The Bucket Plan® On-Demand Series

Many of your clients have enough money to live the retirement they planned, but they're not spending it. Join host Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President and Founding Partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors, as he sits down with economist and retirement income specialist, Tom Hegna. Together they walk through what the research shows about guaranteed lifetime income, the "just in case" mindset and what it costs clients in their retirement years, and how to frame that conversation in a way that lands.

Resources:

• Website referenced: Tom Hegna On Demand
• Books referenced: Don't Worry, Retire Happy and Paychecks and Playchecks by Tom Hegna

Statistics:

• Retirees with annuitized income spend twice as much as those with non-annuitized savings
• Fixed indexed annuities have outperformed bonds on an annualized basis for the past 90 years
• The efficient retirement portfolio frontier shifts from stocks and bonds to stocks and annuities
• Annuities can increase happiness in retirement
• The secret to a happier retirement is friends, neighbors, and a fixed annuity."
• Ernst & Young: The optimal retirement portfolio is approximately 30% income annuities, 30% permanent life insurance, and 40% investments.
• BlackRock: Retirees should hold 20–40% of their retirement portfolio in annuities.
• Goldman Sachs: Annuities can produce better returns than a stock or bond portfolio for lifetime income purposes.

Get a free copy of Jamie’s Book, Your Retirement Sketchbook: 125 Retirement planning Lessons from Financial Experts by visiting https://bit.ly/4f3Gzlg.

Many financial planning conversations lean on spreadsheets, Monte Carlo projections, and pie charts, but Jamie Hopkins has built a career around a different approach: sketching. Join host Dave Alison, President of Wealth Management and founding partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors, as he sits down with Jamie Hopkins, Esq., LLM, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, Chief Wealth Officer at WSFS Bank and CEO of Bryn Mawr Capital Management, to discuss his new book, Your Retirement Sketchbook: 125 Retirement Planning Lessons from Financial Experts. Dave and Jamie explore why sketching and visual tools help clients engage with complex planning concepts, research behind why imperfect drawings invite participation, and how understanding a client's personal money story can transform the advisor-client relationship.

Resources:

• Books referenced:
• Your Retirement Sketchbook: 125 Retirement Planning Lessons from Financial Experts by Jamie Hopkins and Bonnie Hopkins
• Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement! by Jamie Hopkins
• Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Program referenced: RICP® program at The American College of Financial Services (Use C2P15 for 15% off single course enrollments.)

Statistics:

• According to Jamie Hopkins, the Secret Service now estimates the average loss from check fraud at approximately $90,000.
• Research led by UCLA professor Hal Hershfield (2011) found that showing people age-progressed photos of themselves, paired with a prompt to save for their future self, increased retirement savings rates more than standard personalized outreach.

Authenticity has become one of the most powerful differentiators in financial advising, but it's also one of the hardest things to practice consistently. Join host Dave Alison, CFP®, EA, BPC, President of Wealth Management and Founding Partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors, as he sits down with Alanah Phillips, MBA, founder of Advisor Launch Lab and Break Up With Your Broker-Dealer. Together they explore what it looks like to build a personal brand rooted in genuine connection, why vulnerability strengthens client relationships, and what separates advisors who stand out from those who blend in.

Resources:

• Book referenced: Breaking Up With Your Broker-Dealer by Alanah Phillips

Many advisory firms say they serve everyone. What that often means in practice is a client experience built around a male default and a woman across the table who doesn't feel seen. Join host Kirsten Schlumbohm as she sits down with Lisa M. Hinz, founder of CORNHERSTONE, to talk about what how to design your firm for women on purpose. They cover why 80% of women leave their husband's financial advisor after a spouse passes, what widowhood looks like today, and how to audit your existing client journey before a slow leak of attrition becomes something you can't ignore. Whether you're just starting to think about this or believe your firm is already doing it well, this conversation will surface gaps you may not know you have.

Statistics:

• 80% of women will change their financial advisor after their spouse passes away
• The average age of a widow today is 59.5 years old
• Client acquisition in financial services costs approximately $3,000 per client
• According to a study cited in Fearless Referrals by Matt Anderson, only 11% of clients had been asked for referrals, yet 72% said they would happily recommend their advisor.

What do ultra-high-performing financial advisors do differently? According to Carlos M. Garcia, founder of Exceed Sales, it comes down to three things: communication mastery, deep curiosity, and obsessive preparation. In this episode, host Dave Alison, founder of Alison Wealth Management and Partner and Co-President at C2P and Prosperity Capital Advisors, sits down with Carlos to unpack the habits, mindset shifts, and specific language techniques that top-performing advisors use to help win more clients, handle objections with confidence, and protect their time without compromising client relationships.

