May 2025

“Empty heads have long tongues. Media prophets of doom seek attention by scaring the crap out of you. Please don’t listen to them.”
-Bruce Lee

Have you planted your garden? Mine is going in now as I work the soil and get the seeds and plants in. My cousin says I may be a little late. My mom says I’m right on time. Since May is sort of “mothers’ month,” I am going by what she says. There are many ways to garden, variations on what to plant, right down to how to do it. Do you till the soil, or leave it as is? As I talk to other gardeners, many prefer not to till the soil. This runs contrary to what I was taught as well as my desire to work with the newly mixed soil. Some people lay down ground coverings, even cardboard or newspaper. If you have specific stories to share of your trials and successes, let me know. We have one client who has kept track of the type of tomato plants that have been most successful and when they were planted. Somehow, I can never seem to find the same varieties from year to year. Still, I am always trying to get better.

Constant pursuit of excellence: This is one of our core values. I live it in everything I do, whether trying to improve my gardening or my health. Our team at Collins and Krank just returned from ELEVATE, the National Conference put on by our biggest business partner, Raymond James. It was a successful conference for many reasons, but most importantly it is another way that we as a team work to improve what we are doing for you and your overall experience. Always trying to get better. It is not just by happenstance that we have ended up with the successful business model and happy clients we have. Many of our clients have come from other advisors and we take pride in providing a level of effort and service that many have not previously received.

At ELEVATE, we get the opportunity to bond as a team and share fun experiences together that culminates in a gala on the last night with great food, wine, recognition and dancing. Many of you have remarked about the love our team shares with one another and how well we work together. It is the dancing that brings it all together!

We attended many sessions for things like industry continuing education (CE) or some of the latest advancements that affect our day-to-day work. There were a few presentations exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence to make the things that we do for you faster and smoother. There were classes specific to our administrative and operations staff. People sometimes wonder how the team stays current on changes in the tax law or processing estate claims. This conference is where much of that information is gleaned. Abby, the newest member of our team, found things suited to what she is learning about the business. It is like drinking from a fire hose with the amount of information and the breadth of topics she is trying to digest. We sometimes forget this until somebody new is there, and we see just how much information it is. Our more experienced support staff were able to find ways to share what they know with others or enhance it with specialized sessions that dig deeply into some of the nuances of our technology or planning software.

The advisors have plenty to attend as well from economic analysis to marketing and service matrices. Sometimes the difficult thing is choosing what to attend, since we cannot get to them all. One CE class was titled “Seniors at Risk.” It addressed head on, with true life stories, many of the ways seniors (the bulk of our clients) are being scammed, attacked, tricked, and all sorts of schemes that are trying to separate them from their money. We discussed best practices for protecting our clients from these attacks. It is why we ask questions, verify instructions, try to understand how the money is being used or what is changing in your lives. It is why sometimes the most important protection we can offer you is having a good relationship with you and getting to know you.

We again took the entire Collins and Krank team to the conference. If you tried to call our office, you may have noticed that it went to our prerecorded message. You also will have noticed that shortly thereafter you received a call from us. While we were away, we monitored our emails and voicemails to make sure our service to you would not lapse. We also continued to take care of the many things that crop up during our day that you never see, from addressing the alerts, new check deposits, reinvestments, cash needs, and . . well you get the point. Raymond James has a Technology Center set up, which is like a mobile branch office for us. We can log into the computers there and take care of anything that needs to be addressed. I want to brag a bit about our staff. They were totally on top of things again this year making sure nothing slipped through the cracks. If you were one of the people who had to wait for a call back, I am sorry for the inconvenience but know that it is worth it.

Taxes - Tax season is over. Whew! Again, I want to remind you to get us a copy of your latest tax return if you have not done so in the past year or two. Somebody asked after last month’s Brien’s Bits why we ask for those. Our number one mandate from our regulators is KYC – Know Your Client. One of the tools we use to do that is the tax return. We can see actual and type of income and update it in the plan. You’d be surprised how many times people tell us one number and yet their return says something else. That can make a difference in the type of advice we provide, whether we recommend tax free bonds or some other tax efficient mechanism, or even considerations about Roth conversions or charitable giving. There are many little things that can assist us in how we interact with you, such as updating your tax-loss carry forward for future portfolio adjustments. Think of it as our way of checking your financial blood pressure. To be our best for you, we should be looking at your tax return regularly, at least every other year or so.

Have a super day!

Sincerely,

Brien Krank
Financial Advisor, RJFS
Senior Portfolio Manager
Managing Partner – Collins and Krank

Hear me on the radio Wednesday mornings from 7:35 to 7:55 on 1100am The Flag and 970am WDAY.

Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax advice. You should discuss any tax matters with the appropriate professional.

Opinions expressed are those of Brien Krank or of the author in the attached articles and not necessarily those of Raymond James. All opinions are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is not guarantee that these statements, opinions, or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. Individual investor’s results will vary. Raymond James is not affiliated with Nick Murray or First Trust.