RIAs recount how they reap new clients using LinkedIn and Twitter, stealing a march on shackled wirehouse advisors – RIA Biz
16 May 2013 | No Comments | posted by Alan Moore | in In The News
I was hanging out on Twitter a couple of weeks ago when I got a Direct Message from Lisa Shidler, reporter for RIA Biz, asking if I would chat her about my usage of social media. Financial planners are always wondering if it is possible to find and connect with prospective clients through social media. I do not look for new clients using these sites, but I have found it is a wonderful way to stay connected with existing clients, and other financial planners.
If you haven’t connected with me, feel free to use the links on the top right of this page to find me on:
Alan Moore, 26, just founded his own RIA in October 2012 [It was actually August 2012] after working with Rick Kahler of Kahler Financial Group in Rapid City, South Dakota. Moore says when he struck out on his own he had many questions about starting a new business and the social- media sites have helped him build industry connections. He’s able to reach out to other advisors on Twitter with a question about something like technology or rebalancing and have an answer in minutes.
“I know more than 50 planners, many of whom I’ve never met in person, and I get a lot of my industry news from Twitter,” Moore says.
Moore, who started Serenity Financial Consulting LLC with locations in Milwaukee and Bozeman, Mont., and has 25 clients, concedes that he isn’t a “power networker.”
“I don’t cold call and I don’t even warm call,” he said. “If I answer a question someone asks on Twitter or LinkedIn, then I move on. I market to people who are looking for an advisor, and I don’t have the time or energy to convince people that they need my services.”
Yet Moore feels he’s gained a presence in the industry simply because of his ongoing social-media activity. “I’ve only been around three years, but half of the NAPFA advisors know me because I’m able to network on social media sites.”
He’s gotten a handful of new clients from social-media sites but admits it’s hard to know exactly which site attracted the prospects because many of them comment about his blogs. He tweets about his blog, mentions it on Facebook and also posts it on LinkedIn.
“Clients don’t remember how they found out about me — if it was Facebook, LinkedIn or something else. I do know that my blog content has brought folks to learn about me.”
The majority of his work consists of hourly financial planning.
You can click here to read the article.
Fixes for Clients Who Can’t Afford To Retire – The Wall Street Journal
14 May 2013 | No Comments | posted by Alan Moore | in In The News
What can someone do when they want to retire, but simply don’t have enough money to? I recently spoke with Caitlin Nish, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, about our approach to helping clients transition into retirement.
Many people think of retirement simply as the time in life they no longer have to work, says Alan Moore, founder of Serenity Financial Consulting LLC in Milwaukee, Wis. Instead, he encourages clients to view retirement as the period in which they can do what they want.
Mr. Moore, whose one-year-old firm primarily does hourly financial planning, often talks to clients about working part-time in retirement. Just $500 a month in income can help preserve a big chunk of retirement savings, he says. “You don’t have to replace your current income to have a dramatic effect.”
Mr. Moore frequently enlists a career coach to work with clients interested in part-time work. The coach helped one client, a high school Spanish teacher, switch to teaching adult education classes that produced the same income with a shorter work week.
One of the most important things we help clients do is find a career that they love, and can continue doing past the normal age of retirement. Even small amounts of part-time income helps to preserve your investments until you can truly no longer work and need the funds.
Unfortunately the article is a subscriber only article, but here is a link in case you have a paid subscription.
Millennials are tech savvy, tightfisted savers – USA Today
26 Apr 2013 | No Comments | posted by Alan Moore | in Financial Planning, In The News
Are young investors terrified of the market? This is a question that a lot of experts are asking after a recent study showed that 43% of investors aged 18 – 34 consider themselves to be conservative investors. Christine Dugas, a personal finance reporter with USA Today, asked what I’m seeing from my young clients when it comes to investing.
“They are scared of the market and understandably so,” says Alan Moore,a financial planner and founder of Serenity Financial Consulting in Milwaukee. “Many have seen their parents lose 50% of their retirement savings in six months.”
The real issue is that the number one advantage young investors have is time; Time to recover from losses, and time for compounding interest to have a dramatic effect. Being invested conservatively at a young age means making financial sacrifices .
Moore understands the problems that Millennials face because he is 25 and many of his clients are members of his own generation. And if they are only willing to invest 40% of their savings in stocks at a young age, vs. 80%, he tells them that they will have to consider other options to boost their retirement savings, such as saving more, buying a smaller home, or working longer.
There is a trade off with every financial decision. It is my job as a financial planner to help educate clients on those trade offs, and then work with them to implement the option they feel is best for them and their family.
You can Click Here to read the article.
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