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Growing To $660M Of AUM By Leveraging SEO (And Now AEO) To Build A Durable Pipeline Of Good-Fit Prospects: #FASuccess Ep 480 With Helen Stephens

March 10, 2026 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Helen Stephens Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 480th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Helen Stephens. Helen is the founder of Aspen Wealth Management, an RIA based in Fort Worth, Texas, that oversees $670 million in assets under management for 342 client households.

What's unique about Helen, though, is how she has grown her firm thanks in large part to early investments in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which have paid off over time not only through prospects finding her through Google searches but also now by getting leads from ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Helen's SEO strategy has evolved over time as Google has changed how it evaluates sites (moving from creating backend pages that mentioned her location and services to high-quality content that demonstrated her expertise in serving her ideal-fit clients), how creating high-quality content and serving a local geographic area has now paid off through referrals from ChatGPT (which often occur when a consumer goes deep enough into planning questions that ChatGPT suggests that they seek out an advisor), and how that while Helen's commitment to SEO and content creation took time to pay off in terms of a steady pipeline of prospects, it has contributed to her approximately 30% annual growth rate over the past five years.

We also talk about how Helen made the decision to move away from internal content creation to work with an all-in-one marketing service that handles the full scope of her marketing needs, how Helen's firm uses an intake form to divide leads into those who are likely to be a good fit (who then receive a call from one of the firm's advisors), those who are edge cases (who get a call from the firm's client services professional), and those who aren't good fits (who receive referrals to more appropriate sources of financial advice), and how Helen has found success establishing a program to serve high-earning young professionals who are likely to transition into her ideal target client profile over time.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Helen shares how she started transferring equity stakes early on in her firm's history (first as gifts, then as owner-financed purchases) in part to reward loyal team members who helped the firm grow, how Helen is executing a succession plan in which she will eventually sell her entire stake in her firm to internal buyers (allowing the firm to remain independent for the long haul), and how Helen sees success for herself not only as transitioning ownership of her firm to second-generation successors but also to see a third generation obtain equity stakes and ultimately lead the firm into the future.

So, whether you're interested in learning about generating good-fit leads through SEO (and now answer engine optimization), how to work with an external marketing agency, or how to complete a succession plan that will keep the firm independent for years to come, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, with Helen Stephens.

Why Advisor-Led Marketing Becomes Harder As Firms Grow – And How To Sustain Organic Growth (Latest From Kitces Research)

March 9, 2026 07:04 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Marketing, Research

In recent years, advisory firms have faced a persistent slowdown in organic growth, with average RIA growth rates declining from 9% in 2017 to closer to 3% today. At the same time, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has surged to record highs, as firms increasingly look to inorganic growth in order to scale. While common explanations for this shift include the desire to expand service offerings, attract more profitable clients, or solve succession challenges, a less visible – but arguably more fundamental – driver is the difficulty of scaling marketing itself. As firms grow, the very marketing tactics that fueled their early success often become increasingly expensive and less efficient, to the point that pursuing organic growth may no longer be financially compelling relative to M&A.

In this article, Kitces Director of Research Mark Tenenbaum and Senior Financial Planning Nerd Sydney Squires discuss why a firm's organic growth slows as the firm matures – and how firms can resist and even reverse this effect.

As a starting point, marketing costs must be weighed holistically, considering not just 'hard' dollars spent on tools, events, or advertising, but also the 'soft' cost of advisor time. Kitces Research shows that while the typical growth-oriented firm spends about 3.2% of revenue on hard marketing expenses, roughly 71% of total marketing costs actually stem from advisor and staff time. For a newer firm with limited revenue but excess capacity, the advisor's time is relatively inexpensive, so they tend to favor marketing tactics that require time rather than money.

However, as marketing efforts take effect, the firm grows, advisor income rises, and capacity fills. As a result, the cost of each hour spent on marketing increases dramatically, driving a powerful anti-scaling effect. While the hard costs of marketing generally decline as firms grow, soft costs tied to advisor time eventually climb to nearly 8% of revenue for firms at $5 million or more, causing total marketing costs to rise as a share of revenue.

This phenomenon can be described as a "marketing capacity crossroads". Firms then face a strategic choice to maintain firm growth. They can either accept slower organic growth and supplement with acquisitions, or fundamentally redesign their marketing approach to rely less on advisor time and more on scalable hard-cost investments or delegated team members. Larger firms where advisor time comprises less than half of marketing costs achieve materially lower revenue acquisition costs than peers who remain heavily time-dependent!

Yet navigating this crossroads requires a deliberate shift. Advisors must examine which parts of their marketing truly require their unique expertise and which can be eliminated, automated, or delegated. Even high-touch strategies like events or content can often be partially delegated to team members who handle the operational and strategic groundwork, leaving the advisor focused only on the elements that genuinely demand their presence. In some cases, firms may need to invest in entirely new marketing channels – such as SEO, paid advertising, or outsourced marketing expertise – that may complement current marketing efforts, but are ultimately less constrained by advisor bandwidth.

