The importance of 'stopping and smelling the roses'

For adviser Brian Fenn, the horrific events of 9/11 provided affirmation that he was on the right track with his planning practice. “We're a true comprehensive financial planning firm, and we're real big on getting into all aspects of clients' lives,” he said. In particular, Mr. Fenn had made a habit of getting many hard-charging clients to slow down at retirement age, and either begin a second career or retire. Clients have to work too hard and make too many sacrifices to retire early, said Mr. Fenn, who is president of Carolina Capital Consulting Inc. in Charlotte, N.C., which manages $140 million under management. “We say, "Don't work yourself to death,'” he said. “All our plans are about stopping and smelling the roses.” To do that, he has discussions about how clients might find a “second act” — a less stressful career they're passionate about and could be happy doing until age 75. A drop in income caused by the career change is offset by the delayed retirement age. “They can free up some time today and go spend it with the family,” Mr. Fenn said. “They can take that nice vacation, because that's what the family will remember.”

'LIFE IS SHORT'

After 9/11, Mr. Fenn sent a note to his clients updating them on what the market might do in the aftermath. “But I also got into how this type of event is what I've been talking about — you never know what can happen. Life is short, enjoy it.” Before that September day, though, Mr. Fenn wondered if he had spent too much time on the “soft side” of planning by digging into clients' lives and passions, and not enough on the analytical side. But from the feedback he got from clients, “we heard we were absolutely on the right track with our approach,” he said.