Retirement Tax Services Podcast

Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist of FMG Suite and a marketing guru for financial advisors, discusses how to effectively weave tax planning into marketing strategies. She shares insights on using tax-related content to engage clients and drive conversations. Samantha emphasizes authenticity and simple communication adjustments that can dramatically enhance advisor-client relationships. The duo also explores the growing importance of video content and the art of repeating successful marketing messages for better engagement.

Taking a step outside the norm, Steven's guest this week is NOT a financial advisor or CPA; Tyler Smith just happens to be a taxpayer wishing he could get better help with tax planning. Tyler is a successful business owner and coach and has great insight to share about how to build trusted relationships and what would get him excited to pay for financial advice. Tyler was also generous enough to share experiences he's had and what he's learned from them along the way. Listen in as Steven and Tyler talk about ways financial advisors can deliver massive value and set themselves apart. https://zurl.co/76odg

In this episode, Steven is joined by Andre Nader, a semi-retired big-tech employee who spends his time helping educate other high earners on how to navigate unexpectedly making a lot of money and the tax implications that go with it. Andre shares from his personal experience and the questions and stories he hears from people in his audience (nearly 30,000 on LinkedIn). Andre dove deep into these topics out of personal necessity and now spends his time learning and sharing as much as possible. Listen in as Steven and Andre give practical tips based on real-world experience on how you can help clients not be constantly shocked at tax time without giving tax advice. https://zurl.co/IOdOl

Steven is joined this week by Ryan Metzler, the co-founder of Finlocity, a company dedicated to helping RIAs find the right resources to enhance their practices. Ryan works as a matchmaker of sorts for both Advisors and service providers to help everyone navigate what can feel like an endless array of shiny objects that can be more a distraction than a benefit. Steven and Ryan discuss opportunities and pitfalls of technology and the approach you can take to evaluate if new software makes sense and then how to get it implemented effectively when it does. https://zurl.co/4nxlC

To kick off the new year, Steven is joined by a fellow podcaster and financial advisor, Kevin Thompson. Kevin shares his experience with becoming an Enrolled Agent to just skip the conversation about "is it tax planning or is it tax advice" and jump straight to helping his clients the best way he can. Steven and Kevin share examples of how Advisors can be proactive on tax planning and Kevin's experience with incorporating the topic into his client service model. https://zurl.co/Koiyv

In this episode, Steven is joined by John Pastore, Executive Vice President of Integrated Partners. John has been on the Integrated team for 25 years, basically since day 1, and has seen the incredible progress over time that Integrated has achieved. Their approach is to match CPAs with financial advisors through formal partnerships that help the advisor and the CPA grow their businesses. And, of course, it allows everyone to provide an elevated experience to their clients. Listen in as John and Steven share their experience with what makes great professional relationships and partnerships.  https://zurl.co/8aKV0

This is a throwback to one of our most popular episodes from last year—because who doesn’t love a good discussion about Roth conversions? In this episode, Financial Advisor and podcast host Larry Sprung of Mitlin Financial joined Steven on the show to talk about what tax planning looks like in his practice. Larry shared how he gets his team involved, the things he is on the lookout for to identify tax planning opportunities, and why he feels taxes are so important. Steven and Larry also discuss using tax planning to help build relationships with CPAs and deliver value to clients. https://zurl.co/QZOtB

Joining the show this week is perhaps one of the forefathers of financial advisor podcasts, Benjamin Brandt. Ben shares his podcast and tax planning origin story (both predate being involved with RTS) and how his approach to these key areas of growth have changed over time. You don't have to be a tax expert to deliver massive value to clients, you do need to be consistent and committed and Ben gives great insight on both. https://zurl.co/pviIu

Fan favorite Micah Shilanski is back on the Retirement Tax Services podcast to answer advisor questions on Roth conversions. Steven and Micah take it in turns to give insight and expertise and a whole list of questions that came from a recent RTS webinar all about the practicalities of getting Roth conversions done. Over 1,000 advisors registered for the event so I'm sure you can imagine just how many questions there were. Listen in as Micah and Steven get in the trenches of what advisors just like you want to know about Roth conversions https://zurl.co/pH62

Welcome to a throwback edition of the Retirement Tax Services Podcast! Today, we’re rewinding to where it all began—Episode 1! Over 3.5 years ago, Steven launched the podcast to bridge the gap between financial advisors and tax professionals, starting with a topic that remains just as relevant today: the best (and worst) ways for financial advisors to seek professional CPA referrals. Joining Steven for this very first episode is none other than Matthew Jarvis, sharing his insights and experiences. Both financial advisors and CPAs aim to grow their practices, and referrals from a trusted professional source are invaluable in that process. However, for many advisors, finding a CPA willing to reciprocate referrals can feel like an uphill battle. Looking back, it’s clear that this episode set the foundation for what RTS is all about: empowering advisors to deliver massive value to their clients through better tax planning. https://zurl.co/xb7R