The RPAG Scoop | November 2024
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Since we are so thankful for all of our members, this November episode of The RPAG Scoop is designed with you in mind! In addition to an insider look at market performance, we have some tips and tricks for the RPAG portal coming right from our in house experts, our ASAs! And to wrap it all up nice and neatly are our friends from Nationwide with a message for you about their retirement solutions.
Veronica Lee, Chief Relations Officer of RPAG, brought our Advisor Service Associates on our Scoop this month to tell you some secrets of the RPAG Portal. Alexis Patenaude's favorite parts of the RPAG Portal are the PlanFees Suite - including Prism, Prism365, and RFP Express - and advisor reports. The advisor reports which allow you to run reports over your entire book of business in one place. This is also reflected into AdvisorIQ, where you can see a snapshot of your entire book of business. Jasmine Lambert thinks our members would be most surprised to learn that we have an entire online learning curriculum called RPAG University. We also have a YouTube channel where you can view our previous conference videos, market reviews, thought leadership sessions, as well as weekly shorts for quick updates. Brooke Visagie let us know that members should remember to use the search bar under their name and use the quick links tool at the top of the main page to help you navigate the portal significantly faster. And lastly, Da'Ron Jennings believes the best kept secrets of the portal are the report themes and managed templates. These allow you to customize your reports for your whole company so you have uniform looking reports when you are presenting to your clients.
Market Update with Jeff Elvander (11:23)
Jeff Elvander, Chief Investment Officer of RPAG, wanted to show our members the "not-so-scary" subjects affecting the market this quarter. Starting off with the election, which inherently carries uncertainty, there is no clear outcome in sight so far, but frankly, it doesn't necessarily matter. Regardless of who wins, the deficit continues to be the biggest ongoing issue. According to Jeff, it's best for the market to have balance between the House, Senate, and President so that policy doesn't swing heavily one way or the other; however, rates and inflation could be influenced by the outcome of the election.
U.S. equity markets are up by over 22% year-to-date, making Jeff question if we are overvaluing US equity markets. The Magnificent Seven, previously discussed in market reviews, is the largest influence on this growth and shows how today's market is significantly different from 30 years ago.
Nationwide's Retirement Solutions (21:18)
Christina Gregory, the DVP leading the eastern portion in the emerging markets space at Nationwide Financial, wanted to go over their retirement solutions with you! But who is Nationwide? They are currently the number one provider of government plans with over 23,000 plan sponsors. To learn more about the needs of advisors, they surveyed 300 advisors to learn what they need from a provider. Depending on type of advisor (wealth manager vs a retirement focused advisor) their priorities change. A wealth advisor will want more simplicity and autopilot management, while a retirement focused advisor will be more focused on customizing plans. In 2011, they launched a program called Flexible Advantage that provided the flexibility for all advisors to assemble a plan that can help meet the needs of the varying plans they serviced. Now, Nationwide will launch a dual program suite, specifically designed for the unique needs of their advisors that builds on the strong foundation of Flexible Advantage and their extraordinary experience. They are ready to collaborate with you, so reach out to support and we can get you connected.
Again, we are very grateful to have you in our RPAG community, and we can't wait for next month's RPAG Scoop edition, coming to your inbox December 2.
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