Dunham earned four finalist selections in ThinkAdvisor’s 2026 Luminaries Awards—its most in a single awards program. The honors recognize Dunham’s firmwide thought leadership and education, two individual categories for Salvatore M. Capizzi, and Robert L. Pancrazi’s work supporting financial advisors as a regional wholesaler.
What You Need to Know
Dunham earned four ThinkAdvisor Luminaries finalist selections for 2026, a company record for a single awards program.
Dunham was named a finalist for Thought Leadership and Education in the firm category.
Salvatore M. Capizzi, CEPA, CBDA was named a finalist for both CMO of the Year and Thought Leadership and Education.
Robert L. Pancrazi was named a finalist for Wholesaler of the Year.
For years, Dunham has worked to help financial advisors deal with the issues their clients bring to the table.
Retirement. Inflation. Market risk. Estate planning. Taxes. The questions get bigger as clients get older, portfolios grow, and family situations become more complicated.
An advisor’s job is rarely as simple as picking investments and moving on. No, clients want help making sense of their future. They want someone who can explain the tradeoffs, spot what may be missing, and help build a plan around the life they actually want to live.
That’s the work we try to support.
Thought Leadership Advisors Can Use
Dunham’s Thought Leadership and Education finalist nomination reflects the work we have put into helping advisors have better conversations with clients (it’s also the second straight year Dunham has been recognized as a finalist in this category).
We know that the financial world doesn’t stand still for very long.
A client reads a new headline about inflation and wonders if their retirement plan still works. They hear a friend talk about a trust and ask whether they need one now. They see the market fall for a few days and want to know if they should make a move into cash.
Those conversations require more than a quick answer.
Advisors need compelling and current information, clear explanations, and a way to put each question into the context of a client’s full financial picture.
That is why Dunham continues to publish research, build advisor guides, create client-facing material, and offer education around the subjects that come up most often in advisor-client conversations.
Our work includes the Tuesday Blog - featuring pieces from Salvatore M. Capizzi, CEPA, CBDA - on advisor-practice topics. It also includes the Morning Pour - written by Adem Tumerkan (a 2025 ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Next-Gen Rising Star) - on macroeconomic issues and contrarian market angles.
The point is, we want to give advisors something useful to work with, and the external validation and reader response have shown us they’re finding it valuable.
Retirement Planning Needs a Closer Look
One area that has received more attention at Dunham is retirement planning.
That is where Salvatore M. Capizzi, CEPA, CBDA has done some of his most important work.
Dunham’s retirement white paper - Is Our Industry Prepared for Retirees’ Longer Lifespans? - was published last year and helped contribute to two Dunham award nominations in 2025.
This summer, the research was updated around a problem many investors and advisors may not fully see coming - what we call the Arithmetic of Failure.
The idea is pretty simple.
People are living longer – which is good news.
But longer retirements also mean a client’s savings may need to last 30, 40, or even 50 years.
And that’s the risk. The longer it takes, the more inflation can erode purchasing power, healthcare costs can rise, and market volatility can hit at the wrong time.
Meanwhile, clients may need to help an aging parent, support an adult child, or adjust their spending as life changes.
That’s a lot for any retirement plan to absorb.
Because of this, a client may move toward a more conservative portfolio as retirement gets closer.
And that can feel like the right move. But if the portfolio no longer has enough return capacity to outpace inflation, healthcare costs, and decades of withdrawals - it can become a big problem later.
In trying to avoid market risk, some retirees may take on a bigger risk later - running short of the growth needed to make their money last.
The updated white paper also looks at the reality of Multi-Generation Retirement. Many clients are planning for their own retirement while helping aging parents, supporting adult children, or thinking about what they want to leave behind.
The paper gives advisors frameworks and ways to start asking better questions about real purchasing power, future spending needs, healthcare costs, flexibility, and legacy goals.
The ThinkAdvisor finalist nominations come during a period of continued momentum for Dunham.
They follow three 2026 Wealthies8 finalist nominations for Salvatore M. Capizzi, CEPA, CBDA (CMO of the Year), Adem Tumerkan (Thought Leader of the Year), and Dunham’s Estate Planning Education Platform.
The Wealthies winners will be announced on September 10 in New York City.
And after that, we’ve got more big news we’ll be able to share in October.
Furthermore, in June 2026, Dunham reported more than $8 billion in combined assets under administration.
For now, we’re grateful to see the work getting recognized. And more importantly, we’re focused on continuing to give advisors the research, education, marketing support, and practical resources they can use to better serve their clients.
Dunham — 6 Prospecting Hacks for Financial Advisors [dunham.com]
Dunham — Lead Generation for Financial Advisors: The Lead Magnet Blueprint [dunham.com]
Dunham — AI Prompts for Financial Advisors: The Financial Advisor AI Prompt Playbook [dunham.com]
Dunham — The Retirement Investment Paradox: Growth vs. Safety in a Longer Retirement [dunham.com]
Dunham — Longevity Risk in Retirement Planning: Can Clients’ Money Last? [dunham.com]
Dunham — Dunham Named 2026 Wealthies Finalist in Three Categories [dunham.com]
Disclosure
This communication is general in nature and provided for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered or relied upon as legal, tax or investment advice or an investment recommendation, or as a substitute for legal or tax counsel. Any investment products or services named herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered an offer to buy or sell, or an investment recommendation for, any specific security, strategy or investment product or service. Always consult a qualified professional or your own independent financial professional for personalized advice or investment recommendations tailored to your specific goals, individual situation, and risk tolerance. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes only.
Information contained in the materials included is believed to be from reliable sources, but no representations or guarantees are made as to the accuracy or completeness of information.
About the ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award:
Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel, Inc. and its associated persons were nominated as a finalist for the Think Advisor Luminaries Awards 2026 in the following categories: Thought Leadership and Education, CMO of the Year, and Wholesaler of the Year for the period January 1, 2026, to present. The ThinkAdvisor Luminaries award honors firms that demonstrate exemplary leadership, groundbreaking innovation and outstanding community impact.
In evaluating entries, multiple factors were taken into consideration, including the nominee’s impact on the firm, it’s advisors and the broader professional community and industry, quantitative and qualitative results including number of advisors affected by the nominee and a clear description of the innovative ways the nominee has contributed to the particular program, a description of the nominee’s dedication to furthering the development of advisors and the industry and a personal commitment to the highest ethical standards
Compensation was not received from anyone in exchange for rankings for the study. A fee was paid solely to promote the award nomination.
Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel, Inc. is a Registered Investment Adviser and Broker/Dealer. Member FINRA / SIPC. Advisory services and securities offered through Dunham & Associates Investment Counsel, Inc.
