Clients, Financial Planning and Presentation

A 3-Step Sales Process To Clearly Demonstrate Financial Planning Value To Prospects

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Over the past decade, a growing number of advisors have expanded into offering comprehensive financial planning services, reflecting a shift that not only helps them stand out from (increasingly commoditized) portfolio management offerings but also supports clients' broader financial goals.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning Sales Planning Retirement

Fix, Fine, Flourish: A Framework To Take Clients From (Just) “Fine” Staganancy To Being Engaged Again

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

When a client first begins working with an advisor, the relationship is often marked with a flurry of onboarding tasks, immediate issues to resolve, and long-term planning goals to establish. And as clients come into monitoring meetings, they may increasingly describe their situation as "fine", with no pressing issues to address.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Planning Management

Flip ‘Plan Presentation’ Into ‘Plan Engagement’ Meetings To Generate More Focus And Reflective Questions From Clients

Nerd's Eye View

JUNE 28, 2023

One of the key steps in the financial planning process is presenting the plan to the client, which has traditionally been done as part of a single 'plan presentation' meeting that takes place once the advisor has gathered and analyzed all of the client's data.

Planning

Planning Clients Financial Planning Education

Webinars

Book of Secrets on the Month-End Close

What Your Financial Statements Are Telling You—And How to Listen!

Are Robots Replacing You? Keeping Humans in the Loop in Automated Environments

Data Talks, CFOs Listen: Why Analytics Is The Key To Better Spend Management

MORE WEBINARS

#FASuccess Ep 423: Expanding Across The Household By Helping (Affluent) Sandwich Generation Kids With Their Parents’ Financial Needs, With Cristina Livadary

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Cristina is the CEO of Mana Financial Life Design, an RIA based in Los Angeles, California (but works virtually with clients nationwide), that oversees approximately $70 million in assets under management for 119 client households.

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Clients Financial Planning Planning

Values, Purpose, Action: A 3-Part Approach To Establish A “Statement Of Financial Purpose” And Unlock Deeper, More Meaningful Planning Conversations With Clients

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

In the early days of financial planning, serving clients often meant developing transactional relationships focused on facilitating trades and selling insurance. Over time, advisors shifted toward more analytical approaches, such as investment management and retirement planning.

Clients

Clients Planning Financial Planner Financial Planning

Help clients get real about savings

Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT)

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Mann, MBA, CFP I find that so many of my clients, regardless of income, have no idea how much money they are saving. Early in my career, this created quite the challenge in developing a proper plan. First, I would ask clients how much they were saving each year for retirement. Then I would present the plan to the client.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning CFP Retirement

How “Probability Of Success” Differs Between One-Time And Ongoing Financial Plans

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Monte Carlo simulations have become the dominant method for conducting financial planning analyses for clients and are a feature of most comprehensive financial planning software programs.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning Planning Retirement Portfolio

#FA Success Ep 385: Unblocking Clients That Won’t Implement With A Journey Of Financial Health, With Danielle Howard

Nerd's Eye View

MAY 14, 2024

Danielle is the owner of Wealth By Design, a hybrid advisory firm based in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, that oversees about $35 million in assets under advisement for 35 client households.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Financial Advisor Planning

The WealthStack Podcast: Making the Complex Simple - Facilitating Meaningful Financial Planning Conversations

Wealth Management

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

The chief brand officer of Elements discusses how they provides advisors a way to capture vital client data to present a holistic picture of their financial life.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning Planning Clients

Kitces & Carl Ep 116: Getting Training As (Or For) An Associate Advisor To Talk More In Client Meetings

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 13, 2023

Establishing successful client relationships as a financial advisor relies on good communication skills not just to present information persuasively and with confidence, but also to establish client rapport that allows meaningful and engaging relationships to be built.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Financial Planner Communication

Kitces & Carl Ep 97: Talking Clients Down From Making Politically Motivated Portfolio Changes

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 20, 2022

In recent years, politically charged topics have become the forefront of news and media, and with the rise of access to digitally distributed media, it has become commonplace for clients to have concerns about the possible impact of political events on their portfolios.

