News & Updates
What Can A Children’s Story Teach Us About Retirement Savings?
Good to Know A financial planner’s or advisor’s role can be as much about implementation as it is about inspiration. The best retirement savings plan in the history of humankind may be doomed to failure when a client is disengaged or procrastinates. Sadly, too many of our clients understand the importance of putting the plan…
Read MoreTrailing Commissions and Sales-Related Compensation
CFP® Certificants in the News True or false, a CFP® professional who receives trailing commissions cannot represent their practice as “fee-only” under any circumstance. The answer may surprise you. Read on to see why. CFP Board “Standard A.12 of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct provides that a CFP® professional may not make false or misleading representations…
Read MoreFour Opportunities for 2024—Secure Act 2.0
Good to Know A savvy financial advisor can help a client maximize key benefits in 2024 from the Secure Act 2.0, including: Required minimum distributions from Designated Roth Accounts, Emergency Savings Account, Student Loan 401(k) matching contributions, and 529 Plan to Roth rollovers. The IRS has not clarified how these 2024 changes will be implemented. …
Read MoreCFP Board Announces Revision of Procedural Rules
CFP® Board Updates On May 16, 2023, the CFP Board announced the adoption of revised Procedural Rules. These rules govern the manner in which the process for investigating alleged misconduct takes place, as well as the process for enforcing the Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. The revised rules will take effect on…
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence—Friend or Foe?
Good to Know Artificial intelligence is either the greatest threat to our species or the greatest boon to humankind, depending on what headline you read. The author makes the cheerful assumption that AI does not become “self-aware” and eradicate humanity á la “Terminator.” Neither this article nor financial planning will matter if the author has…
Read MoreCFP Board Urges Senate to Pass Bill to Protect Seniors
CFP® Certificants in the News You may be encouraged to know that the U.S. House of Representatives, regardless of their political party, can still rally behind a noble cause. The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 419 to 0 and now awaits action by the Senate. How exactly would…
Read MoreCFP Board Launches Endowed Scholarship for Women
CFP® Board Updates The CFP Board announced on May 1 the creation of an endowed scholarship program to fund the education of women who are aspiring to make an impact and become CFP® Professionals. The scholarship is operated through the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning. This scholarship will award up to $5,000 a qualified…
Read MoreExecutive Compensation—Restricted Stock
Good to Know All that glitters is not gold. -French Monk Alain de Lille, 1175 Assume your client just received a grant of Restricted Stock from their employer. Congratulations are in order, but before they go out and use some of that grant “money” to celebrate, let’s understand exactly what they received and when they…
Read MoreCFP Board Exam Pass Rate was 65% in March 2023
CFP® Board Updates The most recent CFP Board exam, administered in March 2023, produced a pass rate of 65%. That was in increase of 1% from November 2022, and in-line with previous exam pass rates that all hovered in the mid-60% range. There was also a record number of exam test takers in March, with…
Read MoreAdvanced Roth Strategies—Part II of II
Good to Know This article continues our goal to create or deepen a financial advisor’s awareness of the creative use of Roth IRAs or Designated Roth Accounts in special circumstances such as: Resolving the tension between building an emergency reserve and saving for retirement, Reducing income taxes on Social Security Benefits for retirees, and Lowering…
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