Clients in the retirement-income phase seek advice from financial advisors who’ve traditionally developed optimal asset-allocation portfolios for various risk levels.  The advisor chooses the appropriate portfolio and deploys the client’s savings. And then, both advisor and client hope for the best.

Although this “MVO” method is widely accepted in academic and finance circles as the gold standard for building long-term wealth, its effectiveness in retirement-income planning is limited.  Now there’s a way to fully examine a portfolio's sustainable income levels and the risks of it coming up short. Discover new ways to evaluate the roles of various asset classes and investment strategies such as:

• Immediate fixed or variable annuities
• Principal-protected products such as equity-linked certificates of deposit (ELCD)
• Variable annuities with lifetime guarantee minimum withdrawal benefits (VA+GMWB)

The evolution of life planning services has resulted with Financial Planners regularly bringing the role of a psychologist into their tool kit.  Rick Kahler, a pioneer of the planner-therapist alliance concept and an instructor of Golden Gate University’s "The Psychology of Money" course, provides new insight and practical information on how involving a psychologist in your planning process can add value to your clients.  You’ll receive step-by-step advice on how to decide when to bring in a therapist or coach and how to select and integrate them profitably into your practice.

• Understand the difference between financial coaching and therapy
• Tips on interviewing and selecting a financial therapist
• How to profitably integrate a therapist into your practice
• How to demystify and understand the therapeutic process
• How to use ‘The Decision Tree’ for when to bring in a coach or therapist

While each couple or individual is unique, there are some themes in the life cycle of a retiree.  We’ll examine some behavioral techniques that can help set clients on the right course, a few methods for defusing the inevitable bombs we encounter along the road, and a different way to look at the “efficient frontier” in regards to clients.

• Setting goals:  The science of goal theory
• Client isn’t saving enough:  The compounding effect of having tough conversations early and questions that lead to solutions.
• Insurance Talk:  Research in framing decisions
• Working Extra Years:  Liberating constraints and goal adjustment preferences
• Client officially retires:  Research on happiness and health factors in retirement and non-financial emergency fund
• The New Efficient Frontier:  A powerful new way to look at balancing risk and return

Contrary to “rational thought” as defined in economic theory, real investors make different choices depending on the time horizon of their investments. They feel differently about money they need tomorrow and money they will need in 10 or 20 years.  Understanding clients’ preferences for different asset classes over different holding periods is key to building portfolios that balance their simultaneous desire for predictability and long-term returns. Helping retired clients navigate the tradeoffs between predictability and long-term returns leads to portfolios that clients find intuitive, they can stick to through turbulent markets and lead to a better chance of achieving their financial plans.  Find out:

·        Why clients tend to prefer smaller payoffs now over larger payoffs later

·        How hyperbolic discounting tends to impair retirement saving and portfolio construction

·        How you can frame investment strategies to fit your clients view of money through time

Most financial planners aspire to have the bulk of their customer base comprised of high net worth clientele….clients who are often described as “oversold and underserved.”  But what about the largest demographic of clients today, those who are trying to plan for retirement on a modest salary?

Statistics indicate that moderate-to-low income investors are in an even worse position being both “undersold and underserved.”  Learn how you can build a successful practice serving the average investor by educating them and engaging their interest through better communication resources and new ideas that all financial advisory firms should embrace.

• How to build a financial planning practice in the community you want to serve
• Using Social Media when affiliated with an independent broker/dealer
• Delivering value for the fees you charge
• Education is the key to helping investors better understand retirement advice they receive from their company's 401(k) computer-based guidlines- One shoe doesn't fit all!