By Brian Bowen, Director of Advisor Integration
We’re three weeks into 2026, and if your calendar is already buried in AI-integration seminars and data-migration meetings, you might be planning for the wrong thing. While the rest of the industry is optimizing for speed, your clients are starving for something else: empathy.
For 2026, I’m challenging you to stop planning for your clients’ retirement and start planning for their lives. Here are three ideas to shift your focus for the year ahead:
1. Low-Tech, High-Touch: Be the Noise Filter
Everyone is talking about “agentic AI” and autonomous portfolios. Do you know what clients are actually craving? A human connection.
- The Analogue Advantage: Plan at least one “low-tech” event per quarter. Whether it’s a pickleball tournament or a local brewery trivia night, get your clients away from their screens and into a non-Zoom room — or better yet when weather permits, outdoors. Referrals don’t happen in a portal; they happen over coffee.
- The 81% Reality Check: This isn’t just about being “nice.” The Capgemini “2025 World Wealth Report” reveals a staggering reality: Eighty one percent of inheritors plan to switch firms within just one to two years of receiving their inheritance. These low-tech events are the perfect, non-threatening environment to meet the adult children of your current clients and build the connection that keeps assets in-house.
- Spreadsheet Sabotage: Challenge yourself to conduct one review meeting this year without opening a single performance report for the first 30 minutes. Focus entirely on their “life goals.” The math is the table stakes; the meaning is why they stay.
“Get your clients away from their screens and into a non-Zoom room.”
2. The Longevity Revolution: Planning for the ‘Encore,’ Not the Exit
In 2026, the traditional “gold watch” retirement is a relic of the past. Our clients aren’t looking for an exit date — they are looking for a transition strategy.
- The “Encore” Discovery: Instead of asking, “When do you want to stop working?” ask, “What is the work you’d do if you didn’t need the paycheck?” This encourages the ultimate career pivot into a productive and engaging retirement.
- Modeling the Pivot: Don’t just talk about it, build it into the math. In your 2026 planning sessions, create financial plan scenarios that specifically include second careers or “passion businesses” that can unfold from their hobbies. When a client sees their woodworking hobby or consulting dream is financially viable, you aren’t just an advisor, you’re an architect of their new life.
- Longevity Buffers: Build in “spending flex zones” to your plans. By clearly defining non-negotiable expenses versus discretionary passion projects, clients have a built-in mechanism to navigate market volatility. This visibility gives them the confidence to pursue a transition, knowing exactly how to adjust without threatening their long-term stability.
“When a client sees their woodworking hobby or consulting dream is financially viable, you aren’t just an advisor, you’re an architect of their new life.”
3. The Energy Audit: Delegate the Math, Keep the Meaning
Your business plan shouldn’t just be about AUM growth; it should be about sanity growth — and firm value.
- Identify the Drains: Identify one technology task that you loathe or avoid. Plan around getting rid of it or outsourcing it.
- The Valuation Premium: Remember that empathy is a massive driver of firm value. The 2026 M&A market is increasingly selective, awarding premium valuations to RIAs that demonstrate “real organic growth” and human-centric acquisition systems rather than just market appreciation.
- Deep Connection Zones: Block off “spreadsheet-free” days on your calendar. Use that time for proactive outreach — calls that start with “I was thinking about your trip next month,” not, “I was looking at your rebalancing.”
“Remember that empathy is a massive driver of firm value.”
Final Words of Inspiration
The world of 2026 is louder, faster and more automated than ever. But the core of what we do hasn’t changed since the first person traded a goat for a sack of grain: We provide certainty in an uncertain world.
Your 2026 business plan shouldn’t just be about hitting a number. It should be about increasing your capacity for empathy, sharpening your expertise and reclaiming your time. Your clients don’t want a “better advisor.” They want a better life. Help them build that, and your 2026 will be your best year yet.
Now, let’s get to work — before the 2027 planning cycle starts in three months. (I’m only half-joking.)
Dynamic’s Practice Development team is standing by for a complimentary, objective conversation on more ways to thrive in 2026 and beyond. Schedule a conversation or contact us at joinus@dynamicadvisorsolutions.com or (888) 997-4212.
In Grow Your Practice, Director of Advisor Integration Brian Bowen shares practical, proven strategies to deepen client relationships and build trust — the building blocks of steady growth — with easy-to-implement tips you can use right away.
Investment advisory services are offered through Dynamic Advisor Solutions, LLC, dba Dynamic Wealth Advisors, an SEC registered investment advisor.
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