Portfolio

Portfolio Clients Financial Planning Communication

How Communicating Guardrails Withdrawal Strategies Can Improve Client Experience And Decrease Stress

Nerd's Eye View

MARCH 20, 2024

Monte Carlo simulations have become a central method of conducting financial planning analyses for clients and are a feature of most comprehensive financial planning software programs. However, the results of these simulations generally don't account for potential adjustments that could be made along the way (e.g.,

Communication

Communication Clients Risk Tolerance Financial Planning

How To Manage Strong Emotions When Asking Clients Kinder Life Planning Questions

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 10, 2022

When financial planning clients think about their future, they might imagine a relaxing retirement, world travel, or other pleasant experiences. And using this perspective, advisors can add value for clients by helping them prioritize their goals and explore whether their current behaviors match their desired outcomes.

Clients

Clients Planning Management Financial Planning

Quantifying (More Accurately) The Real Impact Of A Financial Advisor’s Costs On Their Clients’ Nest Eggs

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Though in practice, while a 1% AUM fee is a common 'starting point' in the industry, the actual fee structure can vary based on the firm's approach; for example, some firms may reduce the fee for high-net-worth clients, or charge an additional fee for separate and additional services (from deeper financial planning to add-ons like tax preparation).

Clients

Clients Financial Advice Financial Planning Financial Advisor

Optimizing Virtual Client Meetings To Make Them More ‘Real’ And Less Exhausting

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Traditionally, financial planning meetings have been held face-to-face in an advisor's office, and over the years, a body of research has emerged showing that how the advisor's office is laid out can have a significant impact on how clients perceive the advisor, their mood during the meeting, and even their resulting financial planning decisions.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Planning Communication

#FA Success Ep 348: Building Your Own Planning Spreadsheets To Show Clients What They Need To See, With Jeff Jones

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 29, 2023

Jeff is the Owner and Founder of Cypress Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, that oversees $275 million in assets under management for 380 client households. My guest on today's podcast is Jeff Jones.

Planning

Planning Clients Financial Planning Financial Advisor

Asking The Toughest Kinder Question: How To Help Clients Explore Regret Productively And Take Action

Nerd's Eye View

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

When it comes to helping clients clarify their most important financial planning goals and priorities, many advisors may find it difficult to facilitate the insightful conversations necessary to guide clients through an exploration of these values.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Planning Communication

Kitces & Carl Ep 146: Re-Educating Clients (Scalably) After They “Read Something On The Internet”

Nerd's Eye View

SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

While strategic advice is crucial, advisors also face the challenge of presenting the strategies to clients in context, explaining different financial planning concepts, and showing clients how to implement these strategies (as well as pointing out any long-term consequences).

Education

Education Clients Financial Planning Communication

Fact, Situation, Feeling – Using The Iceberg Follow-Up Model To Connect With And Motivate Clients

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

The need for financial professionals to ask prospects and clients questions has a long history in the industry. One of the best ways to accomplish that goal is not to ask better questions, but to also ask engaging follow-up questions that build trust and rapport with clients. as judgmental.

Clients

Clients Communication Financial Planning Retirement

#FA Success Ep 360: Growing To 100+ Clients With $100M+ AUM With Intentionality To Leave Time For Family, With Suzanne Powell

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

Suzanne is a Senior Financial Advisor at Meridian Wealth Management, an RIA based in Lexington, Kentucky, where she oversees approximately $110 million in assets under management for nearly 150 client households.

Clients

Clients Financial Advisor CFP Wealth Management

Tax-Loss Harvesting Best Practices (And How To Scale It Across A Client Base)

Nerd's Eye View

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Tax-loss harvesting – i.e., selling investments at a loss to capture a tax deduction while re-investing the proceeds to maintain market exposure – is a popular strategy for financial advisors to increase their clients’ after-tax investment returns. Read More.

Taxes

Taxes Clients Tax Planning Financial Advisor

Why Held-Away Asset Management Technology Is Being Scrutinized By State Regulators (And How Advisors Can Compliantly Manage Clients’ 401(k) Assets)

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 28, 2024

Historically, advisors haven't had many avenues to manage clients' 401(k) plan accounts, since unlike traditional custodial investment accounts, advisors generally lack discretionary trading authority in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Assets

Assets Management Clients Compliance

The Future Of Financial Advice: How Tech and Approaches In 2030 Will Differ From Today

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 8, 2024

For instance, the financial advice industry has seen many changes to regulations (for both advisors and their clients), advisor business models, and the advisor technology landscape. The changing patterns in how financial advice is delivered can be compared to the similar trends seen in the evolution of medicine.

