The Retirement Fiduciary Podcast

Hosted by Adam D. Koós, CFP®, CMT®, CEPA

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Sep 2026

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Welcome to The Retirement Fiduciary Podcast! Your classroom for no BS financial education. A place where we have authentic discussions about retirement planning, investment management, tax reduction strategies, insurance, estate planning, and more. Thanks for listening & please be sure to SUBSCRIBE! Hosted by Adam Koos, CFP®, CMT® of Libertas Wealth.

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September 1, 2026Episode 17327 min

The Hidden Costs of Annuities (And How to Avoid Them)

For years, Adam Koós, has been one of the loudest voices calling out annuities for their high commissions, hidden fees, and conflicts of interest, and in this episode, he owns it. He walks through exactly why annuities have earned their reputation, breaking down the commissions, internal costs, and penalties that most people never actually see. But Adam also makes the case that annuities aren't universally bad. He shares real examples of when a guaranteed income benefit can fill a gap in retirement income, ease the stress of an anxious investor, or take pressure off the rest of a portfolio, and he explains the one overlooked risk (inflation) that catches most annuity owners off guard. Episode Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: why annuities get such a bad rap 02:00 – The real reasons: high commissions and internal fees 05:00 – The conflict of interest behind commission-based advice 08:00 – The real problem: all-or-nothing thinking about annuities 09:00 – When a guaranteed income benefit can actually help 13:00 – How guaranteed income benefits work, step by step 18:00 – A real-world example: filling a retirement income gap 20:00 – The most overlooked risk: inflation 22:00 – A quick tour of fixed, indexed, and hybrid annuities 25:00 – Final thought: don't go broke safely Key Takeaways: 💡 Annuities aren't inherently bad. They're often oversold and mis-sold to the wrong people, or with too much of someone's money. 💡 High commissions (as much as 7-10% up front) and internal fees (around 4% a year) are the biggest reasons annuities earn a bad reputation, and fee-only fiduciaries can access the same products without either. 💡 A guaranteed income benefit can fill a retirement expense gap when Social Security and pension income fall short of fixed monthly expenses. 💡 The most overlooked downside of income annuities is inflation. After a market downturn, guaranteed income can flatten out for years before it catches back up. 💡 Annuities can make sense for anxious investors, or for money someone was never going to invest anyway and is currently sitting in low-interest cash. 💡 Just because something is guaranteed doesn't mean it's good. Playing it too safe carries its own risk of running out of purchasing power over time. Key Quotes: 🗣️ "Beware of the truth. You may have gotten a hold of the wrong half." 🗣️ "Just because it's guaranteed doesn't mean it's good." 🗣️ "You wanna make sure you don't go broke safely." Connect with Libertas Wealth: Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com

August 18, 2026Episode 17224 min

The 5 Money Personalities That Shape How You Invest

A date night conversation about Dr. Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages got Adam Koós thinking about something he sees every day across more than 300 client families: everyone relates to money a little differently. In this solo episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam borrows the love languages idea and applies it to money, walking through the five "money love languages" that shape how people save, invest, and feel about their financial lives. From the family steward who cares most about protecting the people they love, to the accumulator focused on growth, Adam explains why knowing your own money personality is the first step toward becoming a calmer, more consistent investor. He also digs into the emotional pitfalls of fear and greed, why risk tolerance shifts over time, and the single biggest reason good retirement plans fall apart. Episode Timestamps Approximate. Verify against the final audio before publishing. 00:00 - Why your "money love language" matters 03:00 - A quick primer on the five love languages 05:00 - The five money love languages (starting with the family steward) 10:00 - The less common types (and who probably isn't a fit) 13:00 - Fear, greed, and neither 17:00 - Your risk "speed limit" 20:00 - The real reason plans fail (and the GPS analogy) Key Takeaways 💡 Before you can be a calm, consistent investor, you have to understand who you are and how you react to risk. 💡 Most people are "family stewards." Their planning is really about protecting the people they love. 💡 Investors tend to get cautious right when markets fall and bold right when they climb, which is backwards. 💡 Risk tolerance is not fixed. It shifts with life events and market conditions, and it usually drops after a scare. 💡 Plans rarely fail because of the market. They fail because people abandon them during short-term volatility. Key Quotes Pulled from the transcript. Confirm exact wording before publishing. 🗣 "Investors are conservative when the market's going down and aggressive when it's going up." 🗣 "If investing is exciting, you're probably not doing it well." 🗣 "The number one reason financial plans fail is that people abandon their plan." Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós, CFP®, CMT, CFTe, CEPA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com

