I wanted to discuss a question I received from an Audio Insights subscriber who asked, "What should I tell a client’s family after the death of a client or client’s spouse?"

In case you missed it, below is a comedy sketch from John Oliver from HBO’s “Last Week Tonight”. Your clients/prospects may ask you about it so I want all to have seen it. It is about 20 minutes long but worth viewing. Yes, it is funny and irreverent but it does paint our entire industry (even those like you that are doing it right) with a broad, negative brush. It is a window into the perception that many people have of us.

https://youtu.be/gvZSpET11ZY

The following article appears on PlanSponsor.com.  Americans are concerned not only with retirement, but also with unexpected heath care costs, unemployment, student loan debt, and other day-to-day expenses.  What are you doing to ease your clients' financial anxiety?  Are you talking with your clients about their short-term and long-term goals and the sources of their financial anxieties?

Last year Congress passed changes to Social Security law that affects commonly practiced retirement strategies.   Recently, a number of people have contacted me and asked me to clarify for them some of these changes, specifically the difference between “File and Suspend” and “Restricted Application.” 

I've been meaning to share this New York Times article about Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans that should (emphasis on "should") make understanding repayment options easier for most borrowers.  Of course, as it is mentioned in the article, it would be better if the whole process were easier, but let's take what we can get for the moment.  There are some resources listed at the end of the article worth sharing with clients that may help better explain the repayment options available to them. 

I wanted to share this feature I recently found in Business Insider.  So much has been written about fees, both hidden and disclosed, that I found this article particularly interesting.  It’s about a socially conscious investing firm that allows the investor to determine his fees.  You would think that investors would elect to pay no fees whatsoever, but that is not the case.  A link to the original article as well as the entire article is below:

I am happy to announce that I’ve added a location in the Baltimore, MD Area for my CFP® Certification Professional Education Program.

This past Fall, a number of changes were made to FAFSA for the 2017-18 application process. 

Now that we’ve hit Spring and are entrenched in the college application and selection process, I thought it would be a good time to review.

The question I've been getting most frequently recently is, "Which candidate will be best for the economy?"  

You’ve done everything right as a financial advisor: You’ve stayed in touch; reviewed and discussed short, mid and long-term goals, did a risk tolerance survey, made appropriate adjustments to a balanced portfolio along the way; and then BAM!   2016 rolls and the stock market drops, oil prices plummet, China’s in trouble, European Banks falter and Donald trump and Bernie Sanders lead the polls!!!!

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