If you search deep in the nooks and crannies of your memory, you probably can recall one specific fashion choice you made in your younger days that you now look back on with absolute shame. You may have destroyed the pictures – I know I did, and thank goodness this was before the digital age! – but the memory is still there. Whether it be of a mullet, popped collars, parachutes pants, dramatic shoulder pads, or a rat tail, it’s in there, suppressed and collecting dust.

We made these choices because we thought it made us look cool, all our friends were doing it, or out of rebellion. We probably had friends or family members try to talk us out of it, or at least help us find a new path eventually.

Similarly, now more than ever, investors need financial advisors who can talk them out of the investing equivalent of baggy parachute pants.

Since Blueprint is an asset manager, financial services dogma says that right now I’m supposed to tell you where the S&P will close in 2022, which asset class will be the top performer, and where Treasuries are headed.

Instead, for two good reasons I’m going to highlight some laughable predictions made by market “experts” over the years. Reason 1: We could all use a little levity right about now. Reason 2: More importantly, these predictions reinforce the truly important point that most market predictions are worthless.

Like many others, I’m drawn to “comeback” stories. It’s no surprise, then, that the history of the world’s rarest and most ancient dog has stuck with me.

For more than 50 years, the New Guinea highland wild dog was thought to be extinct. But in the 2010s, a few reported sightings led researchers to take blood samples that confirmed the existence of a healthy, viable population hidden in a remote region.

You might be wondering how this story can possibly relate to the question posed in the title of this blog. Well, for me, it’s that the past 10+ years have led too many investors to devalue the role of a financial advisor by turning advising into an à la carte menu. Many still value financial planning, but they’re second guessing whether they need an investment quarterback. However, at Blueprint, we see signs of revival.

We received a surprising amount of feedback following our September blog about advisor marketing, so we’re back with a sequel.

In these video responses (most are under 2 minutes), you’ll find answers to common questions we hear from advisors about how to refine their marketing activities to build and retain client relationships.

There’s a perception that all advisors offer the exact same service (or, for that matter, all asset managers, plumbers, architects, etc.). Changing perception for your practice requires building a reputation, a brand, a marketing program.

Toward that end, our firm hosted a webinar earlier this year with our friends Corey Keating and Ryan Stark, who both offer consulting and outsourced marketing services for financial advisors. It was a lively event that generated a spirted Q&A, and I think the video responses to several of the questions will be of interest to advisors who weren’t able to attend the live event (most are under 2 minutes).