Journal of Financial Planning Contributions

To meet the ever-changing needs of our clients, it is crucial for us to continually improve our professional skills and knowledge base. The Monitor Group’s experts are recognized as leaders of industry and have published a number of professional papers which continue to advance the frontiers of advanced planning knowledge in our industry. We are pleased to share them with you.

Real Option Analysis: The Profession's Next Cutting-Edge Tool

New technologies usher in new opportunities as well as new complexities. To help financial planners fully utilize the latest stochastic modeling techniques, Glenn Kautt CFP^®, EA, AIFA explains real option analysis as a framework for decision making.

The Financial Planner as Decision Maker

Making a good decision isn’t a mystery, but it is a process. Good decision makers recognize the need for a framework to manage the process. Poor decision makers live in a world where they believe they control the event and outcome themselves. This article by Glenn Kautt CFP^®, EA, AIFA explores decision-making for and by financial planners, and suggests criteria for evaluating the quality of this process in a financial planning context.

Modeling the Future

The mathematics behind simulation modeling is not new, but most planners do not have a background in statistics or simulation modeling. With this in mind, authors Glenn Kautt CFP^®, EA, AIFA and Lynn Hopewell, CFP^® demystify the process and give compelling arguments for the incorporation of simulation modeling into financial planning practices.

Modeling the Future: The Full Monte, the Latin Hypercube and Other Curiosities

Financial planners are investigating the usefulness and accuracy of a new method called stochastic modeling for evaluating alternative planning scenarios for their clients. Authors Glenn Kautt CFP^®, EA, AIFA and Fred Wieland, Ph.D. address some of the mathematics behind the answer to a common client question: How long will my assets last?

The AMT: Pitfalls and Solutions

With the Alternative Minimum Tax affecting more taxpayers every year, there is a continually growing need for education among taxpayers and financial planners. Author Cal Brown, CFP^® points out areas of potential trouble for clients and offers solutions where possible.

Alien Concepts: Navigating the Labyrinth of Rules Applying to Gifts and Estates of Non-U.S. Citizens

This “quick-reference guide” examines some of the rules dealing with gift and estate tax when one or both spouses are non-U.S. citizens. To address the lack of an unlimited marital deduction for a surviving alien spouse, Leigh-Alexandra Basha, J.D., LL.M. (tax) and Cal Brown, CFP^® explore the options for those couples hoping to minimize their tax burden as assets pass between them.

Should Planners Recommend Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries?

There are numerous challenges to planning the post-mortem distribution of IRAs. Financial planners who recommend naming a trust as beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan or IRA are telling clients to cross a minefield. Authors Cal Brown, CFP^®, and Thomas Campbell, J.D. explore the most effective practices for distributions under various scenarios.