Financial Advice

Financial Advice Medicine Financial Planning Estate Planning

#FA Success Ep 318: From So Many Clients To So Few: Transitioning From Retail Brokerage To The Multi-Family Office, With Ali Swart

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 31, 2023

Kitces & Carl Ep 141: Creating The Space To Have More Meaningful Money Conversations With Clients

Nerd's Eye View

JUNE 27, 2024

The practice of asking questions has always been an integral part of the financial planning process. In the early days of the advicer industry, those questions almost exclusively dealt with facts around a client's or prospect's financial situation to determine (ultimately) what products the adviser should recommend.

Clients

Clients Financial Planning Communication Planning

Kitces & Carl Ep 123: Does Every Prospective Client Fit A Niche, Or Do Advisor Specializations Leave More Underserved?

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Niching offers several advantages, allowing advisors to be more specific in their marketing, more targeted in their prospecting calls, and more efficient in their processes (since clients within a similar niche are likely to have similar problems, especially in niches of profession). Read More.

Clients

Clients Financial Advisor Financial Advice Financial Services

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (Dec 24-25)

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 23, 2022

From gradually raising the RMD age to 75 to expanding opportunities to make Roth-style contributions, to increasing the annual limit for Qualified Charitable Distributions, this legislation will likely impact nearly all financial planning clients! How ‘regifting’ can help save money and reduce waste.

Financial Planner

Financial Planner Retirement Planning Financial Planning Budgeting

Kitces & Carl Ep 100: Is Advisor Technology Really About Making Planning Faster… Or Better?

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 1, 2022

As financial planning has evolved over the years, better tools have become available to help advisors maximize their impact with more clients by increasing their efficiency. robo-advisors) might someday replace human advisors, there are still many elements of financial planning that benefit from engagement with a human advisor.

Planning

Planning Financial Planning Financial Advice Clients

Rebuilding The Kitces Members Section And The State Of The (Nerd’s Eye View) Blog

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 13, 2025

With another strong year in the markets, most advisory firms are near or at record highs for their revenue, their numbers of clients, and the headcounts of their teams. Which is surprising to some, given that a decade ago, the emergence of so-called "robo-advisors" was supposed to displace human financial advisors and compress advisory fees.

Financial Advice

Financial Advice Ethics Financial Planning Education

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (October 12–13)

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 11, 2024

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a CFP Board ad campaign promoting a career in financial planning to high school and college students sparked an uproar in the planning community, as some advisors questioned whether the messages being sent in the ads – (..)

Financial Planner

Financial Planner CFP Financial Planning Retirement Planning

Customize Your Presentations to Create a Personal Experience

eMoney Advisor

MAY 2, 2023

As a financial professional, you have probably noted how different clients react to the presentation of their financial plans. Or perhaps they like it when you show them charts and graphics while others like to have a physical interaction with the information you are presenting.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning Clients Planning Consulting

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (May 18-19)

Nerd's Eye View

MAY 17, 2024

Also in industry news this week: The SEC this week announced a proposed rule that would require RIAs to collect and verify their clients' personal information in an effort to prevent illicit activity, though many firms likely are taking many of these steps already Why larger RIAs and those that have been acquired tend to have worse client and staff (..)

Financial Planner

Financial Planner Wealth Management Retirement Investment Planning

Highlights From The 2023 T3 Advisor Conference

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 10, 2023

Hosted by Joel Bruckenstein and his team from T3 Consulting, the conference covered everything from how technology providers are continuing to expand their features and integration capabilities to how advisors can manage their own expanding tech stacks to the ever-present question of how AI tools like ChatGPT will impact the advisory industry.

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Planning Consulting

How to Present a Financial Plan: 4 Tips for Greater Engagement

eMoney Advisor

JANUARY 10, 2023

When financial professionals know how to effectively present a financial plan, they can better engage clients in the planning process and earn clients for life. Presenting a financial plan, however, isn’t as simple as running through the numbers.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning Planning Financial Planner Communication

#FA Success Ep 325: Building Success In The Financial Advice Business From A Financially Challenged Upbringing, With Brenda Hiscock

Nerd's Eye View

MARCH 21, 2023

Brenda is a financial planner with Objective Financial Partners, an advice-only advisory firm based in Ontario, Canada, that works with clients on project-based financial plans, and also offers outsourced paraplanning to other Canadian advisory firms. My guest on today's podcast is Brenda Hiscock.

