All Episodes
Kitces and Carl - Real Talk for Real Financial Advisors — 195 episodes
Engagement Trap and Reactive vs Proactive Touchpoints: Kitces & Carl Ep 195
Is It Ever Appropriate To Engage Clients With Fear Of Adverse Outcomes To Persuade Them To Action?: Kitces & Carl Ep 194
When Clients Would Rather Feel More Financially Successful Than Take Action To BE More Successful: Kitces & Carl Ep 193
Balancing Between The Art Of Serving Clients Creatively And Optimizing For Business Outcomes: Kitces & Carl Ep 192
Challenges In Engaging The 'Disengaged' Spouse Of A Client Couple: Kitces & Carl Ep 191
The Advisor Talent Shortage: Will AI Solve... Or Exacerbate It?: Kitces & Carl Ep 190
Navigating Change Fatigue With And While Serving Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 189
The Remarkable Liquidity Of Financial Advisory Firms When Planning Your Own Advisor Retirement: Kitces & Carl Ep 188
Mitigating Risk From (Litigious) Clients When Your Advisor Team Grows Beyond You: Kitces & Carl Ep 187
Communicating The Value Of Financial Planning That Clients Don't Come For In The First Place: Kitces & Carl Ep 186
The Financial Planning Value Disconnect When Clients Don't Appreciate The Long-Term Benefits: Kitces & Carl Ep 185
The (Unexpected) Ways AI Is Changing Content Marketing For Financial Advisors: Kitces & Carl Ep 184
Should Advisors Provide Opinionated Advice Or Coach Clients To Choose Their Own Path?: Kitces & Carl Ep 183
Why Advisor Succession Plans Fail: Retirement Age Is Peak Advisor Happiness: Kitces & Carl Ep 182
Helping Clients With AI Bubble Fears To Stay The Course: Kitces & Carl Ep 181
Aligning Your Capital With What's Important To You By Focusing On Where You PAY Attention: Kitces & Carl Ep 180
Holding Back From Hiring Associate Advisors Out Of Fear They're Just Going To Move On: Kitces & Carl Ep 179
Helping Retired Clients To Actually Start Spending (And Enjoying) Their Money: Kitces & Carl Ep 178
Ways To Say 'No' To Avoid Making Yourself Too Busy: Kitces & Carl Ep 177
Ways To Say 'Yes' Sustainably To Prospects In Need Who Don't Fit Your Minimums: Kitces & Carl Ep 176
Visual Sketches As Conversation Starters To Help Clients Make Better Financial Decisions: Kitces & Carl Ep 175
What Jobs Have You Given Money (That Shape How You Give Advice)?: Kitces & Carl Ep 174
When Prospects Say No Because They're Not Ready To Break Up With Their Current Advisor: Kitces & Carl Ep 173
Scaling Financial Planning Client Affluence vs. Technology Efficiencies: Kitces & Carl Ep 172
When Advising Clients Loses Its Spark: Burned Out, Or Bored-Out?: Kitces & Carl Ep 171
Helping Clients Navigate AI Career Challenges By Building Financial Planning Resiliency: Kitces & Carl Ep 170
Is There A Future Of Financial Planning In The AI Era?: Kitces & Carl Ep 169
Do You Really Have To Go Deep With Every New Client In The First Meeting?: Kitces & Carl Ep 168
Are Financial Advisors Less Happy When Working With HNW Clients?: Kitces & Carl Ep 167
Financial Planners As The Guide To Help Clients Navigating Potentially Changing Terrain: Kitces & Carl Ep 166
Finding Repeatable Conversations To Explain Complex Concepts More Understandably To Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 165
Is Complexity In Financial Planning Necessary To Prove (Young) Advisor Credibility?: Kitces & Carl Ep 164
Overcoming Objections When Clients Reject The Recommendation By Asking What You Missed: Kitces & Carl Ep 163
Avoiding Staff Management Duties You Don't Want By Paying A Virtual Assistant For Only What You Need: Kitces & Carl Ep 162
How Valuable Is Getting Feedback About Your Original Business Ideas (That Others May Not Get Anyway)?: Kitces & Carl Ep 161
