In this our fifth in a series of articles about helping clients in the Accumulation Phase of Retirement Planning, we note that clients will often be unaware of or ignore the potential risks of premature death, short- and long-term disability, casualty losses, lawsuits, retirement plan security, unplanned estate distribution issues, etc. Such events can severely…

Everyone in the industry is striving to grow revenue meaningfully and in short order. Some are considering expansion strategies and some new offerings or a new model (expensive, time-consuming, and delayed impact). Many are seeking training solutions (often inaccurately targeted) to improve sales results. And just about everyone is looking for a way to drive…

The date of July 9, 2012, marks the implementation of new FINRA rules governing the suitability requirements of brokers under Rule 2111. While many see this as the first foray into a new set of regulations and harmonization of the true fiduciary standards that RIA’s must meet, these new rules and standards push brokers to…

In this our fourth in a series of articles about helping clients in the Accumulation Phase of Retirement Planning, we address the fourth root cause of inadequate retirement saving, which is improper allocation of their retirement accumulation portfolio(s) when measured against their objectives and risk tolerance. We have been witnessing a steady decline in defined…

Unless the client initiates the conversation, it is often difficult for financial professionals to know how to engage clients and prospects in financial planning discussions.  Yet many times, those same financial advisors and planners have access to the tax returns of clients or prospects.  Next time that happens, why not use the 1040 as a…

Everyone knows the importance of making a connection with your client. Well, hopefully everyone. But the problem for some can be how to make that connection. The latest issue of Financial Planning Magazine has a succinct article on one way to go about doing that – sharing a powerful personal story. The point of the…

It seems like everyone is involved with social media these days – even the IRS.  You can get Twitter news feeds from the IRS; you can even go to their Facebook page, although I don’t see anywhere where you can become a “friend” (either that, or no one has yet signed up to be a…

One of the benefits of serving the CFP marketplace as an educational provider is the privilege we have to connect with so many individuals of various backgrounds. Whether they have been serving clients within the wealth management industry for many years, whether they are considering a change of career, or those only looking to better…

Roth IRAs are one of the best retirement accumulation vehicles available because they offer tax-free accumulation, tax-free distributions, and no required minimum distributions. In addition, accessibility to the funds is hassle-free and withdrawals of contributions are always tax-free. One Roth IRA income tax benefit is not talked about enough – the income tax effect of…

As you have undoubtedly noticed, yields on short-term income investments are very low. However, you may have some cash set aside or some discretionary cash flow that you want to put to work somewhere but NOT at an anemic interest rate or speculative higher rate of return. What to do? The answer may be to…