Dan Smith: Welcome back to Dan has a plan: Beyond the Balance Sheet. I'm Daniel B. Smith, a certified financial planner on the Family Wealth Management team at UBS Financial Services. I'm joined by my daughter Alanna J. Smith. Alanna Smith: Happy to be here. Dan Smith: We're located in Paramus, New Jersey, and can be reached at Daniel.B.Smith@ubs.com. Our guest today is another member of the Family Wealth Management team here at UBS, Kristen Marino. Kristen is a Certified Financial Planner, a certified working mother of two. She's here to talk about all things financial planning with family wealth management. Alanna Smith: All right. We got two experts on the pod today. Dan Smith: Exactly. Alanna Smith: Two certified financial planners. Well first of all, do you wanna talk a little bit about Kristen? Dan Smith: There's so many things that are admirable about Kristen. I think if I were to just name three. The first thing is Kristen is very team oriented. She feels very, very devoted to the team concept and what's best for the
team. And truthfully, with our clients, they're on their team. They have their own family team, and she wants to make sure that she has connectivity with that. That's number one, team oriented. Alanna Smith: Big one. Dan Smith: Big one. Number two is she has incredible work ethic. I mean, I'm talking incredible. Alanna Smith: You're hard to impress. In that arena too. Dan Smith: It is. Alanna Smith: You have high standards. Dan Smith: What happens is that whatever she devotes her time to, she gives it a best effort and she puts the time in to be good at it. whatever we ask her to do, she does it with a smile. she puts in the hours and they always say, if you wanna get something done, ask a mother of two. The busy mom theory. You know, she's married with two kids. She has an active social life, she obviously is a big contributor to our team— Alanna Smith: And she's a very present person. When you're with her, you feel like you have her attention. Dan Smith: That's correct. And I think the third, and maybe the most special thing about her is her ability to connect with people. When she first started working with us, one of the things we would do is we would have her go out to reception and
bring the client back to our office for the meeting. In that 60 seconds, you know, they would come in laughing and people just open up when they talk to her. She has that innate ability. She's not shy. She's empathetic, you know, her emotions are connecting with the people that she meets. I think that's a gift that the world needs more of. Alanna Smith: Totally. Yeah. Dan Smith: So those are three things I love about her. Alanna Smith: She's one of a kind. Dan Smith: She is. Alanna Smith: So, the question today: Ask Dan. Today’s question is “Dan, can you explain the difference between a certified financial planner, CFP, and regular financial advisor, and why is it worth the extra effort to find a CFP?” Dan Smith: That's a great question, and I get that question a lot. And mostly the question I get is, are you a certified financial planner? Alanna Smith: And… Dan Smith: And I can say yes. When I first started out in my career, I was not, and after a few years I got that accreditation. So the accreditation part is important. The second thing is, certified financial planner, and that's what I believe in,
I believe in planning, doing a financial plan by A CFP…They look through a lens of not how we're gonna get paid, but more about what is right for the client. So it could be a, non-financial goal. So let's just say, you're meeting with a prospect and the prospect has 5 million in assets. I don't look at the 5 million. I look at what's surrounding it. Do they have a will and estate plan? Are they working with a certified public accountant? Do they have life insurance? Do they have long-term care insurance? is the account titling correct? Whereas I think a lot of advisors wanna rush to how they're gonna get paid, putting the money in motion so they're able to financially benefit from that portfolio. Alanna Smith: I see. Dan Smith: So I lead into it very simply I look at the total picture first. The investments are the vehicle to fulfill the financial plan. And I explain to the clients maybe three or four options And I let them go down the path of what they're most comfortable with. I will of course
give my recommendation, which I think is in their best interest, but at the end of the day, the client has to feel comfortable with their plan. 'cause at the end of the day, it's their plan. It's not my plan. It's not UBS's plan, it's their plan. Alanna Smith: Yeah, it’s their hard earned money. Dan Smith: Correct. Alanna Smith: And it's their retirement, which is… Dan Smith: Well, everything. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Dan Smith: It's everything. So. Alanna Smith: Finding that right person for you and making sure that they have the highest accreditation to deal with your most personal. Piece of your life. Dan Smith: Listen, there's other accreditations in our industry and I'm not belittling any of those. For me personally, this is what I connect with this is what I believe in, and I've been doing it since 2002. So that's a long period of time. I haven't seen a better method of handling the client experience. Alanna Smith: Awesome. All right. Well, speaking of CFPs, why don't we welcome another one into our podcast studio… Dan Smith: The Kristin Marino, Certified Financial Planner.
