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Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 must-know tips for financial advisors going virtual
Zoom calls and screen sharing may feel like the norm for many financial advisors these days, but the rise of virtual advising is still a relatively new development in the world of wealth management. Before the pandemic, just 13% of clients met with their advisors virtually, according to research from YCharts. By 2024, that figure increased by nearly threefold, with 38% of clients saying they meet with their advisors virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic may be the catalyst that ignited that trend, but advisors say the shift to virtual practice is here to stay. Even with the rapid growth of virtual advising over the last five years, the industry is still at an early "inflection point" in the journey toward digital practices, said Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital in Annapolis, Maryland. READ MORE: In a virtual world, advisors need to curate their digital personas "We wanted to get ahead of it, because I saw [the change] back in 2023 when I made the full shift [to a virtual firm] and I said, 'I'm just doing away with office space,'" Cirksena said. "The whole reason was because … I asked my in-person clients who lived five minutes from my office if they wanted to come back in and meet with me in person, and 80% of them said, 'No, we'll just keep doing Zoom meetings. It's easy.'" That preference for virtual meetings is especially strong among wealthier clients. Asked about how they would prefer to meet with their advisor, 43% of clients with more than $500,000 under management said they prefer virtual meetings, according to YCharts research. "The wealthier people, the ones we typically deal with, they value their time over everything," Cirksena said. "They don't care where the best person is. They don't care about meeting or shaking hands with the best. They just want somebody that they view as being the best, most knowledgeable in any job that they're going to hire somebody for, and they want to make sure that they are getting to spend their time as efficiently as possible." Advisors say that getting started in a virtual firm can be relatively simple compared to a brick-and-mortar operation. But simply operating a digital firm is different from excelling in it. For advisors looking to kick their digital practice into the next gear, here are five things to know about operating a successful virtual firm. Serving a niche clientele can benefit most advisors, whether or not they're virtual. But when a virtual advisor finds themselves competing with other advisors from across the country, differentiating themselves through a niche specialization is vital. Still, advisors who have been successful in the virtual advising world say going hyper-specific isn't always necessary. "I kind of feel like I did a pseudo niche," said Autumn Knutson, founder of digital-native firm Styled Wealth. "I work with impact-driven individuals. And sometimes people say, 'Well, what is that?' A lot of times, people have an understanding of what that is. That understanding varies, I will admit, but most people have their own understanding of what that is. And if that resonates with someone, then we may be a very good psychographic fit." READ MORE: The rewards financial advisors find working with niche clients For virtual advisors like Knutson, working in a niche isn't just for marketing purposes, it's also a way to ensure her firm is attracting clients it wants to work with. "I want everyone … to find a good fit, but that fit is not always me," she said. "And so I've tried to niche and be very intentional for people to know who I am, what I'm going to provide, what the experience is like." Virtual advisors can often forgo traditional costs like commuting and office space, but one place they spare no expense is their tech stacks. "Tech is what I spend the most money on," Knutson said. "I care very much that it's well-fitting to the experience that I want, to the efficiencies I care about." READ MORE: Ask an advisor: What AI tools are financial advisors using right now? Tech is far from exclusive to virtual firms, but the capabilities the two kinds of firms need can necessitate different software, advisors say. CRM and custodian options that work well for a local firm may not translate well to a virtual practice. Cirksena, who used BNY Pershing as a local advisor, made the switch to Altruist after going virtual. "Altruist has worked very, very well for a fully virtual advisor. Their platform is excellent," he said. "It's all digital account opening and everything." "There's nothing that we can't do virtually … that somebody can do in person," Cirksena said. "You just have to think about what you would do in every aspect of the job if you were in person. And then you need to think about, 'Does that need to change in some small way, doing