AI Estate Planning Partnership

AKG research found that only 16% of advisers operate a formal, distinct centralized retirement proposition. Another 26% use a consistent centralized approach without labeling it a CRP, while 18% provide retirement advice case by case and 23% are not considering developing a CRP.

For business owners, the central risk is often concentration: most of their net worth may be tied up in one illiquid business asset that cannot be partially sold during a downturn and whose valuation depends on factors outside the owner’s control.

Tax-aware advice for affluent clients can include planning around expected liquidity events such as business sales, stock-option exercises and sales of appreciated assets, as well as tools including Roth conversions, exchange funds, net unrealized appreciation strategies, charitable remainder trusts and tax-loss harvesting.

The articles stress that advisers must evaluate a broad and changing range of products—including offshore funds, hedge funds, retirement annuities, tax-free savings accounts, structured products and ETFs—each with different rules, costs and tax treatments.