FPA NJ Fall Forum — Timed Session Outlines
Session 1: What Actually Compounds: Rethinking Mean Reversion Heading into 2027
Time: 9:15 AM – 10:05 AM (50 Minutes | 1.0 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Bryce Fegley, MS, CFA, CIPM® (Saturna Capital)
Session Overview:
Heading into 2027, valuation signals point to caution: multiples sit well above their historical averages, and most forecasting frameworks respond by assuming reversion. Those frameworks have been wrong for a decade, and the error has concentrated in one place — the assumption that today’s leading businesses will fade the way their predecessors did. Bryce Fegley examines market positioning, why historical multiple comparisons may be measuring two different populations of companies, and what distinguishes businesses that genuinely compound.
Learning Objectives:
• Evaluate whether a company’s competitive advantage is static or self-reinforcing, using specific diagnostics including incremental return on invested capital (ROIC), customer cohort economics over time, and evidence of competitor response.
• Identify the conditions under which historical mean-reversion assumptions are likely to mislead, including changes in the composition of an index over the period being compared.
• Apply the framework to portfolio decisions, including rebalancing away from appreciated positions, sell discipline when a business decelerates, and position sizing under uncertainty about the length of a reinvestment runway.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Macro & Valuation Context Heading into 2027 • Current market valuation landscape and historic multiple comparisons.
• Breakdown of traditional forecasting models and why mean-reversion assumptions have continuously failed over the past decade.
• Analyzing index composition shifts over time (comparing modern asset-light/tech-heavy indices vs. historical capital-intensive baselines).
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Diagnostic Framework: Static vs. Self-Reinforcing Competitive Advantages • Core characteristics of genuine corporate compounders versus transient high performers.
• Diagnostic Tool 1: Evaluating Incremental Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) over multi-year cycles.
• Diagnostic Tool 2: Customer cohort economics, retention metrics, and lifetime value expansion.
• Diagnostic Tool 3: Empirical evidence of competitor response and economic moat durability.
00:25 - 00:40 (15 mins) Portfolio Application & Execution Strategies • Portfolio rebalancing mechanics: When to trim appreciated compounders vs. letting winners run.
• Sell discipline criteria: Identifying early operational and financial signals of business deceleration.
• Position sizing under runway uncertainty: Structuring capital allocation based on reinvestment potential.
00:40 - 00:50 (10 mins) Practical Case Diagnostics & Interactive Q&A • Case study walkthrough applying the diagnostic framework to modern portfolio holdings.
• Synthesis of key takeaways and open discussion on integrating non-mean-reverting frameworks into client wealth strategies.
Session 2A (Track A): Year-End Strategies: A Comprehensive Approach to Ending the Year
Time: 10:20 AM – 11:10 AM (50 Minutes | 1.0 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Nick Arndt, MSFP®, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP® (Transamerica)
Session Overview:
Year-end provides a critical opportunity for investment advisor representatives to evaluate client positions, identify multi-disciplinary planning opportunities, and execute strategies prior to statutory deadlines. This session provides a structured framework covering tax, retirement, investment, insurance, estate, and cash-flow considerations.
Learning Objectives:
• Identify and evaluate key year-end tax-planning, retirement-planning, and investment-planning deadlines and opportunities, applying strategies to aid client decision-making.
• Analyze the importance of an annual estate plan review and identify changes in client circumstances, tax environment, beneficiary designations, and trust documents warranting updates.
• Evaluate and apply actionable, client-specific planning strategies that integrate tax, retirement, investment, and estate considerations to fulfill client financial goals.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Tax & Income Year-End Deadlines and Projections • Key statutory deadlines for year-end tax, retirement, and wealth planning.
• Conducting accurate Q4 tax projections and implementing deduction timing strategies.
• Evaluating tax-loss harvesting, gain realization, and portfolio rebalancing mechanics prior to year-end.
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Retirement, Wealth Accumulation & Distribution Optimization • Maximizing retirement plan contributions across qualified plans, IRAs, and executive benefits.
• Strategic evaluation of Roth conversions in low-income tax years.
• Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) planning, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and donor-advised fund strategies.