Dan Smith: So Alanna J, welcome The Kristen Marino. Alanna Smith: Big day on the pod. Dan Smith: Big day at the pod. Alanna Smith: We have another Family Wealth Management team member. Kristen Marino: Hello. Dan Smith: Yes. She's the first to be on the show. Well, excuse me. The second to be on the show. Because you're the first. Alanna Smith: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. But she's the most senior member Dan Smith: She is. Alanna Smith: We've had on the pod. Dan Smith: Yes. Alanna Smith: Welcome Kristen. Kristen Marino: Thank you. Dan Smith: So, you know, Kristen and I go back a ways… Alanna Smith: So do we. Dan Smith: Exactly. She was— Alanna Smith: Probably about as long, right? Dan Smith: She was pre Alanna. Alanna Smith: Oh yeah. Dan Smith: I think you— Alanna Smith: I was alive I think. Dan Smith: You were alive. Alanna Smith: When Kristen came on the scene. Dan Smith: I met Kristen when she was five and you were three? Alanna Smith: Two. Dan Smith: Two. Okay. There we go. More math. Kristen Marino: 30 years. Alanna Smith: 30 years. Kristen Marino: 30 years. Alanna Smith: Wow. Kristen Marino: That’s a long time. Dan Smith: That's a long time. Yes. Alanna Smith: Before we dive in, any words of wisdom for maintaining a friendship and transitioning between friendship to boss and
all that? Kristen Marino: You know what, it actually was more seamless than you would expect. Alanna Smith: Yeah? Kristen Marino: I think it comes from just knowing somebody for so long, having already known him in a coaching capacity. It was sort of like the same kind of thing. We’re starting, he's teaching everything. And that's, Alanna Smith: It all comes back to coaching. Kristen Marino: Yeah, it does. Dan Smith: Doesn't it? Come on. I've been telling you this. Alanna Smith: So we wanted to have you on the pod, Kristen, to double down on our CFP expertise today. Kristen Marino: Okay. Dan Smith: We got two CFPs here. Yeah, so Kristen, I met her at a very young age, and she was in the same grade level as your sister Janine. Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: So we crossed paths a lot. You know, just being part of the community and sports and girl Scouts being in the same grade, getting to know her parents and, during elementary and through high school, did you have any idea what career path you wanted to go down? Kristen Marino: No. I would say even in college, graduated from University of Rhode Island senior year I did an internship, thought I was gonna go into sales and worked for about a year.
Not very happy with it. I think I came here one time to see Janine. Was talking to Dan, and then I think a couple months later you gave me a call and that's how it started. Dan Smith: Yeah. So having known her for so long, I sensed a little bit of unhappiness with the job. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. Dan Smith: And Paul Platy and I had moved to UBS financial services in 2010. And we were in need of another person. So I talked to Paul. I said, listen I want to have Kristen in for a chat. And he goes, well, you know. we can't afford her. Alanna Smith: That's right. Kristen Marino: Exactly. Dan Smith: And I said, Paul, I go, listen, just meet her. Okay. We definitely could use the help and I think you'll be impressed. So, she came in for an interview on a Saturday morning, I remember. Alanna Smith: Wow. Dan Smith: So the office was Alanna Smith: Dedicated. Dan Smith: Yeah. Office was quiet. And she sat with us for about an hour and you know, I showed her out. And then I came back to talk to Paul and first thing he said, when can she start? There you go. She was selling
already. Kristen Marino: I didn't even know it. Dan Smith: So what year was that? Kristen Marino: 2012 Dan Smith: 2012? Yeah. Okay. So, obviously she came in very green. She had a great mentor who has since retired from UBS. Her name was Pat Short. So shout out to Pat. Alanna Smith: Oh, yeah. Legendary. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Shout out Dan Smith: The Pat Short. So when you met Pat, who is a senior client service associate, what resonated and how did she bring you along? Kristen Marino: So we sat right next to each other. So, my office was a little bit down from, Paul and Dan's and we could literally hear all of each other's phone conversations 'cause we're right, next to each other. So anytime I needed help with anything, I was saying to Dan actually the other day, she was my mentor in that specific role of getting to know how to use the systems and how to work things. she was incredible. I had a couple people, but she was definitely the best 'cause she was right next to me and she was always willing to help. So. Alanna Smith: That’s uge. And so you started in client services? Kristen Marino: Yeah, so I started, probably more marketing and then it switched to the client services portion, which I ended up loving. And I think a big
