Generational savings rates. High, low?
"If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room."
Current Facebook demographics
Facebook is for the young, female “dating and mating” demographic. But it is one that is growing very quickly as the Millennials age.
Decision Making — Diversity Trumps Ability
Decision making among groups can be significantly better than that of individuals.
When the researchers made random groups out of the 2,000 plus guessers, they found that the average guess of groups with more than 40 members was better than the best quarter of individual guesses.
This, they argue, implies that large groups of average intelligence can be smarter than individual brainiacs.
A ‘Lean Startup’ Strategy — HBR
Most startups fail because they waste too much time and money building the wrong product Key concepts include:
- Rather than spending months in stealth mode, a lean startup launches as quickly as possible with a “minimum viable product” (MVP), a bare-bones product that includes just enough features to allow useful feedback from early adopters. The company then continues hypothesis testing with a succession of incrementally refined product versions.
- Lean startup executives do not invest in scaling the company until they have achieved product market fit (PMF);
It’s Not Nagging: Persistent, Redundant Communication Works - HBR
Executive Summary:
Managers who inundate their teams with the same messages, over and over, via multiple media, need not feel bad about their persistence. In fact, this redundant communication works to get projects completed quickly, according to new research by Harvard Business School professor Tsedal B. Neeleyand Northwestern University’s Paul M. Leonardi andElizabeth M. Gerber. Key concepts include:
- Managers who are deliberately redundant as communicators move their projects forward more quickly and smoothly than those who are not.
"We are strongly biased in favor of intuition. D. Kahneman"
"Technology is born in generality and grows to specificity. Technology wants specialization."
— Agree, disagree?
"whole·sale
n.
The sale of goods in large quantities, as for resale by a retailer.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in large quantities for resale: a wholesale produce market; wholesale goods; wholesale prices.
2. Made or accomplished extensively and indiscriminately; blanket: wholesale destruction.
adv.
1. In large bulk or quantity.
2. Extensively; indiscriminately."
n.
The sale of goods in large quantities, as for resale by a retailer.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in large quantities for resale: a wholesale produce market; wholesale goods; wholesale prices.
2. Made or accomplished extensively and indiscriminately; blanket: wholesale destruction.
adv.
1. In large bulk or quantity.
2. Extensively; indiscriminately."
— “Selling” is dead. So is “wholesaling” — who wants to get their expert advice from a “wholesale” approach!?
Boom(ers) and Doom: The Retirement Income Crisis
We don’t feel this growing problem is getting enough attention so we are coming out and calling it a “crisis.” It is. There is much at stake.
The details may differ but the impact of the baby-boomers shows up everywhere; their pensions will be a huge burden on coming generations.
The Economist is to be complimented for facing this matter head-on. We have posted earlier on some of their articles. Here are excerpts from another. Well done.
from The Economist: A special report on pensions: Falling Short
• APRIL 7, 2011
A pension promise can be easy to make but expensive to keep. The employers who promised higher pensions in the past knew they would not be in their posts when the bill became due. That made it tempting for them to offer higher pensions rather than better pay. Over the past 15 years the economics of the deal have become clear, initially in the private sector, where pensions (and health-care costs after retirement) were central to the bankruptcy of General Motors and many other firms.
There are big national differences, but in most developed countries:
New Business Opportunity for Retirement Advisors: FutureBenefits of America MEPs
Emerging Retirement Experts — FutureBenefits of America Offers Open-Architecture Multiple-Employer Plans (MEPs) (Contact information below)
(When we hear good news stories in the retirement market we like to share them. Here is one.)
“This should really be an easy sale for an advisor if you have an established plan created. Getting small employers to adopt a plan where they can alleviate fiduciary liability and limits the cost to them, should be very inviting to a potential small business.” Tony Michael, President, FutureBenefits of America
We are always interested in new ways to support and offer opportunities for advisors that want to work with retirement plans.
The retirement plan business is a hyper-competitive business that also demands some real expertise, above and beyond what most advisors have. In addition, few broker dealers supply adequate retirement plan prospecting services or support. Most B/Ds have actually cut back on staff and support for retirement plans.
Your TPA – Retirement Advisors’ Strong Partner
At the same time, third-party administration firms (TPAs) are eager to work with, educate and support advisors in building their retirement plan, and rollover, businesses.
TPAs have real advantages to share with advisors:
- TPAs work in your local market
The Economist: Behavioral Econ and DC Pensions: Sobering
A sober overview from experience and research around the world. Our response and comment posted to the article site is at the end.
Highlights:
- American married couple both retire at age 65, there is a 50% chance that one of them will live to 90. But pensioners tend to underestimate how long they will live.
- A further complication is that people’s spending profile after retirement tends to be U-shaped.
- Employees in America do not like annuities. “People hate losing control of their money,”
- But South Africa also offers access to pension savings, and research that 70% of members were taking their benefits in cash before retirement.
- Many people use the money to pay off their debts; some go on a spending spree. So they may eat up their savings and have to fall back on the state’s means-tested benefit at 65.
- the Brookings Institution found that about half the assets in the Australian scheme were held in self-managed or retail funds, which pushed up charges to an average of around 1.25% of assets
- …more time is needed to demonstrate that auto-enrolment actually works
- Saving for a pension may not be the best use of an employee’s income
- Another problem is that the amount of money going into NEST (UK DC pension scheme) may not be enough to generate a decent pension.
The Economist — A Special Report On Pensions
A Nudge And A Wink — How To Persuade Employees To Provide For Their Old Age — Apr 7th 2011
NYT “Wealthy Turn to Social Media for Investment Help” Not Quite
We work in this space and have a Family Office group on Linked In and you error on the hype side — quite a bit.
In fact, wealthy individuals and families value their privacy quite a bit so social media is a real problem, especially if it is bought and paid for by people selling something to rich people.
These sites are then following a magazine model and are not really social media.
What is true is that you can always find sellers of products and services willing to spend for a “hot” new idea to find prospects. Of course, the more sellers you have selling on a site the more it drives away potential prospects.
A real catch-22 for social media and HNW folks.
The service is free to all wealthy individual members, but the 40 or so corporate members pay £10,000 a year and extra for premium services. They appear willing to pay for access to new clients.
(Ah, the true “mission” of the site!)
April 5, 2011
Wealthy Turn to Social Media for Investment Help
"Now I am in retirement - with many children and grandchildren - I see the problem slightly different. As boomers we tried to give our children the best we can. Thus we were not saving for retirement. However, the post boomer children does not see it their responsibility to maintain our lifestyle for us - in fact they cannot on their incomes at this stage in their life."
— Isn’t this situation going to increase — quite a bit!
