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Self-Directed 401(k) accounts
Why unlimited investment freedom may be exactly what a retirement plan should not provide
Read MoreGenerational Split-Dollar
What if a $20 million loan isn’t worth $20 million? Generational Split-Dollar illustrates how valuation principles and time-value-of-money concepts may be integrated into intergenerational life insurance and estate planning strategies.
Read MoreJD Vance rejects Milton Friedman’s free-market principles in favor of bigger government.
JD Vance is wrong: if Christianity is good for the economy, Judaism is better. Jewish achievement exposes the absurdity of turning religion into economic policy.
Read MoreJD Vance is wrong: PART II
Separation of Church from State. Our VP is biblically and constitutionally wrong. And Logically, and Philosophically....
Read MoreThe Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors: When Discrimination Becomes Virtue
The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors: When Discrimination Becomes Virtue Every successful man in insurance has a story—a story of leadership, perseverance, innovation, and impact. A story that can inspire the next generation of professionals...
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Turning Your Good Health into Income
By exploiting differences in the way commercial annuity and life insurance carriers price the same individual’s mortality, the client can generate guaranteed lifetime income.
Read MoreThe Institutional Harm of DEI
When Equality Becomes Accounting: The Institutional Harm of DEI Kenneth L. Marcus’s August 18, 2026 Wall Street Journal article, “Bean Counting, Antisemitism and the EEOC,” identifies a problem much larger than the seemingly technical...
Read MoreMarx Lost the Economics. Why is He Winning the Culture?
One of the more curious developments in modern intellectual history is that Karl Marx remains enormously influential even though much of the economic architecture on which Marxism was constructed has been rejected by mainstream...
Read MoreSocialism Is the Wrong Answer-
—but the Questions Are Real Gerard Baker’s recent Wall Street Journal article, “Socialism Is the Wrong Answer, but the Questions Are Real,” makes an important point that defenders of market capitalism should take seriously. The renewed...
Read MoreFAIR FLY: When Behavioral Paternalism Takes a Dive PART 1
FAIR FLY: When Behavioral Paternalism Takes a Dive This essay was inspired by and adapted from the Russian-language satire “Лишний вес” (“Excess Weight”), shared by Andrey Makarevich on his Facebook page. I have been unable to identify...
Read MoreFAIR FLY II: Legal analysis
FAIR FLY II: Legal analysis The original FAIR FLY thought experiment begins with an almost offensively simple proposition. Airlines charge passengers for excess baggage because additional weight costs money to transport. A sixty-pound...
Read MoreWhat Do You Do With Stupid People?
What Do You Do With Stupid People? Cipolla, Institutional Stupidity, and Rational Paternalism There is an uncomfortable problem at the center of every philosophy that takes human autonomy seriously: what should be done when people...
Read MoreFrom Gods to Ideology: When Secular Orthodoxy Becomes Religion
As traditional religion fades, ideology can inherit its need for certainty, belonging, and moral authority. The danger begins when political beliefs become sacred, dissent becomes heresy, and evidence no longer changes minds.
Read MoreTen Tax Nudges and Their Unintended Consequences
Ten Tax Nudges and Their Unintended Consequences The Internal Revenue Code as a Behavioral Code The Internal Revenue Code is usually described as a mechanism for raising revenue. That description is technically correct and conceptually...
Read MoreNo American Should Be Afraid to Pray—or Afraid Not To
No American Should Be Afraid to Pray—or Afraid Not To Moshe Davis’s recent Wall Street Journal essay, “No American Should Be Afraid to Pray,” makes an argument with which I fundamentally agree. Americans should be able to enter a...
Read MoreProfessionals as the Chosen People
The phrase “chosen people” is often misunderstood because modern language tends to equate chosenness with privilege, superiority, or entitlement. A more demanding interpretation, however, is that to be chosen is not to receive greater privi
Read MoreSelling and Professionalism: a must combination
Selling and Professionalism For decades, financial services has struggled with an artificial distinction between selling and professionalism. Selling is often treated as something vaguely embarrassing, a commercial activity from which...
Read MoreCompliance and Ethics Are Not Synonyms
Compliance and Ethics Are Not Synonyms: Why Rules Do Not Make a Professional Financial services has developed an unfortunate habit of using compliance and ethics as though the words were interchangeable. They are not. Compliance asks...
Read MoreCorporate Responsibility vs. Personal Responsibility: An Irreconcilable Conflict
Corporate Responsibility vs. Personal Responsibility: An Irreconcilable Conflict Part two to AI v. DEI Few ideas have transformed modern business ethics more profoundly than the concept of corporate responsibility. Once understood as...
Read MoreAnatomy of a Courtroom Disaster
When an Expert Never Gets to Testify: Anatomy of a Courtroom Disaster Expert witnesses usually worry about cross-examination. They prepare their methodology, review their reports, anticipate attacks on assumptions, and make sure they...
Read MoreCase Study For Attorneys and CPAs
Economic advantages of buying life insurance with qualified money.
Read MoreExpert Witness: Where Ethics Meets Reality
For most of my career, I have helped families, business owners, and professionals make important financial decisions. Occasionally, however, I am asked to step into a very different role—that of an expert witness in family law and...
