Fri, Mar 25, 2022
Providers: Feel free to continue shovelling sh** through adviser’s letterboxes
There’s a technical term I use when describing the current state of the advice, platform and wealth tech stack in the UK: It’s a pile of poop. Applications are decades old, have total disregard for the user journey, and don’t even get me started on APIs. I mean, could any of these systems actually talk to each other?!! But don’t worry, I’ve got a plan to get us out of this mess.
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Take a look at our new Plan Comparison & Tax Breakdown tools!
We love feedback. You and your fellow financial adviser users have told us you need more visibility of the changes you’ve made to client plans, and that you need to be able to easily compare plans - for your own calculations and to demonstrate the options to your clients. You told us that our tax engine is a bit of an enigma and greater transparency of the taxes applied and the calculations would be helpful.
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Platform Report 2021: Field Of Dreams
FinalytiQ’s Platform Report 2021: Field of Dreams is here! Including our notorious Financial Performance Ratings.
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Announcements
Fri, Aug 20, 2021
Betafolio smashes through £500m AUM milestone
Betafolio now has over £500m in AUM, thanks to a wave of support from UK advisers! This remarkable increase in AUM has been achieved since its launch, just 16 months ago.
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Fri, May 28, 2021
Don’t complain. Compete.
In this blog our CEO, Abraham Okusanya, explains why his philosophy of competing rather than complaining has netted our sister business, Betafolio, an incredible £250m
in assets in just over a year. And you won’t believe what we’re doing
next…!
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Article
Wed, Mar 10, 2021
Heightened sequence risk
Poor returns early in retirement can cause untold damage to your prospects of a decent income for life. Sequence risk is often confused with volatility, a traditional measure of investment risk. This extract from Abraham Okusanya's 'Beyond the 4% rule' discusses the impact of sequence risk.
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Article
Mon, Mar 1, 2021
It’s time for change: The outdated tech powering the UK advice market
Disruptive fintech company, Timeline, is laying down the gauntlet to the industry to expect more from the technology that underpins it. As experts in building and integrating fintech that supports evidence-based, data driven advice and financial planning in a way that is integrated and intuitive, this team says: “Enough is enough”.
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Article
Thu, Oct 15, 2020
No, QE didn’t break the 4% rule
The 4% percent rule as created by Bill Bengen was never intended to be Newton's Fourth Law of Motion that the industry makes it out to be.
Instead, it's more of a framework that needs to be applied to each retiree's individual circumstance - spending needs, asset allocation, time horizon and fees.
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Article
Tue, Oct 13, 2020
Timelineapp partners with Sanlam to join their series of Adviser Insight events
We recently partnered with Sanlam, a financial planning and investment services group to join their series of Adviser Insight events. The theme focuses on "Decumulation - Developing your Centralised Retirement Proposition!" The purpose is to deliver training to financial advisers to demonstrate how they can assist their clients in the retirement income market. Continue reading.
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Article
Wed, Oct 7, 2020
The Evolution of Timelineapp
In this video, our founder, Abraham Okusanya explains the evolution of our next-generation retirement income platform for financial advisers. He talks about how the idea of Timeline was born, why it’s fit for purpose as a retirement planning platform compared to other cashflow modelling tools out there and its features, which sets Timeline apart and demonstrates why our technological capabilities are invaluable for financial planners and the end client.
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Article
Wed, Sep 30, 2020
COVID-19's Impact on Capital Markets and Sustainability of Retirement Plans
With the recent effects of Covid-19 disrupting the way financial services operate and advising clients, your clients must have access to a dynamic and robust withdrawal framework that is revisited over time to ensure the client stays on track. Read our latest blog as our Founder, Abraham explains how the pandemic has impacted capital markets and the sustainability of retirement plans.
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Article
Mon, Sep 21, 2020
What's the assumed growth rate in your retirement projections?
The very essence of Timelineapp is to avoid running projections based on a single assumed growth rate like the one above. Instead, Timelineapp runs hundreds of real-world scenarios using the 100+ years' historical data of the underlying asset classes in the portfolio and inflation. Read our latest blog here.
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Article
Tue, Sep 15, 2020
Timelineapp releases Sustainable Retirement Income Guide for clients
We’re excited to share with you the latest edition of Timelineapp’s Will I Run Out Money guide.
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Understanding Timelineapp’s Output: A Guide for Advised Clients
One of the biggest challenges for advisers is how to communicate the output of a retirement plan to clients, in a way that is elegant, simple and easy to understand. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help financial planners do just that!
