Blog
The Rollover Recommendation Now Has a Paper Trail
CFP Board Updates Walk into almost any advisory practice and ask to see the file behind last month’s rollover recommendations. Most advisors can tell you what they recommended. Far fewer can show you why – in writing, tied to the client’s actual plan features, with the alternatives they rejected and the reasons they rejected them.…
Roth Conversion Strategy
CFP® Practice Question Michael, age 62, retired this year and has not yet claimed Social Security benefits. His only taxable income for 2026 is $30,000 of interest and dividends. He expects to begin receiving substantial pension income and Social Security benefits at age 67. Which of the following planning strategies is MOST likely to reduce…
Basis Increase Rule and AI Warning
Student Question Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 14: Property Transaction STUDENT QUESTION Dear Teacher, in this Example (Jill and Mary), I had some question about the formula of basis increase. I checked with AI and it says: §1015(d)(1) requires using net appreciation ÷ amount of the gift “Amount of the gift” = FMV of the property…
CFP® Professionals Earn 11% More. Here’s the Part That Actually Matters.
CFP Board’s 2026 Compensation Study handed the profession an easy headline: CFP® professionals earn about 11% more than comparable financial planners, even after controlling for experience, firm size, and services offered.[1] Median total compensation for planners reached $195,000 in 2025 – up 15% in a year – rising to a median $360,000 for those with…
Qualified Plan Distribution
A 61-year-old employee retires and has a $900,000 balance in her employer’s 401(k) plan. She does not need the assets immediately and is considering whether to leave the funds in the plan or roll them into a traditional IRA. Which of the following factors would MOST strongly favor leaving the assets in the employer plan?…
Why Low Correlation Drives Diversification
Course: Investment PlanningLesson 13: Asset Allocation editor STUDENT QUESTION I understand that diversification is supposed to reduce risk, and that low correlation between assets is what makes that work. But I’m having trouble seeing WHY low correlation reduces risk rather than just “smoothing out” the returns. If I own two stocks that don’t move together,…
Beyond the Risk Questionnaire: A Discovery Framework That Surfaces What Clients Won’t Say
Good to Know Most first meetings collect the wrong information beautifully. A new client fills out a risk-tolerance questionnaire, answers a net-worth worksheet, and leaves – and the advisor has a tidy file that says almost nothing about why this person will or won’t follow the plan. Risk questionnaires measure a preference under hypothetical conditions.…
Concentrated Stock Position
A client inherited employer stock several years ago. The shares now represent 55% of her $2 million investment portfolio. She is reluctant to sell because she believes the company has excellent long-term prospects. What behavioral bias is the client MOST likely exhibiting? Anchoring Mental accounting Familiarity bias Recency bias CLICK TO REVEAL ANSWERCollapse C is…
Calculating a Dependent’s Standard Deduction
Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 8: Arriving at Taxable Income Student Question: Hi, In the practice example with Jarrod, his standard deduction was calculated as his $2,000 of earned income plus $450, even though he also had $500 of interest income. Why doesn’t the interest income count toward his standard deduction calculation the way the earned…