Financial Advice

Financial Advice Insurance Financial Advisor Financial Planning

Tax Advice Restrictions For Financial Advisors: How To Offer Tax Planning And Remain In Compliance

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Taxes are a central component of financial planning. Almost every financial planning issue – whether it is retirement, investments, cash flow, insurance, or estate planning – has tax considerations, and advisors provide a great deal of value in helping clients minimize their overall tax burden.

Tax Planning

Tax Planning Compliance Taxes Financial Advisor

Pro Tips for Using Client Education to Boost Financial Planning

eMoney Advisor

JANUARY 31, 2023

A few years ago, I had a eureka moment that changed the way our firm approached client education. When we first started offering client webinars, we traveled to our regional offices to conduct events that were focused on market outlook. After that first year, we went a little more niche and focused on different types of clients.

Education

Education Financial Planning Clients Planning

#FA Success Ep 331: Getting Comfortable Hiring Advisors ‘Early’ As The Advisory Business Revenue Grows, With Jake Northrup

Nerd's Eye View

MAY 2, 2023

Welcome back to the 331st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! Jake is the Founder of Experience Your Wealth, an independent RIA based in Bristol, Rhode Island, that advises 78 client households with a 3-person team supporting more than $550,000 of ongoing revenue. My guest on today's podcast is Jake Northrup.

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Clients Planning

#FA Success Ep 309: Leveraging Structured Notes To Differentiate A Highly-Leveraged $300M Solo Practice, With Anh Tran

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Anh is the Founder and Managing Partner for SageMint Wealth, a corporate LPL-affiliated RIA based in Orange, California, that oversees nearly $325 million for 195 client households.

Estate Planning

Estate Planning Financial Advisor Financial Services Clients

#FA Success Ep 293: Jumpstarting Growth By Showing Up Differently Where Prospects Are (Digitally) Concentrated, With Anna N’Jie-Konte

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 9, 2022

Anna is the founder of Dare to Dream Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in New York City that has grown to more than $400,000 of annual revenue in barely 3 years by building a focused base of 32 ongoing clients coupled with more than a dozen project-based planning clients who go through a one-day financial planning intensive.

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Clients Planning

The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (February 2024)

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

This month's edition kicks off with the news that financial planning software platform RightCapital has launched a workflow management tool called RightFlows to help advisors manage and assign steps in the financial planning process to team members and clients – which on the one hand capitalizes on advisor demand for workflow solutions tailored (..)

Estate Planning

Estate Planning Financial Planning Planning Wealth Management

Why Regulators Are Questioning The Use Of Held-Away Asset Management Technology (And What Advisors Can Do About It)

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 28, 2024

Historically, advisors haven't had many avenues to manage clients' 401(k) plan accounts, since unlike traditional custodial investment accounts, advisors generally lack discretionary trading authority in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Assets

Assets Management Compliance Retirement Planning

#FA Success Ep 312: Resetting Your Work/Life Balance By Getting Paid For Expertise Instead Of (Just) Effort, With Emily Rassam

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 20, 2022

Emily is the Senior Financial Planner for Archer Investment Management, a virtual Independent RIA based in Austin, Texas, that oversees $170 million of assets under management for nearly 170 families.

Financial Advisor

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Planning Financial Planner

Implementing Retirement Income Guardrails To Facilitate (The Right) Spending Raises And Spending Cuts

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 4, 2023

Financial advisors have a wide range of strategies at their disposal to create financial plans for their clients. This strategy is valuable because it generally allows for higher initial withdrawal rates than more static approaches that don’t accommodate clients willing to adjust their spending in retirement.