things virtually?'" Marketing on a national level is no small task for virtual advisors. At MDRN Capital, which had roughly $150 million in AUM in 2024, Cirksena said they spend close to $500,000 a month on marketing. "We know what our client acquisition costs are, so we know that those are profitable dollars for us to spend," Cirksena said. "But it's different when you're marketing on a national scale. You're not competing with the Edward Jones office that's down the street, or the local independent guy who's down the street. You're competing against Fidelity. You're competing against Fisher Investments, Creative Planning, Vanguard, Mariner Wealth — like those are the ones you're competing against, essentially." Marketing on platforms like Facebook and Google can become a major expense for many virtual advisors, but competing on a national scale also requires that advisors do more than simply buy ads. Creating finfluencer-esque content that provides value to viewers can be an effective way to accomplish that, advisors say. READ MORE: Fiduciary standard drives client trust in advisors: Cerulli research "If you put out good content and you don't ask for anything in return … people will find it," Cirksena said. "And when they eventually are at the stage that they're looking to work with an advisor, if they're open to working with somebody nationally, who's the first person they're going to think of calling? They're going to think of the person that they've seen or heard who added value to them, and who didn't ask for anything in return for the value that they gave them." Alongside sharing things like educational content, advisors say authenticity is key to marketing in a saturated market. Tim Witham, founder of Balanced Life Planning in Villa Hills, Kentucky, said that even a simple video on his homepage has helped clients connect with him. "They're like, 'We loved what you had to say. You were very laid-back,'" Witham said. "It wasn't a perfect video. It's kind of weird, clients actually appreciate that you're human, and it's not like super edited." Knutson followed a similar style when writing the copy for her website. "I spent a lot of time … on the copy of my website, making sure it's my voice and not just something that looks pretty," Knutson said. "I've gotten numerous times people say, 'Oh, I met you and you sound like your website,' because it's my voice, it's my words, it's my heart, and that's my storefront." Beyond the technical work of financial planning, advisors say that connecting with clients on a personal level is essential to creating strong relationships. Virtual advisors don't have the benefit of sitting across a table from a client or going out to lunch with them, but advisors like Knutson say that deep, intentional listening can go a long way toward closing that gap. For Knutson, she creates that connection by "naming curiosities" in conversations with her clients, asking questions like "What was that pause about? Can you bring me into what was going on in your head?" READ MORE: Do clients trust you? Depends on who they — and you — are Even simple things — like looking into the camera properly on a video call or communicating promptly — can make a big difference in creating a sense of trust with a client, Knutson said. Creating that trust over virtual calls can be more difficult with older clients. But Cirksena said that age isn't as big a barrier as it's often made out to be when talking about advising clients virtually. "Is there going to be a small percentage of people who are over 75 years old, who wouldn't want to open a Zoom meeting? Maybe. But everybody now, between the ages of 55 and 70 even, 90-plus percent of them are totally comfortable with opening a Zoom meeting," Cirksena said. Advisors are often thinking about what they can do to make their virtual practice mirror a local one, but digital-first advising also provides the opportunity to advise clients in ways that local planners rarely utilize. Knutson and Witham both use forms of asynchronous communication with their clients as a way of differentiating their firms. READ MORE: Compliance teams have their 👀 on emojis For busy clients, Witham said he will record a video of himself reviewing a client's financial plan and send it to them, so they can watch it in their own time. After watching the video, Witham and the client can have a more efficient call that saves the client time. "I live my target niche. I am my demographic, which I think helps me a lot. I've got three kids — two are going to be in high school, and one's on the way. So like, my evenings are insane," Witham said. "Having to think about, 'Hey, I gotta meet with a financial planner to go over my plan,' can be really freaking hard to try to find the time to do that."
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet's Stock Just Did Something It Has Only Done 3 Other Times in History. Each Time the Stock Is at Least 47% Higher a Year Later.
