...For Advisors

Episode 21: Mike Velasco on College Financial Planning

“My oldest one wanted to go...was looking at a couple of the state schools in neighboring states, was gonna get a significant merit package, was all set to go. And then at the last minute she veered off and said, "Hey, I want to look at a couple of the Ivy Leagues." And lo and behold, we decided that Cornell was the best fit for her academically, socially, and we applied there.

From going through that, I realized the whole process of how colleges look at students and their families and their abilities to pay, and how possibly you can leverage that knowledge into positioning yourself so that you can look artificially worse than you are, and maybe qualify for some of that need-based aid. So I started to incorporate some of those tactics when planning for my clients so they started to have some significant results.”

Sending children to college is one of the largest savings challenges most advisor’s clients face, and there are multiple ways to approach it from a planning standpoint, including 529 funds, special accounts, loans and financial aid. Mike Velasco has taken the last option and made a busy and growing practice, finding strategies and tactics to help clients work through the financial aid system effectively, finding ways for students to qualify for more or different types of financial aid, and saving parents thousands of dollars in the process. If you have clients with high school age children, you don’t want to miss this high impact half hour!

Mike Velasco is the founder of Red Oak College Planning and has over 30 years' experience in the financial services industry. His firm is affiliated with College Planning Network, and together they've helped hundreds of parents successfully navigate college admissions and financial aid process so they can comfortably afford to send their children to college regardless of cost.

CPN is the nation's largest and most reputable college admissions and financial aid servicing center. It has averaged nearly $19,000 a year in college aid for the average family. After a nearly 20-year career on Wall Street, Mike started his own financial planning firm, Red Oak Capital, where he has helped numerous families in the areas of retirement planning, college financial planning, and estate income protection. Prior to his Wall Street career, Mike spent six years with a large CPA firm as a manager of their financial services group where he obtained his CPA certification and gained valuable experience in the financial services world.

Mike graduated with a degree in public accountancy with honors from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University. He's also a frequent speaker on college financial planning at local New Jersey libraries, church groups, and community centers. He's a noted lecturer for many of the New Jersey County Bar Association meetings and is considered one of the leading college financial aid speakers on the topic of divorce and its impact on college financial aid planning.

 

PSA from ...For Advisors

Hello, and welcome to “For Advisors”, the podcast for, and about, financial advisors.

We don’t have a full program for today, and no ads, either. Just a brief public service announcement for advisors regarding the recent pandemic.

There’s lots of information out there regarding not only the virus itself, and the spread thereof, locally, domestically, and internationally, but also its economic impact on any number of areas and businesses. As a Financial Advisor, it’s in your best interest to keep up with such things for several reasons:

• You can help reassure clients with calm confidence that, while everything is not known, how they react to it all is something that they can control.
• You can explain to clients what the markets are reacting to, what they’ve done in the past under similar circumstances, and how that might affect their plans heading into or within retirement.
• You can keep yourself, your family, your clients and your practice safer by following some simple procedures, and set an example for clients to do likewise.

Sure, many of them will be upset, scared, distraught, panicky, and uncertain. Some may demand changes in their plans or investment strategy that are not really in their best interest in the long run, but feel “safe” right now. Keep in mind, you’re the professional, you know better, and that’s why they hired you. Own that position, and work with them to find solutions that have long term benefits.

No one really knows the future for certain, and we’ll all have to reset our expectations just a bit before this is over. In the long term, these things have a way of working out. And, know, too, that you’re not alone in this, there are thousands of advisors domestically and more internationally, facing the same client fears, the same gyrating markets, the same work from home challenges. You’ve come this far, you’ve got this!

Stay safe, stay home, wash your hands, enjoy your families, help your clients, stay positive.

Episode 20: Bill Winterberg on Advisor Tech

“The advantage [of tech] is the advisor is able to become a specialist in these services and I suppose products that the advisor or the advisory firm offers to a clearly defined segment of households. So, it's really tough today in my opinion, and you'll hear this, you've probably heard this earlier on your podcast. It is hard to be a generalist, and it is hard to provide financial planning to almost all the households in the United States. So the positive is with this advent and increase in technology is as an advisor, you can choose these unique solutions, bundle them into your firm, and create a unique package that aligns with the needs you've identified among your target audience of the households that you serve.”

Bill Winterberg is uniquely qualified to provide insights on financial tech, as both a working software engineer and a registered advisor. His research, consulting practice and experience in both fields brings credibility and depth to his recommendations that would be hard to duplicate elsewhere. Learn from Bill’s experience how to approach fintech purchases, how to measure the ROI of your fintech investment, how to use tech to buy back time in your practice, and much more in this fast-moving half hour episode.