00:25 - 00:40 (15 mins) Estate, Beneficiary, Risk Management & Benefit Reviews • Conducting annual estate reviews: Assessing changes in family dynamics, asset growth, and tax environment.
• Audit of primary and contingent beneficiary designations across accounts and trusts.
• Reviewing insurance risk coverage, Health Savings Accounts (HSA), and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) prior to year-end closing.
00:40 - 00:50 (10 mins) Implementation Roadmap, Coordination & Interactive Discussion • Translating a comprehensive year-end checklist into an prioritized, actionable client roadmap.
• Coordinating implementation with CPAs, estate attorneys, and insurance professionals.
• Interactive Q&A on managing complex year-end client cases.
Session 2B (Track B): Optimizing Returns Through International Equity
Time: 10:20 AM – 11:10 AM (50 Minutes | 1.0 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Simon Kim, CFA (Saturna Capital)
Session Overview:
This session explores the strategic role of international equities in constructing robust, diversified long-term investment portfolios. It examines historical relative performance, structural valuation gaps, capital efficiency improvements, and governance reforms—particularly across East Asia.
Learning Objectives:
• Identify key macroeconomic and structural drivers of long-term investment returns in international equity markets.
• Explain the capital efficiency improvement journey and its potential impact on valuation and corporate investment opportunities.
• Evaluate how corporate governance improvements, particularly in East Asia, influence global market dynamics and long-term equity returns.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Macroeconomic Overview & International Market Fundamentals • Macroeconomic analysis of global markets and historical relative performance vs. U.S. equities.
• Diversification benefits, correlation trends, and current structural valuation differentials.
• Addressing home bias in portfolio construction and identifying global growth drivers.
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Capital Efficiency & Structural Corporate Transformation • Detailed examination of the international capital efficiency improvement journey.
• Corporate restructuring, return on capital (ROC) enhancements, and balance sheet optimization.
• Identifying high-conviction international sectors and asset allocation opportunity sets.
00:25 - 00:40 (15 mins) Governance Reforms & Regional Focus (East Asia) • In-depth analysis of corporate governance reforms across East Asian markets (Japan, South Korea, etc.).
• Shareholder value initiatives: Dividend growth, share buyback mandates, and exchange regulatory changes.
• Impact of governance enhancements on equity risk premiums and long-term return potential.
00:40 - 00:50 (10 mins) Practical Portfolio Integration & Interactive Q&A • Translating global equity research into actionable asset allocation and portfolio weightings.
• Risk management, currency considerations, and strategic implementation.
• Interactive session Q&A focused on client portfolio implementation.
Session 3: The Cost of Waiting: Senior Living Decisions
Time: 11:15 AM – 12:25 PM (70 Minutes | 1.4 IAR CE Credits)
Presenter: Kristy Kennedy & Ginger Noce (Silver Bridges Consulting)
Session Overview:
Senior living transitions represent major financial and operational inflection points in a client's retirement lifetime. This extended 70-minute session analyzes the severe financial, liquidity, and emotional costs of delaying senior care planning, comparing proactive moves with crisis-driven decisions.
Learning Objectives:
• Identify four distinct ways delayed senior living decisions harm client financial plans and retirement income sustainability.
• Explain how occupancy rates, waitlists, health eligibility, and care needs restrict future choices and escalate long-term care expenditures.
• Compare the financial and liquidity dynamics of a planned, proactive transition versus a crisis-driven emergency transition.
• Incorporate practical trigger questions and scenario modeling into retirement plans to facilitate proactive client decisions.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:15 (15 mins) The Senior Living Landscape & Economic Realities • Breakdown of care continuum: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and CCRCs (Life Plan Communities).
• Analysis of fee structures: Entrance fee vs. rental models, contract types (Type A, B, C).
• Market trends: Rising demand, occupancy constraints, length of waitlists, and health underwriting requirements.
00:15 - 00:35 (20 mins) Financial Comparison: Planned vs. Crisis-Driven Transitions • The hidden costs of aging in home: Retrofitting, ongoing maintenance, home health aides, and care coordination.
• Financial impact of crisis moves: Hospitalization, caregiver burnout, rapid asset liquidation, and premium care rates.
