The Bucket Strategy
What It Is, and What It Can Do for You
In this first installment of our bucket strategy series, we explore what the bucket strategy is and why it is worth your time as an advisor. Understanding the fundamentals of the bucket strategy and the value it provides to clients will lead into two more segments: “Who Wants the Bucket Strategy and How to Win Their Business” (Part 2) and “Using TRAK to Manage and Present Your Bucket Strategy” (Part 3).
The bucket strategy provides an opportunity to capitalize on longer-term market growth in the earlier years of retirement. This approach can increase returns while easing the fear of risk and the tendency to overreact to market fluctuations. The bucket strategy sets aside assets for the short term and invests assets that are not immediately needed in long-term accounts with higher risk investments, potentially yielding a better rate of return. The bucket strategy helps to mitigate any extreme lows or highs of the market during retirement.
What Others Say About the Bucket Strategy
A quick Google search for “retirement bucket strategy” provides a fairly balanced outlook on the value of this strategy and the perceived challenges of implementing it.
- An Investopedia article highlights the psychological benefits of the bucket strategy but claims that implementation could be challenging due to a lack of industry-wide frameworks.
- A S.News & World Report article explores the pros and cons of the bucket strategy. The pros include greater predictability, peace of mind, and the ability to tap into assets while still generating portfolio growth. The cons include the need to pinpoint retirement expenses and the need for more discipline and active management given the focus on allocation over performance.
- Forbes writer Robert Laura praises the strategy for looking good in theory but expresses concern regarding the ability to manage multiple buckets given a client’s range of assets with varying tax considerations.
What We Say About the Bucket Strategy
We believe in the great potential of the bucket strategy for those approaching retirement. We also know that an advisor’s knowledge of each client’s personality and desires will prove to be the best guide for whether and when to use the bucket strategy. For some clients, the bucket strategy is an appropriate strategy because it more actively engages them in their retirement planning.
With The Retirement Analysis Kit (TRAK), our flagship product, advisors can navigate a client’s complete retirement journey with ease. Our interactive user interface helps clients understand how their assets are being invested, giving them better peace of mind.
TRAK can calculate and take into consideration countless scenarios. Our bucket strategy tool eliminates the concern that some advisors express regarding the lack of a structure to effectively manage complex accounts and situations. TRAK’s holistic approach to retirement arms advisors to deploy various strategies or tools based on a client’s real-time verbal and nonverbal cues.
What the Bucket Strategy Can Do for You
With more people entering retirement focused on the distribution of assets, having solutions that fit each client’s situation is key.
Having the know-how and means to offer the bucket strategy will increase the value you offer to clients. In our next blog post, we will explore which clientele are best suited for the bucket strategy as well as how advisors can win their confidence and business. For those clients, the bucket strategy is a great way to ensure you gain access to their complete portfolio of accounts and assets. They won’t want to leave anything off the table as you strategize how to fill each of their buckets.
Conclusion
The bucket strategy it is a great way to grow a portfolio and help people realize that the hard work they put into their investments doesn’t have to stop once they enter retirement. As they step into a new season of life, they can rest assured, knowing their years of effort are yielding continued portfolio growth.
The bucket strategy may not be for everyone, but with TRAK the tools to implement this strategy are readily available. Advisors armed with adequate technology and a firm grasp of retirement planning can use the bucket strategy to accelerate business growth while continuing to serve their clients past retirement.
The Bucket Strategy Series
Part 1 – What It Is and What It Can Do for You
Part 2 – Who Wants It and How to Win Their Business
Part 3 – Step by Step Guide Within TRAK
Blog Link References:
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-advisors/060815/comparison-bucket-strategy-vs-systematic-withdrawals.asp
https://money.usnews.com/investing/investing-101/articles/2017-11-10/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-bucket-savings-strategy
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlaura/2015/02/21/the-retirement-buckets-strategy-does-it-really-work/
