Medicare Confusion

I was listening to a local Atlanta show today that stated 70% of Americans don’t understand Medicare.

Then came the nugget of gold: UnitedHealthcare has been working to make all the ins & outs of the program easier to understand.

Maybe you know just the client that could benefit from this easy to comprehend FREE resource.

Check out the “Show Me Guide” from UnitedHealthcare at MedicareMadeClear.com or by clicking HERE.

October Advisor Newsletter

Check out our Tech Talk Newsletter by clicking below.

You’ll find:

  • Tim’s article on Marketing
  • A free resource on Medicare that might help your clients with any confusion
  • An AWESOME offer for a free copy of No B.S. Direct Marketing
  • And more!

October FA

How Do You Stay Excited About Your Job?

Pre-season football is all about motivation. The second and third-string players might have one shot to prove their worth. If they don’t, the consequences can be ruthless and rapid.

Entrepreneurs might sometimes wish motivation was that simple.

How do you stay engaged when

  • your plays fail,
  • your team is losing, or
  • the game is boring?

Successful business people have their ways of staying alert on the field.

Writing for Fortune, Julie Smolyansky, CEO and president of Lifeway Foods, recommends checking up on competitors to see what others are doing. This review may give you the competitive spark you need to crank up your game.

Lee Polevoi, writing for Intuit, advises business owners to find their original entrepreneurial spark. What was originally the source of your inspiration and vision? Reconnect.

Most writers on motivation talk about goal setting. Write precise goals. Don’t let negative thoughts get in your way. Set future goals now.

Many entrepreneurs had already set a goal when they created the original business plan. If you have one of these plans, it might be time to review it. According to evancarmichael.com, start-ups are 90 percent likely to survive the first 18 months of business if they’ve written a business plan.

Many things might have changed since your original business plan, but it was once your playbook. Imagine you are a startup trying to outline your vision, attract investors and draw up a new game play for the next year or 10 years. Maybe writing a new business plan today can help you clarify your motivation.

Finally, if you wonder about how your business is really doing, talk to customers. Find out how you have helped them and how you could do better. Then do it.

August/September Newsletter for Advisors

August FA Newsletter

Chasing Leprechaun’s Gold

We’ve all heard a thousand times about the old tale about finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  We all know it’s just supposed to be a humorous and interesting “old wives tale”.  But I find that many financial advisors are constantly chasing after “Leprechaun gold”.

Now don’t get mad at me.  I might not be talking about YOU.  It’s probably another financial advisor or an insurance agent.  But I see too many advisors thinking that some marketing or lead generation “rainbow” will lead them to a “pot of gold”.  I don’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t be doing “marketing”.  Far from it.

Great marketing is what can grow a firm’s AUM massively.  We’ve seen that with The Mutual Fund Store, Ken Fisher, and even Wealthfront.  Unfortunately too many advisors get caught chasing after something that isn’t going to work, or that is just the latest “snake oil” being peddled by another salesman.

“Internet leads” comes to mind.  Firms that promise to send you qualified leads from the “internet”.  How many advisors and agents have been burned by this rainbow?  Even if someone is a lead, it is being sold to 20 other advisors so that the end result is one annoyed “prospect” that isn’t going to want to talk with you, much less meet with you.

“Templated Websites” also comes to mind.  You may even have one yourself – a cookie cutter website that thousands of other advisors have a similar version of.  Google hates any duplicated content, so when it sees the same “articles” and “calculators” on 18,967 financial advisor websites, they will not rank your website.  Thus, you won’t ever get any organic traffic.  You can try to buy traffic but the “template website” has no lead generation or opt-in capabilities.  And even if it did most advisors don’t have any backend follow-up mechanism to nurture those prospects.

Assuming prospects want to “meet with you” as a first step is a huge pot of Leprechaun gold, something akin to thinking people enjoy getting their teeth drilled in the dentist chair.  (fact is most don’t).  You have to ask people to take some baby steps first.  You can’t get married on the first date!

