I could not find a clear source for the phrase "strike while the iron is hot." Whoever uttered these famous words might as well have been talking about the latest White House proposals regarding The Department of Labor's proposal on fiduciary investment advice to individual company 401(k) retirement-plan participants.
If you took a blank piece of paper and outlined a perfect marketing message for your clients and prospects, you could not envision a better one than that. There's an urgent need for investment advisors to take full advantage of the timing of the current fiduciary and company 401(k) fee disclosure debate.
Clients and prospects who don't follow financial-industry news on a daily basis have been exposed to the most important elements of individual company 401(k) retirement-plan advice.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court has grabbed headlines recently in the area of 401(k) advice and fees. The Tibble v. Edison International case goes to the very basic issue of a level playing field for all individual company 401(k) plan participants.
I have spent the last 31 years in the investment advice business and the past 17 years building an individual company 401(k) retirement-plan investment advice business.
Just Do It
I can't ever remember a better time when the national headlines were more favorable to building a niche in the individual company retirement-plan participant 401(k) advice arena.
Keep in mind that you don't need to have any experience as a broker of record for a company 401(k) retirement plan. All indications are that the business model that worked in the past should result in wholesale changes going forward.
Plus, you don't need to have provided investment advice to individual company 401(k) retirement-plan participants in the past. The current generation of robo-advisors has now defined the product niche that is company 401(k) investment advice.
Two-Step Process
There are two levels of analysis that are precisely where you can add value to individual company 401(k) retirement plan participant client and prospect. If you focus on these two levels, your marketing message will be well positioned to take full advantage of the current headlines and debate.
