A roundup of news and insight from SmartBrief’s coverage of the Financial Services Institute’s Financial Advisor Summit taking place this week in Washington, D.C.
DoL’s Borzi makes news on fiduciary proposal: Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi revealed that the DoL’s new proposed definition of a fiduciary under ERISA would not be ready in October. Borzi made it clear that the proposal would cover Individual Retirement Accounts and also assured the audience that the proposal would not ban commissions.
FINRA’s Wrona calls for feedback: During a breakout session about the regulatory process and what advisors can do to influence it, FINRA VP and associate general counsel Jim Wrona urged advisors to join one of FINRA’s 15 committees. At the very least, Wrona said advisors should craft comment letters — no matter how short — when they are concerned about proposed regulatory actions.
Trexler guides advisors through social media planning and execution: “The world does not stop and your brand can’t either.” Those were just some of the sage words of wisdom from Jared Trexler, social media manager and marketing specialist for Ed Slott and Co. during the breakout session called “The New Networking: Social Media’s Place in Your Business.” Trexler explained some of the following common misconceptions about social media in the financial advisory space.
- Social media is not about selling or old-school marketing.
- Social media requires little initial financial investment, but consistent initial time investment.
- Social media shouldn’t be viewed through the lens of Return on Investment, but rather Return on Influence.
Trexler also described the 4 keys tenets of social media and how the each involve different elements of marketing.
- Blogging — Content marketing that is insightful and regularly scheduled so readers know when to expect more.
- Facebook — Social marketing that spreads the word about an advisor to friends and friends of friends, etc.
- Twitter — Communication marketing that allows advisors to easily share their own content or external content they find valuable.
- LinkedIn — Business marketing that allows advisors to tell their personal story and what they offer potential clients.