101 Andy Panko: Financial Planning Demystified and Unemotional

About Fun With Annuities Episode #101

Welcome to Fun With Annuities episode 101 with Andy Panko. When he started Tenon Financial in 2019, he designed the flat-fee-based firm exactly how he thought a retirement planning advisory service should work. By the end of 2021, he was at full capacity with his client base, with many people on a waiting list to work with him.

Things fall into place when you are a CFP, RICP, and an EA (Enrolled Agent with the IRS) and do things the right way. Andy Panko is a true visionary in the Retirement Planning space and is re-writing how business should and can be done.

Andy is an educator at heart, and his flat annual fee planning concept is the future of retirement planning, in my opinion. We covered many topics, including Crypto, Blockchain technology, and legacy brokerage business models.

His answer, explanation, and insight on Crypto Currencies are worth listening to. Head slapping. Jaw-Dropping. No Brainer.

We also dove into recent “Black Swan” events like COVID, Russia/Ukraine, and China. How does he handle that with clients? How does he prepare a portfolio and a person’s retirement plan? Andy’s answers are “gold.”

The three things that drive Andy’s success are:

• Anything worth doing is worth doing well
• Don’t take yourself too seriously
• Be Nice

That’s Andy’s approach to everything in life. He also runs Tenon Tax Preparation. His Facebook group “Taxes In Retirement” is a must, and his YouTube Channel “Retirement Planning Demystified” has over 20,000 subscribers, and you can’t miss his newsletter.

This podcast is one that you will want to share with your friends. Enjoy!

"Most people can do accumulation well; it’s the decumulation where things get a little more tactical and complicated…" —  Andy Panko

Brief Bio on Co-Host: Andy Panko

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Andy has worked in the financial services industry since 2000 and has obtained the Enrolled Agent "EA") designation, the highest credential awarded by the IRS. Enrolled Agents have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS. He also earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM ("CFP®) and Retirement Income Certified Professional®) designations. He is the owner of Tenon Financial, a fee-only retirement planning, and investment management firm.

Andy’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Delaware (2000) and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rutgers Business School (2004). Furthermore, he is an adjunct lecturer for the finance & economics department of Rutgers Business School.

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Andy Panko discuss:

• How advisors should construct their fees
• The complexity of decumulation
• Making the plan as good as it can be
• Cryptocurrency is a lottery ticket

Key Takeaways:

• The work isn’t linear to the asset size; advisors shouldn’t make more money just because assets go up. In the same way, advisors shouldn’t be paid less just because the markets go down. They’re still doing the same amount of work and providing the same services.
• Investment management, even good investment management, has become increasingly cheap, easy, commoditized to do and do well. Decumulation is much more complex.
• Try to make the plan as good as it can be initially, accounting for unpredictable events. So try to structure your plan as best as possible to account for times of distress. Get all things working cohesively - it’s not just investments, insurance, real estate - it’s everything, including guaranteed lifetime income.
• Cryptocurrency has zero intrinsic value. Its value is 100% on simple auction market pricing; it’s only worth as much as what someone is willing to pay for it. You can invest a small portion into it, but only if you’re comfortable that the value could go to zero. Treat it like a lottery ticket.

Fun With Annuities® Podcast is hosted by America’s Annuity Agent®, Stan Haithcock, The Annuity Man®. Hear brutal annuity facts with no sales pitches from the top independent agent in the country, licensed in all 50 states. Author of 7 books, Stan dives deep on all annuity types and strategies. It’s fun, learning the contractual truths on how annuities actually work and if they’ll fit your personal retirement lifestyle.

Listen in on how you can be livin’ the reality, not the dream®. Listen and subscribe on Libsyn, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, and Spotify.