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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 15–16)

August 14, 2026 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that the Treasury Department released proposed regulations that would clarify several aspects of Section 530A "Trump Accounts". The proposed rules would make the allowed $2,500 employer contribution excluded from income to apply on a per employee basis and across all employers (so that an employee could only exclude a total of $2,500 from income no matter how many children or jobs they have), though the proposal does offer some additional flexibility by giving employers the option of allowing employees to make pre-tax salary reduction contributions (up to $2,500 per year) through a section 125 cafeteria plan to a dependent's Trump Account. In addition, the proposal says that sole proprietors, partners, and 2%+ S-corp shareholders would not be able to make income-excludable employer contributions to their own or their dependents' Trump Accounts (which is likely to disappoint business owners who hoped to gain the tax benefits of doing so).

Also in industry news this week:

The Treasury Department said this week that it is issuing a final rule that permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act
Advisors and their clients alike appear to be more optimistic than they were earlier in the year, according to a recent survey, with a strong majority of advisors also reporting growth in the size of their client bases

From there, we have several articles on investment planning:

While increased correlations between stocks and bonds in recent years might have some investors questioning the value of bonds within a portfolio, this statistic alone might not tell the full story of the potential benefits of a bond allocation
How advisors are working with clients who want to maintain larger cash holdings amidst market uncertainty
Why diversification might be better thought of as an ingredient in successful asset allocation rather than the goal itself

We also have a number of articles on retirement planning:

Why the relative flexibility and simplicity of the SEP IRA could make it a useful tool for certain business owners and freelancers
How cash balance plans have experienced growing popularity in recent years as a tool for high earners to defer taxes and build their retirement savings
The nuts and bolts of establishing Solo 401(k) plans for self-employed clients

We wrap up with three final articles, all about the role of financial advisors:

The history of musical conductors and how it mirrors the role of the financial advisor in supporting clients
How financial advisors might 'conduct' clients' financial lives in a world of advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools
How financial advisors can once again move to 'higher ground' amidst a potential technological 'threat'

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

4 Alternative Retirement Paths And An Advisor’s Role In Helping Clients Plan For Them

August 12, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Retirement Planning

Planning for an enjoyable retirement is a primary goal of many financial planning clients. For many, this means working full-time well into their 60s before leaving the workforce entirely. However, this 'traditional' view of retirement might not be a fit for every individual, as some might not want to wait until they reach their mid-60s to take significant time away from the workplace – while others might prefer to preserve the financial, psychological, and social benefits that can come from working past 'traditional' retirement age.

With this in mind, financial advisors have the opportunity to create a potential 'aha' moment for their clients by introducing them to alternative retirement paths that could better match their preferences. Further, because these strategies come with their own respective risks and planning opportunities, advisors are also well-positioned to support clients pursuing one of these paths on an ongoing basis.

To start, clients who have amassed significant savings might be able to achieve financial independence, where paid work is no longer required to support their lifestyle expenses. While leaving the workforce before 'traditional' retirement age comes with direct costs (e.g., purchasing health insurance) and risks (e.g., portfolio sustainability over an extended retirement period), it can also present tax planning opportunities (such as Roth conversion and/or capital gains harvesting during lower-income years).

Rather than leave the workforce completely, some individuals might prefer to take extended breaks during the course of their career (e.g., for caretaking, or to travel while they're in good health) while planning to return to their existing job or a similar position at a different company. These "sabbaticals" offer flexibility (in terms of their length and frequency) and require fewer assets than financial independence, but could necessitate working past 'traditional' retirement age (given the inability to save during the sabbatical period, and the risk that the individual won't be able to find a commensurate job when they return to the workforce).

For those who haven't saved enough to achieve 'full' financial independence but who might want to work in a more meaningful and/or less stressful (but lower paying job), "Coast FIRE" could be an attractive alternative path. An individual can take advantage of this path when their retirement savings are projected to grow – without further contributions – into a portfolio large enough to support their anticipated future retirement spending needs. At that point, they 'only' need to earn enough to cover their ongoing expenses while continuing to work.

Finally, under the semi-retirement path, an individual can 'test' retirement by reducing their work hours. In this way, they can see what it's like to have more free hours during the week while still tapping into the financial, social, and psychological benefits that can come from work. A willingness to work at least part-time past 'traditional' retirement age can also be supportive of a client's long-term plan, as it could allow them to delay Social Security benefits and mitigate sequence of return risk.

Ultimately, the key point is that financial advisors are well-positioned to introduce alternative retirement paths to clients who express interest, and to support them on an ongoing basis in navigating the resulting financial planning challenges and opportunities.

