Year: 2016
Like what you see here?
Become a Content-Sharing Library member today for $325 USD/year, and it's all yours to use as you please (subject to these Terms and Conditions). Plus, we'll add at least 2 dozen new pieces annually (approx. 2 each month). Download a few Free Samples first, or Become a Member today. Questions? Let's talk.
Canadian Tax-Loss Harvesting: Opportunities and Obstacles
Created: December 20, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Expenses, Tax Planning
Description: Modified for Canadian use, this 800-word handout can be used to inform clients about what tax-loss harvesting is, how it can be used (as well as when it may not be appropriate), and how it serves as another way you, as their adviser, seek to add value to their investing. With minor edits, it could also be used as a piece to share with prospective clients. (We published U.S. and Anglicised versions of this piece in October 2017).
Client Cover Letter for Sharing Dimensional Materials
Created: December 7, 2016
Categories: Client-Focused, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Evidence-Based Investing, General Letter/E-Mail
Description: This 260-word (single page) cover letter can be used to share one or more recent resources Dimensional Fund Advisors has made available to advisors who are approved to use their fund line-up. Use this letter to remind CLIENTS of the value that Dimensional funds can add to their evidence-based investing. It references Dimensional's WSJ reprint "The Active-Passive Powerhouse," a Pensions & Investments reprint, "Dissecting Dimensional," and Dimensional's book, "35 Quotations." (The Content-Sharing Library also contains a separate letter for sharing these same materials with PROSPECTS.)
Prospect Cover Letter for Sharing Dimensional Materials
Created: December 7, 2016
Categories: Dimensional Fund Advisors, Evidence-Based Investing, General Letter/E-Mail, Prospect-Focused
Description: This 450-word cover letter can be used to share one or more recent resources Dimensional Fund Advisors has made available to advisors who are approved to use their fund line-up. Use this letter as a follow-up to your initial conversation or meeting with a PROSPECT, to promote evidence-based investing as implemented by Dimensional funds. It references Dimensional's WSJ reprint "The Active-Passive Powerhouse," a Pensions & Investments reprint, "Dissecting Dimensional," and Dimensional's book, "35 Quotations." (The Content-Sharing Library also contains a separate letter for sharing these same materials with CLIENTS.)
A Meaningful Message for Thanksgiving (2016)
Created: November 15, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Holiday Greetings
Description: This 350-word client letter thanks your clients for their relationship with you and encourages them to celebrate their other life relationships during the upcoming U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Global advisors can modify the letter to use as a general season's greeting to clients.
Post-Election Reflections: The Morning After
Created: November 9, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Politics, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 470-word client letter is a slightly updated and modified version of the client letter posted yesterday (Nov. 8), now that the U.S. presidential election results are known. Either version can be used to contact clients about the unexpected outcome, encourage them to remain on course with their investment strategy and be in touch with you if they have questions.
Post-Election Reflections
Created: November 8, 2016
Categories: Breaking News, Client Experience, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Politics, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 440-word client letter can be used on Nov. 8 as U.S. presidential election results are announced, or within the next few days following the election. Use it to remind clients you are available to help them stay the course with their carefully constructed investment strategy ... or to assist them in making updates if warranted.
Tax-Loss Harvesting: Opportunities and Obstacles
Created: October 24, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Expenses, Tax Planning
Description: This 800-word handout can be used to inform clients about what tax-loss harvesting is, how it can be used (as well as when it may not be appropriate), and how it serves as another way you, as their adviser, seek to add value to their investing. With minor edits, it could also be used as a piece to share with prospective clients.
Quarterly Client Letter – 2016 Q3
Created: October 4, 2016
Categories: Breaking News, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Expenses, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This 480-word, third quarter client letter reflects on a relatively quiet summer, celebrates some recent market milestones and reminds clients that, despite continued domestic and global uncertainties, the best approach is the long-term, evidence-based strategy.
Structured CDs — Buyer Beware!
