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Hosted by Financial Advisor Coach, Ray Sclafani, "Building The Billion Dollar Business" is the ultimate podcast for financial advisors seeking to elevate their practice. Each episode features deep dives into actionable advice and exclusive interviews with top professionals in the financial services industry. Tune in to unlock your potential and build a successful, enduring financial advisory practice.
Ray Sclafani (00:00.142)
Welcome to Building the Billion Dollar Business, the podcast where we dive deep into the strategies, insights, and stories behind the world's most successful financial advisors and introduce content and actionable ideas to fuel your growth. Together, we'll unlock the methods, tactics, and mindset shifts that set the top 1 % apart from the rest. I'm Ray Sclafani, and I'll be your host. Today, we're talking about a force so big
so steady, so in your face, it's reshaping everything. Our economy, our healthcare system, and most critically, our profession of financial advising. Now, I know I'm gonna date myself when I say this, but remember Harry Dent? Yeah, the guy in the 1990s who made demographics sexy? Well, sort of. Most of you know exactly who I'm talking about, and you're probably smiling a little bit right now.
I know that was decades ago, but guess what? He was really onto something. There isn't a new story here, but the story just got real. Let's start with a quote I recently heard that stopped me in my tracks. It's from Standard & Poor's and it goes like this. No other force is as likely to shape the future as the irreversible rate at which the population is aging. Now that's not opinion. That's a demographic fact.
We are smack dab in the middle of what's being called the silver tsunami. Some prefer the age wave, whatever you call it. It's not coming. It's already here. Let's talk about numbers. 10,000 Americans will turn 65 every single day by 2030. One in five Americans will be over retirement age. And check this out. 80 % of us wealth is held by people age 60 and older.
Ray Sclafani (01:59.874)
Here's the gut punch. Most advisory firms are still operating like it's 2005, too focused on accumulation and not focused enough on decumulation, longevity planning, or family transitions. So what are advisors to do? Here are three practical shifts that every advisory team should be thinking about right now. Number one, reframe your value proposition. Move beyond just that managing money
and start answering the real questions clients are asking. What happens if my spouse goes first? What happens to my spouse if I go first? How do I prepare the next generation without enabling entitlement? When do we run a fire drill? God forbid something were to happen to both of us at the same time. This is where the real advice lives. It's personal, it's emotional and strategic. And if your team
can't answer those questions clearly, empathically, and with confidence, well, you're probably not building the advisory team of the future. Second thing, build capacity for aging clients. Longevity isn't just about living longer, it's about how we live longer. The US ranks behind most developed nations in both lifespan and health span.
On average, Americans spend 12.4 years in poor health at the end of life, according to the World Health Organization. And it's expensive. Fidelity estimates the average out-of-pocket medical costs in retirement at $472,000 per couple. And if dementia enters the picture, that number can quadriple. So what does that mean for your firm? Well, you're going to need to integrate elder care planning, coordinate with the state attorneys,
health advocates and geriatric specialists be in relationship with the adult children before the wealth transfer or God forbid a death or disability. Because here's another stat you can't afford to ignore. 70 % of heirs and 80 % of widows leave their advisor after the wealth transfers. That's not a retention issue, that's a relationship issue. Number three, lead the family dialogue.
Ray Sclafani (04:20.674)
The most enduring firms aren't just money managers, they're relationship architects. You should be facilitating family meetings, documenting and passing along family values, not just assets, and helping your clients prepare their heirs, not just prepare for them. And if you're doing all of that, you're in the money. If you're not, someone else will. If this topic interests you, I highly recommend checking out the work coming out of Stanford's University Longevity Center.
and Read the Blue Zones by Dan Butner. It's the most widely read book on longevity for a reason. These are all game changers in helping people live longer and living better. As advisors, this is our opportunity to serve not just the life of our clients as they're living, but the long arc of the one they might live. That's where legacy is built. With each episode, I'd like to provide a series of questions that you can discuss as a team.
Today there are five. Number one, what's one concrete way your team is helping clients plan for their health span, not just their lifespan? Two, are you modeling out-of-pocket medical expenses, including long-term care in every financial plan? And if not, why not? Number three, do you have a process for building relationships with spouses and adult children before a wealth transfer occurs?
And how confident are you that your current value proposition resonates with a 75 year old widow or her 38 year old daughter? And fifth, what additional expertise or strategic partners do you need to become a firm that guides family through longevity, not just market volatility? If any of this hit a nerve, awesome. That's the point. You don't need to solve this overnight, but you do need to continue to evolve.
Well, thanks for tuning in. And that's a wrap. Until next time, this is Ray Sclafani. Keep building, growing and striving for greatness. Together, we'll redefine what's possible in the world of wealth management. Be sure to check back for our latest episode and article.