In this episode of the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily, host Mike Milligan introduces a clip from his Ideas by Mike podcast featuring retirement expert Tom Hegna. The conversation uses a golf‑club analogy—14 clubs each with a purpose—to illustrate why financial professionals should employ a full suite of tools (annuities, life insurance, mutual funds, crypto, etc.) rather than relying on a single product. Hegna defines a “fake fiduciary” as an advisor who claims to act in a client’s best interest but limits options, neglects long‑term‑care protection, guaranteed lifetime income, or life‑insurance solutions. Both hosts stress the importance of a true fiduciary who uses all “clubs” appropriate to a client’s life stage. The segment includes promotional calls to subscribe to the Ideas by Mike podcast, a text‑to‑learn‑more CTA, and a detailed compliance disclaimer outlining Mike Milligan’s CFP status, advisory affiliations, and the informational nature of the content.
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Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. This is your host, Mike Milligan. I want you to be one of a kind. You already are, you just need to realize it. Today is Thursday, September 25th, and back in 1926, the PGA Championship, a golf tournament, finished up on this day. Walter Hagen won his 3rd consecutive PGA Championship by beating his final competitor. Fun fact about the PGA Championship back then, it was match play, but he beat him 5 and 3 on the finals of, uh, the Salisbury Golf Club at East Meadow, New York. This victory marked Hagin's 4th overall PGA title and helped cement his legacy as one of golf's all-time greats. Recently on the Ideas by Mike podcast, I had a golf legend in his own right, several-time club champion out in Arizona, and more importantly, One of America's retirement experts, as seen on PBS and in front of thousands of people over the years. That was Tom Hegna. Tom and I discussed golf, fiduciaries, and retirement income. I want to give you a little clip of that podcast. If you want more of that, go find Ideas by Mikecast podcast on any place podcasts are found. Subscribe to it, follow it for all guests that we have on there. Enjoy my time with Tom. A little excerpt from that next.
Let's talk to this generation in terms that they understand, the retiree generation. And let's talk about golf, right? You are known for being a scratch golfer.
Not really. I mean, right now I'm a 6. I got as low as a 4.5. But, you know, I've won a club championship. I've won 2 senior club championships. So, I'm a competitive golfer, yes.
Well, you didn't read— I mean, you didn't win club championships back in 2011 and '12. You won them the last 2 years.
Yeah, the last 5 years. Yeah, right.
Last 5 years you've won the club championship. Okay. So, so, so you know how to play, right? Do you find any similarities between discipline in golf and financial planning?
Yeah. Well, you know, I always say there's 14 clubs in my bag and I don't use a putter off the tee and I don't use my driver out of the bunker. You know, each club has a purpose. And it's the same in our industry. There are too many advisors who only want to use a 7-iron. You know, oh, I only sell fixed index annuities, or I only sell IUL, or I only sell assets under management. No, you should be doing all of that, really. I mean, we should not be trying— you know, when all you got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And the hammer is just one of the tools that you can use. You might want to use pliers. You might want to use a screwdriver, you know, to get the job done. It's the same in our business. Annuities are there for a reason. Life insurance is there for a reason. Mutual funds are there for a reason. You know, crypto's there for a reason. And so, it's more what is the proper mix? What tools do you need at what time in your life? Because there's certain times in your life you need different tools than you need. And so, I would just say you want to work with a financial professional who is willing to use all 14 clubs in the bag and just doesn't have a putter and just doesn't have a driver.
We talk about like everything from CDs to Bitcoins.
Has attributes, right?
And it's, are those attributes being used and are they useful for you in your portfolio? I, in the One of a Kind Financial Plan book that I wrote, my publisher, when I wrote the book, they actually said, are you sure you want to publish chapter 4? And I was like, absolutely, I want to do it. Chapter 4 talks about what a true fiduciary is. And it's another way of saying what you just said, right? Like using all the clubs in the bag. Like, to me, a fiduciary is if all you have is a hammer and you see a screw and you use it, you're not really a true fiduciary, right?
Right.
So like financial professionals who all that, like you said, only have fixed index annuities and that's all they offer and that's all they see as a solution, that's not really a true fiduciary, right? Somebody that only manages investments and they'll say annuities are bad, that's not a true fiduciary.
Right, right, right. I call them fake fiduciaries.
Fake fiduciaries. And I haven't— I've been around you enough and I've never heard you say that. So, so I just describe it, but in your words, describe what a fake fiduciary is.
Well, there's somebody who says, I always do what's in the client's best interest, but then they don't protect them against the risk of long-term care. They don't protect them with guaranteed lifetime income. They don't believe in life insurance. That's not a fiduciary, and they are not acting in your best interest. You know, I own 13 annuities. I own some Bitcoin. I have a big life insurance policy that my premium was $226,000 a year for 12 years. I mean, I have these things. I own them and they, and, and there's a reason why I own them. And I have investments and I have a brokerage account, but, you know, I, I use all 14 clubs when I play golf and I use all my tools when I'm, when I'm working on my own retirement.
Again, that was me with Tom Hegna on the Ideas by Mike podcast. If you want to hear the full 30 minutes of audio or video, go find the podcast at Ideas by Mike on YouTube or where you find your favorite podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Android, Pandora, iHeart, or anywhere podcasts are found. Again, that's the Ideas by Mike podcast. Go subscribe, like, and follow that. If you're interested in getting more information about how Tom Hegna's conversation can impact your one-of-a-kind financial plan, text ideas to 600-700. Until next time, we'll see you soon. This has been the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily. One last message from our compliance team. As a reminder, Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner, is an investment advisor representative of Advisory Alpha, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed by me, Mike, or any podcast guests are solely our opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Advisory Alpha. This recording is for informational purposes only, should not be relied on solely for investment, tax, or legal decisions, and it's in no way intended to communicate or guarantee specific performance or suitability of any security instrument or product as we may have discussed. Investment advice Advisory and financial planning services offered through Advisory Alpha LLC, a registered investment advisor. Insurance products are provided by Ideas by Mike, a licensed agency located in Norfolk, Virginia, and licensed to do business in all 50 states. While tax and legal issues may be discussed in the general course of financial and investment planning, Advisory Alpha does not provide tax or legal services. Please consult with your tax or legal professional prior to making decisions related to these issues. If you want us an appointment with Ideas by Mike or One Oak Financial, please reach out via our website.
This podcast is produced in conjunction with Mike Milligan LLC.
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