Future Focus: A Financial Strategies Podcast

Who will actually receive your life insurance benefit—and what happens if something goes wrong? In this episode, we break down common life insurance ownership mistakes for beneficiaries that can derail even the best plan and leave outcomes to chance. A life insurance beneficiary is the person or entity you name to receive your policy’s death benefit. This myth or reality episode covers common bene...

Think your life insurance ownership is set up correctly? It might not be, and small mistakes can lead to big tax and estate consequences. In this episode of Future Focus: A Financial Strategies Podcast, we break down “myth or reality” scenarios, including the risks of having different owners, insureds and beneficiaries, why you might want to consider naming a successor, and how poor structuring ca...

Are you truly retirement-ready — or just guessing? In this episode of Future Focus: A Financial Strategies Podcast, we’re breaking down financial planning and what retirement readiness really means, along with the steps that matter most. We cover what financial planning looks like in practice, when it makes sense to work with a financial professional and where insurance and annuities can fit into...

Your biggest financial questions answered in this episode: Are you doing all the “right” things for retirement, but still not sure where you actually stand? In this listener episode of Future Focus, we tackle questions we hear all the time from people who feel like they should be on track, but don’t have a clear picture of their progress. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This episode is...

In the final episode of this three-part series, Future Focus brings business and personal planning together, exploring what ultimately matters most: outcomes. When it comes to passing on a business, what does it look like when you’re ready to move it on to the next generation? This episode discusses navigating equity and fairness between active and inactive children in your business, understanding...

In this episode of Future Focus, host Troy Branch is joined by Ameritas advanced planning colleagues, Keali Jo French and Jacob Messick, to explore how to build enterprise value long before an exit. The conversation focuses on people, systems and owner dependency—and why businesses that rely too heavily on key individuals often face hidden limitations. We cover: - Retaining key people and the role...

Future Focus is kicking off a three‑episode business‑owner series about the decisions business owners make that have long‑lasting effects. In part one, we examine choosing your business entity and how early structure decisions can impact future taxes, flexibility and long‑term outcomes. The core questions we discuss in this episode include: - Should a pass-through business owner own permanent life...

It’s now 2026 and the estate and gift tax exemption remains near $15 million. So what should families actually be doing now? In this episode, we discuss estate planning for families with practical tips for readiness, flexibility and smart decision‑making that applies regardless of exemption levels. You’ll learn: - Where the estate and gift tax landscape truly stands in 2026. - Why complacency can...

Your biggest financial questions answered in this special listener Q&A episode as the Future Focus team dives into real financial questions from real listeners. We cover smart ways to pay for education, whether 529 plans still make sense with fewer kids going to college and how to handle an inherited IRA under the 10‑year rule. We’ll discuss: - 529 basics, tax benefits and alternatives. - New...

In case you missed it, go back and watch part one of 2026 Personal Finance Reset: https://youtu.be/IKLv30Fhx5k. Now that you’ve reviewed your financial starting point for the new year, part two dives into the next steps: reviewing your insurance protection, strengthening your retirement plan and getting ahead of tax season. This episode of Future Focus breaks down simple, practical moves to keep y...

Welcome to a brand‑new year — and a brand‑new chance to take control of your money. Think of this episode as your 2026 personal finance reset. Troy Branch sits down with Jacob Messick and Keali Jo French to break down three of the most important financial steps you should take at the start of 2026. Whether you’re trying to get organized, set meaningful money goals or finally understand your full f...

Retirement planning can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of Future Focus, host Troy Branch shares useful retirement planning tips as he talks with Jacob Messick from the advanced planning team and Andrew Gunning from Ameritas retirement plans to clear up common myths and mistakes people make with their retirement accounts. What you’ll learn in this episode: - Why you c...

Welcome back to part two of The One Big Beautiful Bill explained. In this episode, host Troy Branch continues the conversation with Jacob Messick and Keali Jo French as we dive deeper into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OB3 as the team calls it, and what it means for business owners and estate planning strategies. We’re tackling more myths vs. realities, including: - Estate tax changes and why...

