FA: What has been the experience of fee-based or fee-only planners like yourself in light of the massive declines we've witnessed on Wall Street-how are they faring at a time when their clients are seeing 30% or even 40% of their life savings evaporate? Given that revenues have been seriously gutted, do you think some will leave the business?

Also, how is this impacting fee-based planners from an emotional and financial perspective?

RS: In my 18 years in this business, this is the most challenging time I've experienced, but it offers a real opportunity to have real conversations with clients.

We have had some really unbelievable meetings addressing what's really important to them, and what is under their control to deal with.

The bottom line is that this thing will turn around. It's been the most unexpected drop I think the profession has ever seen in terms of the magnitude of all the problems that came up and how everything was tied together, beginning with Lehman going bankrupt.

The government didn't allow Bear Stearns to fail but did allow Lehman Brothers to. In hindsight, I think they wouldn't do that again. It froze up the credit markets, and money flows just shut down. As a result of everything that's happened, however, clients were forced to look not just at their portfolios but their lives.

Good financial planning helps people use money more effectively in their lives in order to achieve their life goals. It involves handling their income, their debt, and how much they're enjoying their money. It means balancing living for today versus planning for tomorrow. The thing is, we've helped people to focus on financial planning beyond money management. I talked with Chair Schapiro about this very thing. As members of the advice community, this is what we should be doing now and going forward. Looking for opportunities to build business during times of uncertainty when people are really looking for advice. Meanwhile, one of the things FPA has created is our crisis resource center to help members deal with the double whammy of more work and revenues dropping 20% to 40%, which is adding to the stress of dealing with this financial crisis.

FA: This is what I've been hearing: Planners are seeing revenues dwindle but they're also seeing more interest in what they do and bringing in more new clients than usual. Has that been your experience at Gtrust?

RS: We're definitely getting more inquiries, but we're so busy we can't take in a lot of new clients at one time. This is a mature practice with four offices in Kansas and about 27 employees.

FA: I take it most advisors are not running for the exits and leaving the business due to the current pressures.