• Four primary financial planning risks of delayed decisions: Cash flow shocks, portfolio sequencing risk, tax inefficiencies, and loss of choice.
00:35 - 00:55 (20 mins) Integrating Housing & Long-Term Care into Wealth Projections • Modeling senior care expenses within client retirement software and cash flow projections.
• Stress-testing retirement income portfolios against unexpected long-term care events.
• Navigating legal, administrative, and family dynamic challenges during care transitions.
00:55 - 01:10 (15 mins) Advisor Toolkit, Client Triggers & Interactive Discussion • Identifying early warning signs and operational trigger questions to initiate client conversations.
• Step-by-step advisor framework for guiding clients through proactive senior care planning.
• Case study review and interactive Q&A on complex elder care financial planning scenarios.
Session 4A (Track A): Tax-Efficient Retirement Distribution Planning
Time: 1:45 PM – 2:25 PM (40 Minutes | 0.8 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Andy Panko, CFP®, RICP®, TPCP®, EA (TENON Financial)
Session Overview:
This focused session addresses practical strategies for helping retirees generate tax-efficient income while navigating complex client-specific objectives, tax bracket constraints, Medicare surcharges, and legacy goals.
IAR CE Learning Objectives:
• Understand why the quantifiable value of long-term tax planning is subject to dynamic trade-offs rather than deterministic software outputs.
• Assess client priorities, marginal tax thresholds, and health care cost limitations when establishing annual income drawdowns.
• Manage core retiree tax opportunities: Widow(er)'s tax penalty, Medicare IRMAA surcharges, ACA Premium Tax Credits, and tax-efficient legacy transfers.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Tax Planning Assumptions, Software Limitations & Client Priorities • Critique of software-generated static tax projections vs. real-world dynamic tax realities.
• Framework for identifying and prioritizing core client objectives (income stability vs. tax minimization vs. legacy).
00:10 - 00:20 (10 mins) Managing Specific Tax Surcharges & Subsidies • Medicare IRMAA Surcharges: Thresholds, tier management, and multi-year income planning.
• ACA Premium Tax Credits: Income threshold structuring to maximize health insurance subsidies prior to age 65.
00:20 - 00:30 (10 mins) Widow(er)'s Tax Penalty & Legacy Wealth Transfer Strategies • Analyzing the 'Widow(er)'s Tax Penalty' (transition from Married Filing Jointly to Single rates) and proactive mitigation tactics.
• Structuring tax-efficient wealth transfers to heirs vs. client lifetime tax optimization trade-offs.
00:30 - 00:40 (10 mins) Synthesis & Interactive Q&A / Scenario Walkthrough • Review of decision-tree methodology for annual distribution source sequencing.
• Open discussion on practical tax-planning implementation and case exceptions.
Session 4B (Track B): Using Direct Indexing and Tax-Loss Harvesting to Improve Client Outcomes
Time: 1:45 PM – 2:25 PM (40 Minutes | 0.8 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: James Hofmann, CFP® (Ridgedale Wealth Management / Wells Fargo Advisors)
Session Overview:
An examination of how direct indexing and active, systematic tax-loss harvesting can add quantifiable value ('tax alpha') to taxable client portfolios beyond traditional ETF and mutual fund structures.
IAR CE Learning Objectives:
• Understand the operational and structural fundamentals of direct indexing vs. traditional wrapped fund structures.
• Evaluate how systematic tax-loss harvesting improves net after-tax return outcomes and creates ongoing tax alpha.
• Identify high-value client profiles and planning scenarios ideal for direct indexing implementation.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Fundamentals of Direct Indexing vs. Pooled Vehicles • Structural differences between direct indexing, mutual funds, and ETFs.
• Mechanics of direct fractional ownership of underlying index securities.
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Tax-Loss Harvesting Strategies & Quantifying Tax Alpha • Year-round systematic tax-loss harvesting mechanics vs. year-end single-pass harvesting.
• Navigating wash sale rules, tracking error management, and tax-alpha reinvestment compounded over time.