Most advisors need even the most basic core marketing elements.  I see advisors in need of a new website that is not a template.  They need multiple ways of enticing people to ask for more information and “raise their hand” as a possible lead.  They don’t have any way to capture leads, much less a way to do backend email nurture to those leads.

For those that have some or all of that in place, most advisors have no idea that they could generate their own leads using Youtube, Google, Facebook, webinars, etc.  Or perhaps they know “about those” but don’t know how to go about it.  Many advisors don’t have a clue what a “marketing funnel” is, or how to implement and manage one.

If you can learn how to do some basic marketing strategies, you can create your own real pot of gold, not a fake mirage at the end of a rainbow.  And if you don’t have time or can’t figure it out, find someone that can help you.  And do it one piece at a time as you can afford it.  Or get a “marketing coach” that can direct your efforts monthly and keep you on track.

If you need help, please contact Torrid Tech to see if we have any openings.  Our marketing services have been in high demand lately.  And meanwhile, watch out for the luck ‘o the Irish… most of the time it isn’t really “luck” after all that takes you.

Tim Turner

Torrid Advisory Solutions Helps RIAs Fight Back Against Pure “Robo-Advisors” by Releasing White Label Advisory Platform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Torrid Advisory Solutions Helps RIAs Fight Back Against Pure “Robo-Advisors” by Releasing White Label Advisory Platform

 

Marietta, GA, November 17, 2014 – Torrid Technologies has thrown its hat into the online advisory platform business competing with large financial companies and others using advanced technology integrated with a competing custodian. It is very clear that the online advisory business is growing and here to stay.

 

The Torrid Advisory Solutions SaaS Platform competes with pure electronic “Robo-Advisors” by helping existing advisors extend their practices to the “cloud” with ease.  This new “Cloud-Advisor” model  shines a light on the “Robo-Advisor” shortcomings, which are mainly a lack of human interaction and guidance.

 

The Torrid Advisory Solutions SaaS Platform changes the game for advisors looking to leverage the technologies needed to compete with existing solutions and leap over the competition. The service is immediately available for white labeling by Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and advisory firms.

 

As Tim Turner, CEO of Torrid Technologies shared, “Most robo-advisors are simply low-cost portfolio management solutions that rely totally on computer-based decision making.”  One robo-advisor firm, for example, has gathered over $1 billion in assets since 2012.  Unlike such pure “robo-advisors”, Torrid Advisory Solutions is different because it provides a Financial Advisor or Investment Advisory firm the ability to extend their existing financial practice to the cloud.

Doing business in the cloud shouldn’t represent a reduction in services in order to reduce cost. Torrid Advisory Solutions believes “bringing an Advisor’s business to the cloud” means increasing scalability while increasing efficiency and automation, so that an Advisor can manage a business growing without borders.

 

At the heart of the Torrid Advisory Solutions SaaS Platforms is “video”. Whether it is an Investment Advisor looking to share their portfolio management decisions with investors, or a financial advisor performing a video consultation with a client, integrated video conferencing and video communication makes the cloud feel a little closer. Providing Advisory Services is a consultative business and without integrated video, “Robo-Advisors” are little more than a computer program.

 

Torrid Advisory Solutions SaaS Platform is more than just video. It provides automatic

rebalancing and simplified portfolio management all without the advisor having to do anything to make a trade. But the icing on the cake is the robust client communications layer. Client’s will never feel left out in the cold with the real-time notifications of portfolio changes (including video explanations), and any other pertinent information shared by the advisor. Combined with Social Media integration, clients and advisors can participate in discussion threads that reach the masses with personal interactions.

 

The Torrid Advisory Solutions SaaS Platform competes with pure electronic “Robo-Advisors” by helping existing advisors extend their practices to the “cloud” without much effort. a This new “Cloud-Advisor” model  shines a light on the “Robo-Advisor” shortcomings, which are mainly a lack of human interaction and guidance.

