who knew so many financial pros were fascinated by dinosaurs! — Rob Isbitts

6. What Is “Storyselling” and Why It Works

One of the best books we’ve ever read about giving financial advice is, “Storyselling for Financial Advisors” by Scott West and Mitch Anthony. As the title suggests, the book outlines the value of using short stories to help people understand financial concepts. It talks about why that approach is far more successful than boring people with in-depth analysis and hard-to-understand spreadsheets. — Paulette Filion and Judy Paradi

7. Is Your Portfolio Positioned for the Election?

The Democratic and Republican national conventions have officially wrapped up, but an uncertain election outcome persists. So far, markets have largely ignored election proceedings and changes in polling. Investors should prepare for potential election related volatility by rebalancing, broadening equity exposures, and building a cash position. — Robert Serenbetz

8. The 4% Rule Is Dead. What Should Retirees Do Now?

The 4% Rule Is Dead. A recent article by Shawn Langlois via MarketWatch pointed out this sobering fact but is one we have discussed previously. Retirees have long counted on being able to retire on their assets and take out 4% each year. However, a little more than 20-years later, the “death of the withdrawal rate” has arrived. What should retirees do now? — Lance Roberts

9. Stop Letting Your Personal Feelings About Politics Interfere With Your Investments

The number one, two, and three rules in my business are: don’t talk politics. I can insult your spouse, religion, children, or even Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, but don’t insult your political view. And let me tell you something, it’s true as the day is long. If you want to survive in my business, DON’T TALK POLITICS! — Andrew Rosen

10. Creating the Perfect Marketing Plan for Your Advisory for 2021

As your year winds down, it’s essential to look back on your marketing success over the past year, as well as to consider what can be refined for further growth. Especially with the changing nature of the business world due to COVID-19, you will want to evaluate each aspect of your strategic marketing plan and decide where to focus your efforts starting in January 2021! — Susan Danzig

11. Truths and Mistruths About Saying No to Lower Tier Business

Have you reached a point in your business where is doesn't make sense to continue building your advisory the same way? — Penny Phillips