Alphabet's stock has rarely been this cheap. Investors are worried whether generative AI will replace the Google search engine. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet › Understanding a stock's historical trends is smart, especially if it's based in a cyclical industry like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Most of Alphabet's revenue comes from advertising, which can rise and fall alongside economic expectations. While the economic outlook is uncertain, there is more to Alphabet's rapid price decline this time. Alphabet's stock now trades for around 17 times trailing earnings, a level it last reached only three times: 2008, 2012, and 2022. This is the company's fourth trip to a valuation level this low. However, each time it has reached these levels, the stock is much higher only a year later. Is this turnaround possible again in 2025? Or is there something else at play? Although Alphabet's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.8 is slightly off its all-time low of 16.1, which it hit just a few weeks ago before the market rallied this week, it's still historically low. The economic outlook in 2008 and 2012 was grim, which is why the stock reached low levels. Additionally, at the start of 2022, everyone was convinced that the economy was headed for a recession, although that never surfaced. Still, after touching those lows, Alphabet's stock performed phenomenally over the next year. Date P/E Ratio Low 1 Year Stock Price Percent Rise 11/20/2008 16.2 120% 7/10/2012 16.9 56% 11/02/2022 16.6 47% Data source: YCharts. So, is Alphabet primed to post phenomenal gains over the next year? While Alphabet faces economic uncertainty, its business model is also under attack. The past three times Alphabet reached those lows, nobody questioned whether the Google search engine would be used in the next five years. This time, there are questions surrounding how it will fare against AI-powered search. However, with the multiple that the markets have assigned Alphabet, it's assumed that the Google search engine is already extinct. Yet, Google Search revenue increased by 10% last quarter. Management attributes this rise to the popularity of its AI summaries feature, which uses generative AI to summarize the search results. This is the exact feature that some investors are worried about replacing Google search, so it seems odd that the market is dooming Alphabet's stock. I believe the market is underestimating how stuck most people are in their ways. Many will opt to use Google's feature set for searches because it's what they've always done, rather than go straight to a generative AI platform. This may be a mistake over the long term, but we've seen Google's resilience over the past year and also its innovations to maintain its relevance. So, while the circumstances surrounding Alphabet's drawdown are different this time, I believe the outcome will be the same. As Alphabet continues to post strong results throughout the year, the market will realize that the pessimism was unwarranted and that Alphabet deserves to have a normal valuation (in the low to mid-20s) as its big tech peers. As a result, I think Alphabet is a strong buy because its stock should benefit from persistent double-digit growth and earnings multiple expansion. Before you buy stock in Alphabet, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $635,275!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $826,385!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 967% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 12, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Alphabet's Stock Just Did Something It Has Only Done 3 Other Times in History. Each Time the Stock Is at Least 47% Higher a Year Later. was originally published by The Motley Fool
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
YCharts Expands Relationship with LPL Financial Through ClientWorks Integration
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--YCharts, a leading client engagement and investment research platform trusted by financial advisors and investment professionals across North America, has expanded its relationship with LPL Financial by launching a direct integration with ClientWorks, LPL's advisor technology platform. This enhancement streamlines workflows, reduces manual data entry, and improves client engagement for LPL's nearly 29,000 advisors. LPL advisors have been using YCharts to research investments, optimize strategies, and create compelling sales collateral for 5 years. Now, the ClientWorks integration enables seamless portfolio synchronization, eliminating the need for manual uploads and reconciliation—allowing advisors to work more efficiently and shift focus to their clients. Unlocking New Efficiencies for LPL Financial Advisors Seamless portfolio sync between ClientWorks and YCharts On-demand access to investment data without manual entry LPL-approved reports to support client conversations 'This integration builds on our strong relationship with LPL Financial, reinforcing our commitment to advisor efficiency,' said John Vander Vennet, Chief Revenue Officer at YCharts. 'By connecting YCharts directly with ClientWorks, we're enabling LPL advisors to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time delivering value to clients.' Gary Carrai, Chief Product Officer at LPL Financial, added, 'Our goal is to provide our advisors with seamless, high-impact tools to solve pragmatic problems along their advisor journey. This comprehensive integration with YCharts makes it even easier for them to manage portfolios, engage clients in valuable conversation, and drive better outcomes.' By strengthening the YCharts-LPL Financial relationship, this integration underscores a shared commitment to delivering innovative, time-saving solutions that enhance advisor efficiency and client service. About YCharts YCharts is a leading financial technology Software as a Service (SaaS) platform designed to elevate client engagement and empower wealth management teams to make smarter investment decisions. With advanced analytics, powerful visualization tools, and comprehensive data, YCharts is built to enhance team cohesion, ensuring uniformity across investment-related workflows and scalable operations. YCharts offers an ideal solution for wealth management firms looking to maintain consistency in client communication and investment strategies across multiple teams and offices, ultimately driving significant AUM growth.