Read MoreAI or DEI? That Is the Question
Shakespeare asked whether to be or not to be. Today, the professions confront a different question, one that may ultimately prove just as consequential to their future: AI or DEI? Although the two concepts are frequently discussed...
Read MoreMoral Clarity Has No Borders
One of the defining characteristics of free societies is the ability to recognize injustice regardless of where it occurs. The moment we condemn authoritarianism abroad while excusing its underlying logic at home, we cease defending...
Read MoreReality Does Not Care What We Believe
There is a comforting belief that history teaches lessons. It does nothing of the sort. History merely records what happened. Whether we choose to learn from it is entirely our responsibility. The tragedy is not that history repeats...
Read MoreEconomics, Populism, and the Erosion of Professional Judgment (WSJ 8/5/26)
A Rational Paternalist Perspective After reading William A. Galston's Wall Street Journal opinion piece, "Trump, the Working Class and Social Order" (August 5, 2026), I found myself agreeing with some of his observations but not with...
Read MoreAI, Decor Duty, and Financial Advice
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently declared that artificial intelligence has reached what many have long called the “singularity”—the point at which AI systems outperform humans at solving complex problems. In an interview discussed by The...
Read MoreDisability Insurance- A must have
Promises to Keep: Disability Insurance as a Professional and Moral Obligation For physicians, dentists, attorneys, and other highly trained professionals, the most valuable asset on the personal balance sheet is rarely the investment...
Read MoreIQ and Financial Success: Intelligence Helps, But Wisdom Pays the Bills
Many people assume that financial success is largely a function of intelligence. The logic seems obvious: smarter people make better decisions, earn more money, and accumulate greater wealth. There is some truth to this assumption....
Read MoreWhen Even the Wealthy Are Worried About Retirement WSJ 6/19/26
A recent WSJ survey found that 40%+ of affluent Americans fear they haven't saved enough for retirement. Rising taxes, longevity, IRMAA, and contribution limits are driving interest in life insurance and Kai-Zen as complementary retirement
Read MoreEthical and Legal Tax Shelters in the United States Tax Code In Memory of Bruce Givner
Ethical and Legal Tax Shelters in the United States Tax Code In Memory of Bruce Givner Few tax attorneys influenced my professional thinking more profoundly than Bruce Givner. Bruce was a rare combination of scholar, practitioner,...
Read MoreMerit, Fiduciary Duty, and the Ethical Debate Over DEI in the Life Insurance Industry
Abstract The debate surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives is frequently framed in political terms. However, the strongest critiques and defenses of DEI in the life insurance profession can be analyzed through...
Read MoreWhy Financial Literacy Is Not Enough
Why Financial Literacy Is Not Enough: The Case for Better Financial Advisors Rather Than More Financial Education By Dr. Igor Zey, PhD, CFP For decades, policymakers, educators, and financial institutions have championed financial...
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PPLI and Cross-Border Tax Planning
Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI): One of the Most Powerful — and Misunderstood — Tools in Cross-Border Tax Planning For ultra-high-net-worth families engaged in international planning, the modern tax landscape presents a unique...
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The Dangerous Illusion of AI-Generated Financial Advice
The Dangerous Illusion of AI-Generated Financial Advice Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the financial services industry. Consumers now routinely ask generative AI systems for investment recommendations, retirement...
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Actions taxpayers should take if they missed the deadline
Missed the tax deadline? File as soon as possible, pay what you can, and use IRS payment options to limit penalties and interest. Acting quickly can help reduce the long-term financial impact.
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Early Awareness, Late Accumulation: Why Gen Z’s “Head Start” Fails to Translate Into Retirement Read
Gen Z is starting retirement savings earlier than ever, but structural realities are holding them back. Early awareness without real accumulation creates a hidden late start, reshaping how we need to think about long-term wealth building.
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When Should You Start Social Security?
When Should You Start Social Security? For someone born May 26, 1959, Full Retirement Age is 66 years 10 months (March 2026). Let’s assume your benefit today is $3,500/month. If you delay until age 70, Social Security increases your bene
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IRS Releases 2026 401(k) and IRA Contribution Updates
2026 retirement limits are rising: 401(k) contributions increase to $24,500 and IRAs to $7,500, with higher catch-up limits and updated income phase-outs. Learn how to maximize your savings opportunities.
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Inherited IRAs and Divorce: Hidden Risks for Family Law, Estate Planning, and Tax Professionals
Inherited IRAs create major risks in divorce, from transmutation and tax acceleration to SECURE Act distribution rules and trust complications. Attorneys and CPAs must coordinate to avoid penalties, disputes, and costly settlement errors.
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What Attorneys and CPAs Need to Know About the IRS’s Enforcement of Inherited IRA Distribution Rules
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the IRS has begun enforcing annual distribution requirements for many inherited IRAs—an issue with significant tax, estate-planning, and compliance implications for our clients. Under the...
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Ethics at the Crossroads
A clear look at how financial advisors, attorneys, and CPAs can collaborate ethically by defining roles, avoiding conflicts, and putting client interests first for better, more coordinated outcomes.
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