Best of Strategy Forum 2024

From a contrarian’s perspective, now is the opportune time to avoid today's popular common stocks. We are in the fourth major euphoric peak of the past 100 years, which will usher in a completely different set of investment success stories. During this session, Bill Smead, chief investment officer of Smead Capital Management, shares where investors can find these future market opportunities.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the major periods of financial euphoria in the past 100 years and why it isn't different this time

• Understand where we believe the best opportunities for investors are in the market to avoid stock market failure in the future

• Listen to insights and our perspective on the 2024 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

Much of the current tax planning landscape is due to “sunset” in 2026, with gift and estate tax exemptions falling off a “cliff” and the expiration of significant income tax provisions. Of course, the results of the elections in 2024 could also reshape the future or create even more deadlock, and interest rates remain stubbornly high. How do you keep your clients from marching like lemmings toward an uncertain future? This presentation will discuss the best planning techniques today that will allow your clients to soar into the future with confidence and peace of mind.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the potential impact on the tax law (and future legislation) based on the potential results of upcoming elections

• Learn techniques that allow clients to take advantage of the “bonus” exclusion but still retain access to the assets

• Identify the best planning ideas that take advantage of higher interest rates and when to implement them

Join Liz Young Thomas, SoFi’s head of investment strategy, for her expert analysis on the evolving economic landscape and its impact on the stock market. Discover key trends, potential pitfalls, and opportunities that lie ahead in the current financial climate. This engaging session will give you the actionable insights to empower your investment strategies and navigate uncertain times with confidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the current economic factors influencing capital markets

• Identify potential investment opportunities and risks in the evolving financial environment

• Apply strategic insights from Liz Young Thomas to enhance client portfolios and adapt investment strategies

The increasing prevalence of financial exploitation is putting more and more financial plans in jeopardy. This presentation helps advisors and their clients to conquer the stigma of financial exploitation, educate advisors on tools to identify at-risk clients, and provide resources available to recover financially and emotionally. This exclusive program was built in partnership with Wayne State University and their Institute of Gerontology, and leverages the extensive resources that Dr. Peter Lichtenberg, PhD, and the University have built over the past 17+ years.

Learning Objectives:

• Redefine who is vulnerable and the common types of fraud

• Explore troubling trends over the past five years and the impact on all age groups

• Discuss implementation strategies, including best practices for having difficult conversations, and key steps clients can take to protect themselves

Creating income from investments that vary over time with an unknown lifespan means that retirees must be flexible about spending. This session provides a new way to visualize how choices about investment risk, spending flexibility, and annuitization impact a retiree's income over time. How do investment risk, future asset return assumptions, a willingness to adjust annual spending, a preference for spending more when younger, and the delegation of longevity risk to an institution impact the range of potential lifestyles? Michael Finke will address each aspect of retirement income planning by comparing how each choice influences possible spending paths from early to late retirement so that advisors can gain a more intuitive understanding of trade-offs.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how uncertainty requires spending flexibility when designing a retirement income plan

• Determine the impact of investment risk on the range of possible spending paths

• Recognize why annuities change the spending path by reducing longevity and interest rate risk

• Determine how to incorporate preference for early or later-retirement spending into a retirement income plan

Whether you're bullish or bearish on digital assets, it's undeniable that they are a big topic. In this session, we'll cover what every financial advisor needs to know, giving you a deeper understanding of this new asset class. Regardless of your stance, you’ll learn when and how to have effective client conversations.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a clear understanding of blockchain technology and why it matters

• Learn the investment thesis to help you create or confirm your viewpoint

• Discover where digital assets fit into diversified portfolios and how to advise clients on their options

• Get the knowledge to confidently discuss crypto financial planning, crypto estate planning, crypto tax planning and crypto philanthropic planning strategies with clients

This session will provide a high-level overview of the types of privately held businesses that can be sold in a manner that creates substantial tax savings for the acquirer. Sellers (and advisors) who are aware of the tax benefits for an acquirer often can share in these benefits and, as a result, capture purchase price premiums. This session will discuss the types of entities for which this type of tax benefit is possible and provide several real-world examples. In addition, this session will address how changes in tax rates under future U.S. government administrations may influence these premiums and the planning for sales of privately held businesses.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand basic tax differences in the sale of a privately held C corporations relative to S corporations, LLCs, and partnerships

• Identify the types of privately held businesses that, when sold, can create substantial step-up related tax benefits, and examine examples of actual transactions in which these tax benefits were memorialized

• Assess how an increase in US tax rates may create a planning opportunity for the sale of certain types of privately held businesses

• Explore long-term tax planning strategies designed to take advantage of tax benefits for clients selling a privately held business

For more than 30 years, returns-based style analysis has been an essential part of analyzing traditional investment products (in addition to fundamental and qualitative analysis) but still remains an underutilized tool in assessing alternative investments. This session will demonstrate how advanced quant models can quickly identify the factor exposures that drive fund risk and performance, assess alpha, and identify “red flags” that could indicate hidden risks—the key insights needed before accepting the fees and illiquidity of these products.

Learning Objectives:

• Achieve a basic understanding of Returns-Based Style Analysis (RBSA)

• Show how advanced quant models are able to overcome the obstacles of complex alt products that employ derivatives, leverage, and rapid style shifts

• Learn how these techniques allow for better product selection, portfolio construction, and ongoing monitoring

With the great wealth transfer underway, engaging the rising generations is critical for growth and retention. Consider these facts: Engaged households yield 160% more revenue and 270% more profit (Fidelity); post-transfer, only 19% of assets remain with the original advisor (Cerulli Associates).

This presentation outlines strategies of forward-thinking professionals to help you become all things to clients and their family, enhancing value, creating professional contrast, and securing future generations. Key focuses include:

• Delivering value across generations

• The family phone call process

• Serving the family capital and human capital

• Behavioral coaching for legacy preservation

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what affluent families look for in selecting their primary provider

• How to align your services and experiences with these preferences using actionable tools and resources

• How to connect across generations and build relationships with the family phone call

The assets under management (AUM) model reigns supreme among advisors serving high-net-worth clients, but research shows that some wealthy clients prefer an alternate fee model. In recent years, a growing number of advisors have been offering fee optionality in their practices. For some, a hybrid fee strategy provides a mechanism to handle complex cases equitably and profitably. For others, a flat fee, commensurate with service and complexity, serves as a point of differentiation and a way of life. Join us to learn about current fee trends and take an intimate look at the client engagement models of highly successful financial advisors who have implemented alternate fee structures and grown their practices in the process.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the current fee trends within the financial advisory industry

• Gain insights into the unique client engagement and service delivery models of highly successful advisors

• Learn about how they developed a fee strategy that provides demonstrable value for clients and fair compensation for their practice

• Explore strategies for integrating hybrid and flat-fee models into practice in a way that enhances marketability