Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
We’ve all seen the statistics on the number of boomers entering retirement. And every advisor has been told of the opportunities as new retirees shift from accumulating assets to accessing those savings.
Tapping into the retirement is too important to be left to chance – you need a plan. Here are the five steps to make this happen.
Step One: Make the commitment
First is the commitment to specialize in the retirement market and make it the core of your business.
You can’t dabble in the retirement market and expect to succeed – you need to resolve that this will be the area of focus and specialization for the balance of your career. The reasons are simple. Only specialists will have the in depth expertise to do an outstanding job in the retirement market. And only advisors positioned as specialists will have the competitive edge to consistently attract clients in this segment.
In every category of professional services, specialists are the most successful practitioners. It’s true of lawyers, accountants, doctors and architects and increasingly will be true of financial advisors. Generalists do just fine as long as they’re only competing with generalists, but the moment a specialist enters the scene, generalists are left behind.
Step Two: Build your expertise
To be seen as an expert, you first have to be an expert. You need an intimate understanding of the investment alternatives that provide safe, tax-efficient income and also have an in-depth understanding of the research on safe withdrawal rates, annuities and insurance solutions targeted to retirees.
To excel in this segment, however, you need to go beyond financial expertise and immerse yourself in all the issues that retirees face as they age. One way to gain this knowledge is via a designation such as the Retirement Management Analyst. Alternatively, there are lots of great resources online.
Take a look, for example, at the site for BMO Retirement Institute, touching on many of the important issues around retirement planning.
Or the consumer library of the association of professional geriatric caregivers.
