Financial Planning

AI is unlikely to replace wealth managers — at least not in the foreseeable future. But it now has the power to expose the gaps between genuine, client-first investment advice and other approaches in a way the industry has not yet seen.

The percentage-of-assets fee is so embedded in advisory economics that most firms treat it as a fixed constant rather than a business decision. It shapes how you staff, how you plan, and how you define the relationship with clients. But the AUM model is neither as old nor as inevitable as it feels.

You are undoubtedly seeing in the news that high earners are leaving New York, Los Angeles, and other metro areas. This does not begin to address the magnitude of the problem. There are dozens of cities that are trending towards fiscal collapse. Indeed, taxpayers are leaving.

What do “the utilities of retirement” refer to? Buy gas and electric stocks and live off the dividends? No. Not in this article. We’re talking about utility as an economic term of art, meaning reward, pleasure, and satisfaction.

To understand the full impact of AI on advisor productivity, it’s important to look beyond speed alone. The more relevant question is whether efficiency gains are creating meaningful breathing room or simply raising expectations and expanding the scope of work.

Advisors may need to amend their wealth management or financial planning strategy, if many of their clients work in the public sector, or are based in geographic locations unevenly impacted by government cuts or mandates.

The College for Financial Planning is a degree-granting institution offering various financial certification programs. It provides graduate degree, non-degree and continuing professional education programs for students. Founded in 1972, today it is part of Kaplan Financial and has trained over 165,000 professionals.

Once clients’ taxes are filed, most assume the story is over for another year. For many, filing season ends with relief, frustration, or confusion — a refund that feels arbitrary, a payment that stings, or little clarity about what to do differently next time. That’s where you, as the advisor, can step in.

Setting and working toward a financial goal that represents your own freedom number is well worth doing. I suggest treating that number as a beginning and a continuing journey rather than a destination. Recognize that achieving financial independence alone is no guarantee of happiness and wellbeing.

Scalable personalization means saving time while not sacrificing the “secret sauce” that is unique to your practice. Time savings can come from scaling portfolio construction via model portfolios or direct indexing, adding tools or talent to complement strengths, and using technology like AI.

Opening a 529 plan is a tax-advantaged way to set aside money for college. The money you contribute can grow tax-deferred and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.

Gen Z is coming of age in a world very different from that of their parents. Advisors who want to connect with this cohort need be conscious, not only of Gen Z’s biases and unique perspectives, but also of their own preconceptions and tendencies.

Women consistently report that the quality of their relationship with an advisor is their number one driver of satisfaction. They are not just looking for investment expertise. They are looking for partnership and a sense that their advisor understands what matters most to them.

The rationale is that government should be neutral on asset classes. It should not put its thumb on the scale by favoring some investment types over others. Marcia S. Wagner, founder of The Wagner Law Group, framed this clearly in a presentation at the 2026 Financial Planning Association SHIFT Conference.

It’s no secret that college is expensive. And alongside mounting costs come almost as many strategies for mitigating them. When you need money to pay for college expenses, tapping your Roth IRA is one option you might consider.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of life insurance policies lapse or are surrendered for cash. The policyholders walk away with whatever the carrier offers. Their advisors sign off. Their attorneys see nothing. And nobody asks the obvious question. Could this policy have sold for more?

No one likes that heart-drop feeling of missing an important detail. And yet, this happens all too often when it comes to healthcare planning. Healthcare and health insurance are complex topics. Without an expert or the right resources, it can be very difficult for financial advisors to do on their own.

Volatility, tighter margins, and rising client expectations are prompting many Advisors to reassess whether their current broker-dealer or firm is still the best long-term fit. If you’re considering a transition, in this article we will discuss 10 essential questions to help guide your decision.

Amid rising college costs and mounting student debt, parents are looking for more ways to lessen the financial burden of higher education. Luckily, 529 college savings plans can help. These unique savings vehicles offer several tax breaks for parents as they save for their children’s future education.

