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Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 22–23)

August 21, 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 recent termination of an editor at Forbes over a payment received from the founder of a company it worked with to produce "best advisor" rankings brings to light that such lists are quite subjective and could be big business for those that create them (and potentially influence who is selected for them, given that awardees are given the option to pay to publicize the recognition in various ways). Nonetheless, given that such rankings can be a way for advisors to differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace for advice, making prospective clients aware of this recognition (in compliance with the SEC's marketing rule) could be a way to stand out (though if they are paying to do so, the potential return on such outlays could be compared against other marketing tactics?).

Also in industry news this week:

A recently acquired document indicates that SEC examiners are looking for evidence of 'AI-washing' and sufficient training of those using AI tools during recent examinations of RIAs
CFP Board this week published a guide outlining how CFP professionals can engage in retirement plan rollover conversations (that can involve significant conflicts of interest for the advisor) while fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities

From there, we have several articles on tax planning:

How financial advisors can help clients avoid a tax surprise when it comes to receiving employer Roth 401(k) contributions
Why receiving a "contemporaneous written acknowledgement" from the recipient is crucial in order to receive a charitable deduction for gifts valued at $250 or more
Why clients and their advisors might consider potential IRMAA surcharges when evaluating the timing of the sale of a home that will result in a taxable capital gain

We also have a number of articles on estate planning:

How conducting an annual account beneficiary check-up with clients can be a highly valued advisor service
Why ethical wills can be a key part of communicating an individual's legacy to loved ones
The benefits available to clients of identifying a trusted contact (and how they differ from a power of attorney)

We wrap up with three final articles, all about spending:

While a body of research indicates the benefits of 'trading' money for more time, this decision can come with psychological weight
Why a certain level of 'lifestyle creep' could be worthwhile to better enjoy life in middle age and to flex the spending 'muscle' before retirement
How an individual's spending rate is a key input to analyzing their ability to save and meet future financial goals but can be hard to compare to others'

Enjoy the 'light' reading!

Helping Clients Align Their Capital To What’s REALLY Important When They Don’t Know What Is: Kitces & Carl 197

August 20, 2026 07:04 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

The value of financial planning often stems from helping clients realize their goals… both in the literal financial sense of managing cashflow and in the figurative sense of determining what those goals actually are. The former is often 'just' a question of good planning, but the latter takes continual time and investigation. Aspirations like owning a vacation home can be accepted at face value, or they may signal a chance for the advisor to dig deeper into their clients' deeper motivation.

In this 197th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss how to dive into what clients 'really' want – even (and especially) when clients struggle to articulate it themselves. This is important as many of these life decisions are 'expensive' as they represent a deposit of not just cash, but also time and attention – all resources that can be spent elsewhere. Thus, it is essential for advisors to understand what the underlying desire is, such as connection, community, independence, or purpose. Once that underlying desire is revealed, through questions like, "what would having that allow you to do?", the advisor and client can reflect together on the options to fulfill that desire.

One of the most effective ways to evaluate these deeper priorities is through small, intentional experiments. Rather than making large, irreversible commitments, clients can test ideas in lower risk ways, such as renting a similar property in the area where they want a vacation home. Similarly, a client who desires more community might become a one-time volunteer before making a long-term commitment. These experiments can be informative about what the clients truly enjoy, what sacrifices they're willing to make, and whether the experience actually delivered the expected value.

Another thought experiment is to have the client imagine that it's three years in the future, and they've succeeded at whatever they aspire towards. What is their life like? How do they feel? This is especially valuable if the client is stuck between several different paths – often, in describing that imagined moment, more implicit excitement will show for one path or another, informing the direction in which a client can experiment.

Ultimately, these experiments are a practice in the art of paying attention to life's construction. The allocation of capital – be it money, time, or attention – is often what makes up a person's life. So if the advisor can continually hold conversations that nudge clients to look more deeply not only at what they want, but why they want it, clients may find themselves surprised at what 'actually' makes a difference to them in their lives. Over time, these large and small allocations accumulate into a deep value in financial planning!

Working With ‘Misengaged Couples’: Ways To Engage Both Parties In Planning Conversations

August 19, 2026 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Client Trust & Communication

When advisors work with couples, the goal is to make both parties feel seen and heard. Yet while many advisors aim to include both clients, this is often easier said than done. One client may be very engaged in the financial planning relationship, and the other may be less enthused by the prospect of meeting with an advisor. While not all clients need to be equally interested in the financial planning engagement, potential issues can compound over time to the point where only one partner is present in the financial planning relationship, and the other is absent – or they attend meetings but give no input.

Conceiving of this client as the "disengaged spouse" may be doing a disservice to the client. After all, several elements may be at play, including role specialization (where one partner handles the majority of financial decisions, while the other focuses elsewhere) as well as a difference in communication styles. In their 2018 Journal of Financial Planning article, "Planning for Conflict in Client Relationships," authors Sarah Asbedos and Emily Purdon presented a framework of conflict styles within couples, asserting that all individuals had some combination of high/low accommodation and high/low assertiveness. A client who has a high assertiveness/low accommodation style, for example, may be less willing to compromise – whereas a client with the opposite traits may be too willing to compromise, rather than speak their mind. These elements can make it more difficult for both partners to be heard and understood when the couple is in a meeting together.

As such, it may be more helpful to label these dynamics as a sort of "misengagement" between the client couple – gaps in a couple's priorities and communication styles that can make understanding what motivates both people challenging. An advisor who can quickly identify and adapt to these differences in early meetings stands a higher chance of keeping both parties engaged.

