Hi everyone, I hope your year is going well! This is Pete Secret with your industry update for the month of February.
Monthly, we'll go over business-building ideas, ways to connect with ultra-high net worth, research from top firms, we'll highlight one firm a month, talk about the current deal landscape, and go over some noteworthy moves.
Forget Florida—South Carolina Low Country Is the Top U.S. Luxury-Home Market:
U.S. luxury home buyers looking for more space, a strong return on investment—plus an enjoyable place to live—might want to consider the booming Southern waterfront communities Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Beaufort, South Carolina.
The metro area ranked No. 1 in the fourth quarter of 2022 on The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index, released recently, shooting up from 12th place the previous quarter. The region, often referred to as the Low Country, attracts buyers interested in amenities such as boating, golf and miles of beaches—and the warm weather to match.
Business-building idea:
ChatGPT - I'm sure you've heard at least something about it by now. The powerful new AI chatbot offers some interesting opportunities for advisors who are looking to grow their reach and become thought leaders in their niche.
If you aren't familiar, ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that, as described on the Forbes website, gives human-like, detailed answers to inquiries. Explaining the technology doesn't do it justice, this is something you need to experience for yourself and you can do that here.
The reason this is an opportunity is it can write articles, blog posts, website content, informational whitepapers, educational content, and social media posts with astounding accuracy almost instantly. Meaning ChatGPT offers advisors the opportunity to quickly create a large volume of content in a short amount of time. Not only that, it can be tailored to your niche and local area as well as being optimized for search engine ranking.
For example, it can be asked "write a LinkedIn post about RSUs", and it will come back with a detailed post with hashtags all optimized for the platform. Best part? If you don't like it or don't think it is up to par, tell ChatGPT and it will reiterate it based on your feedback.
Overall, this is a great tool you should check out just to experience it but if you're an opportunistic advisor, you'll find this to be a golden ticket to carefully crafted content for all platforms and mediums in no time (literally). This will allow you to convey your ideas into digestible content for your ideal client to connect and engage with to create and build relationships.
*By the way... this section was primarily written by ChatGPT
Top 5 Cars That Scream "I'm Filthy Rich":
1. Lamborghini Veneno Roadster
With a starting price of $4.5m, the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster is one of the most expensive and exclusive cars in the world, and it's bound to be at the top of the shopping list for any car-loving billionaire with money to burn.
2. Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse
Supercars don't come much more super than Bugatti Veyron, a car designed and developed for celebrities and wealthy businesspeople. Simon Cowell owned one of these. Tom Cruise owns one of the first and original Bugatti Veyrons. Renowned pop singer Beyoncé Knowles purchased a brand new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport worth $2 million for her husband Jay-Z on his 41st birthday. And these are only the standard Veyrons, with prices starting at $1.7 million.
3. Pagani Zonda
Pagani may not be the most familiar name, but its cars are among the most intriguing and exclusive cars to car enthusiasts. Italian car lovers will agree. The Zonda is a mid-engine roadster that has been on the market since 1999. If expensive cars identify millionaires on the road, then the Zonda F Roadster is a car for the billionaires. This Roadster costs $1.4 million, and amazingly, it's not the most expensive car manufactured by the Italian company.
4. Porsche 918 Spyder
The Porsche Spyder is a hybrid supercar with lots of technology. It's a dream of a sports car in every imaginable way, and buying one, with prices starting at $845,000, is not something any ordinary man can do. The design, performance, and handling of the 918 Spyder inspire confidence. The hybrid supercar can perfectly drive on a battery, gasoline engine, or both.
5. Rolls-Royce Phantom
This one is for buyers who want nothing to do with sporty roadsters and supercars. The Phantom is a serious head-turning prestigious car with high-end luxury features, powerful performance, and a half-million price tag. The flagship 2022 Phantom starts at around $460,000. The extended-wheelbase model costs approximately $550,000. Of course, the final Phantom each buyer drives home will vary in price depending on the upgrades and features they choose for their unique ride.
February Research from Top Firms:
Morgan Stanley - Debunking a myth about inflation: some investors fear that rising wages will slow the decline in inflation. However, Morgan Stanley expects inflation in core goods and rents to continue coming down. Wages could have an impact on other services but expect that to be minimal. Overall, Morgan Stanley predicted 3.6% inflation for the U.S. in 2023, compared to the consensus of 3.8%. Read more here.
First Republic - Going Forward: Equity and bond marketing volatility will remain elevated until there's a meaningful and consistent decrease in inflation, and the duration of higher rates is more certain as markets become comfortable with a "data-dependent" Fed that's focused on the cumulative effects of rate hikes. Read more here.
Current landscape:
W-2 wirehouses & large regional firms are offering lucrative deals to attract top talent, with >300% of trailing twelve production & Forbes/Barrons teams getting >325% depending on many factors. If considering going independent, expect 30-100% of annual production. Not all firms pay upfront.
If you're inherently entrepreneurial, consider starting or joining an RIA. While no upfront pay may be offered, the enterprise value built can offset the opportunity cost of taking a check.
Want to see what a deal looks like for your business? Click here to see what specific offers look like for your unique situation.
Noteworthy moves:
Every month we compile a list of some recent advisor moves that we would like to spotlight. Here are some examples:
First Republic's Hiring Spree Rolls On
Notching its third multi-million dollar team in as many weeks, First Republic Bank’s private wealth unit on Friday hired a Merrill Lynch team generating $7.8 million in annual revenue from $850 million in client assets...
J.P. Morgan Advisors Nabs $2m Merrill Team
J.P. Morgan Advisors, the Wall Street bank’s traditional brokerage unit, kicked off its 2023 recruiting season with a four-person Merrill Lynch team with nearly $2 million in annual revenue in New York.