Despite careful planning, many retirement account mistakes occur not because of poor advice, but because of operational failures involving rollovers, beneficiary designations, distributions, Roth transactions, and account reporting. These errors can trigger unintended taxes, penalties, failed estate planning outcomes, and costly correction procedures.

This session explores the operational side of retirement planning that advisors often encounter only after a transaction goes wrong. Through real-world case studies and practical examples, attendees will learn how to identify common IRA and employer plan errors before they occur, navigate correction options when mistakes happen, and implement procedures that help protect clients and preserve intended tax outcomes.

The presentation will cover operational pitfalls involving inherited accounts, Roth transactions, beneficiary designations, transfers versus rollovers, RMDs, reporting forms, and employer plan distributions. Advisors will leave with practical strategies they can immediately apply to improve compliance, reduce client risk, and avoid some of the most expensive retirement account mistakes.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: Retirement Savings and Income Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: TBD

Every month, Matt Reiner of Capital Investment Advisors and The FutureProof Advisor, holds an open, no-script roundtable on the AI developments that matter to financial planners. As one of the most plugged-in voices on AI in financial planning and our partner in the FPAi Authority, Matt shares the tools worth your time, the hype worth ignoring, and the things he's putting to work. Then the floor opens to share your questions, your doubts, and your experiments. This is less of a webinar, more of a conversation with a smart friend who happens to live at the intersection of financial planning and AI. Bring your curiosity and prepare to leave with something actionable.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: N/A
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: 0

Financial professionals often focus on what clients should do financially; save more, reduce debt, create a spending plan, or set and achieve financial goals. However, lasting behavior change occurs when professionals understand WHY clients make the financial decisions they do. 

This interactive session explores the emotional, relational, and behavioral drivers behind financial decision making. Through reflection and practical tools, participants will examine how family systems, personal beliefs, identity, and overall wellness influence financial behavior. Attendees will experience several exercises including a financial genogram, wellness wheel reflection, financial wellness assessment interpretation, and identity based money frameworks. 

Participants will leave with practical strategies to help client uncover their deeper financial motivations and translate insight into meaningful, sustainable behavior change.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: Psychology of Financial Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: TBD

• Participants will identify how family systems, beliefs, and experiences shape financial behavior and impact their financial decisions._
• Participants will learn how holistic wellness tools can uncover emotional and behavioral drivers in financial decision-making.
• Participants will learn about multiple financial wellness assessment tools and determine which tools they can use with clients to help uncover the and translate client “why” insights into actionable strategies.

This practical and interactive session will explain the latest science-based techniques for actively building positive and productive mental fitness. Based on decades of research across the scientific disciplines of neurology, physiology, psychology, and sports performance attendees will discover how to transform the mind, body and performance. The presentation teaches practical activities to easily incorporate in every active professional's life. These proven techniques immediately reduce stress, increase performance and well-being.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking, Interpersonal Impact
CFP Board Topic: Psychology of Financial Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: TBD

• Upon completion, participants will be able to describe how the latest discoveries across five scientific disciplines impact the brain and body.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to articulate and execute the foundational strategy to eliminate stress and build positive and productive mental fitness.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to execute three proven methods to build the mental structures that increase focus, creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and productivity.

Americans lose $13 billion to scams and identity theft each year.  Anyone can be a scam victim.  This presentation will explain why our brains are wired to be victimized by scams, where we are vulnerable and the steps to take to protect yourself and your clients from becoming scam or identity theft victims.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Client Communication & Care, Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: Psychology of Financial Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: TBD

• Identify the cognitive biases and emotional triggers (such as urgency, fear, and authority) that scammers exploit to bypass rational thinking.
• Explain why anyone, regardless of age or intelligence, can fall victim to sophisticated psychological manipulation.
• Recognize common red flags and warning signs across modern scam channels, including phishing emails, spoofed phone calls, and deepfake technologies.

