Recent Surveys Indicate High Satisfaction Among CFP® Professionals

CFP® Board Updates A recent survey of CFP® Professionals indicates continued high satisfaction with their career choice as a financial planner.   In addition, the survey revealed CFP® Professionals continue to see positive impact in their career from having achieved the certification. A few of the key findings, which highlight just a small portion of the…

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How to Correct a Faulty Claiming Age Decision

Good to Know You may find yourself advising clients and prospects that were either misinformed or unaware of the consequences of claiming Social Security benefits too early. A potential, if not common, client angst is the realization that age 62 was NOT a wise claiming age decision. A client could face three unwelcome results from…

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CFP Board Imposes Public Sanctions On 22 Individuals

CFP® Certificants in the News This blog’s title confirms that it’s not always good to have one’s name in the news. According to CFP Board’s November 22, 2021 release, “Certified Financial Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) announced today public sanctions against 22 current or former CFP® professionals or candidates for CFP® certification, effective immediately…

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The 2021 Crystal Ball: Year-End Tax Strategies for Individuals

Good to Know Year-end tax planning for 2021 depends in large part on proposed legislation, such as the “Build Back Better Act.” Without a reliable crystal ball, the ultimate passage of the Act and other legislation is hard to handicap. However, the passage of the Act could hit many upper-middle-income and high-income taxpayers squarely in…

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HOW TO REDUCE CYBER RISKS IN CLIENT ACCOUNTS

CFP® Certificants in the News CFP Board’s recent background and disclosure review project resulted in a higher-than-expected number of reviews, investigations, and disciplinary actions taken against CFP® certificants. Solely in the author’s opinion, the scope and depth of the disclosure violations, when coupled with the CFP Board’s strategic goal of utmost public trust, may have…

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Is the Stretch IRA Dead for Everyone?

Good to Know The answer posed by the blog title is no. That’s good news. The bad news is that only a short list of beneficiaries is eligible for stretch IRA treatment at the death of the original IRA owner. Only an eligible designated beneficiary can stretch distributions from Traditional IRAs where the original owner…

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Anchoring Risk in Client Investing

Good to Know This blog is the first in a series to identify common psychological influences that can lead clients to financial decision errors. We begin this series with a common influence referred to as Anchoring. Anchoring Defined Anchoring is regarded by some as one of the most powerful psychological influences in the human brain.…

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CFP Board Announces 2021 Virtual Diversity Summit and Career Fair

CFP® Board Updates The CFP® Board will be holding the 2021 Virtual Diversity Summit from November 17 – 19, 2021.  The Summit focuses on solutions to advance diversity and inclusion in financial planning. The event will also feature a virtual career fair focused on women and people of color, connecting with employers. The virtual career…

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The “Secret” Social Security Payraise

Good to Know One of the beauties of Social Security Retirement benefits is the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The COLA is simply an increase to a covered worker’s benefit to maintain their purchasing power. A covered worker is a worker from whose compensation Social Security taxes have been withheld. The long-term average annual COLA is 2.2%,…

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UNHOLY TRILOGY: COVID, REMOTE WORK, and CYBERCRIME

CFP® Certificants in the News “There are only two kinds of financial planning firms: those that have faced a cyberattack and those that will.”  Consulting Firm PwC Business is booming for cybercriminals.  The confluence of COVID and remote working has more than doubled cyberattacks against financial firms.  Moreover, the increased number of attacks is far…

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