Globe and Mail
03-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Prediction: This Super Software Growth Stock Will Be Worth More Than Palantir by 2030
The allure of artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the stock market for over two years. AI is not just an interest among investors -- it's become a bit of an obsession. And one stock that investors just can't seem to get enough of is data analytics specialist Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). As of this writing (April 30), Palantir stock sports a share price of roughly $117 -- just a stone's throw away from its 52-week high. That's quite a feat considering the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have struggled mightily throughout the course of 2025, thanks to a lagging technology sector. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » In the piece below, I'll detail Palantir's epic rise and soaring valuation throughout the AI revolution. More importantly, let's explore why another emerging software business could be the better buy as it has the potential to eclipse Palantir's size over the next several years. Palantir's rise has been epic, but... Palantir was founded over 20 years ago. For most of its history, the company concentrated on the public sector -- working closely with the U.S. military and its allies in the defense world. Given the lumpy nature of government contracting, Wall Street was skeptical of Palantir's growth potential when the company went public in 2020. Some skeptics viewed Palantir as a consulting agent for the government and not so much a high-flying software business. This narrative started changing exactly two years ago. In April 2023, Palantir released its fourth major enterprise tool, called the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). In the table below, I've summarized some key performance indicators around Palantir's business prior to and following the release of AIP. Data source: Palantir. The growth speaks for itself. AIP has been a transformative piece of infrastructure for Palantir, allowing the company to swiftly penetrate the private sector, accelerate revenue, and widen profit margins. While Palantir deserves a lot of credit, investors may be getting a little too excited. In just two years, the company's market capitalization has ballooned by more than 17 times. To add another layer of perspective here, Palantir currently trades for 100 times its trailing-12-month sales. PLTR Market Cap data by YCharts. Right now, smart investors are wondering when Palantir will hit its ceiling. While AI should remain a long-run tailwind for the company, there will come a time when its valuation multiples begin to normalize. Over the next five years, expectations are likely to be higher and higher with each passing earnings report. My hunch is that the triple-digit returns from Palantir stock may be in the rearview mirror for the time being. By 2030, I would not be surprised if Palantir's valuation is largely unchanged compared to where it is today. ...this other software player could be more dominant in the long run The software company that I think has more potential than Palantir over the next five years is cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD). In the world of investing, CrowdStrike has become somewhat polarizing over the last year due to a high-profile security outage featuring the company's software. The biggest tailwind I see for CrowdStrike in the coming years is the company's unique positioning at the intersection of two large, and expanding, total addressable markets (TAMs): AI and cybersecurity. According to Statista, the TAM for AI in cybersecurity is expected to reach $134 billion by 2030 -- a more than fourfold increase compared to its size at the end of 2024. While the security outage last summer brought on much in the way of negative PR, CrowdStrike has chugged along and been performing quite well over the last several quarters. Despite any perceived reputational damage, the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) continues to grow at an impressive clip and its ability to generate consistent free cash flow doesn't appear to be in jeopardy. CRWD Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts. Is CrowdStrike stock a buy right now? Similar to Palantir, CrowdStrike stock trades at a premium. In fact, CrowdStrike trades at the highest P/S ratio when benchmarked against a large peer group of leading cybersecurity businesses. CRWD PS Ratio data by YCharts. In a way, though, I think this premium suggests that growth investors are looking past the company's hiccups from last year and have bought into the long-run growth narrative surrounding AI and cybersecurity. Taking this one step further, despite CrowdStrike's premium, its current P/S multiple is actually slightly lower than where it was last year prior to the security outage -- as illustrated above around the July 2024 time frame. I see CrowdStrike as a compelling buy-and-hold opportunity over the next several years and think the company's growth potential is in its early chapters. For these reasons, I think CrowdStrike has more tailwinds compared to Palantir, and I see the company becoming a higher-valued business by next decade. Should you invest $1,000 in CrowdStrike right now? Before you buy stock in CrowdStrike, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and CrowdStrike wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $623,685!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $701,781!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is906% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to164%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 13,616%, According to MicroStrategy Co-Founder Michael Saylor