Retirement

Retirement Distribution Retirement Planning Asset Allocation

A 3-Step Sales Process To Clearly Demonstrate Financial Planning Value To Prospects

Fix, Fine, Flourish: A Framework To Take Clients From (Just) “Fine” Staganancy To Being Engaged Again

Webinars

Trending Sources

Flip ‘Plan Presentation’ Into ‘Plan Engagement’ Meetings To Generate More Focus And Reflective Questions From Clients

Webinars

#FASuccess Ep 423: Expanding Across The Household By Helping (Affluent) Sandwich Generation Kids With Their Parents’ Financial Needs, With Cristina Livadary

Values, Purpose, Action: A 3-Part Approach To Establish A “Statement Of Financial Purpose” And Unlock Deeper, More Meaningful Planning Conversations With Clients

Help clients get real about savings

How “Probability Of Success” Differs Between One-Time And Ongoing Financial Plans

#FA Success Ep 385: Unblocking Clients That Won’t Implement With A Journey Of Financial Health, With Danielle Howard

The WealthStack Podcast: Making the Complex Simple - Facilitating Meaningful Financial Planning Conversations

Kitces & Carl Ep 116: Getting Training As (Or For) An Associate Advisor To Talk More In Client Meetings

Kitces & Carl Ep 97: Talking Clients Down From Making Politically Motivated Portfolio Changes

How Communicating Guardrails Withdrawal Strategies Can Improve Client Experience And Decrease Stress

How To Manage Strong Emotions When Asking Clients Kinder Life Planning Questions

Quantifying (More Accurately) The Real Impact Of A Financial Advisor’s Costs On Their Clients’ Nest Eggs

Optimizing Virtual Client Meetings To Make Them More ‘Real’ And Less Exhausting

#FA Success Ep 348: Building Your Own Planning Spreadsheets To Show Clients What They Need To See, With Jeff Jones

Asking The Toughest Kinder Question: How To Help Clients Explore Regret Productively And Take Action

Kitces & Carl Ep 146: Re-Educating Clients (Scalably) After They “Read Something On The Internet”

Fact, Situation, Feeling – Using The Iceberg Follow-Up Model To Connect With And Motivate Clients

#FA Success Ep 360: Growing To 100+ Clients With $100M+ AUM With Intentionality To Leave Time For Family, With Suzanne Powell

Tax-Loss Harvesting Best Practices (And How To Scale It Across A Client Base)

Why Held-Away Asset Management Technology Is Being Scrutinized By State Regulators (And How Advisors Can Compliantly Manage Clients’ 401(k) Assets)

The Future Of Financial Advice: How Tech and Approaches In 2030 Will Differ From Today

#FA Success Ep 318: From So Many Clients To So Few: Transitioning From Retail Brokerage To The Multi-Family Office, With Ali Swart

Kitces & Carl Ep 141: Creating The Space To Have More Meaningful Money Conversations With Clients

Kitces & Carl Ep 123: Does Every Prospective Client Fit A Niche, Or Do Advisor Specializations Leave More Underserved?

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (Dec 24-25)

Kitces & Carl Ep 100: Is Advisor Technology Really About Making Planning Faster… Or Better?

Rebuilding The Kitces Members Section And The State Of The (Nerd’s Eye View) Blog

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (October 12–13)

Customize Your Presentations to Create a Personal Experience

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (May 18-19)

Highlights From The 2023 T3 Advisor Conference

How to Present a Financial Plan: 4 Tips for Greater Engagement

#FA Success Ep 325: Building Success In The Financial Advice Business From A Financially Challenged Upbringing, With Brenda Hiscock

Tax Advice Restrictions For Financial Advisors: How To Offer Tax Planning And Remain In Compliance

Pro Tips for Using Client Education to Boost Financial Planning

#FA Success Ep 331: Getting Comfortable Hiring Advisors ‘Early’ As The Advisory Business Revenue Grows, With Jake Northrup

#FA Success Ep 309: Leveraging Structured Notes To Differentiate A Highly-Leveraged $300M Solo Practice, With Anh Tran

#FA Success Ep 293: Jumpstarting Growth By Showing Up Differently Where Prospects Are (Digitally) Concentrated, With Anna N’Jie-Konte

The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (February 2024)

Why Regulators Are Questioning The Use Of Held-Away Asset Management Technology (And What Advisors Can Do About It)

#FA Success Ep 312: Resetting Your Work/Life Balance By Getting Paid For Expertise Instead Of (Just) Effort, With Emily Rassam

Implementing Retirement Income Guardrails To Facilitate (The Right) Spending Raises And Spending Cuts

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