At an industry conference last week, a conversation stopped me in my tracks.
I’ve always been driven by a relentless desire to improve—whether in fitness, with my family, or in how I run my practice. Over my twenty years in this industry (and fifteen years before that as a student and an athlete), that mindset has driven a constant pursuit of improvement.
So I was stunned when a fellow advisor openly told me he doesn’t use financial planning software because he does zero planning—and has no interest in starting.
Then came the kicker: his advisory fees are 50% to 100% higher than mine.
Let that sink in: significantly higher fees for a fraction of the service.
I honestly don’t know how anyone makes sound financial decisions without a robust, customized Financial Plan as the foundation. Without an active blueprint, every financial decision is simply a guess. It may work out, it may not, and it almost certainly is not optimized.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case. Across the industry, many advisors, if they offer planning at all, treat planning as a compliance “check-the-box” exercise simply to satisfy regulators, rarely to be updated or utilized again. They’re so worried about how many clients they have, or how much assets they’re managing, that Financial Planning becomes an inconvenience…Planning takes time away from growing the practice and accumulating more assets.
It wasn’t all discouraging, though. At that same conference, I spent time with a 77-year-old advisor who has spent over four decades building an exceptional practice centered on genuine client care. A true professional who takes pride in doing things the right way, with zero plans to retire even as he approaches eighty years old.
Real, measurable value in wealth management comes from the depth of the ongoing planning process:
Proactive Tax Planning: Structuring asset location, Roth conversion timing, tax bracket management, optimizing for healthcare premium tax credits, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) and capital gain (or loss) harvesting.
Retirement Cash-Flow Architecture: Designing tax-efficient withdrawal sequences across multiple account types rather than guessing each December, Social Security timing, pension analysis, etc…
Estate & Legacy Strategy: Ensuring titling, trusts, and beneficiary designations match actual intent so wealth passes seamlessly without probate friction.
Risk & Liquidity Analysis: Stress-testing economic / market drawdowns to arrive at optimal investment strategy, stress-testing longevity, healthcare contingencies, and debt structure, life and disability insurance analysis.
When an advisor charges a premium fee solely to manage an asset allocation model without touching tax strategy, cash flow, stress testing, or estate architecture, the client isn’t paying for comprehensive wealth management. They are paying an expensive investment management, monitoring and reporting fee.
If you work with an advisor, your fee should reflect ongoing, measurable planning—not just portfolio maintenance.
Three questions every investor should ask their advisor:
“What specific financial planning deliverables are included in my advisory fee each year beyond investment reviews?”
“How do you coordinate my portfolio strategy with my CPA and estate attorney to optimize taxes and wealth transfer?”
“Can you show me the software and scenario models you use to stress-test my retirement plan?”
If the answer to any of these is hesitation or silence, you aren’t paying for comprehensive wealth management—you’re subsidizing an outdated business model.
You wouldn’t set sail across an ocean without adjusting your course along the way; without regular corrections, you’ll end up on a completely different continent. Annual plan updates allow us to spot changes early, make proactive adjustments, and keep your long-term destination in sight.
With great pride and in humble service to all my current and future clients,
Ken
