Nerd's Eye View blog

The Burden We Bear

June 6, 2011 02:14 pm 7 Comments CATEGORY: Planning Profession

"It wasn't a Madoff thing, but the effect was just the same."

Words forever etched in my mind and words that haunt me daily.

In what feels like another lifetime, I worked at a well-respected fee-only financial planning practice. This practice gave me the opportunity to find my calling and my passion. I learned what it meant to be deeply committed to working in the interest of others and to taking ownership of my responsibilities to others.

Unfortunately, those things were not enough to protect clients from irreparable and devastating harm. Unfortunately, none of those things taught me the most important lesson. Unfortunately, none of my learning including an understanding of the heavy burden each of us in the financial planning world carries.

Hopefully, this piece can reach a few of you and help you understand the burden well, and help you better serve and protect the clients you work for.
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Greg Valliere’s Insider View of Washington – FPA NorCal Keynote Session (Twitter Style!)

June 6, 2011 12:44 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

Day 2 of the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference wrapped up with a keynote session by Greg Valliere, of the Potomac Research Group, sharing his perspective on the activities in Washington now and in the coming years. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!

Day 2 Highlights of FPA NorCal Conference – Twitter Style!

June 5, 2011 08:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

Continuing our series for the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference, here are the highlights from Day 2, as broadcast from the incredibly active Twitter stream on the #FPANorCal hashtag!

Michael Lewis’ Perspective on Wall Street – FPA NorCal Keynote Session (Twitter Style!)

June 5, 2011 02:05 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

Day 2 of the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference featured a keynote session by Michael Lewis, author of "The Big Short" to share his perspective on Wall Street and the recent financial crisis. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!

Day 1 Highlights of FPA NorCal Conference – Twitter Style!

June 4, 2011 10:09 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

The FPA NorCal regional conference ran as it usually does, on the Tuesday/Wednesday following Memorial Day weekend at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Pulling over 600 attendees from across the country, the event is on par with any national conference in the financial planning space. Here are the highlights from Day 1, as broadcast from the incredibly active Twitter stream on the #FPANorCal hashtag!Read More...

Economic Outlook Highlights from Neel Kashkari – FPA NorCal Opening Session (Twitter Style!)

June 4, 2011 03:31 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

This past week featured the 2011 FPA NorCal regional conference. Pulling over 600 attendees, don't let the "regional" label fool you - the event is on par with any national financial planning conference! The opening general session event featured Neel Kashkari, currently a managing director with PIMCO, and former chief of the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) for the Federal government. Here are the highlights... as captured on the #FPANorCal twitter hashtag!Read More...

Questioning Whether A College Education Is Worth It – Are We Measuring The Results Wrong?

May 29, 2011 05:13 pm 15 Comments CATEGORY: Human Capital

As the cost of college continues to rise, and more and more students graduate in debt, and then try to enter a difficult job market, many have begun to question: is college actually worth the price?

The basic formulation is pretty straightforward: by going to college, you spend 4(+?) years not in the labor force, and spend money outright on the cost of college itself; in return, you have a higher employment income for all the years that follow college until you retire, which in theory can make up the college tuition outflows plus the years of foregone earnings.

However, as college gets more expensive, and the "bonus" to future salary for having a college education doesn't seem to be what it once was (especially for many liberal arts degrees), it's getting harder to make the case that college is still worth it.

There's just one problem: while you earn one future income without a college education, and a higher future income with a college education, neither projection accounts for the crucial income risk of unemployment.Read More...

Do Clients Really Care About Whether Advisors Are Fiduciaries?

May 26, 2011 12:34 pm 3 Comments CATEGORY: Planning Profession

With an increasing focus on fiduciary from NAPFA, the FPA, and a global trend towards fiduciary advice witnessed as far as reforms in Great Britain and Australia, it would seem that fiduciary is at the forefront of concerns about financial advice. Yet at the same time, we discuss the issues of fiduciary, broker/dealer, registered investment advisor, and the distinctions about advice that they imply, in the industry and technical jargon not really accessible to most clients. In the process, are we making fiduciary issues more relevant to clients, or actually diminishing the importance? In the end, is it really about having a legally-bound fiduciary on your side... or is it just about talking to someone you trust?Read More...

Legislative Uncertainty Creates New Problems For Estate Planning Gifting Strategies

May 24, 2011 05:06 pm 2 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

Lifetime gifting is a widely accepted technique for managing potential exposure to future estate taxation. The purpose of the strategy is not just the obvious "if I give it away while I'm alive, I can't be taxed on it when I die" - due to the fact that both gifting and estate taxation share the same single lifetime exemption amount that is protected from taxation. Nonetheless, gifting can still be highly effective, because once the asset is transferred, all future appreciation is in the hands of the donee, and not the donor; as a result, the value of the asset is "frozen" at its value on the date of gift in terms of its cumulative gift and estate tax impact. And with the gift tax exemption recently increased to $5 million - and only until the end of 2012, after which it is scheduled to lapse back to $1 million - many estate planners are counseling clients to make some big gifts while they can. There's just one problem: it's not clear whether a future reduction in the gift and estate tax exemption could indirectly cause a so-called "recapture tax" on prior gifts.Read More...

Missed NAPFA National 2011? Experience The Entire Conference In Minutes… Twitter Style!

May 22, 2011 01:24 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Conferences

This past week was the NAPFA 2011 National Conference in Salt Lake City. Pulling almost 500 attendees from across the country, it's one of the top financial planning events of the year. Unfortunately, though, many did not have the time or opportunity to attend the conference. The good news, however, is that a growing cadre of Twitter users "live-Tweeted" the conference for all to enjoy, using the #NAPFA11 hash tag. So for those of you who missed the conference, here's a quick synopsis of the entire 3-day conference from start to finish... from those who Tweeted it!