August 4, 2026Episode 17132 min

Wolves of Wall Street, Part 2: How to Spot a Fake Fiduciary

In part two of the Wolves of Wall Street series on The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koós keeps pulling back the curtain on the parts of the financial world most people never get to see. This time he walks through the tactics that can make someone look like a trustworthy advisor on the surface while something very different is going on underneath. From insurance agents who set up nearly empty advisory firms just to call themselves fiduciaries, to attorneys quietly selling annuities on the side, to the long list of designations that sound impressive but carry almost no education behind them, Adam breaks it all down in plain English. He closes with a simple, free way to find a true fee-only fiduciary near you, so you can tell the difference before you ever hand someone your life savings. Episode Timestamps Approximate, please verify against the final audio. 00:00 – Part 2 intro and the "tomorrow's front page" standard 01:30 – Insurance agents posing as wealth managers 06:30 – Attorneys running advisory firms on the side 10:00 – Paid advertorials dressed up as real news 12:00 – Questionable designations to watch for 17:00 – The designations that actually mean something 24:00 – Why the right firm for the job matters (the Jiffy Lube rule) 27:00 – How to find a true fiduciary (NAPFA) 29:00 – Fee-only vs fee-based, explained 31:00 – Final takeaways Key Takeaways 💡 A registered investment advisory firm on paper doesn't always mean real advice. Some are set up with barely a client inside, just so someone can use the word fiduciary. 💡 Letters after a name can be earned the hard way or basically bought. Learn which designations have real education behind them and which are mostly marketing. 💡 The right advice depends on the right firm. A discount brokerage or an insurance company simply isn't built to deliver comprehensive, unbiased planning. 💡 A true fiduciary can't earn commissions. Take away the brokerage and insurance licenses and you take away the conflict, so the advisor gets paid the same no matter where your money goes. 💡 Fee-only and fee-based sound almost identical, and the gap between them can quietly cost you. 💡 You can find a real fee-only fiduciary near you by searching your zip code at napfa.org. Key Quotes 🗣 "We like saving people. I like saving people from bad advice." 🗣 "We pretend as if everything is gonna be on tomorrow's front page. And that's how you do it." 🗣 "You wouldn't go to Jiffy Lube to get new brakes and tires." Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Adam Koós, CFP®, CMT, CFTe, CEPA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com

