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ENGAGING READERS THROUGH STORYTELLING
TRENDS IN FINANCIAL PLANNING
Conversation
RETIRING GRACEFULLY A CONVERSATION WITH KATE HYLAND MERCER, MS FINANCIAL ADVISOR KATHERINE (KATE) HYLAND MERCER founded Ferris Wheel Finance, Inc. as an independent financial planning and investment firm based in Venice, Florida. The firm’s goal is to help clients make wise financial decisions through highly personalized service, depth and breadth of knowledge, trust, and integrity. With over 20 years in finance, engineering, real estate investing, and entrepreneurship, Kate brings a holistic perspective to the planning and educational process of investing and wealth management. Kate continually updates her knowledge in the many facets of the financial industry including securities, insurance, taxes, real estate, and other areas that affect client portfolios. Prior to starting her own firm, Kate was a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors and previously with Edward Jones Investments. Earlier in her career, she successfully founded and operated two consulting companies. Kate’s engineering, software, and financial background allowed her to personally write the software code for the country’s first online banking application for BayBank Financial Institution (now FleetBank), as well as the first hypothetical program for variable annuities and mutual fund performance simulation for financial advisors to use at Putnam Investments. Kate’s unique background includes her Master’s Degree in Computer Science with a focus on Artificially Intelligent Databases which has become very relevant in today’s fast moving AI world. Kate has taught graduate level courses at Harvard University, Boston University and undergraduate courses at the University of Massachusetts. She has been proud to serve on the board of directors for multiple private companies. Ferris Wheel
Finance, Inc, 871 Venetia Bay Blvd, Suite 201, Venice, FL 34285, 941-483-3600. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE RETIRING GRACEFULLY? KATE HYLAND MERCER Maintaining your respect and dignity in retirement is important, and there are two key ways to achieve that. First, retire to something—don’t just stop working. Second, make sure you’re financially prepared. That might sound like a big challenge, but really it’s about being prepared in every sense—intellectually, financially and in terms
of your lifestyle. What that looks like will be different for everyone HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE CLIENTS TO FIND PURPOSE, MEANING AFTER LEAVING FULL-TIME WORK? Most of us who have worked our whole lives get a lot of value and accolades both intellectually and socially by going to work. For many of us, our careers offer a lot more than just a paycheck—they give us intellectual stimulation,
social connection and a sense of accomplishment. When you suddenly stop working, the biggest detriment is not having any plans for your life after that. You could live 20 to 25 years in retirement. I encourage people to retire to something, whether it’s a volunteer position, substitute teaching, picking up a craft that you’ve always wanted to do, just something so you have purpose and accountability through a community.
TELL US ABOUT FERRIS WHEEL FINANCE’S GRACEFUL, PURPOSEFUL TRANSITION IN RETIREMENT PLANNING? We have what’s called a spend-down plan—it’s a patented program where we consolidate all your incomes, such as pension, Social Security, a 401(K) or IRA, and we create a budget for living. We update that budget two or three times a year for several years leading up to retirement. We modify it and
SRQ MAGAZINE BRANDED CONTENT PROGRAM | DECEMBER 2025 | INTERVIEWED AND COMPILED BY BARBIE HEIT
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