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Being an independent Financial Advisor often means growing your business on your own without the structure or framework of a large firm. While the upsides to that are many (think: being your own boss on your own terms), the downside can include not having the business building skills needed to grow.

An often under-utilized resource for leveling up on these skills can be found within the yearly mandated Continuing Education (CE) courses you’re required to take to uphold your license. Advisors may sometimes think of these as merely a compliance obligation, yet we’re here to let you in on a secret: there is valuable content that could help to build your entrepreneurial advisory IF you take the right classes.

Below are 4 relevant CE Courses and why they could help your practice:

Federal Student Loan Debt is a major issue that affects 43 million adult Americans. Many of them, like borrower Nicole Nelson, a native of Illinois, sought the advice of her loan servicer, Great Lakes Educational Loan Services. In a recent article by MarketWatch, the company allegedly deceived her by steering her towards repayment plans that benefit them, not her.

On June 2019, the federal appellate court unanimously decided that a loan servicer could not allegedly and deliberately misrepresent repayment options and use federal laws to shield the servicer from state rules barring deceptive business practices. The case highlights how the Education Department rarely holds servicers accountable. Due to these weak state consumer-protection laws in student-loan litigation, clients might end up with costly repayment options.

If you’re the type that cozies up to a good business book, below we outline an essential Fall reading list – put together by Financial Advisors for Financial Advisors. Our recurring series the “Advisor Spotlight” asks Vanderbilt Advisors to share books that have helped shape or influence their practice over the years. Below are just a few of our favorites:

Automation has given rise to Robo-Advising, a new technology that uses algorithms to aid in investment decisions, including those related to impact investing. What is an algorithm, and what does it offer to the Financial Advice Industry? An algorithm is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, usually done by a computer. In Financial Services, a Robo-Advising algorithm is mainly used for non-complicated portfolio management. Clients can choose from a wide range of companies and services with a lower minimum initial investment than most traditional Financial Advisors. The account fee is low-cost to zero, which attracts a large group of clients who typically find an advisor’s fee as a cost-prohibitive barrier. As this technology becomes increasingly popular, there have been talks about the replacement of the human Financial Advisor.

Each month Vanderbilt Financial Group features an advisor in the Vanderbilt family who exhibits the VFG values of Gratitude, Respect, Innovation, Teamwork and Trust on a consistent basis. These values impact their work with clients and VFG staff, and ultimately pushes for an excellence in their business practices that is unparalleled and incredibly unique. Beyond high-level producers, these advisors offer sage advice and best practices for boosting your business on your terms according to your values.  

This month we're thrilled to be trying out a new format! We're turning these interviews into short-form podcasts. You have to start somewhere and we decided to start with Stuart Valentine, a VFG Financial Advisor whose practice, Centered Wealth focuses on connecting one’s life-purpose with financial choices and investment portfolios. Below are the audio highlights from our interview. However, I found the content very meaty and decided to post the transcript not covered in the podcast below. It's long, but well-worth the read....