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The Financial Planning Value Disconnect: When Clients Don’t Appreciate The Long-Term Benefits: Kitces & Carl 185

March 5, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Kitces & Carl Ep Financial Planning Value Disconnect

Financial advisors often struggle with a frustrating disconnect: prospective clients typically seek help for a specific, often technical financial problem, yet the value they ultimately appreciate most has little to do with that original issue. Clients arrive asking whether they are saving enough, how much they can spend, or whether they need life insurance. They rarely, if ever, ask for clarity, peace of mind, or a deeper sense of purpose. And they almost never request “life planning” or personal transformation. Yet, 18 to 24 months into a relationship, the language clients use to describe why they value their advisor centers not on the problem that was solved, but on how they feel – less worried, more confident, more aligned, and more at ease about their future.

This dynamic reflects two distinct 'modes' of financial planning. The first is problem-to-solve planning, which addresses the 'presenting' issue that brings a client through the door. These are the functional, tangible concerns at the base of the value pyramid: organizing finances, reducing risk, determining retirement readiness, securing insurance coverage, or optimizing investments.

In this 185th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss this oft-transformative journey from the presenting problem to the deeper ones. The presenting problem merely acts as an entry point into the relationship. Attempting to lead instead with abstract promises of 'transformation' risks missing the reality that most prospects don't yet have language for those higher-order benefits, nor are they actively shopping for them.

However, as clients experience life transitions, the advisor's role expands beyond technical problem-solving. In moments of transition, what began as a quantitative planning exercise evolves into education, organization, and emotional steadiness. The technical solution matters immensely, but the intangible value of reassurance and guidance is truly transformative in the long run. It is in these transformative journeys – retirement transitions, widowhood, divorce, business exits, or long arcs of wealth accumulation – that advisors often build their strongest client relationships and referral sources. Clients who experience meaningful change with their advisor frequently become passionate advocates, even if they struggle to articulate exactly why. What the advisor may describe as financial purpose or clear goals, the client will likely describe as a lack of worry or burden!

Ultimately, the key insight is that while most clients will continue to arrive with concrete financial questions, advisors who recognize those problems as gateways to deeper engagement can deliver far greater value than technical expertise alone. By addressing the immediate issue while remaining attuned to the broader life context, advisors position themselves to support clients through the transitions that ultimately define their financial (and holistic) well-being. In doing so, they move beyond simply answering financial questions, instead becoming trusted partners in their clients' evolving lives: creating relationships that are not only more durable and referable, but also more fulfilling for the advisor and more impactful for the people they serve!

Don’t “Avoid Probate”: Reframing Estate Planning Success Around Managing (Not Escaping) The Probate Process

March 4, 2026 07:00 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

When it comes to estate planning conversations, many clients come to the table with the goal of avoiding the probate process, which can trigger images of a lengthy legal process that unnecessarily slows the distribution of a deceased individual's estate. Relatedly, when some or all of a decedent's assets do go through the probate process, it is sometimes seen as a 'failure' of estate planning. In reality, probate is often a normal and necessary part of estate administration, even when planning has been done well.

To start, probate is not a punishment for failing to plan; rather, it is the statutory estate plan that applies to every resident of a given state. Probate serves as infrastructure for establishing who has legal authority to act, clarifying ownership of assets following a death, providing a process for identifying and resolving claims, and creating procedural deadlines and guardrails to ensure an estate is settled with finality.

Notably, probate procedures vary by state and the complexity of the estate, so the probate experience can be quite different depending on a decedent's particular circumstances (ranging from a simplified process to one with expensive court supervision and more cumbersome administrative requirements). Nonetheless, for certain clients, the public nature of the probate process can be a bigger concern than the administrative burden.

To attempt to avoid the probate process, some clients set up trust structures that bypass probate. However, doing so doesn't mean avoiding the need for administration, which requires many of the same tasks as probate (e.g., identifying assets, valuing property, and transferring ownership). In effect, trust administration functions as a 'private' form of probate, operating outside the court system but subject to similar responsibilities and risks.