Bill Winterberg is founder and president of FPPad.com. Bill is probably the only Fintech blogger in the United States and is widely recognized as an independent authority on the subject of technology and financial services. Bill maintains a CFP certification and has past industry experience as a registered representative as a registered investment advisor. In 2014, Bill was recognized as a 40 Under 40 honoree by InvestmentNews. He was also named the 2013 IA 25 lists of influential people in financial services profession by "Investment Advisor Magazine."

Bill is the host of "FPPad Bits and Bytes," a weekly video broadcast covering technology news and information for financial professionals. He's a sought-after keynote speaker, who provides an objective and unbiased perspective technology trends in the industry. Bill provides technology commentary for the "Journal of Financial Planning" and was the monthly technology columnist for Morningstar Advisor. Prior to entering the financial services industry, Bill was an embedded software engineer for Hewlett Packard Company and LeapFrog toys.

Episode 19: Keith Daw on Time Management

“If you’re leading a team, and the team sees you floundering around with calendar conflicts and thinking . . .’He or she doesn't know what they’re doing’ . . . That doesn't bode so well for confidence for the team either. So I think the time management, I like to say even energy management, focus... A lot of people, a lot of professionals just need some assistance on figuring out what they should do first, or next.”

If you’re constantly feeling time starved, overwhelmed, under-staffed or over-scheduled, or just can’t seem to put together a good plan for managing your time effectively to meet your goals, Keith Daw is the man to see. This thirty-minute exercise in energy focusing and time management will give you tips and tools you need to get your crazy calendar under control, and the solutions you need to help focus on your goals.

Keith Daw is an integral member of McDonell Consulting Team. Keith has spent more than a decade in the professional services industry, educating and training executives and organizations of all sizes ranging from multimillion dollar campaigns with international PR firm FleishmanHillard, t0 Fortune 500 companies, to startup and emerging entities from diverse disciplines, from his own niche firm, Diamond Three. His practice focuses on consistency of communication with internal and external relationships with an emphasis on business development, client relations and sales leadership.

In light of his extensive expertise on marketing, communications, personal and professional and business development, Keith has been asked to speak before numerous companies and professional organizations around the country.

Episode 18 - Chris Pierson on Cybersecurity and Protecting Your Practice

“ . . . First and foremost, making sure that  . . . you have the right policies and procedures in place. You will never accept the email from Chris saying, "Hey, new bank, send the $1 million to this bank as opposed to one I usually use." You will never do that based off just an email. You will verify with a phone call. You verify with an email response. You will verify with something that the person knows that's unique to them and have their relationship manager make sure it's the right voice, right person, right demeanor, all the rest, and you will not effectuate that transfer if anybody thinks otherwise. That is massively critically important and can solve a lot of this.”

Of all the things that can happen to your practice, cybercrime may be the most prevalent, the most damaging, and the most frustrating, because there’s often no way to strike back, nothing to actually “do” to fight back, often even no known entity to blame, just a compromised identity or account, an angry partner or client, an endangered relationship and a loss of faith. Chris Pierson has the answers you need to better protect your practice, protect your systems, protect your client’s data, and keep these pesky and aggressive criminals at bay. In just 30 minutes, you’ll be frightened, angry, hopeful and empowered to shore up your firm’s cybersecurity and be ready if something untoward happens in future.

Dr. Chris Pierson is the founder and CEO of BlackCloak, which specializes in protecting its customers from financial loss, cybercrime, hacking, reputational damage, privacy exposure and identity theft. Dr. Pierson serves on the Department of Homeland Security's data privacy committee, DHS's cybersecurity subcommittee, as a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.

Chris has been fighting cybercrime for over 20 years with DHS, as President of the FBI's Arizona InfraGard and in other roles as chief information security officer for various financial companies. Chris was a founding executive of View Post, the FinTech payments company, serving as their CISO and General Counsel, and was also the first chief privacy officer, senior vice president of Royal Bank of Scotland U.S. operations, leading its privacy and data protection program. Chris was also a corporate attorney for Lewis and Roca, where he established its cybersecurity practice representing companies who were hacked and fell victim to data breaches. Chris is a globally recognized keynote speaker and cybersecurity thought leader, board advisor for startups, and is frequently quoted by the media on cybersecurity and privacy.

Episode 17: Pam Krueger on What Clients Won't Tell You

“I want our conversations to be about me. I'm the client here. How does this play out on a practical level?

So can you imagine, you go to a therapist, you've never been to a therapist before but you've got a big problem that's driving you into that therapist's office. You sit down and how would you feel if the therapist, the guy gets up and starts pacing the room and saying, "You know, let me explain to you where I went to school and my background and my approach, and I wrote these white papers, by the way." And you're gonna be sitting there going, "Oh dear God, I thought this was about me." That's the same thing, because if you really think about it, that is the role of an advisor, to make you calm, to make the client calm, make the prospect feel better about their situation.”

