Finding his planning niche

Spring is looking busy for Sam Honey as he prepares for the certified financial planner exam and the arrival of his second child. The 26-year-old planning associate at Plancorp expected to take the CFP exam last Saturday. In the course of studying for the exam and doing his day-to-day work, he has discovered a knack for estate planning. “My strongest subject, I think, will be estate and income taxes,” Mr. Honey said. “The subjects I'm spending more time on are retirement planning and insurance. Those are a little harder to grasp and memorize all the components, but I'm making progress on all of them.” He estimated that he has studied two to three hours each day to prepare for the test. His interest in estate planning goes beyond what's covered in textbooks and the CFP review course he took in February.

NEW CLIENTS

Mr. Honey now works with a different group of advisers within Plancorp than when he started, and is getting a sense of what it's like to help clients with their legacy planning. (More: Work-life balance is this new dad's goal) “One of the advisers I'm working with has been here a few years and has carved out a niche in estate planning,” he said. “So the clients I've been exposed to are more in need of that.” The clients Mr. Honey worked with previously were still in the accumulation phase of their lives, growing their wealth. These new clients, however, are an older demographic, and their biggest concerns center on transferring wealth to the next generation. It's a corner of financial planning that just might be Mr. Honey's calling. “It's a definitely a possibility, pursuing estate planning,” he said. Mr. Honey, his wife and their 18-month-old son, Henry, will be welcoming a new baby at the beginning of June. The young couple's mothers will be dropping by to help the family out after Mr. Honey's paternity leave is up. Though life is busy, it's still good, he said. “It's really nice after a long day to go home to my family,” Mr. Honey said.