Created: September 26, 2016
Categories: Article, Evidence-Based Investing, Expenses, Fixed Income, General Audience
Description: This 650-word article describes how structured or market-based CDs aren't the same as traditional Certificates of Deposit, drawing from a recent Wall Street Journal critique of their costs and conflicts of interest. Share with clients or prospects who may be tempted by the "low risk, higher return" promises without considering the complexities involved.
What If Everyone Were a Passive Investor?
Created: September 12, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Report
Description: This 1,200-word report explores why we should not have to worry that passive (and evidence-based) investing may become ineffective if too many investors embrace a passive approach. It can be shared with clients and prospects as a timeless discussion, as well as to rebut the recent AllianceBernstein "Road to Serfdom" client note, suggesting that passive investing is "worse than Marxism."
Presidents, Politics and Your Portfolio: Thinking Beyond Stage One
Created: August 27, 2016
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Politics, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 750-word article can be shared with clients or prospects who may wonder if there is something they should "do" with their investments as the November 8 U.S. presidential election date nears. It encourages them to stay true to their long-term investment strategies by thinking beyond the immediate news.
Parenting Your Wealth in Uncertain Markets
Created: August 12, 2016
Categories: Article, Breaking News, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Politics, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 1,000-word article compares good parenting skills to good wealth management, describing why patience is an investor's greatest virtue. Share with clients and prospects during this summer's unruly political climate or, with minor modifications, it can serve as a timeless piece to address any form of heightened uncertainty.
Intro for “Reflections on Real Estate Investing” Report
Created: July 19, 2016
Categories: Breaking News, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, General Letter/E-Mail, Intro to Expert Commentary, Real Estate Investing, Tax Planning
Description: For advisers who are receiving timely queries about the current (July 2016) sell-off of U.K. Open Ended Property funds, this 200-word cover letter can be used to share the separate "Reflections on Real Estate Investing" report. The report can be used along with this intro, or it can serve as a general, stand-alone piece on real estate investing.
Reflections on Real Estate Investing Report
Created: July 19, 2016
Categories: Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Real Estate Investing, Report, Tax Planning
Description: This 1,300 word report offers a timeless overview of the guiding principles for investing in real estate as part of an effective, globally diversified portfolio. Share the report with clients or prospects to explain how real estate investing may fit into their portfolio (in the form of low-cost, evidence-based REIT funds), and to offer caveats on how to manage the risks involved. [Note: A separate, intro cover letter also is available for advisers who may be receiving queries about the current (July 2016) sell-off of UK Open Ended Property funds.]
Quarterly Client Letter – 2016 Q2
Created: July 4, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 360-word, second quarter client letter reminds clients that the markets' responses in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum illustrate the inherent uncertainty involved in maintaining a disciplined, globally diversified portfolio designed to manage risks and capture expected market returns.
Brexit Vote and Market Outcomes
Created: June 24, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Economics, General Letter/E-Mail, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 680-word piece can be used to reach out to your clients to remind them that you are there for them and to encourage them to stay the course during the days ahead. With minor modifications, it could be used for a general e-blast, video script or similar content for wider audiences.
On Investing and Entertainment: John Oliver’s Take
Created: June 21, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Expenses, General Letter/E-Mail, Retirement Planning
Description: This 435-word client letter can be used to share John Oliver's recent "Last Week Tonight" popular HBO segment on retirement investing. It summarizes Oliver's key messages and encourages your clients to share the video with others who may find the message appealing -- along with a referral to your firm.
You, the Capital Markets and Your Brexit Fears (Anglicised)
Created: June 15, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Economics, General Letter/E-Mail, Scary Market Insights
Description: For advisors to reach out to clients who are contemplating abandoning their investment plan in the face of Brexit-generated market volatility, this 500-piece letter reiterates the timeless, evidence-based reasons it's important to avoid reacting to breaking news. Assuming the letter is most appropriate for UK audiences, it is edited for Anglicised references and spellings.
Survivorship Bias and Other Tricks of the Trade
Created: June 6, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience
Description: This 700-word article describes survivorship bias in performance analysis -- what it is, how common it is, and why an investor should care about it (as it can lead to overly optimistic return expectations). It wraps by pointing out how evidence-based advisors like you help investors separate biased data from solid results and invites them to be in touch with you to learn more. Use it to reach out to prospects and inform current clients.
