Five Questions for a Top Retirement Advisor

Commentary July 23, 2010 at 10:27 AM

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Research: What retirement issue has hit you or your clients out of left field, and how did you resolve it?

J. Cornell: Investor reality confirmed, no straight lines! We have re-established client budgets, gifting intention and reallocated portfolios to recover capital. Additionally, we have updated retirement planning calculations accordingly. We are pleased at how attentive clients have been to our advice through the storm.

What prospecting methods have been most successful for you in attracting retirement-planning clients?

Key prospect question: Do you see the wisdom of getting a second opinion on your retirement income? Many new prospective clients have responded by telling me this would be their first.

Do you face any frequently occurring retirement-planning mistakes with prospects?

The vast majority of clients and prospects fail to establish retirement income plans with an inflation-adjusted model. Many advisors in our judgment portray only linear returns and often ignore key purchasing power components.

What challenges do you face when modeling clients' retirement incomes and cash flows, and how do you resolve them?

A common oversight and critical point of our planning advice is for client households to honor the importance of an emergency fund. Even in light of minimal rates of return, we advise four to six months of average monthly spending in fully liquid form.

What mix of products and solutions do you use most often and why?

Once an accurate spending allowance is determined, we design portfolios to carry out a customized return and risk metric. Use of separate managed accounts and mutual funds are then crafted around our clients' documented financial plan.

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