For me it's a combination of all 3. Part of my preparation is getting to know them and their risk tolerance.  Are they young and aggressive or older and ready to start taking income out of their investments.  Then communicating that back to them to verify that we are heading down the right path.  I also will follow up with them annually, or more often if they need it, to make sure we are still on track.  Although timing the market is not something I would do, we do look at trends and make sure we are prepared if, say, we are within a couple of years before they retire and need to make adjustments to their portfolio.