Five Questions for a Top Retirement Advisor

The savings rate a pre-retiree must have in order to achieve their desired lifestyle has often times fallen short, and withdrawal rates for current retirees has typically been too high. Both of these investors have also ignored their liability planning, which if not addressed can derail their entire retirement plan.

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

The biggest challenge when modeling clients' retirement incomes and cash flows is finding a balance between both and ensuring the client understands how important both are to their retirement picture.

It's more important for retirees than pre-retirees, but having the conversation early prepares them and educates them in money management.

It all stems from an in-depth conversation with the client and an understanding of their financial objectives, risk tolerance and timeframe.

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

It's all about having a process. My process starts with a financial plan which allows me to tailor the client's investment strategy to their goals.

The focus has always been to optimize the level of risk/return within a portfolio, and, depending on the clients' timeframe and risk tolerance, the investment solutions will vary.

There are plenty of tools in the toolkit, but it's all about knowing my client and which tools to utilize.