July 21, 2026Episode 17034 min

Wolves of Wall Street, Part 1: Financial Advice Red Flags to Watch For

In this episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koós pulls back the curtain on the parts of the financial world most people never see. This one started with a client request. Go find the bad advice floating around out there and shine a light on it. So Adam does exactly that. He walks through the conflicts of interest, sales tricks, and flat out scams that quietly cost everyday investors real money, and he keeps the whole thing in plain English so you can catch the warning signs early. This is part one of a two part conversation. Adam covers commissions and conflicts of interest, how a true fiduciary is actually held accountable, churning and reverse churning, the annuity moves that drain savings, mis-sold insurance, and two real fraud stories that will make you look twice at anyone promising something too good to be true. Part two lands in two weeks. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Intro and why Adam made this episode 02:00 – Commissions and conflicts of interest 06:00 – Churning, explained 07:00 – The "moving annuities" trick 08:00 – The "there are no fees" myth 11:00 – Reverse churning 14:00 – Mis-sold insurance policies 17:00 – Whole life and overfunded life insurance (LIRPs) 20:00 – Two real Ponzi scheme stories 29:00 – Proprietary investments and products 32:00 – A look ahead to part two Key Takeaways 💡 A true fee only fiduciary legally cannot earn commissions, so they get paid the same no matter where your money is invested. 💡 Churning is trading your account just to generate commissions. Reverse churning is the flip side, parking your money and doing little while still charging you. 💡 If someone says your annuity is "maturing" and it's time to buy a new one, slow down. In most cases it isn't, and a new one can mean a fresh commission for them. 💡 "There are no fees" is one of the biggest myths in the industry. There is always a cost somewhere. 💡 Insurance companies are good at insurance. Holistic planning covers taxes, estate, investments, and risk, so know what you're actually getting. 💡 When a return sounds too good to be true, ask questions before you sign anything. That instinct can protect your life savings. Key Quotes 🗣 "How you do anything is how you do everything." (Martha Beck, quoted by Adam) 🗣 "There's always a cost. There's always a fee somewhere. And in many cases there's lots of fees." 🗣 "Commissions create conflicts of interest." Connect With Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth/ Twitter / X: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós: Adam Koós, CFP®, CMT, CFTe, CEPA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com

June 16, 2026Episode 1699 min

What Your Dad Got Wrong About Money (and What You Should Do Instead)

Happy Father's Day! Adam walks through the money lessons a lot of us picked up from our dads and grandfathers. The advice came from a good place and from real experience. The trouble is that the world they lived in looked almost nothing like the one we are retiring into now. Pensions are mostly gone, people are living longer, healthcare costs keep climbing, and the tax code is more complicated than it has ever been. Adam goes through the old rules one at a time. Cash is king. All debt is bad. Never touch the principal. Social Security has you covered. The stock market is a casino. He explains what still holds up, what quietly works against you today, and where a fiduciary actually earns their keep. There is plenty here for everyday savers and a few good reminders for advisors too. It is a warm, honest conversation, and a pretty fitting tribute to Dad. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Why following outdated money advice can quietly cost you 01:00 – Father's Day setup and how Dad's financial era was different 02:00 – "Cash is king" and the hidden cost of inflation 02:40 – Why hating all debt can work against you 03:30 – "Never touch the principal" and modern income planning 04:30 – What Social Security was really designed to do 05:30 – The market scar that became a family money philosophy 06:30 – Why retirement doesn't reward improvising 07:30 – Honoring Dad by getting your own house in order Key Takeaways 💡 Playing it too safe has its own risk. Cash feels secure, but inflation can quietly cut its buying power over a long retirement. 💡 Hating debt is not the same as being smart about it. A low-rate mortgage may be worth keeping if your money can do more elsewhere, and that is a planning call, not a gut call. 💡 "Never touch the principal" can backfire. Modern income planning, like dynamic withdrawals, total return investing, and bucket strategies, can actually help a portfolio last longer. 💡 Social Security was built to supplement your income, not replace it. When and how you claim can swing your lifetime benefit by hundreds of thousands of dollars. 💡 The market is rarely the real enemy. Most retirement damage comes from a poorly built portfolio with no time horizon and no plan for the down years, which is exactly where a fiduciary earns their keep. Key Quotes 🗣 "The stock market over long periods of time has been the most reliable wealth-building engine in American history. Not gambling, not speculation. Investing." 🗣 "Playing it too safe is still playing with fire when it comes to our retirement savings." 🗣 "If your dad is still around, have this conversation with him. And if he's not, honor him by getting your own financial house in order." Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//libertas-wealth Twitter: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós Adam Koós, CFP®, CMT, CFTe, CEPA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com

