Spring Is the Busiest Season for Financial Planning. Here's What Advisors Are Actually Talking About

Tax season filings are winding down, mid-year reviews are beginning, and for many advisors, the calendar is filling up fast.

According to data in the 2026 Financial Advisor Insights Report, all four major planning topics peak sharply in the spring. Retirement, tax, estate, and insurance planning start to spike early in the year and remain elevated through spring. Clients who have just been through a concrete financial event – tax season – are more open to planning conversations than at other points in the year. But experienced advisors know that receptivity won't last forever.

Tax planning is still the most common conversation in the room

For the first time, tax planning has surpassed retirement planning in frequency, appearing in nearly 76% of all advisor-client meetings. When discussed, meetings are 16% more likely to end with positive client sentiment compared to meetings where it isn't discussed at all.

The post-filing window is one of the most productive moments in the advisor-client relationship. Clients have just seen the bill. They want to understand it, and they want to do something differently.

"Tax planning is a year-round exercise,” explains Matthew Koppelman, CFP and Co-Founder of Precision Wealth Planners, “but nothing drives client motivation more than tax season."

That spring debrief is a key planning conversation. "Clients also want to walk through what actually created their tax bill,” says Koppelman. “They’re reviewing planning opportunities for the current year, and what adjustments they can make around withholding, contributions to retirement accounts, Roth conversion strategies, or charitable giving so next year's outcome looks different."

For clients with equity compensation in particular, this conversation has real urgency. "Some of the companies I work with have RSUs vesting in March so proper withholding for those clients is important. I see high-earners get tripped up with that all the time. Their employer withholds a flat 22% on their vested shares, but their income tax bracket may be closer to 35% or 37%."

The conversations that get deferred tend to stay deferred

The Insights Report surfaces a structural problem with how planning conversations unfold: estate and insurance planning consistently appear at the end of meetings, but that timing is actually linked to client deferral. Nearly half of all client conversations include some discussion of estate planning, but when advisors recommend creating or updating a plan, 72% of clients express interest then defer action.

The biggest driver of that deferral isn't cost or complexity, but wanting to consult an attorney first, or feeling they need more information. Moving estate planning earlier in the meeting before attention wanes gives it the oxygen it needs. When these conversations happen with real attention, clients respond well: estate planning discussions are positively correlated with client sentiment even though the subject matter is inherently difficult.

The window is short

The spring surge in planning conversations is predictable year over year. Clients are primed. The question is whether advisors show up with an agenda or let the moment pass.

Clients are primed for these conversations right now. The advisors who act on that tend to get better outcomes than the ones who wait for clients to ask.