Calming Clients With Anxiety About Trump Tariffs And Trade Wars: Kitces & Carl Ep 160
When You Promised Early Clients Special Fees Or Minimums You Can No Longer Honor: Kitces & Carl Ep 159
Should Prospects Be Allowed To Move Forward If They Don't Want To Think It Over First?: Kitces & Carl Ep 158
Reducing The Fears Of Prospective Clients By Communicating Clear Expectations Before The First Meeting: Kitces & Carl Ep 157
How Are You Getting Value Out Of ChatGPT As A Financial Advisor?: Kitces & Carl Ep 156
How Do You Know When You Are Adding Value Versus Just Trying To Justify Your Fees?: Kitces & Carl Ep 155
The Limits Where Technology Can't Scale Financial Planning Advice: Kitces & Carl Ep 154
Evaluating The Tradeoffs That Come With Retaining 'Legacy' Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 153
Advisory Fee Confidence And Building The Happy-Client Stoke File: Kitces & Carl Ep 152
What's Holding You Back From Delegating What You Need To Let Go Of?: Kitces & Carl Ep 151
When The Early Years' Scarcity As A Financial Advisor Prevents You From Growing To The Next Level: Kitces & Carl Ep 150
Do You Really Need A Business Partner… Or A Study Group?: Kitces & Carl Ep 149
Making It Easier To Get Started By NOT Building In Public And Focusing On Version 0 Instead: Kitces & Carl Ep 148
Preparing An Advisory Firm For The Risk Of A Market (And Revenue) Decline: Kitces & Carl Ep 147
Re-Educating Clients (Scalably) After They 'Read Something On The Internet': Kitces & Carl Ep 146
Explaining The Full Value Of (Life) Planning By Unlocking The Emotional Job To Be Done: Kitces & Carl Ep 145
The Success Trap Of Boutique Practices And Building With Intentionality: Kitces & Carl Ep 144
Taking Over Clients From An Advisor With A Different Personality And Communication Style: Kitces & Carl Ep 143
Carl's 13 Magical Questions Of Conversational Goodness With (New) Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 142
Creating The Space To Have More Meaningful Money Conversations With Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 141
Are You Worrying About Scale Before You Even Have A Scale Problem?: Kitces & Carl Ep 140
When Have You Done 'Enough' For Clients (And How Do You Know)?: Kitces & Carl Ep 139
Crafting Your Own Stop-Doing List To Create Capacity For What Really Matters: Kitces & Carl Ep 138
When Does Your Career Transition From Saying Yes To Opportunities & Focusing More On No?: Kitces & Carl Ep 137
Should Internal Succession Plans Provide A G2 Discount For Lack Of Affordability?: Kitces & Carl Ep 136
Do Experienced Financial Planners Have a Professional Obligation To Create Job Opportunities For The Next Generation?: Kitces & Carl Ep 135
Helping Clients Who Can't Ever Get To Enough: Kitces & Carl Ep 134
Life-Changing Self Actualization—But How Do We Market It?: Kitces & Carl Ep 133
What Drives Real Advisor Marketing Success? Vanity Metrics Vs Engaged Prospects: Kitces & Carl Ep 132
What's The Real Purpose Of (New Year's) Goals And Finding The Next Best Action To Move Forward?: Kitces & Carl Ep 131
Helping Everyone You Can Vs Getting Paid What You're Really Worth: Kitces & Carl Ep 130
How Autonomy, Experience, and Team Drive Advisor Well-being: Kitces & Carl Ep 129
Noticing What You Spend Money On That's Actually An Investment: Kitces & Carl Ep 128
Creating Value Through Presence And The 50 Fires Podcast: Kitces & Carl Ep 127
Best Ways To Boost Advisor Productivity: New Tech Efficiencies Vs Old Fee Increases: Kitces & Carl Ep 126
Scale Your Business, Leverage Yourself, Or Just Grow?: Kitces & Carl Ep 125
When Clients Evolve Out Of Your Niche Specialization Should You Stay Or Go (Or Not)?: Kitces & Carl Ep 124
Does Every Prospective Client Fit A Niche Or Do Advisor Specializations Leave More Underserved?: Kitces & Carl Ep 123
