Excess Returns · Sunday, September 6, 2026
Financial planners are increasingly encountering clients, particularly younger ones, who present with gains from cryptocurrency or gambling. These clients often view themselves as winners, but their newfound wealth creates new financial planning problems, such as managing taxes and understanding long-term implications. This trend necessitates a shift in how financial advisors approach client conversations.
“The conversation part, and this was one of my first eye-opening things for me was when people would come to the table. So we get introduced to a client's kids or third generation or somebody comes in who says I want just the financial planning help, I don't have the assets I want you to manage or whatever. We do a lot of fee only planning work, especially for young professionals or people when they're figuring out the money stuff. And the last couple of years, people coming to the table with crypto or gambling gains has become far more common.”
“And so what's interesting is they come to the table with an awareness of like, I need to keep some of this and I. But as winners. They're coming to the table as winners, not coming to you because they lost everything.”
“It's a real. It's a real thing. So the idea is they come to the table with the winning, but then understanding this is creating new problems in my life that I now need to solve.”