Even when estate planning is done 'well', individuals can still be exposed to the probate because of what happens (or fails to happen) after documents are signed. Such issues include acquiring assets after their estate plan is completed (and not coordinating ownership and beneficiary designations), inconsistent titling, digital and intangible assets (e.g., online accounts, intellectual property, and social media accounts), and out-of-state property (which can trigger "ancillary probate" and the possibility of multiple probates in multiple states). There are also cases (e.g., when family conflict exists, when a guardian must be appointed, or when there are creditor concerns) where going through the probate process might be preferable to private administration, given the structure and clarity it can provide.

For financial advisors, the value of probate literacy is in part a matter of client expectation management, because if clients have been conditioned to believe that probate equals planning failure, the presence of probate can trigger frustration, distrust, and/or confusion. Conversely, if probate has been explained as a normal part of the process that may apply in certain circumstances, its occurrence is less likely to feel like a shocking surprise. Also, understanding probate can allow an advisor to serve as a 'central coordinating figure' after a client passes away, reducing uncertainty and smoothing the asset transfer process for the client's survivors and beneficiaries (allowing the advisor to build trust with this group throughout the process).

Ultimately, the key point is that by shifting estate planning conversations from "avoiding probate" to "coordinating administration", advisors elevate the discussion and set realistic expectations that can mean a better client experience and a higher likelihood of maintaining the relationship intergenerationally!

Maintaining Good Work/Life Balance While Adding Advisors And 4X’ing The Firm To $315M: #FASuccess Ep 479 With Andy Panko

March 3, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 479th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Andy Panko. Andy is the owner of Tenon Financial, an RIA based in Metuchen, New Jersey, that oversees $323 million in assets under management for 105 client households.

What's unique about Andy, though, is how he has been able to add additional advisors to his firm (quadrupling the assets he manages over the past few years) while maintaining the strong level of work/life balance that he desires.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Andy decided to bring on two new advisors (creating additional business management requirements for himself) despite running a highly profitable solo practice that met his lifestyle goals, why Andy sought out mid-career professionals when making his new hires (due in part to their established professionalism, ability to operate independently, and the likelihood they would stick around for the long haul), and how Andy decided to set a client capacity of 60 households for himself and for each of his advisors based in part on his firm's tax-focused planning and meeting calendar.

We also talk about how Andy charges his clients on a flat-fee basis (with one price for single clients and another for couples), which is enabled in part by having clients who fit a similar profile (those nearing and in retirement who want tax-informed decumulation and retirement planning advice), why Andy decided to pay his advisors a highly competitive base salary (rather than combine a base salary with incentive compensation) that reflects the client workload they take on (enabled in part by knowing exactly how much each new client will pay in fees), and how Andy thinks the flat-fee model is a plus both for his clients (who receive a high level of service at a price point that is often less than they would pay on an assets under management basis) and his firm (which can easily assess the time and revenue tradeoffs of bringing on new clients and advisors).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Andy shares how he attracts a steady flow of prospects by creating educational content on his retirement specialization (creating a separate brand that's an outside business activity on his ADV), how Andy has overcome the loneliness that can occur from having a solo (or now, remote multi-advisor) practice by engaging with the advisor community online and at in-person events, and how Andy has succeeded in achieving his lifestyle goals in part by adjusting his workload in line with his outside responsibilities (for example, by intentionally maintaining a solo practice while his kids were younger).

So, whether you're interested in learning about growing a firm while maintaining strong work/life balance, hiring mid-career professionals directly as advisors, or using educational content to attract a steady flow of good-fit prospects, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Andy Panko.

Altruist’s Tax Tool Sparks Selloff Of Rival RIA Custodians (And More Of The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech – March 2026)

March 2, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the March 2026 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!