part of that was I liked dealing with the people and Dan was big on know the clients, understand them. That was the focus from the get go. Dan Smith: Yeah. One of the things I used to do with Kristen is quiz her on how well she knew the client. Alanna Smith: Flashcards. Kristen Marino: I was pretty good at it. Alanna Smith: I have no doubt. Dan Smith: What were their kids' names? Where’d they grow up, what restaurant do they like? What's the name of their dog. In our business it's called KYC: Know Your Client. Kristen Marino: KYC. Dan Smith: Yeah. It's not KFC by the way. Alanna Smith: Right. Kentucky Fried Clients. So when did the finance piece pique your interest? Kristen Marino: I would say the first year was really just about getting acclimated to UBS, the clients, the job specific stuff. It took a few years in for me to really see things. Then I started thinking about doing the CFP. Dan Smith: And then, you know, we pushed her to take some exams. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: And the first one was called Alanna Smith: Fun. Kristen Marino: Oh yeah. That's when it started. Dan Smith: So the first one was called the Series Seven. You know, Series Seven is basically, a really broad test, a lot of material. It's necessary. We
wanted her to get licensed. The second one is a Series 66, which is in our business, it's called Blue Sky, it means that you're able to get licensed and operate outta your home state. Okay. So we're licensed in, probably give or take 25 states. Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: So, and the nice part is, if I were out of the office Kristen could do a trade. And that's the big thing, because you wanna be Alanna Smith: That’s the big thing. Dan Smith: Yeah. So you have to be able to trade, move money but specifically buy and sell securities. Alanna Smith: Got it. So how did that feel going from one role to another? Kristen Marino: So that was really in the beginning. At that time. I think I was ready for that change. As I've said to Dan the last three years, then I started saying, I like what I'm doing, but I could be doing more. Dan Smith: Yeah. And you also had started a family. You have two kids now, what was the, commitment of being a mom and working full-time? How did you adjust to that? Kristen Marino: Yeah. it was difficult with one, it was kind of doable. I had some time off with Molly for maternity leave, obviously. Then Will came right during
COVID. I, so that was, Alanna Smith: Yeah. Kristen Marino: That was an interesting time. 'Cause then I was working from home, I was on maternity leave until June and then I was working from home for a full year. So that was yeah, that was interesting times. But now, we did daycare and we've had my dad helping, my mother-in-law. We've had really good support. So I feel like it's been doable. But it's not easy. Like, you get home five 30 and your time's limited. You have just a couple hours, it can be difficult. Dan Smith: And during COVID my longtime partner, Paul, moved to North Carolina and basically went into a long-term retirement program. So it was really an unusual time because I was in the office, Kristen was working remotely. Paul was in North Carolina working remotely and Paul he's the greatest partner. Work ethic second to none. But as he was segueing into kind of the inactive phase of his retirement On a professional basis, I thought you and I became much more synergistic. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: I guess is the way I would say it. Kristen Marino: Yep. Dan Smith: Would you agree with that? Kristen Marino: I would definitely agree with that. Dan Smith: Yeah. So— Alanna Smith: When
you're dealing with clients, do you have a shorthand? How do you sort of divvy up the work? Dan Smith: The current structure of the team, just to give it some context Paul is now nearly fully retired. It's myself. We have an internal person named Tim Costello. And Tim works in the office. I go between the office and out of the office meeting with clients, and there's two people that Kristen has been training Dana and Jenna to basically take over her role. All right. So Kristen is moving up the ladder to becoming a financial advisor. That's really the goal. So one of the things that was part of that is taking the CFP exam and maybe tell everybody what that process was like for you. Kristen Marino: Yeah. I started the actual process in October. My mom was, battling lung cancer at the time, so the timing was tough. I started in October. She actually unfortunately passed away in the end of December, and then I still was like, I gotta to do this ' cause I wanna do it for myself. I know my
mom would've been proud, so I just kind of pushed through. It's about a year long program, and you're having to pass different sections. And then the following November, I took the test. Unfortunately did not pass. And it Alanna Smith: Which is common. Right? Kristen Marino: Yes Yes. And it's also a pass fail, so there's no number involved. You don't really know. I just said, all right, well I'm gonna take it again in March and just. They made it work. Woke up at 4:30 to study for a few hours and then went to work. Alanna Smith: Kristen…4:30. What is that hour? Kristen Marino: Yeah. It was the only time the house was quiet. Right. Alanna Smith: Wow. Kristen Marino: Yeah. With the kids it was hard 'cause you get home from work and I still wanna be present for a few hours before they go to bed, and then 8:30 rolls around. I'm like, all right, I'm ready to go to bed. I can’t— Alanna Smith: Of course. Kristen Marino: sit and read a book right now. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Do you have memories of that test too? Dan Smith: Yeah, it's the most difficult test that I've ever taken. And I was trying to guide her through just to set the stage for her that there's so much material. Kristen Marino: And a lot of detail. Dan Smith: A lot of detail. Think of it like, you know, trying to eat an elephant, you can only do it one bite at a