Access a demo and solutions-driven white paper:

www.torrid-tech.com

 

About:

Torrid Technologies RetirementView software is used by thousands of customers including agents, advisors, planners and brokers This top-rated software for both consumers and financial advisors has been seen and reviewed favorably in Forbes, Barron’s, BusinessWeek, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, among many others. Torrid Advisory Solutions is a service of Torrid Technologies, Inc.

A New Opening For Annuities

A New Opening For Annuities

Straight from the IRS:: Under the new IRS guidance, a target date fund may include annuities allowing payments, beginning either immediately after retirement or at a later time, as part of its fixed income investments, even if the funds containing the annuities are limited to employees over a specified age.  The guidance makes clear that plans have the option to offer target date funds that include such annuity contracts either as a default or as a regular investment alternative.

 

The new policy change is another step reflecting the continuing commitment of the Administration to work in a variety of ways to further bolster retirement security and saving.

 

Torrid Tech Explains:  This means that the employer plans have the flexibility to offer the annuity as an option or as a default when employees save into their 401(k) plan.

 

http://blog.insurancenewsnet.com/2014/10/24/new-opening-annuities/#.VFk-2RY_lEs

Afraid you may outlive your savings; tried giving annuity options a try? Share your feedback. We’d love to hear from you!

IRS, Treasury Support Annuities Use in 401(k) Plans

IRS, Treasury Support Annuities Use in 401(k) Plans

Straight from the IRS: The new guidance or policy provides plan sponsors an additional option to make it easier for employees to consider using lifetime income.  Instead of having to devote all of their account balance to annuities, employees use a portion of their savings to purchase guaranteed income for life while retaining other savings in other investments.

 

How to use this info to your benefit?

 

Torrid Tech Explains: This means the employee can choose to put some into annuities for lifetime income and still also have savings in other investments like mutual funds.

[Old Link Removed]

Afraid you may outlive your savings; tried giving annuity options a try? What’s been your experience with using part of your savings for guaranteed lifetime income while using another portion for other investments? Share your feedback. We’d love to hear from you!

Treasury, IRS OK Deferred Income Annuities in 401(k)s

Treasury, IRS OK Deferred Income Annuities in 401(k)s

Straight from the IRS:: Many employer-sponsored 401(k) plans offer so-called target date funds as a default investment for participants who do not affirmatively elect a different investment.  Target date funds get their name from the fact that their allocation of investments shifts gradually from equities to fixed income as participants approach an intended target retirement year.

 

How does this apply to you?

 

Torrid Tech Explains: In recent years target date funds have exploded in popularity by offering workers a way to reduce risk in the market as they approach retirement.  Recent abnormal bond pricing has made it difficult to achieve this result and has left many wondering whether target date funds are accomplishing their goal.

 

http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2014/10/24/treasury-irs-ok-deferred-income-annuities-in-401ks

Afraid you may outlive your savings; tried giving annuity options a try? What’s been your experience with target date funds? Share your feedback. We’d love to hear from you!

New IRS 401(k) ruling aims to boost retirement income

New IRS 401(k) ruling aims to boost retirement income

Straight from the IRS: Designed to expand the use of income annuities in 401(k) plans, IRS new change makes clear that plan sponsors can include deferred income annuities in target date funds used as a default investment.

 

Your new options?

 

Torrid Tech Explains: Employees saving in their 401(k) plan at work can choose annuities from insurance companies inside their 401(k) plan so they can reduce market losses on their retirement savings by putting their savings into annuities, instead of mutual funds or target date funds.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/irs-401k-ruling-aims-to-boost-retirement-income-2014-10-[Old Link Removed]

 

Afraid you may outlive your savings? Have youtried giving annuity options a try? What’s been your experience with putting your savings into annuities? Share your feedback. We’d love to hear from you!

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