And if you want to go deeper on this topic, hear directly from the author on the Financial Advisor Technician podcast .

Managing $240M As A 3-Person Team Through A Structured Meeting Approach: #FASuccess Ep 502 With Wendy Ciehanski

August 11, 2026 07:06 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Wendy Ciehanski Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 502nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Wendy Ciehanski. Wendy is a senior wealth advisor within the RIA Composition Wealth, where her Columbus, Ohio-based practice oversees approximately $240 million in assets under management for 156 client households.

What's unique about Wendy, though, is how she and her advisor partner (who is also her husband) have built their practice as part of a three-person team in part by using a structured meeting approach that they have implemented and iterated on for 20 years.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Wendy uses a review meeting agenda that features both the client's current focus (including life and family updates, portfolio performance, and potential changes affecting their plan) as well as a look to the future (including economic commentary and to-dos), how Wendy uses the back side of the agenda to record any changes to the client's goals, risk profile, asset allocation, or securities holdings resulting from the meeting, and how Wendy has found that the focus of her clients' review meetings has shifted over the years from portfolio performance to life events (and their financial planning implications).

We also talk about how Wendy sets client review meetings on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual cadence based on the client's needs and preferences (and not necessarily the assets they bring to the table), how Wendy structures her week by holding meetings between Tuesday and Thursday, leaving room for meeting prep and review on Monday and Friday, and how Wendy and her husband leverage their client service associate to both ensure all post-meeting tasks are taken care of (including digitizing any manual notes) and by also building personal relationships with clients.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Wendy shares why she and her husband decided to pursue a merger with a larger firm rather than maintain their independent practice, the factors Wendy and her husband considered when narrowing down potential suitors (including the size of the firm, the resources that would be available to them, and the expectation that they would continue serving their current clients for the foreseeable future), and how the decision to merge has proven successful by ultimately giving Wendy more time to focus on doing what she does best in serving her clients.

So, whether you're interested in learning about creating standardized meeting agendas that provide continuity for clients, managing a meeting cadence that meets both advisor and client needs, or thinking through succession planning and factors that can contribute to a successful merger, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Wendy Ciehanski.

Your Feedback Requested – Reader Survey For Nerd’s Eye View (2026)

August 10, 2026 07:04 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Nerd's Eye View

As financial advisors, we are no stranger to the incredible benefits of long-term compounding. From the fact that a future retiree can save $1M by 'just' saving $300/month and investing it into a diversified growth portfolio that can grow at 8% annual for 40 years from age 25 to 65. To the illustration in James Clear’s "Atomic Habits" book that improving a mere 1% per day in what you do can cumulatively compound to a 37X(!) increase in results over the span of a year (or a mere 12X increase if you only improve on working days 😊).

From the business perspective, we (as many organizations) embrace this at Kitces.com by always looking for opportunities to make incremental "1% better" improvements to what we deliver to the financial advicer community, the platform that we’ve built to deliver it, and how we operate the business internally. With the caveat that, particularly in an era where AI can expedite the building of almost anything, the biggest question is not whether improvements can be achieved, but which improvements in particular are most important to focus on first.

And so every year, we ask you – our readers – to take a brief survey and provide your feedback about what you want to make this website even better for you, to ensure we stay on the right track in adding value to the financial planning community and pursuing our mission to make financial advicers better and more successful. And especially after the amount of change over the past few years, from expanding with our new "Financial Advisor Technician" podcasts (and creating a new industry-wide "Best Advisor Podcasts" list), to building an Advisor Services Map to complement our popular AdvisorTech Map, to the expansion of our Annual Tax CE Intensive to pair with our Annual (IAR) Ethics CE Day and most recently the rollout of our new "Level Up" case-study-based training program for newer advisors… we’re more eager than ever for your feedback about how we’re doing, where we can improve, your thoughts about some new ideas we’re considering, and your feedback about what else we could be doing to help the advicer community.

Because we really do take your feedback seriously. Over the years, Nerd’s Eye View reader feedback has shaped everything from the visual design of the blog (from its original dense small font!), to the ongoing expansion of our Members section from offering CFP to now CPE credits for CPAs and IAR CE for RIAs that can be earned by reading Nerd's Eye View blog articles (and now listening to the Financial Advisor Technician podcast!), the launch of the Financial Advisor Success and Kitces & Carl podcasts, our popular "Master List" of all the major Financial Advisor conferences and Best Books for Advisors, and now the coming design refresh of our Nerd’s Eye View blog later this year.