time, you know, so it's it's crazy. It's crazy. Alanna Smith: And a necessary part. Kristen Marino: Yeah. You know what it is too? I was telling Dan it’s like, you think you know a little bit about a lot of things and then you realize there's so much more detail about taxes and retirement planning and estate planning. It really just kind of boiled down the biggest things. Dan Smith: Yeah, so she's, watched Paul and I interact with clients and run them through their financial plan. And, now she's doing it. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: Okay. So Alanna Smith: How was your first financial plan on your own? Kristen Marino: it was a very last minute. Oh. Kristen, I think I'm gonna have you run this meeting. I go oh, okay. Would've a nice to know ahead of time. Alanna Smith: Classic. Kristen Marino: Classic. Very classic of Dan. Dan Smith: Well, you can over and over and over prepare. You have to walk through the plans and pepper the client with questions that pertain to them. And see where the plan takes you. Kristen Marino: And the plan's gonna change. Whatever plan you had is gonna change anyway. Dan Smith: Correct. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: So I'm trying to get her to be a little spontaneous doing the financial plan. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: When you're looking at the investments and
you know that you'd like to go down a path of an investment recommendation, she's really grown in that area. What are the challenges that you've found with trying to make recommendations? Kristen Marino: I think just making sure to explain it in a way that makes sense to them and shows how it's gonna help them in the long term. 'cause sometimes I think if the client doesn't understand what you're recommending. It's never gonna work, you know? Alanna Smith: Yeah. I can imagine you use a decent amount of metaphors. Kristen Marino: Tons. We could write a book with all of them. Alanna Smith: Oh, you should. Well, I think what you're talking about is reading the room and seeing what the client needs in the moment. And I guess you can't plan for that because they're gonna come in with new information and what's going on in their lives. Kristen Marino: I think the more times you do anything, the more comfortable you feel. But it's also how Dan does it. Your focus is the plan. That's the whole discussion. Things come up when you're going through it, that's really the meeting. I don't really know how people don't do it that way. Dan Smith: I did not write the book: how to become a financial planner or a financial advisor. I did not. But what I’ve tried to express to
Kristen is I have to do something that I believe in. But I have to do it with my style. And my style is different than her style. But everything is planning based. The plan document for any individual is of utmost importance. Now, you don't have to do financial planning for clients. You can just make it a investment performance growth grow. Alanna Smith: Which stocks are we investing in, kind of thing. Dan Smith: Yes and there’s some people that get really charged about that. In that case Tim on our team has a real passion for following certain stocks and the pros and cons of those. So, what I'll do is I'll integrate him into the conversation. Alanna Smith: There you go. Dan Smith: But, priority is the plan. Alanna Smith: Kristen, one of the questions we got on our last episode was how to talk about finances with your partner. If you have different styles, when to integrate your finances. Can you Talk a little bit about how that transition was for you and then maybe starting to work in the finance world and how that might have changed. Kristen Marino: Yeah. so for Paul and I, we've always kind of put everything together. Everybody has a different way of doing it. I don't think there's a
right and a wrong, but I do think that being on the same page and being in the meeting together, my husband Paul and I met with Dan and we did our plan for the first time. And I think it's important for both parties to be there to really understand what's going on. I think you have to have buy-in from both parties or else Alanna Smith: you're not getting the full picture. Kristen Marino: Exactly. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Dan Smith: kind of big on that. I— Alanna Smith: Yeah, we touched on it a little bit in the Ask Dan episode, but it's good to get your vote of confidence on this too. Kristen Marino: I think also though now we've dealt with a lot of, aging clients who have lost a spouse and that's when you really see the importance of it. Because there's usually one person who did everything. The other person doesn't know. It's so much harder for them. They really have a lot of…It’s difficult and it's sad. It's sad. We've dealt with a lot of clients like that, so. It's such a overwhelming time when you're going through that and then to not really know what's going on makes it just so much harder. Alanna Smith: Yeah, that's a great point. I remember when I started to pay attention to what you really did. Dan Smith: When was that, Alanna? Alanna Smith: Okay. Well, it was complicated, but you
