Episodes

Transform Social Security from a basic retirement benefit into a powerful planning tool with advanced COLA strategies and creative applications. Join host Kalem Mackey, CFP®, BPC, as he interviews Ash Ahluwalia, CFP®, MBA, NSSA®, CSSCS, Head of Social Security Planning at One Team Financial, for an in-depth discussion on maximizing your clients’ Social Security benefits. Learn about the 2.5% COLA increase for 2025, discover advanced planning strategies for high-net-worth clients, and understand ...

Struggling to present complex financial plans in a way that resonates with clients and drives action? Join hosts Jason L Smith, Dave Alison, and guest Bryan Bibbo, AIF, NSSA, BPC, President and CFO of JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management as they explore the Deliver phase of The Bucket Plan® process. Learn practical strategies for presenting comprehensive plans, organizing client documents through the Family Estate Organizer, and implementing tax-efficient retirement strategies. From communicating...

How might the 2024 presidential election affect your clients' finances and their emotional response to market volatility? Join guest host Kalem Mackey, Executive VP at C2P, and Dave Alison, President and Founding Partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors, as they discuss proven strategies for guiding clients through election-year uncertainty. Learn how historical market data, proactive communication, and The Bucket Plan® philosophy can help maintain client confidence regardless of election outcomes...

Are your clients charitably inclined? Discover effective strategies to help them give to the causes they care about in a tax-efficient way. Join guest host Kalem Mackey, CFP®, BPC,CJA Executive VP at C2P, and guests Jeff Warnkin, Senior Wealth Advisor at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, and Dave Alison, President and founder of C2P, as they discuss charitable giving strategies. Learn about Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), Donor Advised Funds, and how to leverage these tools for tax...

Are your clients concerned about dropping interest rates? Discover how to optimize short-term assets in a challenging interest rate environment. Join guest host Stoyan Petev, CFA, CFP®, CLU, ChFc, and industry guests, Greg Hammer, President and CEO of Hammer Financial Group, and Charlie Ehrenfried, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RICP, CASL, Owner and Wealth Manager at Retirement Matters. Learn how to address client concerns about dropping interest rates, reinforce The Bucket Plan® Philosophy, and explore vari...

Struggling to design personalized financial plans that truly resonate with your clients? Join hosts Jason L Smith, Dave Alison, and Bryan Bibbo, AIF, NSSA, BPC, President and CFO of JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management as they explain the 'design' phase of The Bucket Plan® holistic wealth management process. Learn how to organize client information, analyze financial positions, and educate clients on key concepts like the Now, Soon, and Later bucket framework. Discover valuable tools such as the ...

Discover how educating your clients on the complexities of Medicare can help them make informed decisions and grow your business at the same time. Join guest host Matt Seitz and Gary Pelfrey, Director of Business Development at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, as they unravel the intricacies of Medicare supplement plans. Learn how to differentiate between Medicare parts and plans, debunk common misconceptions, and understand the crucial differences between Medicare Advantage and Supplement o...

Dive deeper into the complexities of Social Security planning with part two of this enlightening episode featuring Ash Ahluwalia, CFP®, MBA, NSSA®, CSSCS, head Social Security Planning at OneTeam Financial. Tune in to discover advanced strategies and little-known rules that can significantly impact your clients' retirement outcomes. Ash tackles misconceptions about benefit calculations, pension interactions, and international considerations. He also shares how to navigate HSA contributions, tax ...

Social Security is an incredibly important part of your client’s retirement planning, but it’s also incredibly misunderstood by advisors and clients alike. Top of Form Unlock the hidden potential of Social Security planning for your practice with part one of this episode led by Ash Ahluwalia, CFP®, MBA, NSSA®, CSSCS, head of Social Security planning at OneTeam Financial. Listen as Ash debunks common myths and reveals powerful strategies to maximize your clients' retirement income. Learn from hi...

Did you know effectively managing your clients' emotions can improve their investment outcomes? Discover how in this enlightening episode on investor psychology. Join host Dave Alison and Mark Peterson, Director of Market & Portfolio Insights at BlackRock, as they explore the critical role of behavior in financial planning. Learn to identify common investor biases, initiate crucial conversations about market volatility, and implement proactive strategies like bear market planning. Gain insights ...

Are you fully leveraging life insurance in your holistic financial planning approach? Find out in this enlightening episode centered around Life Insurance Awareness Month. Join guest host Kirsten Schlumbohm, VP of Annuity Sales at C2P, and Stoyan Petev, SVP of Advanced Market Sales at C2P, as they explore strategies to educate your clients and enhance your advisory services. Learn how to seamlessly integrate life insurance into The Bucket Plan® process, overcome client objections, and use it as ...

Want to help your clients preserve their wealth and values across generations? Join host Dave Alison and guest Louise Cole, CFP®, CWC®, HDP®, CDP, BPC, principal and founding partner of The Heritage Group, as they explore the often-overlooked emotional aspects of inheritance planning. Learn how to prepare families to receive and manage wealth, mitigate the psychological effects of affluenza, and capture family stories and values through guided discovery. You’ll discover strategies for engaging t...

