“I never lose. I either win or learn.”
– Nelson Mandela
In this week’s email:
- Why is nobody talking about the $1.65 trillion Americans are leaving behind?
- You’ll never guess which U.S. state is rated “most” financially disciplined
- Investors should do the exact OPPOSITE of what these “advisors” recommend
…and a whole lot MORE!
The Best Thing I Saw All Week
High school sweethearts from the 1950s, Caroline Reeves and Eddie Lamm, have tied the knot at 82 and 85, respectively, rekindling their romance after 63 years apart.
“We feel young again,” says Reeves, attributing their vitality to an active lifestyle filled with fun and laughter.
Their romance began during the Elvis era, where a simple meal of fries and a Coke, and the promise of a class ring signified their youthful fling.
Their paths separated as Lamm, pursuing his Air Force dream, failed to bid a proper goodbye, and they lost touch for more than six decades.
While Lamm served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years, Reeves found success as Miss Nashville 1959, an interior designer, and a writer.
Despite pursuing their own journeys in life, including long marriages to other people, they never stopped wondering about what could have been.
The loss of Lamm’s wife to ALS in 2021 sparked a desire to reconnect.
Reeves remembers their eventual reunion in a FedEx parking lot by quipping, “FedEx does deliver.”
Moving to California together, Lamm proposed to Reeves with his high school class ring, fulfilling a promise he made decades ago.
Reeves calls it “miraculous” that they found their love again.
“We asked God all the time, ‘Why did you do this?’ And now we know: to take care of each other,” she said.
Markets 📈
Orphan 401k accounts – those left behind when people change jobs – are on the rise.
According to Capitalize Money, there are 29.2 MILLION left-behind 401k accounts worth $1.65 TRILLION in assets.
That’s up from 24.3 million accounts holding $1.35 trillion in assets when they last measured in May 2021 – increases of more than 15%.
This rise in orphan assets is directly correlated to what economists coined the “Great Resignation” – i.e. the heightened job-switching that occurred during the pandemic.
As a result, 3.8 million accounts were left behind in 2021, and another 4.4 million in 2022.
“This reflects one of the structural problems with our 401(k) system,” Capitalize CEO Gaurav Sharma says.
“Our retirement accounts remain tied to our employers and their 401(k) plans, leading to significant friction at the point of job change.”
Another interesting takeaway: 71% of people don’t know what fees they’re paying on their assets under management.
Roughly 50% believe it’s less than 0.4%, while 90% of plans actually charge more.
This ‘orphaned 401k’ trend is expected to increase even more in the coming years, making the “job changers” niche an attractive one for advisors to latch onto.
More Market Reading 📈 |
💲 54% of Americans 45-65 consider guaranteed lifetime income products
✈️ Here’s why college-educated high-earners are fleeing coastal cities
🤔 What the SEC’s lawsuits against Binance & Coinbase mean for crypto’s future
🚦 Should the rich pay more for running red lights? It’s not uncommon
Industry Roundup 🧠
Survey says…
Alabama – the home of Nick Saban, underrated beaches, and NASA’s first moon rockets – can now put a new feather in its houndstooth cap.
According to a new Forbes Advisor study, Alabama ranks first in a study of America’s most financially disciplined states.
Alabama earns an 83.28 out of 100, followed by Arkansas (81.56), New Jersey (80.82), Washington (80.71) and Colorado (80.33).
On the other end of the spectrum, you have Idaho (51.74), Hawaii (58.86), West Virginia (64.68), Montana (65.03) and Vermont (65.56) pulling up the rear.
Other interesting findings:
🔵 60% of Americans say they have a budget directing their spending
🔵 Just 41% say they regularly contribute money to a retirement account
🔵 Men (47%) are more likely than women (37%) to have an emergency fund of 3-6 months
More Industry Reading 🧠 |
🏙️ These 20 cities have the highest concentration of financial advisors
🟥 Redtail announces new subscription model & pricing change
🙌 70% of advisors say niching has a positive impact on income
Deep Dive 🔎
Remember that loud kid in the high school cafeteria – always saying and doing nonsense just for the attention?
Chances are, he was probably the least worthy person to listen to.
Turns out, it was that quiet girl in the corner who actually ended up being the wisest and most successful one in the class.
Same thing is true on Twitter.
According to a recent report titled “Finfluencers,” the loudest advisor voices on Twitter and other social platforms are the least worth listening to.
The report analyzed 29,000 influencers and found “investors would usually be better off doing the opposite of what the majority online gurus tell them to do.”
A shocking 56% of the tweeters studied fell into the category of “anti-skilled” — meaning their recommendations on Twitter tended to result in losses rather than gains.
The report also found that these unskilled finfluencers are overly optimistic about investments that have recently risen in value.
The report says that, over the long haul, investors are better off taking the advice of these advisors and doing the exact opposite.
Color me shocked 🙄
Listen…I’m all for building a following on social media.
And I actually think this study proves my greater point…
We need more SKILLED advisors – like yourself – sharing thoughts and ideas on social media.
This includes advisors like Rachel Camp (CFP in Indiana), who has focused on gro
g her Twitter audience to 14,700 followers over the past year.
She now gets 100% of her new clients through social media.
Her goal isn’t to share investment advice, but rather to reach potential clients, build trust, and start conversations.
Social media is a powerful tool in the right hands.
The problem is that it’s also a costly weapon in the wrong hands.
Enjoy your Sunday,
Jeremiah D. Desmarais
CEO, Advisorist
#1 in ROI-Driven Training for Advisors