really deal with a lot of end of life. You are like immediately a part of someone's grief process, Did you expect that to be part of the job? How is it for you? I think it's just an interesting thing. Kristen Marino: No, I, I didn't expect that to be part of the job. I never really thought of that aspect, but I feel like it makes you so much closer to the client and in a positive way. Just be able to be there for them and sort of get 'em through this difficult time. I think that's very fulfilling personally. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Dan Smith: You know, if it was just buying stocks and bonds, I would've been out of this business a long time ago. Kristen Marino: I agree. I think that's the best part about the business is learning about other people, building relationships, connections with them. I was saying to Dan the other day, somebody was, thinking of retiring, and I'm like, oh, I'm so happy that they've gotten to the point where they can say that now. Alanna Smith: Wow. Kristen Marino: That they're ready to retire. It's cool. You see, 13 years that I've been here, people working and it's exciting to see people retire and do things. Alanna Smith: Huge. Kristen Marino: They’ve been looking forward to. Dan Smith: We see their kids go to college, we see their kids have kids. We oftentimes start working with their aging parents just to make sure that, you know, account titling is
correct. Their estate plan is an order. Are they able to do, their bill paying? Are they comfortable doing it? Do they need any assistance doing that? All the little things, you know, sometimes their eyesight isn't as good. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. Dan Smith: So, you know, just to kind of shepherd them through life's challenges. Alanna Smith: Right. You're part of the family. Kristen Marino: Exactly. Here at Family Wealth Management. Alanna Smith: That's right. That's right. Dan Smith: There is the plug right there. Alanna Smith: So we'll get into some questions, but I just wanted to check in because this year has been so volatile. We don't have to get into the nitty gritty, but how have you seen clients' fear show up about the market or the state of the world. How has it changed? Because you've been here for 13 years, so it's different now. Kristen Marino: Yeah, we probably got a lot less calls than other teams did because: The Plan. Because we revisit it so often that people know if you're nervous about it, let's just have a meeting. We had a ton of meetings in April and May, and let's go through the plan again and show you that it's not as bad as you think. And then the rest of the past couple months have been good.
So. Alanna Smith: Wow. Dan Smith: The other part is the phone is light for 12 months. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Dan Smith: Meaning that we pick up the phone and we make appointments. We like appointments better than phone calls. Kristen Marino: Definitely. Dan Smith: We like a Zoom call or an in-person meeting. We don't mind phone calls to ask questions. That's part of the job, of course. But. Just having the steady regimen of client meetings and showing the people that we work with that we're engaging their financial plan. We’re here for the long run. We are gonna have volatility. On the downside, and there's gonna be, obviously times when the market is going to the moon. We don't get up or down with how the markets are performing. We're attuned to it. But we have a financial plan in place. And unless the goals of that plan have changed we're comfortable with the path we're on. When we have meetings, we do tweaking. we introduce some new concepts from the investing part cause the business is always changing, but the epicenter of everything is the plan. Alanna Smith: It can withstand. Dan Smith: A lot of times when there is volatility like April I know personally advisors where the phone is very heavy. You know, voicemail