Resources:

• Book referenced: Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact by Phil Jones
• Sales training referenced: Exceed Sales

Advisors tend to choose a distribution partner based on product shelf, compensation, or convenience. But according to Kalem Mackey, that's the wrong criteria entirely. Join host Kirsten Schlumbohm, VP of Annuity Sales at C2P and Prosperity Capital Advisors, as she sits down with Kalem Mackey, Executive Vice President at C2P and Prosperity Capital Advisors. Together they discuss what separates thriving advisor-distribution relationships from ones that quietly stall your growth. Drawing on nearly 25 years of experience on both sides of the table as an advisor and as a distribution partner, Kalem shares the principles, practices, and frameworks that make these partnerships truly work.

Resources:

• Tool referenced: Zocks
• Process referenced: The Bucket Plan®
• Programs referenced: The Bucket Plan®, The Teamwork Movement

College costs are quietly becoming one of the most significant threats to your clients' retirement security and advisors aren't having this conversation nearly early enough. In this episode, host Kirsten Schlumbohm sits down with Jeannie Burlowski, academic strategist and author of Launch! How to Get Your Kids Through College, Debt Free, and Into Jobs They Love Afterwards, to give you a practical playbook for protecting your clients from the financial landmines hidden inside college decisions. From a critical Parent PLUS loan deadline hitting in 2026 to career clarity strategies that eliminate wasted tuition dollars, Jeannie breaks down exactly how you can add college planning to your practice, without adding 200 hours of training to your plate.

Resources:

• Book referenced: Launch! How to Get Your Kids Through College, Debt Free, and Into Jobs They Love Afterwards by Jeannie Burlowski
• Articles referenced: Got Parent PLUS Loans? Act Fast Before Key Protections Disappear, Hilarious Idea Makes Kids Eager to Apply for Scholarships
• Membership referenced: Jeannie Burlowski's Tribe Membership
• Newsletter referenced: Jeannie Burlowski's bi-weekly email newsletter

When employers cut 401(k) matching, your high-earning clients face a critical planning moment. Help them adapt by learning how to audit their complete benefits package and redirect savings into overlooked opportunities like health savings accounts, deferred compensation, and mega backdoor Roth conversions. Join host, Dave Alison and guest, Bryan Bibbo, AIF, NSSA, BPC, CEPA, President & CFO and Partner at JL Smith Holistic Wealth Management, as they share real client strategies for maintaining retirement trajectory when traditional benefits disappear. From restricted stock unit (RSU) tax withholding optimization to strategic employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) timing, learn how to turn benefit cuts into comprehensive planning conversations that demonstrate your value and uncover hidden assets.

Resources:

• Financial Planning Software: eMoney
• Tax Planning Tool: Holistiplan

Business owner clients face unique challenges when selling their companies, and advisors play a critical role in guiding them through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transitions. Join host Dave Alison as he sits down with Stan Milovancev, CEO of Prosperity Capital Advisors and C2P, for part two of their conversation exploring how advisors can position themselves as strategic partners when clients pursue merger, acquisition, or exit opportunities. Stan brings experience from hundreds of M&A transactions during his time overseeing a $70 billion RIA platform at CBIZ Investment Advisory Services. This conversation covers the practical work of guiding business exits, from assembling the right professional team and creating personal term sheets, to managing deal fatigue and evaluating cultural fit with potential buyers.

 Resources:

•  Previous episode referenced: M&A Communication: Guiding Clients Through Advisory Transitions Part 1

Whether your clients are selling their businesses or you're navigating a merger and acquisition (M&A) transition in your own firm, the communication challenges are remarkably similar. Join host Dave Alison as he sits down with Stan Milovancev, Co-CEO of Prosperity Capital Advisors and C2P, to explore both sides of the M&A conversation. Stan brings over 30 years of leadership experience, including overseeing a $70 billion RIA platform at CBIZ Investment Advisory Services where he participated in hundreds of M&A transactions. This conversation revisits his concept of the "muddy middle,” that dangerous space where firms are too big to stay tightly focused yet too small to achieve meaningful scale, and examines how this same dynamic affects clients across industries who are contemplating their own exit strategies.

Resources:

• Episode referenced: Evaluating M&A Opportunities: Essential Questions for Advisors

Statistics:

• Fidelity 2024 M&A study found 40% of clients felt significant uncertainty about advisory firm transitions