Helping Clients Make Decisions That DON'T Make (Financial) Sense: Kitces & Carl Ep 122
Can You Just Do Good Work And Get Noticed As An Advisor Or Do You Have To Self-Promote?: Kitces & Carl Ep 121
Is It Really Harder To Scale A Small RIA Today, Or Are Firms Just Navigating The Growth Treadmill?: Kitces & Carl Ep 120
Navigating Succession Plans When Founders Are Having Second-Thoughts On Retirement: Kitces & Carl Ep 119
(Re-)Building Your Financial Advisor Identity When You Dial Back Working With Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 118
Sustaining A Profitable Advisory Business That Allows You To Explore New Endeavors: Kitces & Carl Ep 117
Getting Training As (Or For) An Associate Advisor To Talk More In Client Meetings: Kitces & Carl Ep 116
Setting The Right Minimum Fee Per Client And The Revenue Model Generator: Kitces & Carl Ep 115
When Clients Are Tempted By The Siren-Song Of (A Competitor's) Investment Results: Kitces & Carl Ep 114
What Does It Really Mean To Be A Lead Advisor?: Kitces & Carl Ep 113
When You No Longer Want To Be A Manager And Have To Let An Associate Advisor Go: Kitces & Carl Ep 112
Who To Hire First As Your Advisory Firm Grows (And Why Do You Even Want To?): Kitces & Carl Ep 111
Dressing Up For Clients (Do Advisors Really Need To Dress For Success?): Kitces & Carl Ep 110
Attracting Clients - An Advisor For Their Goals Or A Role Model Of What They Can Achieve?: Kitces & Carl Ep 109
Crafting A (Marketing) Manifesto To Show What You Really Stand For: Kitces & Carl Ep 108
The Strategic Planning Process And Coming Up With (New) Ideas To Try: Kitces & Carl Ep 107
Sharing 'Real' Examples Of Your Work To Show The Value Of Financial Planning: Kitces & Carl Ep 106
When A Prospect Doesn't Meet Your Minimums—Navigating The Awkwardness Gracefully: Kitces & Carl Ep 105
How Do You NOT Grow (And Finding The Constraints To Help Say No): Kitces & Carl Ep 104
Balancing Client Responsiveness With The Proactive Sledgehammer of Value: Kitces & Carl Ep 103
Reflecting On The Journey Of Building A Career And Business: Kitces & Carl Ep 102
Where Are All The Proudly Premium-Fee Advisors?: Kitces & Carl Ep 101
Is Advisor Technology Really About Making Planning Faster... Or Better?: Kitces & Carl Ep 100
What Does It Take For You To Find The Confidence To Take Action?: Kitces & Carl Ep 99
Fee Schedule Complexity And Managing The Fear Of Leaving Opportunities On The Table: Kitces & Carl Ep 98
Talking Clients Down From Making Politically-Motivated Portfolio Changes: Kitces & Carl Ep 97
Handling Politically Charged Clients Who Make It Uncomfortable To Be Their Advisor: Kitces & Carl Ep 96
Building Your Advisor Marketing Content By Packaging Your Client Wisdom: Kitces & Carl Ep 95
Is Being A Financial Planner A Service Business Or An Intellectual Property Business?: Kitces & Carl Ep 94
Getting An ROI From Your New Associate Advisor (In Less Than 6 Years): Kitces & Carl Ep 93
When Clients Want Certainty You Just Can't Give Them: Kitces & Carl Ep 92
Is It Better To Have Clear Goals Or 'Just' A Strong Sense Of Direction: Kitces & Carl Ep 91
Standing Out On Social Media By Finding The 'Minimum Viable Audience': Kitces & Carl Ep 90
From Financial Plan Software To One Page Financial Planning: Kitces & Carl Ep 89
Showing Your Value To Prospects When Everything Is Already Going Well: Kitces & Carl Ep 88
Balancing Optimal Advice With Recommendations That Clients Will Actually Implement: Kitces & Carl Ep 87
Aligning Client Capital To Goals (Which Are Only Clarified Over Time): Kitces & Carl Ep 86
Building Your (Local) Brand With PR That Actually Works: Kitces & Carl Ep 85
How Do You Introduce Yourself If Not A 'Financial Advisor': Kitces & Carl Ep 84
