Laura Deignan · 20 Feb 2025 · 3 minutes

ADVISOR TRAINING

Innovate Summit: Shaping the Future of Financial Strategies

Author: Laura Deignan Laura Deignan
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This week at Innovate Summit we brought the industry’s brightest minds together for two days of powerful insights, cutting-edge strategies, and transformative learning.

We were thrilled to host another sold-out event, providing independent financial advisors with the latest tools and techniques to elevate their practices. Attendees had the opportunity to dive deep into innovative sales and marketing strategies, industry updates, and actionable ways to grow their business in 2025 and beyond.


Day One: Elevating Retirement Strategies
Martin Ruby, FSA, Stonewood Financial’s Founder and Chairman, set the stage with an insightful discussion on the Five Risks of Retirement. Our CEO, Becky Swansburg, followed up with a crucial update on legislative changes and tax risks, helping advisors prepare their clients for potential policy shifts for taxes, IRMAA, Social Security, and more.

Neil Wilding took the stage to discuss Roth strategies, providing key insights on how advisors can help clients optimize their retirement savings. Attendees also got an exclusive first look at Stonewood’s brand-new Roth software, designed to streamline the planning process and enhance client results.

The highlight of the session was the unveiling of Stonewood Financial’s latest innovation: the “Roth Done Right” software. This powerful tool enables advisors to:

  • Drive the Conversion Decision: Evaluate the tax and IRMAA savings of a Roth conversion, helping clients make informed decisions about their retirement strategies.

  • Minimize Taxes & IRMAA During Conversion: Identify the optimal structure for clients’ Roth conversions, ensuring tax efficiency and minimizing potential surcharges.

  • Establish Yourself as the Roth Expert: Demonstrate to clients the value of professional expertise in navigating complex conversion scenarios.

If you want a closer look at the report and resources, schedule a call here.

Marketing and prospecting strategies were another highlight of the day, with Matthew Sieja, Member Success Manager, sharing what’s currently converting in seminars and webinars. The day wrapped up with sessions on income planning, overcoming objections, and leveraging tax strategies for lead generation.

After a full day of learning, attendees gathered for a reception to connect, network, and unwind over Kentucky-inspired fare.


Day Two: Advanced Insights and Future-Focused Strategies
Day two began with a working breakfast and software tutorial hosted by Eddie Smith, Operations Support Manager, giving advisors hands-on experience with the latest resources Stonewood has rolled out in 2025. Marty Ruby and Neil Wilding then led an engaging “Ask the Actuary” session, covering regulations, product design, and industry trends.

Alec Stout provided a comprehensive approach to legacy and long-term care planning, while other sessions explored technology’s role in enhancing seminar marketing and the most impactful marketing messages for 2025. Neil Wilding wrapped up the event with a deep dive into holistic client strategies, ensuring attendees walked away with a roadmap to success.


We are grateful to have had such incredible partners in presenting this conference. A huge thank you to AUM Navigator, AcquireUp, American College, FMT Solutions, NAIFA, RA Marketing, Trained Advisor, and Silloet for sponsoring Innovate Summit and for sharing the latest high-converting sales tools and marketing programs with our attendees.

At Stonewood Financial, we’re committed to making 2025 our advisors’ most successful year yet. Innovate Summit was an incredible opportunity to connect with our members, share the latest strategies, and equip financial professionals with the tools they need to thrive. We can’t wait to see the impact these insights will have on our industry in the months and years ahead!

Did you miss our latest Innovate Summit training conference? Registration is opening soon for our next training in the fall. Email eventsteam@stonewoodfinancial.com to pre-register! 

Real Advisors. Real Results.

See how advisors are using Stonewood software to win larger cases and deliver better outcomes for their clients.

An advisor was working with a prospect who was a real "do-it-yourselfer" when it came to Roth conversions. The client was converting assets up their existing tax bracket – and hadn't considered any impact to IRMAA.

With Roth Done Right, the advisor was able to show an alternate pattern that sped up the conversion to 6 years. The new structure offered $30,000 savings in conversion taxes – a 20% reduction on the prospect's conversion tax bill. The report also showed hundreds of thousands of dollars in long-term tax and IRMAA savings from the converted assets – an amount the prospect hadn't been able to quantify on his own.

Outcome

A new client with $1M in new AUM, and a $1M FIA sale to fund the conversion process.

An advisor was working with a prospect who already had assets with Ken Fisher. Fisher's team presented a 5% systematic withdrawal projection, so the advisor needed a stronger way to frame the income conversation.

Using the Annuity Alpha report, the advisor showed how an annuity could deliver over 8% in annual cash flow with lifetime income, plus a long-term care doubler. The contrast was clear enough that the prospect moved forward.

Outcome

$1.5M placed and a $100K in new business revenue.

An advisor was working with a 58-year-old couple with an established, well-funded retirement income plan, leaving an additional $3M IRA to build out a legacy for the kids. The couple's existing advisor had no real additional plan for this money, other than to keep it in their managed account and grow that money as much as possible for the kids.

Using the Legacy Done Right report, the advisor showed the need for tax planning on this $3M IRA. According to the advisor, the simple analysis "opened up the wallet" to the Roth conversion story. The advisor then used the blended Roth/Life feature in the report to show a blend of Roth Conversion assets with some Life Insurance to help maximize the client’s legacy.

Outcome

$3M in motion. The advisor picked up a $1.5M FIA sale that will be converted to Roth. And the advisor also sold a 5-Pay Protection focused IUL policy at $225,000 of premium per year.

An advisor group incorporated the Total Tax Burden report into the strategy presentation for all new prospects. They ran the tax snapshot for every new client as part of their first meeting conversation, quantifying the growing tax burden of IRA money – and illustrating the kinds of tax savings possible when working with their firm.

Starting in January of 2023, this simple analysis was presented to every single prospect who walked in the door. The goal was to differentiate their practice and drive overall revenue growth through various Roth conversion strategies.

Outcome

From 2022 to 2025, new annual AUM rose from $5M to $50M. Annual FIA sales rose from $3M to $35M. And annual life premium rose from $50K to $1M.