The Scenario There’s an old story about the future of air travel; the pilot’s job is fully computer-controlled from before takeoff to after landing yet, as the story goes, every flight has a human pilot and a dog in the cockpit. The dog’s job? Bite the pilot if they touch any of the controls. Here’s…

The Scenario Laws enacted by those ladies and gentlemen we send to Congress are seldom a panacea for all. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act certainly fits that mold, as will be evident when we summarize the winners and losers under the Act. But first, here’s a quick editorial note—as with all of our articles, the…

Why do many small businesses fail after a transition to new leadership? Because the business owner did not plan the transition! Sadly, these business failures can often be traced to wholly preventable causes. So how should a savvy advisor with business owner clients or prospects respond to these avoidable causes of business failure? Use this…

The Scenario Your client received a Restricted Stock Award (RSA). So naturally, they have questions that may range from the basics to maximizing the after-tax value. This article reveals how RSAs work, their pros and cons, and tax issues. How RSAs Work Restricted Stock Awards (RSAs) are a form of equity-based nonqualified deferred compensation granted…

The Scenario Your client was granted incentive stock options (ISOs) by their employer. If your client is like many, the next question could be, “what are my next steps?” The next steps would generally include a brief review of what ISOs are and how they work. We’ll address those steps and then identify how to…

The Scenario Bear markets and sell-offs evoke strong emotional responses that can lead clients to investment decision errors. Yet, tragically, clients may be unaware that their response is emotionally driven, not logic-driven. As a result, in extreme cases, a client’s portfolio can take years to recover from investment decision errors. Challenge for Financial Advisors How…

The Scenario Your client was granted nonqualified stock options by their employer. A typical client question might be, “How do I get the most from my options?” Savvy advisors position themselves to respond to that question. We will address vital guidance-driven considerations, including: Understanding Nonstatutory Stock Options, Keeping Your Eyes on the Calendar, and Cutting…

The Challenge Social Security benefits are key to most Americans’ quality of life during retirement. Yet, an alarming number of clients approaching retirement do not have a basic understanding of Social Security benefits. Twelve fundamental questions were posed to 1,5001 pre-retirees to gauge their Social Security knowledge. Take the same true/false survey quiz below to…

One of the great benefits of the CFP® Certification is the number of doors it opens in terms of a career path. While the traditional financial planner is what most people associate with a CFP® Certificant, there are many jobs in the financial services industry you’ll see certificants working in. Below we’ve listed a few…

A major decision in retirement planning is identifying when to begin withdrawing Social Security retirement benefits. If you begin receiving benefits before your normal retirement age, you receive a smaller monthly benefit, but with a longer life expectancy (resulting in more benefit checks received); if you delay until after normal retirement age, you get larger…