Episode summary
Ep 509: Systematizing Your Differentiated Service As A (True) Retirement Expert While Scaling To ...
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
· · 1 hr 30 min · Hosts: Michael Kitces · Guests: Dana Anspach
Summary
Dana Anspach says her firm differentiates itself in retirement planning by going far deeper than a standard “retirement plan” conversation. Sensible Money uses a custom-built planning system and a three-meeting process that starts with a broad viability check, then moves into scenario work around Social Security, withdrawals, Roth conversions, and tax management, and finally aligns the portfolio to the spending plan. She argues that the point is not just to get to a model that passes, but to give clients confidence that their retirement income is sustainable.
A big part of that confidence comes from running multiple tests. Dana describes a Monte Carlo screen, a fundedness ratio that she wants at 110% or higher, and a historical audit that stress tests the plan against real market sequences. She says Monte Carlo is useful but limited, and that her firm is revisiting its success thresholds because overly conservative assumptions can cause retirees to underspend.
The portfolio itself is built around asset-liability matching. The firm and its investment partner create an income ladder of bonds, CDs, or bullet shares for the first five to eight years of spending, while the rest goes into a growth portfolio designed for longer-term resilience. Dana also says the firm has shifted away from standalone planning engagements and now defaults to ongoing relationships, because the depth of work and the continuity of advice are central to its business.
Key takeaways
- Dana Anspach said Sensible Money uses a three-part retirement process: an initial viability screen, scenario and tax management work, and then portfolio alignment to the spending plan.
- Dana said the firm now wants a Monte Carlo threshold of 70%, but only as one input alongside a fundedness ratio and a historical audit.
- Dana’s fundedness ratio compares the present value of required cash flows with current assets, and she wants it at 110% or higher.
- Dana said the firm uses asset-liability matching to fund roughly the first five to eight years of spending with bonds, CDs, or bullet shares.
- Dana said Sensible Money stopped offering standalone planning because the firm’s time commitment and capacity needs made ongoing AUM relationships the better fit.
Notable quotes
“we break our onboarding into a series of what we call strategy meetings with very specific topics that we cover at each one”
“do you have enough to maintain your lifestyle and retire at the date that you would like to retire at”
“we want to see at 110% or higher”
“we use a specific investment process called asset liability matching”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsus to hear stories of how leading financial adviserss navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next level in your advisory business. And now, here's your host, Michael Kitsus.
Welcome everyone. Welcome to the 5009th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast. My guest on today's podcast is Dana Onspa.
Dana is the founder of Sensible Money, an RIA based in Scottsdale, Arizona that oversees $850 million in assets under management for 330 client households. What's unique about Dana though is how she has stood out as a retirement planning expert by leaning into accumulation planning and running multiple tests on client plans to give them greater confidence that they will meet their retirement goals. In this episode, we talk in depth about how Dana holds a first meeting with new clients that includes a rough analysis of whether they appear to be on track to meet their retirement goals, where she leverages Monte Carlo analysis, but is willing to accept a probability of success well below 100%.
How Dana further tests client plans by calculating a fundedness ratio, comparing the present value of cash flows a client needs to the current value of their assets that she likes to see be at least 110% or higher. and how Dana also leverages historical data to stress test client portfolios across a range of return sequences that actually occurred. We also talk about how Dana takes an asset liability matching approach to portfolio management that seeks to generate sufficient cash flow to meet clients lifestyle spending needs over the following 5 to 8 years, further boosting their confidence that they could endure a market downturn.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- retirement planning
- decumulation planning
- portfolio stress testing
- asset-liability matching
- client confidence testing
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Sensible Money
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Financial Advisor Success (Kitces), this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Kitces. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