The problem is not digitization itself. Many of these tools deliver real value, from better intake and modeling to clearer client visualization, and for straightforward situations, a DIY approach may be entirely appropriate. The risk arises when convenience begins to substitute for accountable legal judgment in matters that are anything but simple.

Every prospect is different. They have different interests, different decision timelines, and different levels of engagement. Treating them all the same because your CRM can't segment effectively is leaving money on the table.

The long-term care confidence gap is the difference between understanding the importance of a risk and consistently addressing it with clients. Advisors know, but they do not always say. The gap isn’t about intelligence or professionalism; it’s about the difference between technical knowledge and conversational leadership.

Early in my financial planning career, if a client told me they had a terminal diagnosis, every alarm in my head would go off. Before the meeting was over, I would have a to-do list that was three pages long.

Military households often possess uncommon balance-sheet advantages; however, those advantages do not create wealth on their own. They matter only when a family uses them deliberately, in the right order, and with a clear understanding of the trade-offs.

Choosing when to invest is one of the most important factors influencing your retirement security. The best time to start building retirement savings is after your first paycheck. Starting that early allows you to maximize how much time you have to save and how much time those dollars have to grow, thanks to compounding interest.

The leading cause of recurring tax-time friction is simple: HNW households rely on a roster of professionals who communicate inconsistently, if at all.

Saving for education can feel like a race against rising tuition costs, but 529 college savings plans offer families a powerful way to stay ahead.

While artificial intelligence is unlikely to replace financial advisors, it can certainly enhance both the quality and the productivity of advisors who embrace it. I agree that AI will boost productivity, but I wanted to put it through the test now to see how accurate and insightful it was. To do so, I gave Anthropic’s Claude a spin.

While families have limited control over rising tuition, certain college tuition tax deductions may help ease the overall cost of higher education.

Writing a book can bolster your credibility as a financial advisor, but it does something else that’s equally as valuable: It tells people who you are before you ever meet them.

In the competitive and client-centric world of wealth management advisory services, a strong business development strategy is more than a growth tool; it’s a necessity. While digital marketing, webinars and in-house events have their place, two of the most effective and scalable channels for high-quality lead generation remain referrals and centers of influence (COIs).

Breakeven real rates can inform us how much of a total return portfolio’s realized risk premium would be required merely to catch up to the benefits of delayed claiming, arguably an inefficient use of the equity risk premium.

I suggest looking both inward and outward to answer two central questions: “Can we afford to help without harming our own financial future?” and “Will this increase or decrease the child’s movement toward financial independence?”

Retirement savers have plenty of questions about a recent executive order that opens a path for alternative investments, such as private equity, real estate and digital assets, in 401(k) plans. One advisor shares why individuals have good reason to take pause.

A signed will does not guarantee a smooth transfer of wealth. Families can do everything “right” on paper and still hit a wall the moment someone dies because the assets they need to gather and transfer are behind logins, devices, and two-factor authentication.

Understanding how traditional RIA growth models have evolved is essential for advisors making deliberate decisions about the structure, scale, and long-term direction of their firms.

The global economy is now moving through what Absolute Strategy Research (ASR), an award-winning macro-strategy firm, has described as a rupture, meaning a break from the assumptions that governed the post–Cold War era. Governments are intervening more directly in markets and supply chains are being reshaped with geopolitical considerations at the forefront. Nowhere is this shift more visible than in industrial metals.

Adding tax management services to your practice calls for more than an assessment of potential revenues and client interest. Tax management introduces new compliance demands and sometimes complex business management needs that might not be right for every firm.

A tax system should raise revenue efficiently, transparently, and fairly. When it requires billions of hours simply to comply, it may be time to ask whether we have built something too complicated for its own good.

Greg Abel has passed his first test since taking over from Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s new chief executive officer. In his introductory shareholder letter, he emphasizes that Berkshire’s culture runs far deeper than a single man. Yet, almost in the same breath, he tells us not to worry — after all, Buffett is still lurking around the office.

The frontier AI companies are building exactly the kind of cost structure Christensen warned about at a scale he could never have imagined. No companies in the history of capitalism have ever paid their employees like this.