00:25 - 00:35 (10 mins) Client Suitability & Practical Case Scenarios • Target profiles: Highly appreciated single stock positions, ESG customization requests, and ongoing taxable savings.
• Utilizing direct indexing for systematic transition of concentrated low-basis equity positions.
00:35 - 00:40 (5 mins) Interactive Q&A & Implementation Takeaways • Interactive discussion on custodian capabilities, minimums, and integrating direct indexing into client reviews.
Session 5: Two Seats at the Table: Building Better Relationships with Client Couples
Time: 2:55 PM – 3:45 PM (50 Minutes | 1.0 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Douglas Boneparth & Heather Boneparth, Esq. (Bone Fide Wealth)
Session Overview:
Focusing on fiduciary responsibility and business risk management, this session addresses the hidden operational risks of single-spouse advisory relationships and provides actionable strategies to engage both partners in financial decision-making.
IAR CE Learning Objectives:
• Identify the operational, legal, and client retention risks of advising only one partner in a couple dynamic.
• Recognize the social, psychological, and systemic drivers that lead non-primary financial partners to disengage.
• Apply concrete meeting framework adaptations to foster equal engagement, psychological safety, and couple equity.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Fiduciary & Practice Management Risks of Single-Spouse Relationships • Quantifying client attrition and revenue risk during major life events (divorce, widowhood, wealth transfer).
• The fiduciary imperative of representing both individuals in household financial engagements.
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Understanding Financial Disengagement & Cultural Barriers • Psychological and social factors causing non-primary spouses (frequently women) to withdraw from financial management.
• Identifying household power dynamics, financial anxiety, and communication breakdown triggers.
00:25 - 00:40 (15 mins) Redesigning Client Communications & Meeting Dynamics • Practical techniques for restructuring pre-meeting agendas, during-meeting facilitation, and post-meeting follow-ups.
• Creating psychologically safe environments that build financial confidence without judgment.
00:40 - 00:50 (10 mins) Framework for Couple Equity & Interactive Q&A • Expanding the planning lens to recognize non-financial labor and contributions to household health.
• Interactive discussion and role-play strategies for re-engaging disengaged spouses.
Session 6: Smarter Decisions with Behavioral Finance
Time: 3:55 PM – 4:45 PM (50 Minutes | 1.0 IAR CE Credit)
Presenter: Dr. Jennifer Itzkowitz, Ph.D. (Seton Hall University / NYU)
Session Overview:
This session bridges academic behavioral economics and practical financial advice, exploring cognitive biases, dual-process decision theory, and practical behavioral interventions to guide clients toward better financial choices.
IAR CE Learning Objectives:
• Explain core principles of behavioral finance and contrast them with classical rational actor economic assumptions.
• Describe System 1 (fast/intuitive) and System 2 (slow/deliberate) cognitive processing in financial decision-making.
• Identify pervasive behavioral biases (mental accounting, anchoring, loss aversion) and implement nudges and structural defaults.
Timed Instructional Breakdown:
Time Block Topic / Module Title Detailed Content & Instructional Points
00:00 - 00:10 (10 mins) Foundations: Traditional Finance vs. Behavioral Reality • Review of classical finance assumptions (efficient market hypothesis, rational economic actor) vs. real-world behavioral evidence.
• Introduction to behavioral economics as a tool to bridge client intent and client action.
00:10 - 00:25 (15 mins) Cognitive Architecture: System 1 vs. System 2 Thinking • Detailed examination of Dual-Process Theory: System 1 (fast, emotional, heuristic) vs. System 2 (slow, analytical, deliberate).
• How high-stress market environments trigger System 1 errors and compromise long-term strategic plans.
00:25 - 00:40 (15 mins) Anatomy of Common Behavioral Biases & Practical Interventions • Deep dive into Mental Accounting, Anchoring, Availability Heuristic, and Loss Aversion.
• Practical advisor nudges: Structuring financial defaults, reframing risk choices, and establishing objective reference points.
00:40 - 00:50 (10 mins) Client Conversation Frameworks & Interactive Q&A • Operationalizing behavioral insights in client discovery, goal setting, and market downturn coaching.
• Interactive discussion and Q&A applying behavioral frameworks to challenging client scenarios.