Stonewood Financial Blog

Inflating The Balloon of Urgency

As financial professionals, one of our responsibilities is to “inflate the balloon of urgency” – motivate clients to...

The Wealth & Longevity Connection

“How long does my money have to last?” Every financial advisor has been asked this question. In fact, it’s one of the...

The Nation’s Fiscal Outlook Just Got Worse. That’s Bad News for Your Client’s Retirement.

Reading over the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on FY2023 revenue and spending, I couldn’t help but think of...

Get out of debt? Absolutely. Start by reducing your Retirement Tax Bill.

If you’re in the financial services business, it’s impossible to avoid people asking about Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey is...

7 Estate Planning Questions for 2024

In December, I wrote about Estate Planning being the next big topic in Advisor Growth. As the calendar turned to 2024,...

Income taxes ARE estate taxes. And helping savers understand it can grow your practice.

Estate planning is one of 2024’s hottest seminar strategies for financial advisors. You don’t have to take my word for...

The State of our Union is… Still Leading to Higher Taxes

Last week, President Biden delivered his State of the Union Address to Congress and the American people. So this week,...

Peak Practice Transformation

Here at Stonewood, our goal is to help advisors have the best year ever in their practices. And last week, our brand...

Dispatches from the Innovate Summit

100 advisors walk into a hotel ballroom. No, it’s not the start of a joke. It’s the start of Stonewood’s Innovate...

Keep It Simple for Better Client Conversion

In my experience, football coaches seem to have the funniest and most memorable sayings that never leave your brain. I...

Is your client in debt to the IRS? If they have an IRA, the answer is “yes.”

If you’ve followed this blog (or ever heard me speak), you undoubtedly know I’m a big fan of message frames. Message...

Legislative Risk and Life Insurance: Are There Red Flags Ahead?

As CJ Cregg, fictional White House Press Secretary on the hit TV show West Wing, once said: “Everybody’s stupid in an...

Will the 2024 Election Impact Your Clients (and their Retirement)? The Answer is Yes… And No.

When it comes to your clients and their retirement: Does it matter who wins November’s election? The answer is yes… and...

From Likes to Leads: How to Master Social Media Marketing as a Financial Advisor

We’re living in a digital age. Even older clients are often consuming information and making decisions online - so...

What Really Makes a Fiduciary? It May Not Be What Lawmakers Think

Here we go again with the DOL and the fiduciary standards talk. As legislation continues to be discussed, let’s take a...

What’s Hot for 2024: Lead Generation for Financial Advisors

It’s January. Marketing plans are being implemented. Seminars are being scheduled. Social media posts are being...

What Drove Advisor Success in 2023… And What’s Hot for 2024?

Here at Stonewood, our passion is helping growth-minded advisors have their best year ever. So as we wind down 2023,...

Are Your Seminars and Workshops Evolving?

When it comes to group marketing, successful advisors are always evolving one of two things: either the content they’re...

A Magic Ball on Taxes?

Where are taxes headed - and how will it impact American savers? That’s a question that should be on every financial...

The Bots are Here to Help: Leveraging AI in Marketing for Financial Advisors

The AI revolution may still be a ways off, but today’s initial crop of artificial intelligence tools can give financial...

Minimizing Tax Drag: Strategies for Financial Advisors to Boost Client Returns

I believe tax drag is real. I believe tax drag can cause losses in client portfolios. Thus, I believe advisors need to...

Using FIAs to Drive Alpha. (Yes, you read that right: ALPHA)

At some point, most of us have run a client’s annuity illustration and thought: I wonder what the capital markets would...

We’re a Year Away from the 2024 Election. What Does it Mean for Your Clients?

If you’ve turned on the news lately (or read the paper… or looked at social media… or talked to practically anyone),...

The Hidden Tax Impact: Strategies for Financial Advisors to Save Client Wealth

The world of financial advice is filled with different business models. But whether you’re a fee-only advisor, a...

Top 6 Financial Advisor Marketing Tools: A Toolkit for Independent Advisors

The best independent financial practices are really small businesses at heart. We have big ideas and need to achieve...

One Powerful Way to Transform Your Risk Tolerance Questionnaire

Did you find this article by googling “risk tolerance questionnaire”? If so, you were probably also greeted with dozens...

Marketing to High-Net-Worth Individuals: Strategies for Success

Marketing to High-Net-Worth Individuals High-net-worth savers are in high demand among growth-minded advisors. Who...

The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing for Financial Advisors

Let’s talk about content marketing. If you’re a growth-minded advisor, content marketing is key. In fact, it might...

Lead Gen for Financial Advisors: Next-Level Strategies to Attract Prospective Clients

Do you have all the clients you could ever want or need? Of course not. Chances are, as an advisor, you split your time...

Building Your Brand: Effective Financial Advisors Marketing Tips

Building Your Brand When it comes to financial advisor marketing, “branding” use to mean a good practice name, a nice...

Tax & Legislative Risk: What's the Difference?

Tax Risk. Legislative Risk. What the heck is the difference? As things stay hot in Washington, I’m getting asked this...

RTB In Action: $15M in New Business

Have you signed up for Stonewood's new Retirement Tax Bill program? Advisors like you are using it to prospect and...

10 Smart Ways to Put RTB to Work

Remember David Letterman's Top 10 Lists? Today's blog post is a throwback to the glory days of the Late Show. We're...

RTB In Action: Success Stories from our Advisors

One of the most gratifying parts of my job is hearing from advisors who are hitting it out of the ballpark with...

Innovate IUL | May 2022

Our recent Innovate IUL conference brought the industry's brightest minds to Louisville, Kentucky, for two days of...

It's here! Transform your practice with RTB.

You asked, we answered. For several years, advisors like you have been asking us to create a lead generation tool built...

From our Members: What Made 2021 a Success

As we wrap up the year here at Stonewood, we're celebrating our members' triumphs and looking ahead to a successful...

Innovate IUL Recap

In November, advisors from across the country gathered to learn at Stonewood's inaugural Innovate IUL conference in...

Taxes are going up. Now what?

Every news item out of Washington seems to include details of a new or expanded tax. And generally, American savers...

The Growing Need for Savers to Understand “Legislative Risk”

As financial professionals, we work hard to limit our clients’ exposure to risk in retirement.

What Our Authors Love Most About "The New Holistic Retirement"

We've had an incredible response to our newest book - from advisors and clients alike. So why did we write it? And what...

An Actuary’s Take: COVID-19’s Economic Impact

It doesn’t take an actuary to know today’s market is in a volatile tumble. The social distancing protocol of the...

Did the WSJ miss the difference between IUL and UL?

Today's IUL is very different - in design and use - from many of the UL products of the past. But a recent Wall Street...

Your Client’s Hidden Debt

I’m sure you run across clients who are true followers of Dave Ramsey. These clients are committed to getting debt-free...

How The New Tax Law Can Transform your Practice

In December, Congress passed a bill that could transform your practice in 2018 and beyond. I’m talking, of course,...

Are IUL Illustration Rates Too High?

There’s been a lot of chatter lately (particularly from whole life producers) about the effectiveness of AG 49. Most of...

The (Surprisingly) Low-Cost IUL Policy

We bet it’s the most common objection you hear: IUL is an expensive way to save. You’ll hear it from prospects who did...

The Great American Savings Myth

Nearly all Americans believe a myth. Every time savers look at their IRAs, they take part in the Great American Savings...

The Truth About Advisor Compensation

We all agree financial professionals should get paid for their work. But our industry is torn over how we get paid....