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Article
Thu, Aug 13, 2020
Five ways to improve your client’s retirement journey
In this blog, we explain the unique benefits that Timelineapp brings to retirement planning. Here are five reasons you should be using our next-generation retirement income platform to improve your client's retirement journey.
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Article
Thu, Aug 6, 2020
Part 2: Adviser Tech Integration: Open vs Closed
In part two of our blog, we address how we fix the UK adviser technology landscape problem. If you enjoyed part one, on adviser tech integration, we think you’ll find this interesting!
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Article
Tue, Aug 4, 2020
Part 1: Advice Tech Integration: Open vs Closed
In part 1 of this blog series, Abraham ponders on the sorry state of adviser technology in today’s market.
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Timelineapp secures £1.8m funding round to meet global demand for next-gen retirement planning solutions
Timelineapp, the next-generation retirement income software, has secured £1.8 million in funding, in a round which included global platform-as-a-service provider FNZ becoming a non-controlling minority investor.
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Announcements
Tue, Jun 30, 2020
Timeline Announces Decumulation Survey Results
We’re excited to be sharing with you the results from Timelineapp’s annual decumulation survey.
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Announcements
Thu, Jun 18, 2020
Timeline Announces Integration with Seven Investment Management
The Integration will deliver a seamless digital retirement experience for 7IM Advisers. Read the full press release here.
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Timelineapp Announces New US Tax Feature
We're excited to launch Timelineapp's new US Tax Feature.
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Case Studies
Thu, Jun 4, 2020
Don’t just take our word for it - Hear it directly from Financial Planners
Hear directly from Financial Planners on why they love Timelineapp.
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Article
Tue, Jun 2, 2020
Putting Natural Yield Retirement Income to The Test
The global lockdown continues to throw up important lessons. In particular, it's a useful time to test one's thesis about investing and retirement planning. I've always thought that a good retirement strategy should hold up, not just in good times, but especially in bad times.
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Article
Tue, May 19, 2020
Cash Buffers, Sustainable Withdrawal and Bear Markets
The current bear market has rekindled the age old debate about the role of cash buffers in retirement portfolios. Read our latest blog.
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Article
Tue, May 12, 2020
Lockdown Lessons: Retirement Dry Run
Is the lockdown a dry run for retirement, spending essential income only? Read our latest blog by our CEO Abraham Okusanya as he explains what we can learn from this retirement dry run.
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Article
Tue, Mar 17, 2020
Timeline's Scaled Income Feature
So one common question we get asked about Timeline, by users is how do I change the client's income for different phases of retirement. So there are several reasons why you might want to change the withdrawals that the client is taking from their portfolio.
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Announcements
Mon, Feb 17, 2020
Introducing Timelineapp's Livetrack Feature
Livetrack is the first in a series of game-changing features that Timeline will announce this year that will completely transform the relationship between the end client and his/her financial planner.
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Thu, Feb 6, 2020
Introducing Timelineapp UK Income Tax Module
We're pleased to announce our new Income Tax Module feature.
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Announcements
Tue, Jan 28, 2020
Timeline's Retirement Income Software Integrates with Redtail Technology
Our latest integration with Redtail Technology gives advisors the ability to easily import client data for efficient creation of sustainable retirement plans.
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Article
Mon, Dec 16, 2019
Monte Carlo VS Historical
In a discussion between our Senior Quantitative Analyst, and Founder, we address some of the common questions and thoughts behind these two areas.
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Article
Fri, Dec 13, 2019
Meet the team - Ignacio Gutierrez
It's our last Meet the Team feature for 2019 and this month we're introducing our Chief Technical Officer, Ignacio.
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Tue, Dec 10, 2019
Timeline Retirement Income Software Integrates with Transact for Data Aggregation
The integration gives financial advisers the ability to import data directly from Transact.
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Article
Thu, Dec 5, 2019
PFS 2019 - What a great day!
This years PFS conference was such a blast and we were so thrilled to see all of you who came to say hello.From the great response after our talk, through to hearing how you use Timeline, it was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
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Article
Wed, Nov 27, 2019
Millennials, are you thinking about your retirement?
With everything so accessible and easy to grab hold of, it's oh so easy to forget about what's important, especially when it comes to retirement, let alone saving.
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Wed, Nov 27, 2019
Breaking up the (value) chain - grab a seat at the PFS Conference
You can follow the conference by using #PFSFutureproof
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Mon, Nov 25, 2019
Meet the team - Georgios Bouzianis
We're back with our Meet the Team feature. This month, we're introducing our Quantitative Analyst, Georgios.
