In between the number-crunching, document-gathering, form-filing work of tax season lies one of the most powerful planning opportunities of the year. Clients tend to be more engaged with their finances during this period, creating an ideal time to discuss strategies and goals. By identifying tax-saving opportunities, firms can deliver tangible value and build stronger client relationships.
Capitalizing on this strategic planning window can be challenging. Wealth managers often face fragmented data, compressed timelines, and a surge of client requests, all while trying to stay up to date on evolving tax rules. Altogether, tax season tests the wealth manager’s ability to deliver accuracy, insight, and responsiveness simultaneously.
Why Delivering Comprehensive Tax Planning Is So Challenging
Critical hours may be spent tracking tax information across disconnected systems. Incomplete data makes it difficult to form a full and accurate picture of a client’s financial situation. Meanwhile, tight deadlines leave little room for comprehensive tax planning across an entire client portfolio.
Coupled with recent changes to tax law, teams must navigate real compliance and planning risks. Each new law brings changes that can materially impact clients, making it critical to understand both the implications and opportunities.
Making Tax Planning Practical and Scalable
True tax planning is a year-round process that supports a client’s entire financial life. However, it is easy to focus on the current year’s details and lose sight of long-term goals.
The right technology can help wealth managers and clients see both the present and the future clearly, making the planning process manageable and meaningful. That’s where integrated planning and portfolio tools become essential.
RightCapital, a next-generation financial planning platform, empowers firms to accomplish more financial planning in less time by:
Leveraging an intuitive, comprehensive planning experience with clear projections for tax outcomes.
Running scenarios around tax-smart asset accumulation and tax-efficient distribution strategies.
Illustrating the impact of changes on a client’s tax burden in easy-to-understand visuals.
Answering “What if” questions in real time.
Supporting ongoing planning, so tax benefits can be visualized year-round.
Integrating financial planning with portfolio data amplifies its effectiveness. Real-time data eliminates manual reconciliation and ensures planning decisions are based on a complete picture. SS&C Black Diamond® Wealth Solutions seamlessly integrates with RightCapital, syncing plans with portfolio balances and enabling a two-way connection that keeps wealth managers up to date in both systems.
From Tax Insight to Client Impact: A Real-World Scenario
During a routine planning review, a wealth manager identifies potential tax exposure in a client’s portfolio. Using RightCapital, they run scenarios to pinpoint opportunities for tax efficiency, such as maximizing itemized deductions or converting to a Roth. From there, they align the client’s portfolio strategy in Black Diamond, ensuring both short-term and long-term goals are optimized.
The client leaves the meeting feeling confident and prepared for filing, with complex plans distilled into clear, actionable steps. The planning conversation showcased immediate value by helping the client overcome standard deduction hurdles while highlighting long-term tactics to reduce post-retirement tax burdens.
With tools that reduce operational complexity and provide a clear view of each client’s financial picture, firms can focus on delivering strategic guidance. Tax season then shifts from a stressful deadline to a powerful engagement window to uncover opportunities, assess potential outcomes, and help clients make confident decisions that extend well beyond April.
To see how SS&C Black Diamond Wealth Solutions can help your firm redefine the financial planning experience, request a personalized demo, call 1-800-727-0605, or email info@sscblackdiamond.com today.