seems to be happening a lot and, people can't get ahold of their advisor and I don't want to ever be the advisor and nor would Kristen we don't dodge the call. We're gonna talk and we're gonna keep meeting. We know there's gonna be ebbs and flows. Alanna Smith: Okay, so we did a question in the intro, but since we have Kristen here, we have double CFP expertise today. Dan Smith: There we go. Alanna Smith: We're gonna get to some more questions so that we can really capitalize on this and get people some answers. So we're gonna start with this one: “I'm In my late forties, and feel like I'm behind on retirement savings. How much should I be contributing to catch up? And is it too late to make up for lost time?” Kristen, any thoughts? Kristen Marino: Well, I’d start off with, it's never too late. Dan Smith: Definitely never too late. Kristen Marino: Never too late. Forties is still young. Alanna Smith: Yeah, Kristen Marino: It still is. You still have time. I think really it comes down to also when you plan on retiring how many years you have in you until you wanna retire. And then I think the plan kind of helps us figure out how much you need to save to get to where you wanna be. Dan Smith: And clients have to understand. You don't, microwave wealth. Alanna Smith: Go
on. Dan Smith: So for this particular circumstance, you know, Chris and I would meet with this person and get the baseline of their plan. What her ability to save is. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. Dan Smith: And then overlay that with a risk tolerance to show you what kind of ride she would have to the, goal she's trying to reach. So case in point a normal portfolio that compounds at 7%, the money doubles in 10 years. Alanna Smith: Oh, great. Dan Smith: You can get 10% compounded return. However, if you're gonna get 10% compounded return, you're gonna take on more risk. Your money will double in seven years. We show them the risk and reward in the plan. Based on the risk tolerance. But to Kristen's point, the most important thing is this plan is going out into their mid nineties. For this person who is in her late forties, you know, that's 55 plus years. There's plenty of time. Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: There's plenty of time. From a financial planning standpoint. Alanna Smith: Can you speak on someone in their forties and the kind of risk tolerance you would typically take? Or is it really case by case? Dan Smith: Definitely case by case. Kristen Marino: You've gotta be able you gotta be comfortable. Cause if you're not comfortable, we're not comfortable and
then it's just, it's not gonna be a good situation. Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: Yeah. We talked to clients about risk a lot and I can give you three examples of risk. A client says to me, I'm very conservative. All my money is in Apple stock. So that just leads to the next phase of the discussion. Well a single stock position is the riskiest investment of them all. Alanna Smith: That's what I was gonna say. Dan Smith: Very good. Alanna Smith: How is that conservative? Dan Smith: Correct. Alanna Smith: If it tanks, it tanks, then what do you do? Dan Smith: So we might say to them, listen we respect your position in Apple. It's been a good performer. However, you might wanna buffer it with maybe 30 or 40 stocks around it. And add your fresh money to that so we can build the foundation around Apple, as an example. Then there's other people that say, I'm very conservative I just wanna be in cash. So what do you say to them, Kristen? Kristen Marino: Well, if you, if you're gonna be in cash, people think they wanna be conservative because they don't wanna lose anything, but they're not really looking at the fact that 20 years from now, this a hundred
thousand is not gonna be worth that. Alanna Smith: You will have lost. Kristen Marino: A lot, you’ll have lost a lot of time and inflation. Dan Smith: Yeah. Inflation is, think of it like erosion at the Jersey shore. Okay. If sand isn't replaced and, the beach isn't kept up there's gonna be no beach. So with cash, cash historically, say returns 2% and inflation is two point a half. You know, you're swimming upstream, you're losing buying power. Is cash safe? Yes it is. Is it FDIC insured? Yes, it is. Alanna Smith: Up to a certain point? Dan Smith: Up to a certain point. Kristen Marino: Look at you Alanna. Dan Smith: yeah, exactly. Alanna Smith: What's that number for people? Dan Smith: 250000 Alanna Smith: Okay. This is good to know. Dan Smith: But— Alanna Smith: And when you say the 2% versus two and a half percent, can you explain that for a dumb person? Dan Smith: So, you can make 2% on your money. So if you put $100,000 into a CD and in one year it's gonna be worth $102,000. Alanna Smith: Got it. Dan Smith: But at the end of that year, inflation was say two and a half. So you've actually lost ground with buying power. to break even cash would've had to perform one
$102,400 or $500 if it's two point a half percent. Alanna Smith: Got it. Dan Smith: So Alanna Smith: You don't think about that. Dan Smith: Yeah. So, you know, cash is basically only for short term expenses. The money that you don't need short term should be invested for the long term, and that's usually some type of equity/bond portfolio. And depending on, again, and Kristen knows this, reading the room, you can show the people the plan, you can show them the risk tolerance and how they should be invested, but you have to have a steady hand in having them wade into the water of investing appropriately. Kristen Marino: Yeah. And meeting with them more often when they're new clients especially. Dan Smith: Exactly. Alanna Smith: Cool. Okay. This is good. Crypto Bitcoin. Can you break it down? Also, I've been hearing about people putting Bitcoin in their retirement accounts. Is that a thing or is that just hype? This is a hip question. Kristen Marino: Very hip. Alanna Smith: So Crypto/Bitcoin, We've never talked about it on the podcast, but— Kristen Marino: Yeah, people mention it. It comes up. Dan Smith: We talk about it in our meetings. Alanna Smith: Yeah. Dan Smith: Yeah. Kristen Marino: We don’t. Alanna Smith: Can you break