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Case Studies
Mon, Nov 18, 2019
Case Study: How paraplanners at Manse Capital use Timeline for their retirement clients
Manse Capital is an independent, fee-based financial planning business with over 20 years' experience. Find out how Manse Capital are using Timeline as part of their retirement conversations.
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Tue, Nov 12, 2019
Timeline heads to ACP's Annual Conference
Follow the conversation on social #ACP19
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Tue, Nov 12, 2019
Withdrawal Policy Statements
Drawing on the studies from Richard Thaler to discuss the transformation within retirement savings.
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Announcements
Wed, Nov 6, 2019
Timeline Wins Second Place at Money20/20 Startup Academy
Timeline won second place in the Startup Academy competition at the Money20/20 conference held on October 17-30th in Las Vegas.
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Wed, Oct 30, 2019
Timeline Integrates with Morningstar ByAllAccounts for Investment Data Aggregation
The integration gives advisors the ability to import data directly from all investment institutions in the US. Read more here!
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Fri, Oct 25, 2019
Meet Timeline’s team at Money2020 USA 2019
Timeline goes to Money2020 in Las Vegas
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Tue, Oct 22, 2019
Timeline announces integration with SS&C's Black Diamond® Wealth Platform
We're excited to announce our integration with SS&C's Black Diamond® Wealth Platform. Read the full release here.
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Mon, Oct 14, 2019
We're delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Lightfoot as Chief Commercial Officer.
Michael Lightfoot joins Timeline as Chief Commercial Officer. Read the full release here.
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Wed, Oct 9, 2019
Meet the Team - Jake Usher
Welcome to our newest feature: Meet the Team
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Wed, Oct 9, 2019
We're hiring: Tech Solution Consultant
We're currently recruiting for a Tech Solution Consultant to join our team in Basildon, Essex.
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Mon, Oct 7, 2019
Retirement Income: Natural Yield AND Free Dividend Fallacy
One common approach to managing retirement income is to rely on natural yield from one's portfolio. The goal of a natural yield approach is to mitigate sequence risk by relying exclusively on dividend/coupon income from the portfolio and so avoid selling down in poor market conditions.
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Mon, Sep 30, 2019
How does Timeline differ from other cashflow tools?
It's much more than a traditional cashflow tool; here's how it compares with other UK modelling software.
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Announcements
Wed, Sep 25, 2019
We're hiring: Technical Pensions Specialist
Have a Diploma in Financial Planning and have a working knowledge of the UK tax, pensions and investment landscape. You might already work in financial services, as a paraplanner, financial services administrator etc… and are looking to use your knowledge in another area of the industry. Think you fit the bill, then read on!
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Wed, Sep 25, 2019
How Timeline helps advisers with regulatory compliance for income drawdown
This short guide provides an overview of how Timeline's decumulation technology can support Retail Investment Advisers' (RIA) compliance with relevant regulations.
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Thu, Sep 19, 2019
Five things you didn't know about Timeline
Our latest blog covers five things you might not know about Timeline, but let's be honest you probably should!
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Wed, Sep 11, 2019
Timeline announces integration with Nucleus
We're excited to announce our two-way integration with Nucleus.
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Announcements
Tue, Sep 10, 2019
Timeline announces integration with Intelliflo's Intelligent Office
We're thrilled to announce our two-way integration with Intelliflo.
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Tue, Jul 16, 2019
Goal Seek for Decumulation
How much money can I take from my portfolio without running out? How long will my portfolio last in retirement? Given my asset allocation, how much would I need to sustain a given level of withdrawal in retirement. Do you frequently get these questions from your clients? We bet.
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Article
Mon, Jun 24, 2019
Dynamic Longevity Assumptions in Retirement
American writer Mark Twain was reported to have accurately predicted his own death. He apparently based his prediction on the astronomical phenomenon that marked his birth, the appearance of Halley's Comet. A year before his death, Twain said: 'I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'
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Revisiting Capacity for Loss In Retirement
There's a lot of confusion around assessing capacity for loss, particularly for clients drawing down their portfolio. Much of it stems from the fact that the Regulator doesn't really seem to know how it should be assessed.
There appears to be two camps in this debacle. On one side, you have an ex-regulator, paraplanners and compliance consultants who seem to think that capacity for loss is the be-all and end-all. We’ll call them the ‘compliance camp’. On the other hand, you have financial planners at the coal face.
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How AUM Fees Affect Sustainable Withdrawal
One of the great misconceptions about the Sustainable Withdrawal Rate (SWR) framework is how an adviser (and fund) fees affect withdrawals from a retirement portfolio.
