by Mitch Anthony I have been amazed at how few advisors I interact with take their clients through a cash-flow analysis. When I ask them about it, most give one of two reasons for their inaction: Their clients really don't want to know how much they're spending, preferring to live in ignorance. Really? When an advisor [...]
by Mitch Anthony In some communities, getting into certain kindergarten programs can be as tough as getting into an Ivy League school. Since 1997, the number of kids taking the ERB (an aptitude test used by many kindergartens and private schools) has grown by about 40 percent. This translates into the pressure starting early for many [...]
by Mitch Anthony Few conversations are more fascinating than what money means in our lives. People constantly mull, study, worry, regret, scrutinize, second-guess, hope, and fantasize over money. At its best, money helps us live fulfilling lives. At its worst, money becomes an obsession. Consider the following questions: "What are you invested in?" "What do [...]
by Steve Sanduski Over the next few years, it's going to become harder and harder to maintain the 1 percent AUM fee that is common in our industry. From my perspective, there are two possible ways to address this challenge: Deliver much more value for the fee than you do today. In this scenario, you'll need [...]
Originally posted at Abqjournal , by Donna Skeels Cygan.Is Sunday evening the best part of your week? Many recent retirees tell me they savor their Sunday evenings, because they are no longer stressed about going to work on Monday morning.Today’s article covers how to prepare psychologically for retirement. Next month’s will cover how to prepare financially for [...]
If you want to rein in your spending, there's a way to make the process easier: Check your values. "For a lot of people, there's a disconnect between what they say is important and how they're spending their money," said certified financial planner Tammy Wener, co-founder of RW Financial Planning. It's a phenomenon that a [...]
by Mitch Anthony Over the past several months, we've discussed many of the concepts that can help you add value to your practice through retirement coaching. This month, we'll wrap up our discussion. Retirement coaching is a holistic process that involves working with your clients on two levels: Quantitative: This process involves focusing on the "financial" [...]
by Mitch Anthony One of the greatest powers of money is that it can help buy independence. All of us want to get to the point where we can do what we want, when we want, where we want, and with whom we choose—a nearly perfect description of Return on Life™ (ROL). I'll bet many [...]
by Mitch Anthony While money can be used to forge independence, it can also drag us down and impede our goals and dreams. Money has the power to help us find significance or to drive us further into despair, depending on how we appropriate it. Money can be utilized in a way that introduces a [...]
by Mitch Anthony More often than not, getting retirement right takes work. Like most major life transitions, there are surprises, disappointments, and unexpected detours. If not planned for, spousal relationships, in particular, can be put to the test. In my work with financial advisors, I've heard stories of clients ending up divorced after just a [...]
by Mitch Anthony If you've heard me speak or read my book, The New Retirementality, you know that the concept of retirement has changed dramatically from when it was first conceived. Now, more than ever, financial advisors have a crucial role to play when it comes to retirement planning that goes well beyond AUM. Determining how [...]
by Mitch Anthony If you've heard me speak—or read my book, The New Retirementality—you know that the concept of retirement has changed dramatically from when it was first introduced. Now, more than ever, financial advisors have a crucial role to play when it comes to retirement planning: retirement coach. Determining how much your clients need—their "number"—is mechanical. [...]
by Mitch Anthony In 2007, Roy Diliberto and I penned an article for Financial Advisor magazine introducing what was still a relatively new idea: "Be a part of what matters to your clients." Ten years later, the message is even more important: "What matters to your clients is more than just the return on their assets." An [...]
by Mitch Anthony One of the benefits of being a financial advisor is the fulfillment you get by helping your clients bring meaning to their money. There is no better way to do that than by helping them integrate giving into their plan. An integral part of any financial plan is philanthropy—giving doesn't have to [...]
by Mitch Anthony According to findings published in The Allianz Gift of TimeSM Longevity Study, we can expect to live 30 years longer than our relatives did in the last century. More than half of the study's respondents reported being excited by the new opportunities this increased lifespan would present. The study reported that all age groups—from [...]
by Mitch Anthony Work was not always a dirty word. Having a vocation—a trade—was something people could be proud of and perhaps even pass on to their children. Once we entered the Industrial Age, however, rewarding work was replaced by soulless tasks and exploitive industrialists. Work plays a critical role in our identities, whether we [...]
by Mitch Anthony There are many reasons people have different attitudes toward retirement these days. A confluence of economic events, observations of others who are retired, and personal reexaminations of what is meaningful in their own lives have led them to discard outdated assumptions around retirement. The reinvention of retirement was inevitable based on individual [...]
by Mitch Anthony Sometimes the obvious isn't. We should smile. We should listen and focus on our clients. We should show enthusiasm about what we do. We should treat everyone with kindness. As our kids are fond of saying, "Duh!" But we often unwittingly abandon the basic rules of human contact and relational development when [...]
by Mitch Anthony An advisor who works for a large publicly traded company walked up to me after I had delivered a talk to his firm on building client relationships. He offered this little excerpt from his firm's Monday morning "fire up the troops" meeting: "Do the right thing for your clients," followed by "And [...]
by Mitch Anthony While it's essential that your clients have enough invested to achieve their goals, don't let them get fixated on a number. Last month, we discussed why it's important for your clients to focus on the journey instead of the destination. This month, we'll continue our discussion of how to help your clients [...]