What each couple needs will vary. For example, if one partner is more assertive, but not very cooperative, they may be prone to quickly sharing their judgement – and the advisor may need to use reflection language to 'neutralize' some of their assertiveness. On the other hand, if one partner is less assertive, they may need to be invited to share their thoughts first – or may benefit from opportunities to share their thoughts outside of the immediate pressure of a meeting.

Ultimately, the key point is that client "disengagement" is a multi-faceted issue, and advisors can use a variety of tools to increase their odds of connecting with both partners. While some clients may willingly step back and opt to let their partners steer the relationship, the advisor can still encourage their presence within goal-setting or other decision-making meetings that may feel less 'technical' in nature. If advisors can thread the needle between providing options without being overbearing, they may be able to iterate with the client couple to find a rhythm inside (and outside of) meetings that works for everyone!

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

Organically Growing To $800M AUM In Less Than A Decade By Investing In Educational Marketing: #FASuccess Ep 503 With David Brooks

August 18, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 503rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is David Brooks. David is the founder of Retire SMART, an RIA based in Omaha, Nebraska, that oversees approximately $800 million in assets under management for 1,000 client households.

What's unique about David, though, is how he has achieved rapid growth in part by investing in multiple marketing tactics, including in-person educational events and an extensive network of radio, television, YouTube, and podcast content.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how David committed to spending 25% of his revenue on marketing during his first two years in business (and still spends approximately 12% of revenue on marketing today), why David is willing to continue to invest in legacy marketing tactics that have a lower return on investment than newer ones he implements, and how David invests 20% of his marketing budget in pure branding activities, both to expand name recognition of his firm and because of the synergies these activities have with his marketing funnels that have a more direct ROI.

We also talk about how David has found success by holding in-person educational events (including traditional lunch and dinner seminars as well as classroom-based discussions in his firm’s offices), how David built a large audience through radio and television shows (which have now expanded to include a podcast, YouTube channel, and social media content), and how David analyzes key metrics to assess the return he gets from each of the marketing investments he makes.

And be certain to listen to the end, where David shares how taking a tax-centric planning approach allows him to demonstrate hard-dollar value for his pre-retiree, retiree, and business owner clients, how David decided to launch his own ETFs both to allow smaller-dollar clients to access his active investments strategies and as a potential profit center from external investors, and how David has navigated the bottlenecks that can come with rapid firm growth.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about marketing through educational content, measuring the ROI of marketing investments, or how to manage a rapidly growing firm, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with David Brooks.

Why “Vibe Coded” AI Tools Won’t Threaten Your Tech Stack

August 17, 2026 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

When deciding on what technology to adopt for their practices, financial advisors have always had the choice between building their own tools or buying 'off-the-shelf' third-party solutions. But in practice, for the vast majority of firms, it's historically almost always been better to "buy" than to "build": Because the upfront cost of building a piece of software is so high (which third-party providers are able to spread across many different users), it might take many years for a firm that builds its own software to realize enough savings to recoup the initial investment – at which point it might be time to replace or overhaul the software and start the process over again.

But in the past several years, the cost of building and developing new software has decreased thanks to the emergence of AI-powered 'vibe coding' tools, which can convert plain-English instructions from users into the code needed to make the software work – greatly reducing the need to hire a human developer to manually code the whole project (and in many cases allowing developers to work faster and more cheaply). Which in turn has changed the math about when it makes sense to build versus buy technology: Where it once might have only made sense for firms with 20+ advisors to build custom technology, many smaller firms and even solo advisors now can (and do) create their own tools. The lowering of barriers to self-built technology has led to many predictions that advisors will overwhelmingly drop their third-party software licenses and turn to 'homegrown' tools, causing mass disruption and consolidation of existing AdvisorTech providers.

While some advisors are embracing the possibilities of vibe coding and building their own tools, the evidence so far shows that third-party software providers as a whole are under no threat from vibe coded alternatives. Because even among advisors who are diving into tools like Claude to build their own technology, the vast majority are creating software that supplements, rather than replaces, their existing third-party solutions. For example, advisors in vibe coding communities like Builder FP have primarily focused on either tools that can help integrate reporting outputs from their existing software platforms into a single streamlined deliverable, or that are specific to the needs of their own niche clientele. Which makes sense given that most advisors are already fairly happy with the software that they use, and there's little reason to go through the effort of building custom software from scratch (even with the help of AI) to replace something that's already working well!

And in fact, the proliferation of AI coding tools will more likely lead to an increase, not a decrease, in the number of third-party technology solutions available. Entrepreneurs can use those same vibe coding tools to develop technology at a quicker pace and in areas that might not have been economically viable in the past (including niche areas like real estate and long-term care planning as well as categories like CRM and tax planning where there is well-established competition). Advisors may soon be able to find more tools to fill in the gaps between their existing technology – making the already crowded technology landscape even more so, and forcing advisors to spend even more time evaluating and managing their technology.

The key point is that although AI vibe coding might lower the bar for advisors to build their own tools, the reality is that few advisors consider themselves technologists and most are instead satisfied with letting a specialized third-party provider do the work of building, developing, and distributing the software that they use (not to mention handling the finer points of things like data security that are harder to master with self-built software). And while advisors can choose to build their own tools in the specific areas that their existing software doesn't cover, the proliferation of new technology suggests that those who aren't inclined to do it themselves may be able to simply wait a little while for the right solution to appear from a third party!

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: