The 2017 MarketCounsel Summit was held earlier this month in Miami, Florida.  The conference provides wealth management professionals the opportunity to meet and mingle with the brightest minds in the industry and to bring new ideas and new thinking back to their practices for the benefit of their clients.

Cordasco Financial Network founder and principal Steve Cordasco was in attendance and noted that, “Tried and true approaches to wealth management are important, however, the application of new thinking is also critical.  This year’s MarketCounsel conference provided a wealth of ideas which we will be vetting in the coming year.”

Cordasco added that provocative ideas often crop up in unexpected places.  For instance, former CIA director John Brennan explored the link between continuity among successful businesses and insurgent groups.  Of course, this notion is foreign, if not offensive to most of us, but Brennan’s role within the CIA gives him a unique perspective from which important lessons can be drawn.

Brennan noted that insurgent groups face continuous, lethal risks, high turnover and constant disruption of their operations. Yet many endure.  Key, he said are the following principals:

  • Designing and building a management and organizational structure for longevity.
  • Codifying rules and command structures.
  • Clear delineation of priorities.
  • Clear understanding of vulnerabilities.
  • Having strategic patience with long terms goals to achieve the mission.

What’s interesting about these points is that they apply equally to successful businesses as they do insurgencies.  It’s not too great a leap then to explore how these principals might apply to your retirement contingency plan as well.

For instance, does your family have a written document to carry out your wishes when you pass away? This does not mean a will, it means detailing everything from how you want to plan for your end of life care to even who will take care of your pet!

Also, what kind of structure must be in place when you can no longer make all the decisions you need to? Has you advisor asked about your values, priorities and vulnerabilities and what you envision for your retirement plan?

These are just some questions you might consider while making your own retirement contingency plan. A great tool we use at CFN is called Whealthcare Planning that takes into account many of these factors.

As a final suggestion, we encourage you to listen to the Your Life Your Wealth podcast where material from the MarketCounsel Summit is also covered.

Covered by Leah Mele at the 2017 MarketCounsel Summit