Despite the stereotypes, most millennials are actually saving for retirement, at least according to a survey by Pentegra Retirement Services. A third are even putting at least 5 percent of their salary into a retirement savings vehicle. This still leaves two-thirds of millennials who aren’t saving adequately, according to Pentegra’s standards, and senior vice president Rich Rausser blames it on the generation prioritizing “wants,” like eating out and getting coffee, to “needs” like student loans, car payments and mortgage. “Retirement may seem decades away, but they must think about it today,” Rausser said. “However, it may not be so easy for this generation; we see in our report that many have not been taught what to do and how to do it when it comes to planning for their golden years.” While Rausser says millennials worry to much about “having the latest and greatest gadget or trend,” the report also acknowledges that several of the millennials surveyed couldn’t afford to contribute to their retirement plans because of student loan debt.
It's OK to Have a Lifestyle Practice
These days, advisors are often encouraged to turn their practices into full-scale businesses, with multiple team members and support staff. But a new study by SEI says it’s just fine to have a lifestyle practice—those owned and managed by their founder, who might not be interested in scaling their business or increasing valuation. They are instead focused on maximizing current cash flow. Sixty-four percent of the 400 advisors surveyed view themselves as advisors first and business owners second. But whether an advisor wants their firm to be a lifestyle or enterprise business, the study points out that advisors should make a determination early on to maximize the value of their chosen model. “The tradeoffs are clear between enterprise and lifestyle—higher revenue with lower valuation or lower short-term revenue with higher valuation,” said John Anderson, managing director and head of practice management solutions for the SEI Advisor Network. “In making this decision, an advisor should be able to direct its firm’s financial future to match their goals and clients’ needs—there is no right or wrong choice.”
Simply Wall St. Raises $1.8 Million in Funding
Australia-based financial services app Simply Wall St. raised $1.8 million in its latest round of funding, Techcrunch is reporting. The app, which takes complicated financial data and turns it into easy-to-understand infographics, raised the money from its own clientele of high net worth individuals who have been pushing for a more-robust set of services from the startup. Founded in 2014, Simply Wall St.'s user base has grown from 25,000 to 100,000 over the past year.