Many cryptocurrencies have surged since Donald Trump won the presidential election last November. The Trump administration is more pro crypto than arguably any administration before. Michael Saylor has been extremely bullish on crypto for years. He expects one cryptocurrency, in particular, to absolutely soar over the next 20 years. It's been a wild ride for the market this year, especially in April, largely due to the volatility caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs. No asset has been spared, including the world's largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), which bounced as low as $75,000 in early April but has proven fairly resilient, rising all the way back to roughly $94,780 (as of April 28). Overall, Bitcoin is still performing very well since Trump won the election in early November and is up about 38% since that time. None have been more bullish than Michael Saylor, the co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), now doing business as Strategy. Saylor thinks Bitcoin's run is just starting to kick into high gear. In fact, Saylor thinks Bitcoin can rise all the way to $13 million per token over time. Here's why. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » In 2020, Saylor pivoted the business at MicroStrategy, which initially was a business intelligence company, and began using all available cash to buy hoards of Bitcoin. Since then, Bitcoin has taken off, as has MicroStrategy's stock. Saylor has been able to tap the capital markets to raise capital that the company could use to buy more Bitcoin. Bitcoin Price data by YCharts The success has made Saylor even more bullish. He shocked the world last year when he said he thinks Bitcoin can rise to $13 million per token. His thesis is that he thinks Bitcoin can generate average annual returns of 29% over the next 20 years, taking the token to $13 million, which implies 13,616% upside from current levels. "Right now we're 60% ARR, it will decelerate toward 20% ARR over the next 21 years, and the volatility will decelerate," he said. Since that time, Saylor hasn't wavered. Not only has MicroStrategy continued to buy hoards of Bitcoin at big prices, but in a recent interview, Saylor's comments indicated that he's just as bullish on Bitcoin as he's ever been. He said Bitcoin is going to move 30% to 60% higher per year for the next 20 years. "... I bought it at $10,000. I'm buying it in billions of dollars of quantity at $100,000. I'll be buying at a million, and I'll be buying it at $10 million," Saylor said. Despite heightened uncertainty for investors, the regulatory environment has undoubtedly gotten much better for crypto since Trump took office. Regulators that formerly took a stricter approach to crypto regulation have stepped down or been pushed out. Trump has brought on pro-crypto officials as advisors and in his cabinet, and he's even created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Recently, federal banking regulators withdrew supervisory guidance that essentially told banks to exercise caution when interacting with crypto, and to seek approval from regulators before conducting certain crypto-related activities. This is a clear nod to banks and traditional financial institutions that they are free to bring crypto further into the mainstream financial system. Brokerages are also finding it easier to sell a wider range of cryptocurrencies. I would definitely caution investors from reading too much into Saylor's bold $13 million prediction. It is pretty unclear how he comes up with these annual returns he's projecting. Trying to predict price targets for a volatile asset like Bitcoin almost seems impossible. That said, I do think investors can buy some Bitcoin for their portfolios, and that it can serve as another good diversifier. Given Bitcoin's finite supply of 21 million tokens, many believe Bitcoin can serve as a hedge against inflation, or a digital form of gold, which has been on a crazy run in recent years. Furthermore, it's unclear what will happen to the U.S. dollar under Trump's tariffs and considering the debt issues the U.S. government is facing. Bitcoin has historically had an inverse relationship to the dollar, given it was created as an alternative currency. For all of these reasons, I think investors can have exposure to Bitcoin and that it will move higher over time. Whether it gets anywhere close to $13 million per token is a huge guess. Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $611,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $684,068!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 889% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 162% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 Bram Berkowitz has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 13,616%, According to MicroStrategy Co-Founder Michael Saylor was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