it down? Crypto versus Bitcoin. Can you break it down for us? Dan Smith: We don't. Alanna Smith: You don't. Dan Smith: We don't. Alanna Smith: You don't deal with it at all. Dan Smith: What we do is we have a place in the financial plan where we can list it. As an asset. Alanna Smith: If they already have it. Kristen Marino: Yep. Dan Smith: Right. So we say to them, okay, you're in Crypto or Bitcoin or whatever form that you're in. What is today's value? That's what we ask. So it's listed as an asset. Alanna Smith: Got it. Okay. Got it. Dan Smith: At UBS, we are not permitted to sell Bitcoin. Do we have to have a working knowledge of it? Yes. Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: Okay. But we can't have a deep discussion about it because we're not licensed to sell it. Kristen Marino: People have, outside accounts and they, like Dan said, they'll bring it up during the plan.And I would say, we kind of say, in my mind it's money that is long-term and you're willing to have some volatility in and be okay with it. So I think if you're gonna put money towards that, you've gotta be comfortable with the fact that. Maybe you could lose it all. Who knows. Alanna Smith: Right. Or it could go to the moon, you know? Kristen Marino: Right. Dan Smith: Yeah, our— Kristen Marino: You don't know. Dan Smith: Our planning position on, cryptocurrency is: If you're
gonna put money into it, let it be, let it be. Alanna Smith: And just see what happens. Dan Smith: If you're gonna day trade it…You know, we don't do day trading at UBS. It's not what we do. We do a financial plan. We commit to an asset class, we let the money managers do their thing and they're the experts in their field. But if there's a finite amount of Crypto, then devote money to it and let it, let it mature. Let it do what it's gonna do. Alanna Smith: And then this is sort of my follow up question, but, obviously I grew up with you, I know the value of a financial plan but I know a lot of people also just deal in apps and online financial planners, so they never meet. If there's even a person behind it, I don't know. Do people come to you with a Robinhood portfolio or something like that and then they come to you with it? Kristen Marino: Yeah, I say that does come once in a while. We have clients that do that and I think that there could be a place for that I think it really comes down to we need to know all these types of accounts, and we also have to have a plan for the long term money Alanna Smith: Holistically. Kristen Marino: The holistic view. Yeah. Dan Smith: Yeah. I always tell people that
you know, it's kind of like a balanced meal. we're serving a protein, a carbohydrate mm-hmm. Vegetables, and this is more like, kind of a dessert item. Alanna Smith: Love it. Dan Smith: Yeah. So Kristen Marino: There's that metaphor. Dan Smith: It's okay to devote money to something you're interested in pursuing. But the most meaningful part of your financial plan is the core. As far as apps doing financial plans, every financial institution has an app and you can do planning and the whole thing. I think the value that our group brings is keeping one's feet to the fire with their plan. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. Dan Smith: Okay. So an accountability factor. Also you know, there's an emotional factor. When a 25-year-old calls me up and, we have them invested in a well- diversified stock portfolio and they're looking to go to cash and maybe get back in in a few months, that's not adhering to the financial plan. Because it's more about starting young, devoting an amount of money, adding money to that regularly. And I always say to them,
you actually want the investments perhaps to be going down as you're adding. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. ' Dan Smith: Cause you're kind of buying on sale specifically in 401k plans. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: And investments of that nature. and the other part is the company match in 401ks. They'll go into a 401k and they'll invest in the money market and they'll get the company match and everything's in money market. So you got 100% return. If you put 1% in, they match 1%, you 100% return on your money. But you're in money market, so. Alanna Smith: Right. It's not a diverse portfolio. Dan Smith: Yeah. You could really take, on a lot more equity risk because you're already a hundred percent ahead of the game. Alanna Smith: And you need to talk to someone to do that. Kristen Marino: Yeah. Dan Smith: Yeah well— Kristen Marino: You know what it is too though, I think it's, it's connecting the dots. Clients come in and it's also, do you have your will, do you have your estate plan? Do you have an accountant that you are happy with? The app's not gonna ask those kinds of questions either. I think that's an important piece to the whole thing. Because we often talk to clients, attorneys, and CPAs and it's nice to have that relationship with those other parties