Think you know your clients, think they all love you unconditionally, and that you do a great job relating to them all the time? Might be time to rethink some of that, as Pam Kreuger puts lie to some great myths advisors tell themselves, like “They want to know where I want to school and how my plan works, they think that’s important” and “I’ll tell the less-experienced spouse the simplified version, they’ll never need to know the details”. Don’t miss this insightful, informed half hour of eye-opening truths about how clients think and feel about their advisor, and how you can become the rock star advisor you want to be!

Pam Krueger is the creator of an award-winning "MoneyTrack" investor education television series, seeing nationally over 250 PBS stations. She's the recipient of a 2009 and 2010 Gracie Awards educating the public about personal investing and finding the right financial advice. Watch for Pam's newest one-hour special "MoneyTrack" money for life on PBS stations starting now.

Pam serves on the board of directors of the Jump$tart Coalition, an organization dedicated to increasing financial literacy among children and teens. She received the Financial Educator of the Year award from the Financial Literacy Institute.

Episode 16: Dan Pierson on Digital Assets and the Next Generation

“ . . . over 60% of the wealth of one family dissipates from generation one to generation two, and by generation three, about 90% of that wealth dissipates. And you have the same issue with the children of family members. They typically don't stick with the same advisor. So, you have those two forces working against you. It's really important. It's not a good long-term strategy not to focus on it. It's really important to focus on making sure you're connected to that multi-generational lineage so that not only do you help that consumer and the consumer's family retain the wealth, but also ensures that you retain the client.”

Inevitably, our advisors’ clients get older, and as we go through life we accumulate assets, both tangible and digital. Planners work with the tangible ones all the time and are quite good at using them to client’s best advantage. The digital ones, however, pose a new set of issues and challenges, both in terms of valuation and ownership, but also with regard to transfer of ownership and access after the owner is deceased. Dan Pierson shows how this new challenge can be turned to an advisor’s advantage when used as a market differentiator for your practice, and used as a bridge to the next generation of clients. You don’t want to miss this innovative and exciting interview topic.

Dan Pierson is the Founder and CMO of LegacyShield, a digital platform for aggregating and keeping financial and other information organized for future generations. Dan started his financial services career in 2001 as an AXA representative and joined Kaiser Financial the following years as the vice president. He shift to do a CEO role with Independent Life Brokerage Corp before founding LegacyShield in 2014. Dan graduated from University of Maryland's Robert Smith School of Business with a bachelor's in finance and marketing.

Episode 15: Kelly Wright on Tax Planning for the Benefit of Clients

“I'll give you an example. The standard deduction has increased for a married couple to $24,000. However, in Maryland, the state deduction is only $5,000. So if you itemize on your federal return, that is the only way you're allowed to itemize on your state return. As a result, people who are not itemizing federally cannot itemize on their Maryland State return and their deduction off of their state income is a great deal lower, so their state taxes go up substantially. A lot of people don't see that interplay.”

Taxes are the all-purpose evil for investors and savers alike, but with proper projection and planning, there are some areas where some relief can be had, if you know where to look. Join us for a fact-filled and fast moving half hour as Kelly Wright CFP® shows us how to approach tax planning, how to work within the guidelines for 401Ks, Roth conversions, IRAs and other taxable and deferred accounts for the benefit of our clients.

Kelly Wright CFP® is the Director of Financial Planning at Pinnacle Advisory Group in Columbia, Maryland. Kelly has spent over 30 years planning clients' financial futures, sits on the board of the Financial Planning Association of Maryland, and has worked closely with Michael Kitces to develop the planning protocols that Pinnacle advisors use for their high-net-worth clients every day. He has a master's degree in business with a concentration in finance, a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and is a Certified Financial Planner.

Happy New Year from ...For Advisors

Pinnacle Advisor Solutions will celebrate their 10^th Anniversary in 2020, a milestone in any successful business. In that time, they’ve crafted a platform that allows solo advisors and small ensembles to adjust their business focus to spend more time with clients, spend more time on growth, more time to focus on the business itself, rather than the mechanical, transactional aspects of their firms.

All in all, they’ve built a platform that supports 16 strategic partner firms, covers an additional 35 firms with succession and continuity agreements in 23 states, totaling nearly 4,000 client families. Quite an achievement for any services business.

For those advisors seeking growth, there are many avenues to explore, not to mention the education to be had by listening to this podcast, before realizing the goal of a growing, thriving firm that sustains your family’s future. Each advisor must choose their own path to success, and Pinnacle Advisory Solutions would be pleased to be part of your journey.

Here’s wishing you a safe, happy and prosperous 2020!

Thanks for listening.

 

Season's Greetings from ...For Advisors

The team here at “For Advisors” would like to thank each and every one of our listeners for supporting the program in the past year. The audience grows daily, and we’re grateful to all of you for telling your peers and colleagues about us, so they can tune in as well.

We’ve got quite a few exciting things planned for 2020, including some great guests with some valuable insights to help you build, develop, and grow your practice.

Wishing you all a very happy and safe holiday season, and a prosperous New Year!

Thanks for listening!