This month's edition kicks off with the news of Altruist's launch of a new AI-powered tax planning add-on to its Hazel AI notetaker, which triggered a big selloff in the stocks of established RIA custodians like Schwab, LPL, and Raymond James – but despite the media narrative that the volatility was a result of the threat of AI-driven disruption to the advisory industry as a whole, the real story (given that Altruist's tool was itself made for financial advisors) is about the threat that Altruist and its rapid technology innovation poses to other custodians, and how they might now see Altruist as a true competitor (even though they've been gaining momentum and market share on the back of their technology for years)

From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

Jump and Zocks, the respective #1 and #2 market leaders in the advisor AI notetaker category, each announced Series B fundraising rounds, widening the gap in scale and capital between themselves and the remaining standalone notetakers – and suggesting that rather than being threatened by CRMs rolling out their own internal notetakers, the AI notetakers could instead be a threat to the CRMs themselves as they build out their CRM-like capabilities faster than the CRMs can respond
FMG Suite has acquired Testimonial iQ, a tool that aimed to streamline the process of collecting and promoting client testimonials on Google Reviews – which in part highlights how advisor use of testimonial marketing has lagged in the years since the SEC revised its Marketing Rule to allow the solicitation and promotion of testimonials, making it hard for Testimonial iQ to persist as a standalone tool; but is also a story about how FMG Suite is aiming to cover virtually every part of the website-centered digital marketing funnel for advisors via its PE-funded acquisitions
After a number of years where Holistiplan was the dominant tax planning software on the market, a slew of new competitors have recently arisen from both existing platforms (like Wealth.com, Nitrogen, and Altruist) and new startups (like Hive AI Tax and april) featuring AI-powered document extraction and AI-generated recommendations – which on the one hand could be troublesome for Holistiplan's incumbent stature if AI has erased the technology advantage it once had, but on the other hand could turn out to reinforce why Holistiplan became so popular to begin with (because it allowed for advisors to build the tax planning strategies they want to build, rather than feeding them recommendations they may or may not be comfortable giving to clients)

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:

The AI meeting support startup Contio (founded by Riskalyze founder Aaron Klein) has launched its new MeetingOS software, a three-part tool that generates meeting agendas, provides real-time talking points and client information during the meeting itself, and logs meeting notes and follow-up tasks after the meeting, all with the goal of improving client meetings themselves rather than just the work before and after – however, since the problem with client meetings is often too much (rather than too little) information and agenda topics, it's possible that a tool like MeetingOS could create an information overload that prevents the advisor from staying present in the client conversation (which undermines much of the purpose of meeting with the client to begin with)
Max (formerly MaxMyInterest) has launched a new private banking service for RIAs with ultra-high-net-worth clients, giving independent RIAs an option to offer access to the kinds of services provided in-house by private bank advisors (without the need to refer to a private bank who might subsequently pitch the client on their own wealth management services)

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular "Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map" (and also added the changes to our AdvisorTech Directory) as well!

*To submit a request for inclusion or updates on the Financial Advisor FinTech Solutions Map and AdvisorTech Directory, please share information on the solution at the AdvisorTech Map submission form.

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (February 28–March 1)

February 27, 2026 01:58 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 a recent survey of financial advisors across industry channels finds that three-quarters of respondents are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in some form in their practices, with automating administrative work and preparing for client meetings amongst the top use cases. Nonetheless, a number of advisors expressed ongoing concerns with the use of AI, including around compliance, accuracy, and client trust. The latter point appears to be well-founded, as a separate survey found that only 38% of affluent investors are at least somewhat comfortable with AI technology (with older respondents being significantly less likely to express comfort with it), suggesting that advisors who do incorporate in their practices could build trust with their clients by being clear about how AI is used and what their firm is doing to keep client data secure.