When The Big Prospect Doesn't Want Your Financial Plan: Kitces & Carl Ep 83
Balancing The Desire To Serve With The Financial Demands Of Growth: Kitces & Carl Ep 82
Increasing Client Touch Points With Asynchronous Client Meetings: Kitces & Carl Ep 81
How Advisory Firms Evolve Their Specializations Over Time: Kitces & Carl Ep 80
Finding Your Future Specialization By Interviewing Your Current Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 79
Communicating Hard News To Clients (When You Plan To Relocate The Business): Kitces & Carl Ep 78
Virtual or In-Person Meetings: What Do Clients Really Want?: Kitces & Carl Ep 77
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome By Truly Building Confidence In Your Own Value: Kitces & Carl Ep 76
Crafting A Statement of Financial Purpose To Find The Client's Financial Why: Kitces & Carl Ep 75
Making Clients Care About Financial Planning By Finding Their (Truly) Critical Issues: Kitces & Carl Ep 74
Introducing Financial Planning To Clients Who Previously (Only) Bought A Product: Kitces & Carl Ep 73
Do You Want A Lifestyle Practice Or Fear Building A Bigger One?: Kitces & Carl Ep 72
When You Want To Delegate But Don't Want To Manage: Kitces & Carl Ep 71
The Paralyzing Fear Of Being Wrong (In Our Planning Projections): Kitces & Carl Ep 70
Retaining The Client Who Transfers Out Without Notice: Kitces & Carl Ep 69
Managing Advisor Turnover And The Transferability Of Trust: Kitces & Carl Ep 68
Setting A Personal Growth Goal When You Don't Need More Revenue For Success: Kitces & Carl Ep 67
Helping Clients To Stop Maximizing Their Wealth And Set Goals To Enjoy It Instead: Kitces & Carl Ep 66
Handling Clients Who Bring Their Own 'Hot' Investment Ideas: Kitces & Carl Ep 65
Why AUM Keeps Growing Despite Opportunities For Flat-Fee Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 64
How To Deliver A One-Page Financial Plan And Its 'Technical Appendix': Kitces & Carl Ep 63
Do Vision And Mission Statements Really Matter For Advisory Firms?: Kitces & Carl Ep 62
Taking The Leap To Launch When You Don't Have The Capital To Finance It: Kitces & Carl Ep 61
The Training That Service Advisors Need To Get To The Next Level: Kitces & Carl Ep 60
The Time Trap - How Do You Find The Time To Get More Time Efficient?: Kitces & Carl Ep 59
Getting Mentally Unstuck From Thinking About Clients 'Too Much': Kitces & Carl Ep 58
Transitioning 'Good' Clients Who Simply Can't Be Served Profitably: Kitces & Carl Ep 57
The Advisor Fee Debate And Focusing On Value Over Price: Kitces & Carl Ep 56
Implementing A Waiting List Or Just Referring Clients Out: Kitces & Carl Ep 55
Showing Financial Planning Value On An Ongoing Basis After The First 6 Months: Kitces & Carl Ep 54
Using Financial Plan Proposals To Show Planning Value To Prospective Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 53
Are Advisor Websites Asked To Do Too Much To Grow The Business?: Kitces & Carl Ep 52
Fighting The Fear of Focusing When Trying To Select A Niche: Kitces & Carl Ep 51
Overcoming Referral (Asking) Reluctance And The Risks Of Marketing Yourself: Kitces & Carl Ep 50
Getting More Referrals Beyond Just Trying To Be More Remarkable: Kitces & Carl Ep 49
Why Goals-Based Planning Doesn't Work And The Possibilities-Based Planning Alternative: Kitces & Carl Ep 48
Getting Data Gathering Back On Track When Clients Drag Their Feet: Kitces & Carl Ep 47
Transitioning Existing Clients To Become More Financial Planning Focused: Kitces & Carl Ep 46
Making Annual Client Review Meetings More Financial Planning Centric: Kitces & Carl Ep 45
Starting To Charge Fees For Clients That Aren't Used To Paying Separately For Advice: Kitces & Carl Ep 44
