4 Alternative Retirement Paths And An Advisor’s Role In Helping Clients Plan For Them
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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Alternative Retirement Path #1: Financial Independence [6:04] Michael: So then, I guess, break these down a little bit further. Supporting Clients Considering Alternative Retirement Paths As An Advisor [20:56] Michael: So what's our role as advisors in navigating this or setting this up for clients? Why The 'Traditional' Retirement Path Might Not Be For EveryoneWhile the 'traditional' retirement path of working full-time into one's 60s before leaving the workforce entirely might seem like the 'default' option today, this view of retirement is largely a 20th century phenomenon driven in part by corporate and government decision-making. Here, we will discuss four potential alternative retirement paths: financial independence, sabbaticals, "Coast FIRE" and semi-retirement. How Financial Advisors Can Help Clients Pursue Alternative Retirement StrategiesWhile certain clients might be interested in pursuing an alternative retirement path, many might not have considered these possibilities in the first place.

Managing $240M As A 3-Person Team Through A Structured Meeting Approach: #FASuccess Ep 502 With Wendy Ciehanski
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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But we will say, "You get both of us, but if you don't want me to be the lead at any time, that's okay. It's stories about the family, and travel, and things going on, more so than diving into performance and numbers. If things need to be reestablished, things need to be moved around from different accounts or different investments, there's more activity and more meetings and/or conversation up front. Michael: Okay, okay. But it wasn't get the highest price for our business, and that's going to be the answer.

Your Feedback Requested – Reader Survey For Nerd’s Eye View (2026)
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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Executive SummaryAs financial advisors, we are no stranger to the incredible benefits of long-term compounding. Over the years, Nerd’s Eye View reader feedback has shaped everything from the visual design of the blog (from its original dense small font! ), to the ongoing expansion of our Members section from offering CFP to now CPE credits for CPAs and IAR CE for RIAs that can be earned by reading Nerd's Eye View blog articles (and now listening to the Financial Advisor Technician podcast! ), the launch of the Financial Advisor Success and Kitces & Carl podcasts, our popular "Master List" of all the major Financial Advisor conferences and Best Books for Advisors, and now the coming design refresh of our Nerd’s Eye View blog later this year. Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes to access our Reader Survey below, and share your feedback!

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 8–9)
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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Nonetheless, there are many scenarios where clients might see that engaging in a Roth conversion could be a worthy risk to take. However, the decision of whether to make a (partial) Roth conversion in a given year (and, if so, how much to convert) can benefit from considering several factors. is the intersection of the potential conversion and Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) brackets. In the end, the ultimate value of a Roth conversion is a function of many factors. (Meg Bartelt | Flow Financial Planning)Starting a financial planning firm can be both exciting and stressful.

When ‘Feelings Are Data’ To Navigate Clients’ Financial Planning Trade-Offs: Kitces & Carl 196
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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Yet even these feelings are data in their own right; they're just signals related to different adjustments that may be needed! Aligning gut feelings with analytical data is often the key to making decisions that are both fulfilling and sustainable in the long-term. + Read More +Video<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; wi

When Clients Won’t Sell: What Actually Helps Clients Let Go (Of The Endowment Effect)
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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One of the reasons I love endowment effect so much is because it has been studied so many times. The last way to sort of conceptualize or understand what's happening with endowment effect came from Weaver and Frederick in 2012. What sort of one message you'd want our advisor listeners to take from our discussion of the endowment effect today? Where Advisors See Endowment Effects The MostThe endowment effect is not a quirk confined to sleep-deprived undergraduates and their coffee mugs. Why it matters: The endowment effect doesn't always dissolve through logic, but it often softens when kindness and humanity enter the transaction.

YCharts Acquires Zephyr To Include More SMA Data In Its Analysis And Proposal Tools (And More Of The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech – August 2026)
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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Most financial advisors' service models include managing their clients' investments (and charging a percentage of those assets under management). In the advisory space, the first truly useful AI tools were the first wave of AI notetakers like Jump, Zocks, and Finmate AI. It isn't the function of being a repository for client data; instead, it's making it easier for the advisor to do something with that data. In the meantime, we've rolled out a beta version of our new AdvisorTech Directory , along with making updates to the latest version of our Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map (produced in collaboration with Craig Iskowitz of Ezra Group )! Is performance and benchmarking data for SMA providers a must-have for advisors who use SMAs in their client portfolios?

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (August 1–2)
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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He previously worked at a financial planning firm in the Washington, D.C. area and as a journalist covering the banking and insurance industries. (Allan Roth | Advisor Perspectives)Many financial advisors would like to see financial planning become a bona fide profession, alongside medicine, law, accounting, and others. CFP Board also maintains internal disciplinary capabilities (meant to ensure current CFP professionals continue to uphold the standards set by the organization). Amidst this backdrop, Benz suggests that the concept of having a retirement 'number' might not be appropriate in the first place. By contrast, an advisory firm business – a true business – goes beyond just you as the founder advisor.

Personalizing Lifespan Assumptions For More Accurate Social Security And Retirement Withdrawal Recommendations
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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And I think that it's widely known among planners, advisors, about how basic Social Security retirement benefits work. But generally speaking, people are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits between 62 and 70. Perhaps that can serve as a bridge, as it were, to sort of the deeper conversation about, well, what does your financial life look like here? Increased Value From Social Security BenefitsExpected lifespan matters a great deal in the context of Social Security retirement benefits. This is akin to how advisors already typically use conservative life expectancy assumptions to manage the risk of clients outliving their assets.

Amplifying Business Growth By Constantly Honing Your Time Towards Its Highest-And-Best Use: #FASuccess Ep 500 With Michael Kitces
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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It's 10,000 people who get better financial advice because of the work that I'm doing. And they will, because they're not doing things in alignment with the values that the firm actually recognizes and rewards. And it created this really awkward lumpiness in the business that candidly was really, really stressful at points for whole years. If we can't create effective growth paths for our team, we can't retain great people, and that's not good for the business. And I just had this very clearly still memorable moment of, "Well, today is the day I'm going to start changing that path."

20 Lessons From 500 FAS Podcast Episodes: What I Learned Building An RIA From Scratch In My 20s
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Nerd's Eye View | Kitces.com

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While CFP educational programs teach the knowledge of financial planning, they don't teach the practice of it – and there's remarkably little established training or curriculum. Podcasts like the Financial Advisor Success series provide an excellent library of lessons to absorb, whether you're walking the dog, mowing the lawn, cooking in the kitchen, commuting, or exercising. What I did have was an obsession with learning and an incredible resource that would help shape almost every important decision I made: the Financial Advisor Success (FAS) podcast, hosted by Michael Kitces. Ryan uses both Riskalyze and Tifin Risk for risk profiling, and both RightCapital and Income Lab for financial planning analysis. Financial planning is a helping profession.