June 2, 2026Episode 16841 min

The Owner Dependency Trap: How to Build a Business That Runs Without You

Most business owners will tell you they built their company for freedom. But somewhere along the way, the business stops working without them in it. It becomes something they can't step away from, can't sell, and can't scale past their own bandwidth. In this episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koos, sits down with Tiffany Helton, operational scaling and profit strategy expert at Cultivate Advisors, to talk about what founder dependency actually costs, how to build a business that runs without you, and why exit planning is really just good business strategy, no matter how far out your timeline is. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & guest background: Tiffany's path from busing tables to building and scaling multi-unit restaurant groups 05:00 – What founder dependency really looks like, and the test every owner should run on their business 10:00 – The $20/hour trap: why owners doing low-value tasks is killing growth and exit potential 15:00 – The financial risk of being too important to your own company (death, divorce, disability, and deals) 20:00 – Business transition and exit planning: why it's not about leaving, it's about growing 25:00 – Profitability vs. revenue growth: what your financials are actually telling you 31:00 – Delegation vs. operational leadership: the difference and why it matters 35:00 – The $523/hour question: backing into your real hourly value as a business owner 38:00 – What buyers actually look for, and how to set your business up to attract them 40:00 – Final takeaways and where to start if you want more freedom in your business Key Takeaways 💡 If your business can't survive without you, it's not a business. It's a job, and a risky one. 💡 Exit planning isn't about leaving. It's the most effective growth strategy most owners never use. 💡 Only about 20–30% of businesses have clean, organized books on day one with an advisor. Most owners don't know what they don't know. 💡 Almost zero founder-led businesses have a three-year financial forecast. That's where the biggest growth opportunities are hiding. 💡 The difference between delegation and operational leadership is critical. One removes tasks. The other builds leaders who think like you. 💡 80% of businesses don't sell. They dissolve. And 80% of business owners have most of their net worth tied up in the company. 💡 Know your real hourly rate. If you're answering phones or managing your own calendar at $523/hour potential, something has to change. Key Quotes 🗣 "If I remove you from your business, what's gonna happen? If the answer is no, it can't survive without you, you have to fix that." — Tiffany Helton 🗣 "Exit planning is simply taking you from wherever you are today to wherever you want to be." — Adam Koos 🗣 "It's not easy. But it is simple." — Adam Koos 🗣 "Does your business actually support your personal financial goals? A lot of my clients are totally disconnected in that way." — Tiffany Helton 🗣 "We can always make more money. We can't make more time." — Adam Koos Connect With the Guest Name: Tiffany Helton, Cultivate Advisors Email: tiffany@cultivateadvisors.com Website: https://cultivateadvisors.com/our-advisors/tiffany-helton/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-helton-a0239b8/ Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//libertas-wealth Twitter: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Email: info@libertaswealth.com Website: www.libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com

