Chapter 2

Dear Diary: i Finally Cracked the Code…

9/3/25

There was a point—somewhere between explaining “account type vs. funding vehicle” for the 87th time—when I hit a wall. I was frustrated and confused, why it wasn’t clicking for others when it felt so clear in my head. I knew something had to change.

So, like any proper operations nerd with a deep love of visual aids, I turned to my gold-framed whiteboard (yes, I frame my whiteboards – don’t judge).

I stood there, dry erase marker in hand, and started mapping it out:

- Account types/tax status
- Ownership types
- Funding vehicles
- Transfer types

And just like that—it hit me. This is why everyone keeps getting tripped up.

🧠 The Classic Misunderstanding:

You're moving money from a client’s Fidelity IRA to an annuity.
Someone asks: “What’s the funding source?”
And the go-to answer? “IRA.”

But here’s the kicker—IRA just means Individual Retirement Account. That’s the account type (aka tax status), not the funding vehicle. It doesn’t say where the money is or what it’s invested in. Stocks? Mutual funds? Cash? CDs? Mystery box? Who knows.

And that tiny misunderstanding? It causes a lot of unnecessary confusion.

Now it’s one of the first things I train on—because once people separate “what kind of account it is” from “what’s actually in it,” the lightbulbs go off. And the job gets a lot easier.