This analysis shows that 1%pa translates into around 6%-12% (UK) and 9%-13% (US) of the client's overall income and capital, depending on the scenario. A total fee of 2%pa wipes out around 13%-26% (UK) and 19%-28% (US) of the overall fund, depending on the scenario.
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Bengen’s 4% Rule Around The World
How much can I draw from my retirement savings without running out of money?
This is the 64-million-dollar question Bill Bengen attempted to answer in his seminal 1994 paper published in the Journal of Financial Planning.
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Retirement Income Plan For The Miggins II
The Miggins are back. See here for details but the headline is John and Jo Miggins are 65, recently retired with £300k in their retirement pot and a house with no mortgage.
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Retirement Income Plan for The Miggins
John and Jo Miggins have worked hard all their lives. They saved as much as they could and now they’re ready to retire.
They've paid off their mortgage and their home is worth £260k. Between them, they have £300k in their pension pots. And that’s it!
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Article
Mon, Mar 25, 2019
Lessons from 119 years of capital market data
The latest Credit Suisse Global Investment Yearbook (excerpt here) compiled by Professor Elroy Dimson and his colleagues Paul Marsh and Mike Stanton, is a treasure trove of information. It covers asset class return and inflation in 26 different markets over the 119 years between 1900 and 2018.
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Announcements
Wed, Dec 12, 2018
David Blanchett: Sustainable Withdrawal Rates: A Smart Alternative to Reducing Life Expectancy
Did you know that retirement costs more than double what it did 30 years ago?In this light-hearted video, David Blanchett's PhD, CFA, CFP shares his thoughts on what people can do about it.
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Announcements
Tue, Dec 11, 2018
David Blanchett: Retirement crisis? What Retirement Crisis…?
In this video, David Blanchett PhD, CFA, CFP poses the question, is there a retirement crisis? Meaning, will everybody run out of money?
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Announcements
Wed, Nov 28, 2018
David Blanchett: Sustainable Withdrawal Rate - A UK Perspective
In this video, David Blanchett's PhD, CFA, CFP looks at how the now famous 4% rule developed.
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Research
Thu, Nov 22, 2018
Retirement income options, happiness and a case of spurious correlation?
A fascinating new paper by L&G titled Retirement Income Riddle: New perspectives on how we make financial choices and their impact on our well-being attempts to look at the relationship between happiness and the retirement income option that people choose.
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Announcements
Tue, Nov 20, 2018
David Blanchett: The Grand Retirement Puzzle
This is the first in a three-part video series featuring David Blanchett, PhD, CFA, CFP., head of retirement research at Morningstar. David sets the scene for a fascinating discussion about the ‘grand puzzle’ as he calls it. In other words, how to come up with successful withdrawal strategies for UK retirees.
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Announcements
Thu, Aug 30, 2018
Justin King: How to help a client avoid a one-way ticket to Geneva
In this second video, Justin King APFS, CFP takes a light-hearted look at how he uses the Timelineapp to show clients quickly and visually how sustainable their retirement income plan is.
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Announcements
Wed, Aug 22, 2018
Justin King on eternal optimism and why advice is an antidote to N.E.W.S*
Welcome to the first of our three-part video series on retirement income planning conversations. The focus of this series is to demonstrate the real-life discussion that happens between a financial planner and their client to ensure their portfolio lasts a lifetime.
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New Feature
Mon, Jul 2, 2018
Legacy & Sustainable Withdrawal In Retirement Portfolio
It's often said that the ideal retirement is one in which you spend your last penny on your last day on earth. The last cheque you write should be to the undertaker, and it should bounce.
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Article
Mon, Jun 25, 2018
Battle plans, cashflow projections and retirement income planning
In the early 1910s, the US military used maps of the Alsace-Lorraine and Champagne regions in France as part of its training programme. Critics however contested that it was spurious for the US Army to base their training on those areas rather than US territories, where they were more likely to fight a war. And so the military changed their training maps to ones on US soil. Then, around two years after the change was made, WW1 began and the US military was deployed to fight in Alsace-Lorraine!
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Announcements
Tue, Jun 12, 2018
We're Hiring - Retirement Consultant
We are on the lookout for a consultant for Timeline, the software for illustrating sustainable withdrawal strategies in retirement income portfolios. The software is used by advisers in 7 countries including the UK and the US.
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Announcements
Mon, Jun 11, 2018
Timeline Completes Seed Funding Round
Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal rate software created by Abraham Okusanya has raised a seed funding round from a group of private investors.
