March 2026: Real Estate Investing and Planning
COVER STORY
Building Wealth for Real Estate Investors
By Cynthia Meyer, CFA, CFP®, ChFC
Planners must understand the financial, operational, and tax complexities that shape successful property portfolios.
Click HERE for the latest DIGITAL EDITION
TRENDS IN INVESTING
Trends in Investing Survey
We're currently conducting our annual Trends in Investing survey, and we eagerly invite you to take 10 minutes to share your insights on the biggest trends influencing investment management, from gen AI to ESG. Your contributions will be integral to shaping the content of our June issue.
MULTIGENERATIONAL PLANNING
Facilitating Wealth Transfer with Real Estate
By Leo Anzoleaga, CMPS
Buying a home is among a client’s most significant financial milestones, but increasingly that home is for a client’s child. Planners need to consider these contributions in wealth transfer planning.
CLIENT COMMUNICATION AND CARE
Difficulties with Goal-Based Financial Planning: Humans Are Not Good at Goals
By Brendan Pheasant, CFP®, ChFC, and Meghaan Lurtz, Ph.D.
Goal-based financial planning promises a client-centered approach, but human nature makes it more complex than it seems.
FPA NEXT GENERATION PLANNER
Forward Thinking
Listening Is More than Hearing
By Jordan Priddy, CFP®, EA
Lead Article
How Your Mode of Communication Affects Understanding
By Danielle Andrus
My Career Path
Ryan Salah, CFP®, CPWA, CPFA, Recommends Mentorship and Getting Certifications Early
Skill Builder
What Were They Thinking? What Behavioral Finance Can Teach Us About Investor Outcomes
By Chris Fasciano
Planner Poll
The FPA Community Weighs in on Communicating Complex Topics With Clients
Planning a STUDY GROUP? Check out suggested questions and other resources to make your study group a success!
COLUMNS
Longevity
AI, Expertise, and the Two Futures of Financial Advice
By Chris Heye, Ph.D.
With AI reshaping cognitive and technical work, planners are at a strategic crossroads that could redefine the role, skills, and value of human advisers.
Succession Planning
Navigating Succession Traps to Maximize Optionality
By Brandon Kawal
These often-overlooked traps can quietly undermine internal succession plans. Learn how to maintain your ability to make the best choices for your firm and strengthen your future.
RESEARCH
Closing the Advice Gap: Technology Interactions in the Financial Capability–Wellness Relationship
By Lena Gan Ph.D., CFP®, CIMA; Karleah Harris, Ph.D., and Sara Kay
As technology keeps advancing and becoming more integrated, knowing your clients’ initial disposition to AI is key to ensuring they get the most utility out of it and not adversely affecting their financial results if they’re disinclined to use AI.
VIDEO: BEHIND THE RESEARCH
DEPARTMENTS
STARTING THOUGHTS
Bring It Home
By Danielle Andrus
Q&A
K. Dane Snowden on the Power and Prestige of the CFP® Mark
OBSERVER
401(k) Loans for Housing and Healthcare, Financial Pressures and Wellness, Online Financial Misinformation
Stat Bank
JFP ACADEMICS
Behind the Research | Upcoming Research
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Retirement Savings Heuristics and Perceptions of Retirement Income Adequacy
By Stuart Heckman, Ph.D., CFP®, CFA; J. Michael Collins, Ph.D.; Sonya Lutter, Ph.D., CFP®, LMFT; Emily Koochel, Ph.D., AFC, CFT, BFA; and Tairsa Mathews, CFP®
While clients appreciate being informed, retirement preparation can leave many feeling overwhelmed. This study suggests a simple heuristic model for showing clients how well they are saving toward their retirement goals.
Click HERE to access Journal of Financial Planning ARCHIVES