May 19, 2026Episode 16739 min

Insurance Blind Spots, Scam Red Flags, and Financial Readiness

Most people don't think about financial risk until something goes wrong. A policy lapses. A parent sends 00,000 to a scammer. A spouse passes away and no one can find the documents. In this episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koós, sits down with Tony Steuer, financial readiness advocate, award-winning author, and host of the podcast Get Ready Before Life Happens. Tony brings 30+ years of insurance and financial literacy experience to the conversation. Together, they dig into the most overlooked risks families face, the truth about cash value life insurance (and why it's almost never what it's sold as), the scam tactics targeting retirees and their aging parents right now, and what financial readiness actually looks like in practice. This one's packed. Episode Timestamps 03:00 – How to do a risk assessment before buying any insurance 05:00 – Cash value life insurance, LIRPs, and the "infinite banking" myth 09:00 – Surrender charges, borrowed money, and how policies collapse 15:00 – The in-force illustration: what it is and why you need one 22:00 – Adam's story: losing his brother and building the My Promise Vault 25:00 – How AI is making financial scams more personalized and harder to detect Key Takeaways 💡 Before buying any insurance, start with a risk assessment. The right question isn't "do I need this policy?" It's "what could go wrong?" 💡 Cash value life insurance is almost never the right tool. For most people, products like LIRPs and "infinite banking" are the worst thing out there. 💡 If you own a permanent life insurance policy, request an in-force illustration every 2–3 years. Many people are shocked by what they find. 💡 AI is making scams more personal and harder to detect. Create a family passphrase now, before you need it. 💡 Financial readiness isn't just having a plan. It's making sure your family can actually find everything when it matters most. Key Quotes 🗣 "I have been advocating against that type of crap all my career." – Tony Steuer, on cash value life insurance sold as an investment 🗣 "If you haven't been scammed yet, it's just a matter of time. The right scam hasn't been designed for you yet." – Tony Steuer 🗣 "You're trying to get over on the best mathematicians in the world. If you're really smart, you might be able to. But most of us are not." – Tony Steuer, on thinking you can outsmart insurance company actuaries 🗣 "I promise you will never have to go through what I went through with Kyle." – Adam Koós, on why financial readiness became personal after losing his brother 🗣 "Ask that many questions before you enroll in your 401(k) as you would before you buy a new TV." – Tony Steuer Connect With Tony Steuer Website: www.tonysteuer.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tonysteuer YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TonySteuer Podcast: Get Ready Before Life Happens Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth Twitter: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Email: info@libertaswealth.com Website: www.libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com

May 5, 2026Episode 16638 min

How to Make Sure Your Estate Plan Doesn't Fail: Real Cases, Real Consequences with Kelly Lise Murray

Most families spend years building wealth. Far fewer spend time making sure the legal structures protecting that wealth are actually doing their job. In this episode, Adam Koós,sits down with Professor Kelly Lise Murray, a lawyer, mediator, and legal scholar who spent nearly two decades at Vanderbilt University before turning her focus to wealth dispute resolution. Kelly hosts the Wealth Litigated podcast, where she breaks down real courtroom cases involving trusts, estates, and family wealth disputes. Together, Adam and Kelly walk through real litigated cases involving blended families, irrevocable trusts, prenuptial agreements, and costly filing errors. The goal is simple: learn from other families' expensive mistakes so yours never has to become a case study. Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Intro & guest background: Who is Kelly Lise Murray and what is the Wealth Litigated podcast 02:00 - Why estate planning disputes happen: The coordination problem between legal and financial documents 04:30 - Blended family estate planning: What the Marinakis v. Marinakis (Ohio) case teaches us 10:00 - California case: When a stepchild was allowed to inherit as a natural child 13:00 - The #1 most procrastinated item in financial planning (Adam's 25-year observation) 14:00 - Trusts and your mortgage: The Garn-St. Germaine Act and what advisors rarely tell clients 16:00 - Property & casualty insurance and irrevocable trusts: A 2007 warning still being ignored 17:30 - Collins v. Flannery (Ohio): What happens when a surviving spouse controls an irrevocable trust 22:00 - Trustee abuse of a special needs trust: A Texas case with a co-trustee resolution 24:00 - Structural protections: Co-trustees, trust protectors, and professional fiduciaries 26:00 - The $800,000 missed checkbox: Estate of Griffin v. Commissioner (IRS Q-TIP case) 29:00 - Prenuptial agreements: What an Ohio case reveals about overreaching and enforceability 32:00 - Portability of estate plans across state lines 33:00 - Incapacity planning: What to do when a divorcing spouse still has your healthcare directive 35:00 - Final advice for families and financial advisors: Where to start this week Key Takeaways 💡 The single biggest driver of wealth disputes is a lack of coordination between legal documents, financial accounts, and estate plans. A will, a trust, and a beneficiary designation that conflict with one another will be decided by the court, not by you. 💡 Blended families face amplified risk. Remarrying without updating your estate plan can give a new spouse statutory rights that override your existing will, and may even leave your ex-in-laws as heirs. 💡 Transferring your home into a trust without checking your mortgage terms, insurance policy, and applicable statutes first can trigger your loan being called due immediately and invalidate your homeowner's insurance claim. 💡 Execution errors can be just as damaging as planning errors. A missed checkbox on an estate tax return cost one family over $800,000 in a federal IRS case. Two sets of eyes on every filing is a structural safeguard, not a formality. 💡 Structural protections like co-trustees, professional fiduciaries, and trust protectors exist specifically to prevent a sole trustee from depleting an estate without accountability. These are worth building in from the beginning. 💡 If you move to a different state, your existing estate plan, trust, and prenuptial agreement may no longer work as intended. Every lifecycle change and every geographic move warrants a legal review. Key Quotes 🗣 "The lack of coordination leads to litigation. That is the biggest takeaway of our discussion today." - Kelly Lise Murray 🗣 "It's not a matter of if, it's when you get involved in some sort of litigation." - Kelly Lise Murray (citing a common refrain among estate attorneys) 🗣 "The number one most procrastinated financial planning item is estate planning. Without a doubt." - Adam Koos, CFP®, CMT, CFTe, CEPA 🗣 "This is not estate planning in a box. You need actually licensed legal advice from a lawyer in your state." - Kelly Lise Murray 🗣 "I've been talking about this since 2007 because we still haven't gotten the word out enough." - Kelly Lise Murray (on trust and insurance coordination) Connect with the Guest Guest: Kelly Lise Murray, JD - Lawyer, Mediator & Legal Scholar Website (Wealth Litigated): https://www.wealthlitigated.com Website (Vetting the House): https://www.vettingthehouse.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kellylisemurray Connect with Libertas Wealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/libertas-wealth Twitter / X: https://x.com/LibertasWM TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Email: info@libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Website: https://www.libertaswealth.com Connect with Adam Koós LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com