Brought to you by the PridePlanners Knowledge Circle: The media landscape has been transformed by the explosion of finfluencers, digital noise, and always-on content. So how do real financial planners cut through the clutter and become the real voices journalists trust most? In this session, you’ll learn how to demonstrate credibility, deliver value to reporters, and turn media placements into powerful third-party validation for your brand and standing as a trusted, qualified financial planning professional. With fresh insights from FPA MediaSource query trends, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to build reporter relationships and show journalists—and the public—why your expertise matters.

Competency Level: Foundational 
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking, Interpersonal Impact
CFP Board Topic: Practice Management
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: 0

Larry Pon wants to continue the tax conversation with you! Have questions? Larry has answers! Join us for a LIVE Q&A session where Larry answers your tax-related questions and provides up-to-date insight on laws and regulations. 

In October, Larry will be joined by Rodney Powell and they will be discussing medicare.

If you have questions ahead of time, you can send them to [email protected]. 

Competency Level: Advanced
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking, Leadership
CFP Board Topic: Tax Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: 0

Brought to you by the Women & Finance Knowledge Circle, join Gretchen Halpin, Co-Founder of Beyond AUM, for an interactive discussion on what it really takes to grow an advisory firm in today's evolving landscape. As traditional marketing gives way to AI-driven search, changing client expectations, and increasing competition, sustainable growth requires more than generating new leads—it demands alignment across your marketing, operations, client experience, and team.

Together, we'll explore the many paths to growth, from organic marketing and referrals to new markets, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships. More importantly, we'll discuss how to build the internal systems, culture, and client experience that allow your firm to grow without compromising the relationships that made it successful in the first place. Be prepared to participate, share ideas, and learn from your peers.

What You'll Learn:

• How advisory firms are creating new business through organic, inorganic, and relationship-driven growth strategies
• The evolving role of content, SEO, and AI in helping the right prospects find—and trust—your firm
• Practical ways to expand into new markets while maintaining a consistent client experience
• How to balance growth with operational capacity so scaling strengthens, rather than strains, your business
• Strategies for creating a culture where your team understands, embraces, and contributes to your firm's growth

Whether your firm is looking to accelerate growth, enter new markets, or simply build a more scalable foundation for the future, this session will provide practical ideas and engaging discussion to help you grow with greater clarity, confidence, and intention.

Competency Level: Foundational
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: N/A
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: 0

Unlock the hidden potential of centers of influence to build powerful referral relationships that consistently introduce more of your ideal-fit clients. Many advisors understand the value of COIs, but far fewer have a repeatable strategy for identifying, engaging, and activating them. The most successful advisors don't simply network—they build intentional partnerships that create mutual value and drive long-term growth.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: General Principles of Financial Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours:

Advisors will learn:

• How elite advisors identify and activate the right COIs
• The partnership model that produces consistent introductions
• How to turn COI relationships into long-term growth engines

Retirement decisions often hinge on knowledge consumers do not realize they lack. In this session, Jamie Hopkins, co-creator of the Retirement Income Literacy Study, interviews Eric Ludwig about findings from multiple waves of consumer research and a companion study of financial advisors. They explore persistent retirement-income knowledge gaps, the disconnect between confidence and actual understanding, the impact of working with an advisor on retirement outcomes, and links between professional designations and advisor literacy. The conversation concludes with practical strategies for improving client education, identifying misunderstandings, and communicating expertise clearly without overwhelming clients while helping advisors build trust through informed conversations.

Competency Level: Intermediate
FPA Competency: Critical Thinking
CFP Board Topic: Retirement Savings & Income Planning
CFP Board CE Credit Hours: TBD

• Identify at least three major areas in which older Americans demonstrate low retirement-income literacy.
• Distinguish demonstrated retirement-income knowledge from self-assessed knowledge and explain why the difference matters in client conversations.
• Apply findings from the consumer and advisor studies to improve client education and evaluate professional-development priorities.