Make Clients Retain Crucial Concepts

Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 4 p.m. ET

This is one of 12 LIVE classes in a plan fulfilling 2026 NASAA IAR CE requirements twice in 2026, enabling IARs to join anytime and complete all 12 ethics, professional responsibility and practice and product requirements via LIVE classes. Any missed LIVE classes can be made up on demand. Top-quality, enjoyable CE... more      

This class offers financial professionals a detailed road map to delivering insights clients are more likely to hear, understand, and act on amid financial stress. 

Wealth management/financial planning is  collaborative. Financial Counseling is designed to help professionals maximize the effectiveness of collaboration via a knowledge base and Seven Essential Counseling Skills. One skill in particular, Insights, the ability to impart your message, receives too little attention but is crucial in shaping client perspectives and delivering your technical expertise in advice they can implement. At this class, you learn how to improve client financial planning outcomes by:

  • maximizing receptivity with clients so your message is more likely to be heard.
  • understanding how cognitive psychology and choice architecture affects client decisions.
  • boosting retention of what's most important 
  • applying behavioral finance principles to optimize a message's impact.
  • leaning into psychological principles proven to strengthen relationships and increase the power of your advice.

Drawing on financial counseling principles and applied behavioral psychology, the instructor, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, explains why client emotions often block rational decision-making and how advisers can ethically work through that resistance.

Participants learn how framing, contrast, anchoring, and social proof influence client perception of risk, return, and long-term outcomes. 

The class emphasizes translating market data into real-life meaning that aligns with client goals and values. 

By the end of the program, advisers will be better equipped to communicate expertise in ways that strengthen trust, improve client outcomes, and reinforce fiduciary responsibility, and you learn ways to:   

Maximize client receptivity before delivering advice. Apply CURE to open a window for effective guidance.

Recognize how market fear distorts client risk perception. Identify availability bias driving short-term investor reactions.

Use contrast to reframe market narratives constructively. Position data to counter emotionally charged market headlines.

Translate market data into client‑relevant meaning. Convert percentages into outcomes clients emotionally understand.

Frame numbers to increase persuasion and retention. Use comparison and real-life benefits to guide decisions.

Anchor key concepts clients should remember long‑term. Create verbal anchors that survive beyond the meeting.

Focus attention on the most consequential advice. Use primacy and recency to strengthen message impact.

Emotionally tag advice to client life goals. Link investment decisions to personal values and outcomes.

Leverage social proof without pressuring clients. Use norms and success stories to legitimize prudent choices.

Integrate insights ethically into fiduciary conversations. Deliver expertise without triggering defensiveness or resistance.


Frank Murtha, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, has taught at The City University of New York, Penn State, and New York University. In 2001, Dr. Murtha co-founded MarketPsych Inc., a statistically valid assessment for identifying investor personality traits, and he consults to institutional investors on macro- and micro-behavioral economics. In early 2021, he co-founded Financial Counseling Institute.

Instructor(s)

Frank Murtha

Frank Murtha, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, has taught at The City University of New York, Penn State, and New York University. In 2001, Dr. Murtha co-founded MarketPsych Inc., a statistically valid assessment for identifying investor personality traits, and he consults to institutional investors on macro- and micro-behavioral economics. In early 2021, he co-founded Financial Counseling Institute.

CE Submission & Approval Status

Organization Status Course ID
CFP Board Pending Review
345552
IWI / CIMA Pending Review
26A4AI002
NASAA Submitted
 
NASBA Approved 

Approved – Course has been fully approved
Pending Review – Submitted and awaiting review
– Not yet submitted
Not Approved – Course is not approved for CE

Credit Requirements (Live Attendance)

To earn credit for a live class, CPAs must respond to three unscored polls, and IARs must respond to at least one poll during the program. No exam is required for live attendance.


Who Should Attend

IARs, CFP® professionals, EAs, CFAs, CPA financial planners, CPA/PFSs, CIMAs, CLUs, ChFCs, and other professionals seeking a deeper understanding of how economic conditions influence investment decisions and disciplined portfolio strategies.


Cost

Free to Advisors4Advisors members ($60/quarter)


CPE / CE Credit

  • Credit Hours: 1 hour

  • Field of Study: Economics

  • Course Level: Overview


Prerequisites

None


Advanced Preparation

None


Delivery Method

Group Internet-Based (Live webinar and on-demand replay)