Talking Advice Fees And Advice Value In The First Prospect Meeting: Kitces & Carl Ep 43
Overcoming Objections By Asking More Questions To Determine Fit: Kitces & Carl Ep 42
Helping Older Clients Stuck In Cash On The Sidelines: Kitces & Carl Ep 41
How To Turn Your Advisor Marketing Content Into A(n Entire) Book: Kitces & Carl Ep 40
Avoid Writer's Block With Your Marketing By (Literally) Talking It Through: Kitces & Carl Ep 39
How Do You Figure Out What You're Going To Create Content About?: Kitces & Carl Ep 38
Finding Your Focus Amidst The Draw To Do More 'Public Work' In A Mid-Career Crisis: Kitces & Carl Ep 37
How Do You Protect Your Own Confidence As A Financial Advisor?: Kitces & Carl Ep 36
Favorite Questions To Ask A Prospective Client To Build Trust In The First Meeting: Kitces & Carl Ep 35
Are We Making Financial Advice & Portfolios More Complex Than They Need To Be?: Kitces & Carl Ep 34
Triaging Clients Efficiently Through Critical Financial Care: Kitces & Carl Ep 33
Communicating Triggers And Breaking The News The Plan Has To Change: Kitces & Carl Ep 32
Maintaining Personal Advisor Wellness In Times Of Market Stress: Kitces & Carl Episode 31
Conveying Rational Overconfidence In Talking To Clients About Coronavirus Fears: Kitces & Carl Ep 30
The Epidemic of Spending at Unsustainable Rates: Kitces & Carl Ep 29
Email Productivity Hacks And Getting More Done In Your Day: Kitces & Carl Ep 28
Handling The 'Required Minimum' Conversation Without Being Awkward: Kitces & Carl Ep 27
Talking Clients Out Of The Bunker Portfolio: Kitces & Carl Ep 26
The Overconfident Conversation And Walking Clients Back From The Greed Ledge: Kitces & Carl Ep 25
Improving Work-Life Balance In 2020 And Giving Yourself Permission To Rest: Kitces & Carl Ep 24
Following Through On Your Business Creativity By Saying 'Yes' And Figuring It Out Later: Kitces & Carl Ep 23
Simplifying Your Life By Building Habits And Kitces Travel Tips: Kitces & Carl Ep 22
Do You Have To Build Confidence Before Taking Action, Or Take Action To Build Confidence?: Kitces & Carl Ep 21
Is A Fiduciary Requirement Necessary When Acting In Clients' Best Interests Is Good Business Anyway?: Kitces & Carl Ep 20
Is Any Financial Advisor Business Model Truly Conflict Free?: Kitces & Carl Ep 19
Talking Clients Off The Ledge From 'Scary' Markets: Kitces & Carl Ep 18
Responding With Empathy When Clients Call About "Scary" Markets: Kitces & Carl Ep 17
Helping Clients Understand What It Really Means To Retire: Kitces & Carl Ep 16
Why Are We So Afraid To Just Listen: Kitces & Carl Ep 15
Projection-Free Financial Planning To Avoid A False Sense Of Precision: Kitces & Carl Ep 14
The Better Way To Send Market (And Other) Commentary Emails To Clients: Kitces & Carl Ep 13
Communicating With Clients To Bring Them Under The Cone Of Trust: Kitces & Carl Ep 12
What Do You Call Yourself - Planner, Advisor, Industry, Profession: Kitces & Carl Ep 11
Transitioning Long-Standing Clients To Create Room To Grow: Kitces & Carl Ep 10
How Do You Optimize Your Practice To Maximize Your Happiness As A Financial Advisor?: Kitces & Carl Ep 09
What Would You Do With Your Time If You COULD Be More Productive As A Financial Advisor?: Kitces & Carl Ep 08
Authenticity Vs. Professional Credibility And Admitting Your Own Financial Sins: Kitces & Carl Ep 07
Building Resiliency For The Stress Of Being A Financial Advisor: Kitces & Carl Ep 06
Do Clients Really Value Getting Help Managing Their Behavior Gap?: Kitces & Carl Ep 05
Does Social Media Really Matter For Financial Advisors?: Kitces & Carl Ep 04
The Importance Of Likability As A Financial Advisor: Kitces & Carl Ep 03
How To Price Your Financial Planning Services: Kitces & Carl Ep 02
Thinking About The Value Of Financial Planning: Kitces & Carl Ep 01