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Research
Tue, May 29, 2018
Probabilistic Thinking and Retirement Income Planning
The fundamental question we’re trying to answer in retirement planning is this: will the money outlive the people or will the people outlive the money? The problem is we simply won’t know for sure until the event has happened, by which time it’s too late to plan.
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Tue, May 22, 2018
Ratcheting Rule: Mitigating the risk of dying with too much money
We spend a lot of time talking about the risk of running out of money in retirement. But one understated risk of spending conservatively in retirement is the risk of dying with too much money! Yes, that's a thing.
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New Feature
Thu, Apr 19, 2018
Timeline Introduces Monte Carlo vs Historical Comparison for Sustainable Withdrawal Strategies
Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal rate software, has added a new feature that allows planners to compare Monte Carlo and historical simulations for withdrawal rate strategies.
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Announcements
Thu, Apr 19, 2018
Timeline Goes to Chicago!
On April 30th we'll be taking Timeline, the Sustainable Withdrawal Rate software to the Retirement Income Summit 2018 in Chicago! For two days, we'll be showing off the software to over 400 advisers from across the US!
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Mon, Jan 29, 2018
Longevity and Sustainable Withdrawal Rates
Often, withdrawal rate strategies are based on a fixed planning horizon. For example, a 30-year retirement horizon for a 65-year-old client....
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Mon, Dec 11, 2017
Sustainable Withdrawal for Different Phases Of Retirement
In this video, I illustrate the impact of scaling up/down income withdrawal from a portfolio at different phases of retirement.
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Fri, Dec 8, 2017
Guyton's inflation adjustment for sustainable withdrawal rate
The assumption under Bengen's rule is that withdrawals are adjusted for inflation throughout retirement, regardless of portfolio performance.
One of the rules proposed by financial planner Jonathan Guyton in his 2006 paper in the Journal of Financial Planning is to adjust withdrawals for inflation annually except in the years after a negative portfolio return....
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Mon, Nov 20, 2017
Sustainable withdrawal rate with cap and collar inflation adjustment
The assumption under Bengen's rule is that withdrawals are adjusted for inflation throughout retirement. This includes periods of double-digit inflation, for instance between 1915-1920 and most of the 1970s.
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Article
Mon, Sep 11, 2017
Justin King: I'm an investor, get me out of here! Help clients survive the jungle with the power of five.
In this final video, Justin King APFS, CFP grapples with how on earth to stop clients from losing their nerve and bailing on their financial and retirement income plan when markets head south.
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Wed, Aug 9, 2017
Sustainable withdrawal but without adjusting for inflation?
The classical assumption for the sustainable withdrawal rate framework is that withdrawals are adjusted for inflation in £/$ terms, every single year until the retiree depletes their portfolio or dies!
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Sun, Jul 30, 2017
Actual Income Path For Sustainable Withdrawal Strategies
One important point that's often lost in translation in the discussion about sustainable withdrawal rate is the actual income path that a retiree can expect...
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New Feature
Wed, Jul 26, 2017
Illustrating Sustainable Withdrawal For Different Phases of Retirement
We're delighted to announce a new feature on Timeline which enables planners to illustrate the benefits of scaling up/down withdrawals at different phases of retirement
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Tue, Jul 11, 2017
Portfolio Balance And Sustainable Withdrawal Rate
One aspect of the sustainable withdrawal framework that is often forgotten is the portfolio balance!
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Tue, Jun 27, 2017
What factors influence sustainable withdrawal rates?
When Bill Bengen originally coined the term 'Safe Withdrawal Rate' in his seminal article in 1994 Journal of Financial Planning, he made some crucial assumptions.
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Fri, Jun 23, 2017
Adding a new client to Timeline
2mins!
That's how long it takes to set up a new client, create the asset allocation, input fees, and produce a withdrawal policy statement on Timeline!
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Tue, Jun 20, 2017
Illustrating Dynamic Withdrawal Strategies With Timeline
This video walks you through the dynamic withdrawal strategies available on Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal rate app.
These withdrawal strategies can be broadly classified into 2 categories; inflation-adjustment and spending strategies.
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Mon, Jun 19, 2017
A video tour of Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal app
This video walks you through how to create a new client scenario of Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal rate app.
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New Feature
Sat, Jun 17, 2017
Timeline introduces new feature for 'Withdrawal Policy Statement'
We are very pleased to let you know that we've now added the PDF report feature to Timeline, the sustainable withdrawal rate app.
With this feature, financial planners can now produce a personalised Withdrawal Policy Statement for their clients at the click of a button! How cool is that?
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