April 21, 2026Episode 16523 min

How Business Owners Can Avoid Bad Hires and Build Stronger Teams with William Sprengler

Hiring is one of the hardest parts of building a successful advisory firm. In this episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koós sits down with William Spengler, founder of Frederick Fox, to talk about what actually leads to better hiring outcomes, stronger teams, and healthier long-term growth. Will shares what he's learned from building a fast-growing recruiting firm and explains where many companies go wrong in the hiring process. This conversation covers interviewing mistakes, compensation expectations, onboarding, retention, and the leadership habits that help firms attract and keep great people. It is especially relevant for financial advisors and business owners trying to scale without creating chaos. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Intro, guest background, and how Will built Frederick Fox 03:50 – How William Spengler got into recruiting 05:20 – Why traditional recruiting models are slow and outdated 07:15 – What the best firms do differently when hiring 08:20 – Common interviewing mistakes that lead to bad hires 09:20 – Why references matter more than most firms think 10:00 – Internal misalignment and how it hurts hiring momentum 10:55 – Compensation expectations in today's market 13:30 – The systems firms need before ramping up hiring 15:00 – Retention, servant leadership, and creating a better culture 16:45 – Balancing high performance with genuine care for your team 18:05 – Rapid fire: ghosting, interview communication, case studies, and hot yoga 21:00 – What makes Frederick Fox different 22:35 – Final thoughts and where to connect with Will Key Takeaways 💡 Clear employer value propositions attract better talent. Firms that can clearly explain who they are, where they are going, and why someone should join them tend to win better candidates. 💡 Bad hires often come from weak validation, not weak resumes. Will emphasizes that references and backdoor references can help firms avoid costly mistakes before someone joins the team. 💡 Internal alignment matters. When stakeholders are not aligned on the role, interview process, or ideal candidate profile, strong candidates often drop out or accept other offers. 💡 Compensation is only part of the equation. Competitive pay matters, but clear growth paths, incentives, culture, and leadership also play a major role in attracting and keeping great people. 💡 Onboarding is a growth system, not an afterthought. A clear 90-day onboarding plan and measurable expectations can make a major difference in whether a new hire succeeds. 💡 Retention starts with leadership. Companies that treat people as their greatest asset and lead with gratitude, service, and alignment tend to keep strong talent longer. Key Quotes 🗣 "Tigers can change stripes, but it's very rare." 🗣 "A players pick up on confidence." 🗣 "You can't invest enough into onboarding and learning and development." 🗣 "People are a company's greatest asset." Connect With William Sprengler Website: https://frederickfox.com/ LinkedIn William Sprengler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-spengler-2193433a/ LinkedIn Frederick Fox: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frederick-fox/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrederickFoxGroup/ Connect with Libertas Wealth: Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//libertas-wealth Twitter: https://x.com/LibertasWM Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast Youtube Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Email: info@libertaswealth.com Website: www.libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com