Our Mixed Up, Messed Up Relationship with Investment Risk
Created: May 11, 2016
Categories: Article, Behavioral Finance, Breaking News, Economics, Evidence-Based Investing, General Audience, Scary Market Insights
Description: As we swing into another summer of global events (such as the Cdn. Fort McMurray wildfire, UK Brexit and US elections), this article presents ways that investors tend to overestimate, underestimate, misunderstand and mistreat investment risks (both return-generating market risks as well as avoidable concentrated ones). Use this 1,000-word piece to explain investment risks to prospects and clients alike. Break each section into a series for video scripts or other uses.
Fixed Income Investing: What To Do in Lieu of Chasing Yield
Created: May 4, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Evidence-Based Investing, Fixed Income, General Audience, Report
Description: As follow-up to the Library's "Investing for Retirement Income" series, this 1,250-word piece explores how investors can optimize their fixed income investing without stretching for junk bond or dividend yields. It covers the role of the yield curve, laddering, using CDs/GICs, managing costs, revisiting asset allocations and (last but not least!) working with an experienced advisor to assist in all of these areas. Use this piece to help prospective and current clients better understand fixed income investing. It also will help explain why your advisor fees are the same when managing fixed income or equities. Managed properly, they both require significant care and expertise.
DOL Fiduciary Ruling Client Reach-Out
Created: April 10, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Retirement Planning
Description: A 525-word client reach-out on the DOL's new fiduciary rule, reflecting on its strengths and weaknesses, inviting them to contact you with any questions, and reinforcing the true fiduciary care you've been providing all along.
April Q1 2016 Client Letter (Guess the Media Source)
Created: April 1, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This 445-word, first quarter client letter reinforces the importance of staying invested according to plan. It juxtaposes distracting headlines from the popular press with timeless advice from solid sources such as WSJ's Jason Zweig as well as your own evidence-based investment advice. It also reminds clients that you are there to serve their highest financial interests (in case they've been seeing the news about the DOL's impending fiduciary regulations).
Good Advice
Created: February 11, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Article, Breaking News, Client Experience, General Audience, Scary Market Insights, Wealth Management
Description: This 675-word piece reminds your clients and informs prospective clients that the best-interest advice you have to offer goes well beyond what is often thought of as "advice" (i.e., stock tips and little more). It reinforces why a good financial adviser remains relevant even as low-cost funds, automated investing and simplified financial planning is on the rise, and especially during the turbulent market times we are currently experiencing. As such, this piece can be used as a timely response to current market volatility or as a timeless article for all market climes.
Cover Intro for Dimensional 2015 Year in Review
Created: January 21, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Economics, General Letter/E-Mail, Intro to Expert Commentary, Scary Market Insights
Description: This 540-word summary provides an introduction you can use to share Dimensional's 2015 Advisor Byline Market & Economic Review. The introduction is a little longer than in most years, given the current market climate. It's primarily for being in touch with your clients, although it can be modified to serve as a prospecting piece as well.
Additional China-Oil Response
Created: January 17, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Scary Market Insights
Description: As the market continues to remain in a state of flux, you may want to send another reach-out to your clients (or an initial one if you've not yet been in touch), reminding them that the best course through volatile markets is an evidence-based course. This 380-word message will help you do that.
Client New Year Greeting-China/Oil Response
Created: January 7, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Breaking News, Client-Focused, General Letter/E-Mail, Scary Market Insights
Description: Happy New Year! Here is a short, 350-word message you can use to reach out to your clients in light of the market volatility we're experiencing in the opening days of 2016.
January Q4 2015 Client Letter (Peek-a-Boo Markets)
Created: January 4, 2016
Categories: Advisor Role/Value, Behavioral Finance, Client Experience, Client-Focused, Evidence-Based Investing, Quarterly Client Letter
Description: This 420-word year-end client letter observes that 2015 markets were like a game of peek-a-boo with respect to global returns. It reminds clients how "recency" can trick them into making the wrong moves at the wrong time, and why it's important to stay invested in their personalized, evidence-based, globally diversified portfolio.