because everything kind of links. Dan Smith: There's a lot of interconnectivity. Alanna Smith: Right. Yeah. Dan Smith: Yeah. And, know, there's a lot of chatter about AI coming into our business and Alanna Smith: Everywhere. Dan Smith: It’s here. We're dealing with it. I would just say that I go to a restaurant that I like, and it's not always for the food, Alanna Smith: Right. Dan Smith: It’s the atmosphere. What's the experience like? The financial plan should be an experience. It really should be something that people embrace, rely upon, but also have fun with. Alanna Smith: Mm-hmm. Dan Smith: Okay. Because, you know, the fun part is planning for your goals. Kristen Marino: Right. Alanna Smith: Any last questions for Kristen? Dan Smith: Maybe share with us an A-ha moment for you where you went home that day and just felt really good. Kristen Marino: I would say an A-ha moment for me was actually, it built up over a period of time, but we had a client who was in her late eighties, early nineties, speaking earlier about what we said about, end of life planning and stuff. Her husband passed away, had a lot of different accounts in different places that she didn't even know about. She lived about an hour away. I'd go up there probably once a month and talk to her often too, but just to
sort of get her on the same page 'cause there were things everywhere. And she really appreciated it. And I really found she was a wonderful woman, so it was nice to spend time with her. She enjoyed it. I felt like I was helping her. So I would say that was the moment where I was kind of like. You know, you really are helping people and that I think is a really special part of the business. Alanna Smith: Wow. You make such an impact. Dan Smith: She sure does. Alanna Smith: All right. Well, that was great. I think getting both of your opinions on a bunch of these questions was exciting and, new and fresh perspective, seasoned perspective. I think people will enjoy it. Dan Smith: What do you mean by seasoned? Alanna Smith: You said it yourself. I'm repeating you, coach. Kristen Marino: He did say seasoned. Dan Smith: Exactly. Alanna Smith: Salt and pepper. Seasoned. Dan Smith: Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, this was the Kristen Marino. Kristen Marino: Thanks for having me. Alanna Smith: Okay. Would you call Kristen a dynamo? Dan Smith: Yeah, I think you have to. Alanna Smith: You have to. Dan Smith: One of the things that I've stressed upon her is the need of female financial
advisors or female certified financial planners. It's a male dominated industry. Alanna Smith: Yep. Dan Smith: Well, I'm sure you know that. Alanna Smith: Well. No, just that like when you picture people working in finance and numbers and math, like you picture the guys in the puffy vests walking down Wall Street, they all wear vests. Dan Smith: There you go. What is that? I don't know. Alanna Smith: Anyway, but yeah, that's what you picture. And also historically talk about girls in STEM growing up, there's a big push for teachers to value girls as they're learning science and math and not just English, the arts, history, that kind of thing. Dan Smith: There you go. So bottom line is I have three dynamic young ladies working in our practice now. Kristen has risen to certify financial planner, but two others are licensed and are, you know, going down the path of getting the experience to hopefully one day be planners themselves. But there's a big need for female financial planners Alanna Smith: Okay. So let's end it on a baseball note or sports, shall I say? Can you equate working with Kristen to coaching Kristen? Can you
equate the kind of CFP she is with the kind of player she was. You coached her in softball. Dan Smith: Yeah, so she was what I call a progressional athlete, meaning that every year she just got a little better. It wasn't like quantum leaps. I would say that she played sports mostly for being with her friends and having fun. And whenever we were on the bench, the voice that was always heard was, her imploring the person up to bat or pitching the ball or catching the ball. Regardless of the outcome, it was a positive encouragement. Alanna Smith: She was a hype woman. Hype 'em up. Dan Smith: Yeah. She, she just really got behind the team. And if clients could see what she does behind the scenes for them, and obviously during meetings they see it, but. She brings that same attitude to our practice that's so needed clients who get to know her are just floored by the experience. She's just one of a kind. I'm glad people are gonna get to know her a little bit on this podcast. Alanna Smith: Yeah, definitely. Alright, we will be back for more
finance chats here at Dan has a plan. And remember, if you have a question for us, please email me! At alanna.smith@ubs.com for your Ask Dan questions. All right. Love you. Dan Smith: Love you.