The Perfect RIA

Adding valuable services to your practice that benefit your clients is simple, but in order for things to run smoothly, it’s important to understand the whole story. Today Matt and Micah will go over some of the most valuable takeaways from their conversation in Episode 28 with Ed Slott. Ed's detailed and practical training has been a huge game changer for financial planners, and this episode breaks down some of the most important things he shared.

Listen in to get examples of what it looks like to add the types of services Ed mentioned and how to implement them so that clients have as much clarity and peace as possible. From tax planning to showing clients how things will play out beforehand, you’ll learn how to properly demonstrate and communicate these services in order to get the best outcome for you and your clients.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://bit.ly/2WMELUr

What does it take to provide true value to your clients? Today we have financial expert and advisor Ed Slott on the show to answer that question and more. Named "The Best" source for IRA advice by The Wall Street Journal, Ed works with advisors across the country and provides training in IRAs and retirement distribution planning.

In this episode, Ed breaks down the key areas advisors should focus on in order to ensure they are offering high-value services to their clients. Listen in to learn common (and costly) mistakes many advisors make, why it's so important to ensure you have proper tax training, and what consumers really need from their financial planners.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2PWBAXY

What does it take to provide true value to your clients? Today we have financial expert and advisor Ed Slott on the show to answer that question and more. Named “The Best” source for IRA advice by The Wall Street Journal, Ed works with advisors across the country and provides training in IRAs and retirement distribution planning.

In this episode, Ed breaks down the key areas advisors should focus on in order to ensure they are offering high-value services to their clients. Listen in to learn common (and costly) mistakes many advisors make, why it's so important to ensure you have proper tax training, and what consumers really need from their financial planners.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2PWBAXY 

There's something that plenty of advisors are guilty of doing without even realizing it: lying to themselves. It's easy to inflate the numbers in your practice, or even guess at them without truly knowing the metrics. And while it may seem harmless to toss around estimations, the truth is that it's actually quite the opposite.

In this episode, Matt and Micah dive into the subject of integrity and how to make sure you're living and owning your truth. Listen in to learn how this subject relates to continuous growth, improvements in your practice, and increased efficiency.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2UMSDfU

There’s something that plenty of advisors are guilty of doing without even realizing it: lying to themselves. It’s easy to inflate the numbers in your practice, or even guess at them without truly knowing the metrics. And while it may seem harmless to toss around estimations, the truth is that it’s actually quite the opposite.

In this episode, Matt and Micah dive into the subject of integrity and how to make sure you’re living and owning your truth. Listen in to learn how this subject relates to continuous growth, improvements in your practice, and increased efficiency.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2UMSDfU 

When it comes to client meetings, we've talked a lot about why grouping appointments is beneficial to you, your team, and the people you serve. But what happens when someone wants to see you outside of the appointment surge? Do you let them come in during a time you haven't blocked off for meetings, or is it better to stick to your pre-established schedule?

In this episode, Matt and Micah discuss what it takes to reach that important balance between working with clients to achieve their goals and making sure they don't dictate your full schedule. Listen in to learn how to set time parameters that empower both you and your clients, as well as systems you can put in place to make sure client communication runs smoothly and efficiently in your practice.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2L0dxII

When it comes to client meetings, we’ve talked a lot about why grouping appointments is beneficial to you, your team, and the people you serve. But what happens when someone wants to see you outside of the appointment surge? Do you let them come in during a time you haven't blocked off for meetings, or is it better to stick to your pre-established schedule?

In this episode, Matt and Micah discuss what it takes to reach that important balance between working with clients to achieve their goals and making sure they don't dictate your full schedule. Listen in to learn how to set time parameters that empower both you and your clients, as well as systems you can put in place to make sure client communication runs smoothly and efficiently in your practice.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2L0dxII 

Too often, people hang onto the idea that anyone who is successful must be lucky. Worse yet, those same people decide that a similar type of success is impossible for them because they believe that they don't have that kind of luck. So today, Matt and Micah are setting the record straight about what really leads to success.

Listen in to hear how attributing others' success to luck not only discredits their knowledge and hard work, but also discourages us from taking ownership of our own ability to change our situations. You'll discover where "luck" truly comes from, how to adjust your mindset so you can learn from successful people instead of envying them, and what you can start doing today to create the kind of practice you want.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2X895Zw

Too often, people hang onto the idea that anyone who is successful must be lucky. Worse yet, those same people decide that a similar type of success is impossible for them because they believe that they don’t have that kind of luck. So today, Matt and Micah are setting the record straight about what really leads to success.