So regardless of what kind of reader you are: an advisor or someone who works in an advisory firm home office, an individual consumer who reads this blog for your own benefit, a CPA, attorney, or another related professional that works with financial advisors, or you're associated with a vendor who serves advisors... I hope you'll participate in this year's survey. It's only 12 feedback questions, should take no more than a few minutes, and will remain open until September 4, 2026.

Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes to access our Reader Survey below, and share your feedback! 😊

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 8–9)

August 7, 2026 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that the latest "Mind the Gap" report from Morningstar finds that investors in U.S. equity mutual funds and ETFs both tended to achieve stronger returns compared to those in other fund categories during the 10 years ending in 2025 and had a narrower return 'gap' (representing the difference between the fund's total return and the actual return received by investors, who might trade in and out of the fund over time). Notably, negative return 'gaps' were larger for more volatile categories such as alternatives and sector equity (and for Bitcoin ETFs in particular, where the funds themselves achieved a positive return, but the average dollar invested in them had a negative return). Which suggests that financial advisors could have a valuable role to play not only in recommending an asset allocation for their clients, but also in helping them stay the course with it over time!

Also in industry news this week:

A report finds that RIAs looking to hire are often willing to be flexible on a range of 'required' client attributes listed in job descriptions, including credentials and years of experience
While advisory firms might maintain high client retention rates, they can still see assets managed decline based on client decumulation and other factors, according to data from Cerulli Associates, highlighting the value of attracting new clients (even for firms not in 'growth mode')

From there, we have several articles on Roth conversions:

How using a net present value calculation can help show both the potential value of a (partial) Roth conversion as well as when clients might expect to receive a positive return on the 'investment' made to complete it
Six questions to ask when considering making a Roth conversion, from how the client will pay any taxes due on the conversion to their proximity to key income thresholds for certain deductions, credits, and surcharges
Why IRMAA bracket management can be an important consideration when deciding whether to engage in a (partial) Roth conversion in a given year (and how much to convert)

We also have a number of articles on estate planning:

How financial advisors can support prospects and clients who recently received an inheritance (and why they might not start jumping into planning recommendations right away)
How the struggle of dealing with "heirs' property" and the importance of executing proper legal documents when passing down real estate (particularly when multiple heirs are involved)
The pros and cons of passing down assets before and/or after an individual passes away

We wrap up with three final articles, all about lessons learned from running an advisory firm:

One advisory firm founder's reflections on 10 years in business, including the challenges of transitioning from 'growth' mode to 'maintenance' mode
After 11 years in business, a founder breaks down revenue and expense data to identify the key decisions and tradeoffs he'll face in the years ahead
7 lessons an advisory firm founder learned during years 3–5 of his business, from time management to narrowing down his ideal client personas

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

When ‘Feelings Are Data’ To Navigate Clients’ Financial Planning Trade-Offs: Kitces & Carl 196

August 6, 2026 07:05 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Kitces & Carl Ep When 'Feelings Are Data'

Some decisions are largely matters of data and analysis. Yet more often, that analysis informs a decision with trade-offs, such as funding retirement or education. Given that we all work with limited resources, financial data is crucial to inform how each dollar may function in these circumstances… yet the data does not produce the definitive right answer. Which raises questions about the 'other' type of data: feelings.

In this 196th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss what place feelings have as a point of information, data, and analysis to help reveal what 'truly' matters. After all, the reality is that gut feelings, physical sensations, or a lingering sense that something is off often represent subconscious recognition of factors that have not yet been fully articulated. Yet a feeling, on its own, is not the end of the journey. Rather, it is the beginning of an excuse to become curious about what is causing those feelings that may have been overlooked. (For example, if a business opportunity looks good on paper, but the advisor's 'gut' isn't quite bought in, then that signals an invitation for self-examination.)

The good news is that asking questions about what their 'gut' says doesn't have to be complex. Questions as simple as, "What do you think of that option? How does feel?" with a few follow-up questions is often enough to get the conversation started without feeling 'over the top'. This is especially important as a client's goals may not reflect what they 'really' want subconsciously, so the advisor may be able to find and follow the thread of intuition with the client.

On the other hand, it's also important to remember that gut feelings come from everywhere, such as exhaustion, intimidation, and even socialization about what a person 'should' want, so a feeling of hesitation may not be related to the decision itself. Yet even these feelings are data in their own right; they're just signals related to different adjustments that may be needed!

Ultimately, the key point is that drawing the deeper information within feelings often takes considerable time and effort – but it is nonetheless worthwhile. Aligning gut feelings with analytical data is often the key to making decisions that are both fulfilling and sustainable in the long-term. Often, the key to this information comes down to contemplation, time, and well-placed questions… but with practice, this becomes easier both for the advisor (to ask) and the client (to answer), creating positive momentum in their decision-making process!