In this special episode of Future Focus: A Financial Strategies Podcast, we’re flipping the script to bring your biggest financial questions answered by our team. This listener-driven Q&A tackles the topics you care about most, including: - How much do you really need to retire comfortably? - How do families handle estate equalization in second marriages? - When should businesses start thinkin...

In this episode of Future Focus, Troy Branch and his colleagues, Jacob Messick and Keali Jo French, deliver One Big Beautiful Bill explained, or as they call it, OB3. And yes, this is a Star Wars reference. The team discusses the OB3 tax bill and what it means for individual taxpayers, families and high-net-worth individuals. We discuss what components of OB3 are myth vs. reality, covering these t...

In this episode of Future Focus, host Troy Branch sits down with financial professional, Keith Gillies, to explore the main sources of business owner stress and what can be done to navigate them. Keith brings decades of experience and a sharp focus on helping business owners thrive. Together, they unpack the biggest challenges facing business owners today—from taxes and succession planning to cash...

When most people think about retirement, they imagine a permanent vacation—but what happens when the paycheck stops in retirement? It’s not just a lifestyle change; it’s a cash flow event. In this episode of Future Focus, we ask the critical question: Two weeks after you retire, where is your paycheck coming from? We’ll explore: - The myth of “I’ve saved enough, I’ll just draw it down.” - Risks th...

Looking for reasons to use life insurance in estates? On this episode of Future Focus, we're diving into how life insurance can be a powerful, multifunctional tool, especially in modest estates. Just like football fans build their dream teams, host Troy Branch and his guests are making the case for their top five reasons to use life insurance in estates below the federal estate tax limit, covering...

In part two of our retirement income puzzle, we explore possible advantages of having tax-free income during your retirement years and the common pitfalls to avoid when pursuing a tax-free strategy. We cover how the different tax buckets of taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free can impact your income during retirement, including considerations of liquidity needs and flexibility options. There are ri...

When planning for retirement, it's not just about how much you save, but how your savings are taxed and when. In this episode, we focus on understanding the three tax buckets, taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free as we talk about the retirement income puzzle. We explore why most people focus on deferring taxes during their working years and why tax diversification might be the smarter end goal. Plu...

Estate planning has always been about more than just documents—it's about protecting your legacy and ensuring your final wishes are honored. But as technology evolves, so does the way we approach this deeply personal process. In this episode, Troy sits down with Jon Forster, attorney at BakerHostetler, to explore how artificial intelligence is beginning to influence estate planning. From streamlin...

Most people focus on saving for retirement, but what about the risks that no one talks about for after you retire? In this episode, we break down Sequence of Return Risk. SORR is the impact that the timing of investment returns can have on your retirement savings, especially during the early years of withdrawal. Using the powerful analogy of climbing and descending a mountain, we explain why prepa...

In part two of our deep dive into executive compensation, we go beyond the basics and explore the real value of recruit, retain, and reward strategies. Building loyalty, aligning long-term goals and creating financial advantages for both the employee and the business owner are just some examples. Check out part one of our executive compensation conversation if you missed it: https://youtu.be/jls0a...

What would happen if your top employee didn’t show up tomorrow? In this episode, we break down executive compensation strategies—including nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC), key person benefits and bonus plans—to help business owners attract, retain and reward top talent. Join us as we play “Myth or Reality” and answer key questions: Is executive compensation only for big corporations? Whe...

Troy talks with guest, Tom Bacharach from RMC Group, to discuss the retirement gap for business owners. Troy and Tom look at the differences between 401(k), cash balance, and 412(e)(3) retirement plans to analyze options for business owners to meet their retirement goals. Future Focus: A Financial Strategies Podcast Welcome to Future Focus, a podcast designed to make sense of complex financial top...