Listen in to hear how attributing others' success to luck not only discredits their knowledge and hard work, but also discourages us from taking ownership of our own ability to change our situations. You’ll discover where “luck” truly comes from, how to adjust your mindset so you can learn from successful people instead of envying them, and what you can start doing today to create the kind of practice you want.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2X895Zw 

Key Links

• [Link Needed for QCD/Tax preparation document Report that Matthew generates for clients. He references that if someone emails Colleen, we can get a sample of it for the show notes around the 12:34 mark of the episode]
• Gear Up Program to learn about taxes: https://checkpointlearning.thomsonreuters.com/GearUp
• Bob Keeblers site for education resources: http://www.keeblerandassociates.com/about
• Ed Slott's website for resources: https://www.irahelp.com/
• Michael Kitces' site: https://www.kitces.com/

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Important Show Note/Disclaimer: When Micah discussed doing paperwork for ROTH conversions/rollovers, he was referring to establishing standing instructions for the client with the custodian so that if a rollover is needed, the 'link' and permission has already been established. Micah was NOT suggesting that you have clients sign paperwork that is held until needed. This would be a huge compliance issue that we strongly discourage.

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Matt and Micah are back to talk about taxes! Last episode covered a lot of ground, but there was still a few key points that hadn't been addressed.

So, this talk covers expands upon the previous themes of bringing massive value to clients through tax planning and a solid communication of your expertise to the client. And as a showcase of the always pragmatic advice of the Perfect RIA hosts, they delineate key tax planning strategies for your benefit, as laid out below.

[#1 Tax Benchmarks ]

• Micah has a system for tax planning with clients that accounts for the next 30 years. He stresses the importance of looking forward and not in the rearview mirror. Because tax codes aren't static (nor are rates), dynamic adjustments are needed. Only forward-thinking moves can adequately handle this.
• And once this 30+ year benchmark is projected and established, then every tax move with the client is relative to the baseline number that is set. It's a very tangible, measurable way to plan for taxes. And keep in mind, the overall goal is save the client money, so the benchmark becomes a way of adjusting to taxes to make that happen.
• And one more vitally important aspect of this benchmark is that you have to communicate to clients in a graceful and effective way. Being able to articulate the plan in a way that keeps in mind the emotional aspects of writing X amount of dollars now to save money in the long run can take a lot of grace. Very important to consider.

[#2 Enhancing a Client's Tax Benefits Through Charity ]

• For tax planning, Matthew involves himself with client's and maximizes the return that his client's get for charitable giving. He says that giving to charities is not a means to an end for a tax break, but that it can still be used as a way to leverage tax benefit.
• They both also bring up the value of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), which can bring a lot of tax benefit. But Matthew also states that whoever is doing the tax preparation needs to be told about the QCD, or else it might go unreported.
• And to ensure that clients get the tax benefit they are entitled to, Matthew actually sends out tax letters to the tax preparers of his clients to make sure they know about any QCDs, so they can factor them in.

[#3 Asset Sales ]

• Rental properties, land sales, and other various business aspects are often neglected. Micah stresses that no, RIAs are not real estate agents, but you can still look at demographics and stats that are reinforced by taxes from planning perspective. Often real estate agents won't factor in a long term strategy for taxes like a tax-savvy RIA can for clients.
• It's all about timing! And good timing often means being proactive with clients about the timing of an asset sale and what that means from a tax standpoint. It could be the difference of saving $15,000 in taxes for a client.

[#4 Roth Conversions and Rollovers ]

• Micah breaks down the combination of Roth conversions and rollovers for increasing the tax value for clients.
• And Matthew explains what he does in his practice to achieve 'tax liquidity,' where he moves remaining amounts of money in a client's tax bracket to a Roth IRA.

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Matt and Micah's Action Items

1. You need to start getting tax returns from clients. Every page is key! And make sure you are articulating the importance of getting the tax return so that clients are jumping to send it to you!
2. Continue your tax education. Don't settle for a certain amount of knowledge. Really keep studying and improving your tax knowledge. Micah suggests Gear Up seminars and Ed Slott for tax learning and tips. Matthew suggests Bob Keebler and Michael Kitces as resources.
3. Learn how to articulate this essential tax information to clients.
4. Have a checklist, especially if you're newer at doing tax returns, to ensure that you're covering your bases and asking the right tax-related questions.

More details at: http://theperfectria.com/lets-talk-about-taxes-part-2/

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Produced by Simpler Media