Roger & Dan's Retirement Lab

I’ve been in this business for 28 years and I’ve been through some crazy markets. We all know the markets go up and down, but sometimes when they are down it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. On this episode, I noodle on what I have discovered from my experience from these types of seasons and I offer you some do’s and don’ts to help get you and your clients through this challenge. Join me and we’ll see if we can see the...

Have you ever considered what the role of a financial advisor really is? I read a Tweet recently in which a financial advisor said if you aren’t calling your clients when the markets take a downturn you aren’t earning your money. What do you think? Did you call your clients last week to explain what happened in the markets? The Agile Financial Planner is a podcast created to consider how to thrive as financial planners in the 21st ...

You’re a highly-skilled financial planner, you’ve worked hard to build your practice, and you’re good at what you do, but do you know how to market yourself? How do you find your ideal clients? One of the biggest problems many financial planners have is marketing themselves to the clients they wish to serve. I’ve invited Brad Johnson, a financial advisor coach, on the show today to help us solve the puzzle of how to attract the peo...

In today’s world, being a good financial planner is not simply about helping clients make smart financial choices, you also need to be able to help them make good life decisions. Being a great financial planner is means more than knowing about asset allocation and financial planning. We need more skills than we have been taught in CFP courses or at our firms. On this episode of The Agile Financial Planner, author, Standard Deviatio...

How you talk to people matters. You may have the best information, but if nobody is listening it won’t matter. Early on in the days of the Retirement Answer Man podcast, I worked with a professional audio coach. She really helped me improve the podcast by making me more aware of my voice. But I not only improved the podcast, but I also improved the way I communicate with my clients. People choose who and what they want to listen to...

The agile financial planning method creates a fluid, ever-changing environment so I need organizational systems in place that can adapt to constant change. People wonder how I manage to get it all done. I have 2 podcasts, my financial practice, client meetings, the Rock Retirement Club, plus, I’m writing a book. Many people think that there is no way that they could ever have time to balance all of these things. But even though I d...

What is your true role as a financial advisor? On this episode of The Agile Financial Planner we’ll examine the decision making process so you can learn how to help your clients make better decisions in the future. You’ll learn how to create a framework to lead your clients to make informed financial decisions. We’ll also examine whether you are more of a financial advisor or a commissioned sales person. Learn what you can do to be...

Of course, you want the practice of your dreams, but you already have a full day working as a financial planner. How will you ever find the time to create the practice that you really want? Even though you feel way too busy, are you really that busy? Or are you doing all the wrong things with your time? I challenge you to examine how you use your time. On this episode, I’ll share my own time management strategies. You’ll learn how ...

Finally, your financial planner career path is starting to take off. The beginning of a financial planning career is a lot like being in the Hunger Games. The difference is that we volunteer for this journey. Younger advisors often love the craft of financial planning but they soon discover that they signed up for a different role entirely. Find out how financial planning can be like the Hunger Games and what to do next once you ha...

Are you worried about the trend toward free trading fees among custodians? It seems that custodians are in a race to the bottom. Many have now cust the costs of their transactions to zero. That’s great from the clients’ perspective, but what does that mean for you and me? How will the custodians make their money? And what’s next for financial advisors? These are the questions we will explore on this episode of Financial Planner Fre...

Keeping up with client accountability can be tricky. Sometimes they just don’t follow through. Have you ever left a client meeting and wondered if they were going to bother to follow up with your recommendations? Part of the agile planning process is to hold the client accountable. I use SMART Sprints as a tool to help hold my clients accountable. Find out what Smart Sprints are and how they help me further my clients’ goals and ho...

In the last episode, I spoke about the 5 pillars of the Agile Financial Planning process. It sounds great when you first hear it - and there’s nothing about it that is complicated or confusing. But you may not see right away how you can apply it immediately in your financial planning practice. So, on this episode, I want to walk you through what I consider to be the basics of an Agile financial pl...

Do you use an agile financial planning process? If you’re listening to this show you are probably interested in creating the practice of your dreams that serves both your clients and your family. In doing so, you need to understand how to best help your clients while being able to achieve your own financial goals. In this episode of Financial Planner Freedom, you’ll learn why agile financial planning is the best way to serve your c...

Think for just a moment about the typical way we planners and advisors engage our clients in the financial planning process. If they aren’t number people who really like the details, they are likely bored out of their minds every single time they sit down with us. Right?