Episode summary
Financial Planning Value Disconnect: When Clients Don't Appreciate Long-Term - Kitces & Carl Ep 185
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
· · 38 min · Hosts: Michael Kitces · Guests: Carl Richards
Summary
The conversation centers on a disconnect between what prospective clients think they need and the deeper value they later say they received. Carl Richards argues that most people come to a planner with a presenting problem — enough to retire, whether they can spend more, how to handle life insurance, or whether they are “okay” — not with a request for transformation, purpose, or life planning. He frames this as two modes of planning: problem-to-solve planning and purpose-based planning, which often only becomes relevant after the first layer of issues is handled.
Michael Kitces agrees that the strongest client relationships often come from a longer journey that changes how clients feel about money and their lives. He uses the example of a widow who initially came for help after a spouse’s death, then relied on the firm for education, organization, and emotional steadiness over many meetings. That relationship later became a major source of referrals because the client no longer worried about money and trusted the advisor deeply.
The episode argues that firms should meet clients at the problem they can name, while recognizing that the real long-term value may emerge later through trust, life transitions, and relief from worry. The host and Richards suggest that transformative language may resonate in some niches, but most prospects still buy help with immediate financial problems first.
Key takeaways
- Carl Richards says most prospects arrive with a concrete problem, not a request for transformation, and advisors should meet them there first.
- Michael Kitces argues that the deepest client relationships often come after a major life transition, when the client can finally describe the advisor’s value as peace of mind.
- Kitces says the widow-client example showed how a basic life insurance case turned into years of education, guidance, and referrals after a spouse’s death.
- Richards and Kitces both suggest that “purpose-based” planning often becomes visible only after problem-solving planning has built trust.
- The episode’s core claim is that what clients value most long term is usually not the reason they hired the advisor at the start.
Notable quotes
“what a when somebody becomes a client M they don't come. I've never had anyone ask to cry on my couch”
“problem to solve planning. Okay? And then the second one I'm thinking of is purpose-based planning”
“We greet them with empathy at the presenting problem and then we but in our minds we're thinking, "Oh, this is just a portal into something deeper”
“the words that the client the 24 month 18 to 24month client uses to describe why they appreciate you or why they value the relationship almost always have nothing to do with the presenting problems”
How the episode opens
Well, good afternoon, Carl. — Hello, Michael Kisses. How are you? — I'm doing well. I'm doing well. We are well underway into January here. Probably February, early March. By the time uh this goes out, it's it's still cold. We're navigating winter and and looking forward to spring. We're not like I not
Unless you ski and you're not looking forward to — Yeah, exactly. We've had we've had we've had spring-l like weather here. So, we're we're still waiting for winter actually, which is great. — That's that's that's bad in the mountains of Utah. You you actually prefer winter winter weather that has skiing.
This is this is bad. Yeah. Yeah. Um — What would you like to what would you like to explore today? What's on the — I'm kind of I'm kind of fired up about a topic that I've been exploring and I don't
Okay, — This is one of those that needs a couple disclaimers. One is like I am I am often wrong but never in doubt. — Uhhuh. — So like I'm okay with I'm going to I'm okay with um stating an opinion as a fact and leaving room for the idea that like there are plenty of other ways, right? There are plenty of other things. I know this is wrong.
But um I've been running into this it's really like a two-headed problem for our — Specifically for even like our deep profession you know — We we are part of a larger industry and I think — In in this case this is about the profession right
Okay — Real whatever we want to call it I'm just going to use a a place marker called real financial planning and I this is my first disclaimer like I don't know what I don't I know my definition of it, but that doesn't I don't love that term because it implies anything other than my definition is fake and I don't mean any of that.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- client communication
- financial planning value
- long-term benefits
- client onboarding
- behavioral finance
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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.
