Daniel Bryant, president of National Sales, Retirement and Private Wealth with Sheridan Road Financial, a division of HUB International, hit the stage Sunday afternoon at Outcomes Conference 2019 in Denver for a frank discussion of the biggest hurdle to a secure retirement that Americans face—debt.
“You can’t save more tomorrow unless you borrow less today,” he quipped at the presentation’s outset.
He began by noting the convergence of big data, technology and wellness, and how they’re put together.
“We know what we do, but it’s not really about what we do, but why we do it,” Bryant argued. “We are empowering people to make better decisions, but it’s more than just financial decisions, it’s improving outcomes. It’s improving life outcomes, health care outcomes, family outcomes and yes financial outcomes.
Noting current levels of financial stress, he said it’s the invisible drain on workplace productivity and the employer’s bottom line.
“How do we change the normalized state of financial stress to a normalized state of financial wellness?” he rhetorically asked before adding, “You might not think younger people are stressed because they don’t own anything, but what they do own is a boatload of student debt. There is $1.3 trillion of outstanding student debt. They have low levels of financial literacy and don’t know what to do.”
5 areas of focus
He then listed five areas of near-term focus going forward for a “really fun next 10-years of opportunity.”
- The realm of academia and behavioral finance—”It’s fascinating, they’re producing new research each year with these massive teams and apparatuses behind them.”
- Tech and big data—For the first time ever, so much of the tools we use now works in unison.
- Interconnectivity between financial care and health care—You can’t have one without the other, Bryant said. “It’s fascinating in how our clients are now managing the infrastructure of each.”
- The relationship between the employer and employee—40 years ago, the contract was “you work, and I pay you.” Now it’s so much more, and slated to continue with Millennials.
- Consumerism—Employees are more engaged with consumer-driven buying habits and are demanding employers provide it.
“It’s a massive opportunity if we get in the way of it (or out of the way of it),” Bryant concluded.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
