TheLiveBigWay® Digest: Palpable Energy

As our firm steps into this next chapter, there is a palpable energy across our team. New energy is showing up in fresh ideas, growing leaders, and a continued dedication to the Clients we serve, all while maintaining our non-negotiable standard of excellence. In this edition of the Digest, we’re sharing reflections from our leadership team about what they’re seeing, thinking about, and working on as we continue serving you.

The YeskeBuie Financial Planning Team is thriving and certainly feeling the palpable energy in the air. I’m thrilled to share how fully the team is embracing Learn Big, Think Big, and Give Big, all in service of you — what we refer to as Client Big (we believe to best serve others you must feel the world through their heart). Here are a few recent highlights that capture this spirit and momentum across the team:

• It’s Tax Season! Which means we’ve been connecting with you and your tax professionals gathering 1099s, sharing Corrected 1099s, confirming Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) and Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) details, and sharing Donor Advised Fund (DAF) contribution specifics.

• As you file your tax returns, we’ll request copies for ongoing planning purposes – tax projections, strategic distribution analyses, and Roth conversion analyses, to name a few.

• We finally have more direction on IRC Section 530A Accounts (aka Trump Accounts), though plenty to still be clarified prior to the official July 4, 2026 start date. Stay tuned for an upcoming Digest article about the who, what, when, where, why, how of these accounts and tune into our coming webinar to hear more.

• We’ve unfortunately continued to see a noticeable uptick in fraud and scam attempts affecting Clients this year. I have been working closely with Schwab to support those impacted and have gained lots of insight into how these situations unfold behind the scenes. As a simple rule of thumb: never click on anything you’re not 100% expecting and certain is legitimate. To keep yourself safe, check out these cybersecurity resources on our website and stay tuned for a dedicated cybersecurity edition of the Digest and webinar with a cybersecurity expert later this year.

• Sydney Woodward is having a BIG year (pun intended!) as she is deep in her graduate studies while serving as President of FPA’s San Francisco chapter. She’s also deeply involved in pro bono (leading YeskeBuie’s efforts and speaking with the Foundational for Financial Planning at a recent national conference) and recently spoke with legislators in California at FPA CA Advocacy Day.

• Ryan Kelly’s and Kacie Fawls’ growth has hit another gear, and both are taking the lead in a greater share of Client relationships while developing and delivering increasingly complex analyses and recommendations. Ryan continues to deepen his tax expertise through volunteer work with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program and education toward his Enrolled Agent designation, while Kacie continues to build on her FPA Residency experience and receives wonderful feedback for her leadership in Client meetings.

• Aubrey Klearman, now a CFP^® Professional, has been stacking up attention-to-detail wins with complex RMD and 1099 tracking and estate planning updates she’s been working on closely with Clients. She’ll also be diving deeper into Client communication and listening skills at FPA Residency later this year with Rustin McManis. Rustin, soon to officially become a CFP^® Professional, and Tim Connolly, as you’ll see below, are honing their investment nerd skills. Tim is also stepping into his newly promoted role as Financial Planner and continuing to build relationships as he transitions into a lead planner role with Clients.

Yusuf Abugideiri, Tim Connolly, and Rustin McManis have been working closely together to evaluate the YeskeBuie bond portfolio. Due diligence is a core focus of the Investments Committee, and Tim’s and Rustin’s efforts in analyzing various investment options has been a massive help in Yusuf’s management of his CIO responsibilities.

Additionally, Yusuf and Lauren S. are preparing for next month’s live webinar on Thursday, April 23 at 11am PT | 2pm ET. We’re calling the presentation Stormy Skies, Clear Strategy and will plan to discuss recent market updates, economic data, geopolitical news and current events, and, most significantly, what it all means for your financial plan. Use this link to register today!

A big focus for our team has been improving the tools and processes that support your experience with us. Cristin Etheredge and Gavin Shoults recently implemented Sumo Scheduler and Zocks AI, two tools that streamline scheduling and meeting documentation and allow our team to stay fully engaged during our work and conversations with you.

Clear and thoughtful communication remains another priority. Tricia Lowney continues creating inspiring graphics that bring our messages and events to life. She also played an important role in distributing our recent emails, Perspective in Times of Tension and Providing Context and Calm Leading into the Weekend, helping us share insights clearly and without delay.

Just as important as the systems we build is the growth of the people who support you. Later this year, Will Tracy will transition to the Financial Planning Team as an Associate Financial Planner, a move aligned with his long-term career goals. As Will prepares for this next step, he, Gavin, and Cristin have begun the interview process to identify our next Client Support Specialist. In true Will fashion, he’s determined to train his successor to be “even better than me.”

As Elissa and Dave settle into retirement, they remain closely connected to the firm and the community they helped build, sharing perspective with our leadership team and staying engaged in Clients’ lives and the ideas shaping our profession. We invited them to share a few thoughts about what’s been on their minds and what life in retirement has looked like so far. Here is what they shared:

From Elissa: Reveling and Ruminating. That’s what I’ve been doing in the first 10 weeks of my retirement. Basking in the warmth of unfathomable well wishes and thanks for the work I’ve done as a financial planner and business owner. Reveling in the freedom for my thoughts to go anywhere and for the time to pursue those thoughts through reading, podcasts, and ruminating. Ruminating about this thing I have advised on for 40 years and confirming how important I think it is for each person to figure out their own retirement questions, let alone their own answers – individually and not based on what the world tells us we “should” do, have, or be. This is a hot topic right now (Baby Boomers strike again!), and (what will come as a surprise to no one who knows me is that) I have a lot to say about what is being said and I share that with anyone who’s listening. Maybe that’s my first retirement hobby…

From Dave: Three and a half months into both a new year and a new status as retired and I’m finding my task list bigger than ever, in part with second-tier projects that spontaneously moved to the front burner. Although remaining tuned-in to what’s happening at the company and in regular consultation with our leadership team (the C3Os), I’m still working hard to get used to the absence of Client meetings on my calendar. It’s left me very much looking forward to both the East and West Coast Client events (July 13 and August 6). Elissa and I continue to teach the capstone financial planning course at GGU but have agreed that it’s probably time, after more than a dozen years of co-teaching and a total of 30 years of teaching for me, to let that go. Not least because it’s no longer compatible with our expanding travel schedule. A few speaking gigs and continued conference attendance round out our remaining professional status, which leaves the really fun part: family and travel!

More time to visit and babysit our three grandkids (or Grimlins, as Elissa has dubbed them) supplies one of my chief joys and I look forward to that continuing to become an ever larger part of our lives.  I’m also spending more time in the engine bay of our London-based canal boat, Rufus, which last year became our Limehouse Basin pied-a-mere. Elissa, as always, has shown boundless energy for planning UK and European adventures for us (and the kids and grandkids!) and I’m not sure the novelty will ever wear off. Looking forward to seeing what more emerges over the course of this first year of retirement but trying hard to live in the moment.