Also in industry news this week:

A recent survey suggests that while there are positive returns to be gained by engaging in legacy planning conversations with clients, some advisors and clients are unsure whether the other party is interested in discussing this planning topic
How a piece of legislation introduced in Congress could reduce mutual funds’ tax efficiency disadvantage (compared to ETFs) when it comes to capital gains distributions

From there, we have several articles on investment planning:

An analysis finds that accessing the returns of fixed income and other high-yielding assets without receiving taxable dividends and capital gains distributions (in taxable accounts) could be worth up to 1% or more annually for a typical high-income investor
While some clients might be attracted by the high yields of certain dividend-paying stocks and newer fund products, these can potentially lead to 'traps' (in the case of the former) or underperformance compared to the underlying index (in the case of the latter)
How a "yield-split" approach to asset location could help clients get even greater tax efficiency from their index fund investments

We also have a number of articles on estate planning:

How advisors can help clients close the "Bank of Mom and Dad" when financial support for adult children is leading to dependency and/or are straining their finances
The potential benefits of lifetime giving for wealthy individuals, from giving money when it’s more impactful to the ability to witness the benefits of their generosity
How intra-family loans can be used as a planning tool for individuals to financially support family members while still earning a return and avoiding gift tax exposure

We wrap up with three final articles, all about AI and the job market:

Why previous hypotheses about why human financial advisors will remain in high demand amidst technological innovations might not hold up in the case of advanced AI capabilities
Why a desire for a "human touch" has led to continued employment for a range of occupations whose jobs could have been automated by available technology
How "vibe reporting" about AI (particularly when it comes to company layoff announcements) can lead to the mistaken impression that certain changes were caused by AI (rather than by other factors, such as previous over-hiring)

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!Read More...

Reducing Retirement Income Volatility With The Modified RMD Safe Withdrawal Method

February 25, 2026 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Retirement Planning

One of the most pressing questions for individuals nearing retirement is how much they will be able to withdraw from their portfolio each year without exhausting their retirement savings. But the problem is that almost all the variables involved in making that calculation, from market returns to life expectancy to the client's spending needs, are uncertain. This conundrum has spawned an entire field of research into Safe Withdrawal Rates (SWRs), seeking methods to thread the needle between over- and under-withdrawing the portfolio that are also flexible enough to adapt to clients' life circumstances – all while being simple enough to explain and apply in practice.

Several types of withdrawal strategies have arisen out of this research, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Some 'fixed' SWR strategies, like the "4% Rule" developed by Bill Bengen, are relatively simple to apply – but because they're premised on having the client's portfolio survive the worst-case market return scenario, the vast majority of the time they'll result in the client having significant unspent (and unenjoyed) portfolio assets at the end of their lives. Other 'dynamic' withdrawal strategies, like the Guyton-Klinger guardrail method, can more precisely match portfolio withdrawals to market conditions (and often allow for higher total withdrawals), but the withdrawals under these strategies can vary significantly from year to year, leading to uncertainty and anxiety for some clients who use them.

One strategy that can serve as a happy medium between fixed and dynamic withdrawals borrows from the IRS's method of calculating Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. Under the RMD method, the client's total portfolio value as of the end of the previous year is divided by a factor based on the client's remaining life expectancy (provided by IRS tables for RMD calculations). As a result, each year the client withdraws only a certain percentage of their portfolio, preventing over-withdrawals – but because the withdrawal percentage increases each year incrementally, there's a lower likelihood of leaving significant funds behind. And because the IRS publishes RMD tables for all ages (since, for example, a child who inherits an IRA may be subject to RMDs), the RMD method can be applied regardless of when the client decides to retire.

Furthermore, the RMD approach can be modified to reduce the volatility of annual withdrawals (e.g., if market movements cause a temporary drop or spike in the portfolio's value at year-end). Under this modified approach, the annual withdrawal is calculated based not just on the previous year-end portfolio balance, but on the average of the past three years. This helps smooth out year-to-year variations in annual withdrawals and can help keep clients from focusing too much on market conditions that could affect their 'paycheck' the next year.

The key point is that because the IRS has already done the work of calculating withdrawal tables meant to gradually deplete a portfolio throughout retirement, the RMD method presents a relatively easy-to-understand strategy that doesn't require special software or decision trees to implement. And with a few simple modifications – e.g., using the three-year average portfolio value to reduce withdrawal volatility and carving out specific amounts to set aside for legacy and other goals – advisors can help their clients customize the RMD method to meet their own needs and ultimately reduce the uncertainty around drawing down their portfolio in retirement!Read More...