Dave Alison
If there is one lesson Dave Alison wants to impart to potential clients, it's this: Not all money is taxed the same.
Alison, the founding partner and president of wealth management at Prosperity Capital Advisors, said during his session at the American College of Financial Services' Horizons 2026 retirement planning conference he began understanding the value of this idea in 2017 when the tax overhaul known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed.
He hadn't yet doubled down on tax planning and management. But, as he read through the then-new law, his thinking started to change.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me," he said. "Because when tax laws come out, they traditionally only impact a small demographic of people … but the TCJA had something for everybody. It was going to impact almost every single person that I would want to sit down with."
At that point, Alison said, he began the process of centering his practice around tax management to differentiate it in prospects' eyes.
"We have a huge opportunity to maximize our income and assets and minimize our taxes," he said.
Tax management is now one of the pillars of Alison's holistic wealth management philosophy.
"Because it's not what you make, it's what you keep," he said.
Now, when Alison meets with a prospect, he makes sure to map out what their lifetime tax liability will be.
"The reality of it is taxes are one of your largest lifetime expenses," he said. "Because at the end of the day, there are only three places your money can go. You have to pick two of the three: it's the IRS, your family and charities. If we can structure a tax management plan that can reduce some of this lifetime tax liability … that's more money in your pocket for your family or for the charities that mean the most to you. Because if you don't choose, if the government will choose where they spend that money."
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