April 7, 2026Episode 1647 min

March Madness, Market Trends, and the Real Lesson About Long Shots

In this episode of The Retirement Fiduciary, Adam Koós uses the NCAA tournament to explain a simple but powerful investing lesson: most people are drawn to exciting long shots, but long-term success usually comes from sticking with the strongest probabilities. That is true in tournament brackets, and it is just as true in retirement portfolios. Adam walks through why people love Cinderella stories, how higher seeds consistently dominate over time, and what that teaches us about momentum, trend-following, and disciplined portfolio construction. Here's what this means in plain English: building your financial future around low-probability outcomes may feel exciting, but it is rarely a sound strategy. This episode is especially helpful for investors who want to understand why process matters, why prediction is a losing game, and why disciplined decision-making becomes even more important when real money and retirement income are involved. Episode Timestamps: 00:00 – Buckeyes, busted brackets, and why everyone still plays 00:30 – Bobby Knight's quote on preparation vs. luck 01:00 – Why seeding gives people a false sense of certainty 01:40 – The Cinderella trap and why people love upsets 02:05 – The data: how often top seeds actually win 03:00 – What bracket strategy teaches us about investing 03:45 – Why momentum, trend, and probabilities matter more than prediction 04:35 – The investing mistake people make with "cheap" or exciting ideas 05:20 – Why retirement portfolios should not be built on long shots 06:00 – Trend-following, discipline, and repeatable outcomes 06:40 – Final takeaway and next steps Key Takeaways: 💡 Most people focus on exciting upsets, but long-term winners usually come from the strongest, highest-ranked group. 💡 In investing, chasing low-probability ideas can feel smart in the moment, but it often hurts outcomes over time. 💡 Strong trends tend to persist, which is why disciplined, model-driven investing focuses on probabilities instead of predictions. 💡 One of the most dangerous outcomes is getting rewarded for a bad decision by chance, because it encourages poor decision-making later. 💡 Retirement planning works best when it is built on repeatable discipline, not excitement, hope, or guesswork. Key Quotes: 🗣 "Most people have the will to win, but few have the will to prepare to win." 🗣 "We are trend followers, not trend predictors." 🗣 "We don't build portfolios on surprises. We build them on probabilities and repeatable outcomes." 🗣 "It's not worth diversifying into chance." Connect with Libertas Wealth: Facebook: https://facebook.com/libertaswealth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertas.wealth Threads: https://www.threads.com/@libertas.wealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//libertas-wealth Twitter: https://x.com/LibertasWM Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@libertaswealthmanagement Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertaswealth Podcast Youtube Playlist Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhkYzW1XyJA0Ef_Hf7nUCMGLSlmfHt43v Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/29Jrqu0MV1VrpRGqgm6seV?si=d98161c1ec484a85 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-retirement-fiduciary-podcast/id1029927148 Email: info@libertaswealth.com Website: www.libertaswealth.com Phone: 614-543-1350 Connect with Adam Koós: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.LibertasWealth.com