Episode summary
MoneyGuide Dash and the Push to Bring More Clients into Planning
Summary
Matt Wilson said financial planning fees are rising because advisors are charging more transparently, which makes it easier to justify costs when planning surfaces concrete value. He pointed to social Security timing, tax-aware distribution strategies, Medicare premium savings and legacy planning as areas where advisors can create value measured in six figures.
He also argued that AI should be viewed as an enabler rather than a threat to advisors. In his view, planning is becoming more scalable through automation and what he called "added intelligence," with software handling data intake, analyzing plan results and surfacing prompts about insurance needs, Social Security and tax-efficient withdrawals.
Wilson said MoneyGuide Dash is meant to lower the barrier to entry for both existing clients and prospects. By letting users self-register, enter data and personalize goals through a guided digital experience, he said advisors can turn under-advised relationships into full planning relationships while also attracting new clients through a public website.
He added that the same workflow can help advisors extend relationships across generations by making legacy planning more visible and easier to discuss with children and grandchildren. That, he said, can help keep assets and advice relationships from walking out the door when wealth passes to heirs.
Key takeaways
- Matt Wilson said advisors can justify higher planning fees by showing specific value from Social Security timing, tax-aware distributions and legacy planning, often in six-figure terms.
- Wilson framed AI as "added intelligence" that reduces planning friction by automating analysis and surfacing recommendations to the advisor.
- He said Dash is designed to help advisors offer planning to 100% of their book, including under-advised clients who can start with a self-guided digital experience.
- Wilson said public-website access to Dash can turn cold prospects into planning conversations without forcing an immediate in-person meeting.
- He argued that legacy planning tools can pull children and grandchildren into the relationship and help prevent assets from leaving the advisor when clients die.
Notable quotes
“there's a clear trend where the there's more transparency around what advisors are charging for their services”
“social security timing which could add six figures to their retirement income. um taxaware distribution strategies which could save again in the six figures in tax savings”
“I think that financial planning is actually going to elevate the value of the adviser”
“it's not just artificial intelligence, it's added intelligence”
“So we're trying to bridge that gap. So Dash is a um I would say an entry to a more scalable and more comprehensive planning uh relationship with the adviser”
How the episode opens
When it comes to planning, how can advisors truly add value? I'm joined by Matt Wilson to learn more. Matt, thanks so much for sitting down with me. — It's great to be with you. — So, obviously an exciting topic in our industry right now because financial planning fees have actually surged over 50% since around 2023. So, how can advisers think about articulating value to clients in such a competitive environment?
Uh, great question. Uh, you're seeing there's a clear trend where the there's more transparency around what advisors are charging for their services. So, instead of the maybe the traditional model of even giving it away for free or baking it into the AUM fee, um, they're breaking that out as a very clear transparent way to charge for that service.
So you are seeing um uh pricing discovery from the advisor standpoint but articulating that value to the client I think is is actually pretty easy when you take the client through a comprehensive planning process. It it's very easy and clear to the client where the advisor is adding value around something as simple as social security timing which could add six figures to their retirement income. um taxaware distribution strategies which could save again in the six figures in tax savings and and Medicare premium savings.
And then when you get into the legacy planning services that advisers are starting to provide as well, you're probably getting into another level of six figures in value. So the the the cost while it's increasing, it becomes a very small amount for what the advisers providing in in value.
Well, when you mention numbers like that, it's very clear to see. But we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about AI a little bit when it comes to the planning landscape because obviously concern about it has probably doubled over the last couple of years.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- financial planning fees
- advisor client engagement
- planning automation
- digital planning tools
- under-advised clients
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Envestnet | MoneyGuide
- MoneyGuide Dash
Watch the episode
Watch “MoneyGuide Dash and the Push to Bring More Clients into Planning” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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