In part two of our conversation on the first step of The Bucket Plan® holistic wealth management process, we dive deeper into the discover phase. Join hosts Jason L Smith and Dave Alison with special guest Bryan Bibbo, as they explore advanced strategies for mastering this crucial client onboarding step. Listen as they share how to effectively introduce the five pillars of holistic wealth management to clients, explain The Bucket Plan's bucket concept, and maximize tools like the Family Estate O...

Want to enhance your client onboarding process and build stronger relationships? Join hosts Jason L Smith, Dave Alison, and guest Bryan Bibbo, AIF, NSSA, BPC, President and CFO of JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, as they explain The Bucket Plan® holistic wealth management process, starting with the discover phase. Learn how to conduct effective initial meetings, gather crucial client information, and set the foundation for personalized financial planning in this initial planning stage stage....

Want to help your clients navigate the complex world of taxes and avoid costly pitfalls? Join host Dave Alison and lead advisors at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, Jeff Warnkin, CFP, CPA, and Seth Meisler, CFA, CPA, as they delve into the intricacies of marginal tax traps. Learn how to identify and mitigate these often-overlooked challenges within The Tax Management Journey® framework. Discover common scenarios where these traps occur, from Social Security taxation to required minimum distr...

Looking to attract and provide more value to your high-net-worth clients? Dive into the world of equity compensation with host Dave Alison and guests, Greg Dillon, CFA, CFP ®, CLTC®, NSSA®, Managing Partner and Head of Wealth Management and Retirement Income Planning at OneTeam Financial, and David Roth, CFP®, EA, BPC, Tax & Wealth Advisor at Alison Wealth Management. Together they explore the various forms of equity compensation, including RSUs and stock options, and discuss tax management stra...

Are you effectively integrating life insurance into your clients’ holistic plan? Learn how enhancing your understanding of life insurance and its many benefits can help you stand out from other ‘holistic’ advisors and better protect your clients' portfolios and families. Join host Kirsten Schlumbohm, Vice President, Head of Annuity Sales at C2P, as she explores the important role life insurance plays in holistic financial planning with industry veterans, Dave Buckwald, CEO and founder of OneTeam...

Discover how the simplicity of The Bucket Plan® process gets even more effective once you know how to leverage the concepts and tools within the framework. Join Jason L Smith, Founder and CEO of C2P, and Dave Alison, President and Founding Partner of C2P, as they delve into how this approach simplifies implementation and elevates client outcomes. Listen in to hear how Jason was inspired to look at the process in a new way that helps financial advisors even more easily integrate it into their pra...

During election seasons, clients may be tempted to make emotional investment decisions motivated by politics rather than facts. In this data-driven episode, host Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner of C2P and founder, CEO, and lead advisor of Alison Wealth Management, and special guest, Dr. Apollo Lupescu, Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors, provide a framework to have informed, non-partisan conversations with your clients about investing amid political uncertaint...

Do your clients have loved ones with special needs? Navigating their unique financial considerations can be challenging and costly if not done carefully. Learn how to provide holistic financial planning solutions tailored to their unique planning needs in this insightful episode. Host Kirsten Schlumbohm, Vice President and Head of Annuity Sales at C2P, interviews Betsy Larson, whose personal experiences having four sisters with Down syndrome inspired her to become a financial consultant speciali...

Do your clients want to save or contribute to their loved one’s college expenses? Help them save effectively by learning the intricacies of 529 plans from guest host Stoyan Petev, CFA, CFP®, CLU, ChFc, Senior VP of Advanced Markets at C2P, and Seth Meisler, CFA, CFP®, CPA, Lead Advisor at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, with additional insights from Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner of C2P and founder, CEO, and lead advisor of Alison Wealth Management. Discover the ...

80% of investors believe that their financial advisors should prioritize minimizing their taxes but only one in five advisors offer their clients tax management services.* Gain insights from real advisors who have transformed their practices by making tax management a core offering of their financial planning process. Join host Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner of C2P and founder, CEO, and lead advisor of Alison Wealth Management, and guests Greg Hammer, CEO and Presiden...

If you’re used to working with pre-retirees or retirees, you may feel out of your element working with younger clients but helping them now while in their accumulation phase can be incredibly impactful to you both. Join Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner of C2P, and Alison Wealth Management, for an engaging discussion on empowering the next generation of investors with Joe'Mar Hooper, CEO of 3rd Decade, along with additional insights from Ryan Asher, Director of Investmen...

Is creating a financial plan for your client like putting together a long, complicated puzzle? It doesn’t have to be! Hosts Jason L Smith, CEP®, BPC, Founder and CEO of C2P and JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, and Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner of C2P and founder, CEO, and lead advisor of Alison Wealth Management, share how to design and lay out an entire financial plan on one page with The Bucket Plan®. Listen and learn how to simplify the financial planning proc...