Ultimately, the firms that sustain strong organic growth at scale are not those that simply work harder at the same tactics, but those that reengineer their marketing to decouple growth from the rising cost and scarcity of advisor time. By recognizing and proactively addressing the marketing capacity crossroads, advisory firms can ensure that their marketing strategy evolves alongside their firm!Read More...

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (March 7–8)

March 6, 2026 02:00 pm 0 Comments CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that recent data published by Cerulli shows that the growth of assets in the RIA channel has outpaced that of broker-dealer firms over the last decade – which suggests that broker-dealers need to modernize their recruitment incentives that were designed for recruiting advisors from other broker-dealers but aren't enough to avoid losing increasing numbers of advisors to the independence and autonomy of the RIA channel.

Also in industry news this week:

Although RIA M&A activity has continued at a strong pace, acquirers are increasingly targeting "adjacent" businesses like CPA firms offering tax preparation in order to expand their value proposition (showing that organic growth is still an imperative for all RIAs, even for PE-backed firms that have been focusing more on inorganic growth until recently)
While many consumers rely on general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT to generate answers to their questions, a comparison of several such tools shows that they still fall well short of performing reliably when it comes to doing investment research and analysis

From there, we have several articles on tax planning:

While tax planning is a common way for advisors to add value, giving clients guidance on tax payment – and avoiding significant under- and overpayments of quarterly estimated taxes – can be highly valuable as well (particularly as the complexity of the tax code makes it increasingly difficult for someone to intuitively estimate their tax liability in the first place)
Missing a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) can incur a hefty tax penalty of up to 25% of the missed amount – however, the IRS allows individuals to apply for a penalty waiver in cases where RMDs were missed due to reasonable error or circumstances such as cognitive decline (which is unfortunately not uncommon among aging clients of financial advisors)
When non-real-estate-experts invest in rental property, they occasionally aren't aware of the ability to take depreciation – and when that happens, the IRS specifies a process for correction that allows the taxpayer to make up for all of their years of missed depreciation at once (rather than amending multiple years of tax returns)

We also have a number of articles on practice management:

The hiring and team retention principles that RIAs can learn from top-performing consulting firms
The potential opportunities of offering internships to develop the next generation of advisory firm talent (and pitfalls to avoid!)
Why compensation conversations need to be bigger than one-off annual conversations – and how to tie individual compensation to firm growth goals

We wrap up with three final articles, all about (personal and professional) risk management:

Whether or not it's worthwhile to try to anticipate and prevent every type of risk, or if advisors (and clients) should just focus on the upside, rather than unanticipated (and unlikely) adverse events
How economic shifts over time have made us wealthier than ever… but have also decreased autonomy for young people – and how to balance both purpose and guardrails in young people's lives
Why risk tolerance goes deeper than just questionnaires, and how to help clients balance personal and financial constraints to find a fulfilling balance

Enjoy the ‘light' reading!

The Financial Planning Value Disconnect: When Clients Don’t Appreciate The Long-Term Benefits: Kitces & Carl 185

March 5, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Kitces & Carl Podcast

Kitces & Carl Ep Financial Planning Value Disconnect

Financial advisors often struggle with a frustrating disconnect: prospective clients typically seek help for a specific, often technical financial problem, yet the value they ultimately appreciate most has little to do with that original issue. Clients arrive asking whether they are saving enough, how much they can spend, or whether they need life insurance. They rarely, if ever, ask for clarity, peace of mind, or a deeper sense of purpose. And they almost never request “life planning” or personal transformation. Yet, 18 to 24 months into a relationship, the language clients use to describe why they value their advisor centers not on the problem that was solved, but on how they feel – less worried, more confident, more aligned, and more at ease about their future.

This dynamic reflects two distinct 'modes' of financial planning. The first is problem-to-solve planning, which addresses the 'presenting' issue that brings a client through the door. These are the functional, tangible concerns at the base of the value pyramid: organizing finances, reducing risk, determining retirement readiness, securing insurance coverage, or optimizing investments.

In this 185th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss this oft-transformative journey from the presenting problem to the deeper ones. The presenting problem merely acts as an entry point into the relationship. Attempting to lead instead with abstract promises of 'transformation' risks missing the reality that most prospects don't yet have language for those higher-order benefits, nor are they actively shopping for them.

However, as clients experience life transitions, the advisor's role expands beyond technical problem-solving. In moments of transition, what began as a quantitative planning exercise evolves into education, organization, and emotional steadiness. The technical solution matters immensely, but the intangible value of reassurance and guidance is truly transformative in the long run. It is in these transformative journeys – retirement transitions, widowhood, divorce, business exits, or long arcs of wealth accumulation – that advisors often build their strongest client relationships and referral sources. Clients who experience meaningful change with their advisor frequently become passionate advocates, even if they struggle to articulate exactly why. What the advisor may describe as financial purpose or clear goals, the client will likely describe as a lack of worry or burden!

Ultimately, the key insight is that while most clients will continue to arrive with concrete financial questions, advisors who recognize those problems as gateways to deeper engagement can deliver far greater value than technical expertise alone. By addressing the immediate issue while remaining attuned to the broader life context, advisors position themselves to support clients through the transitions that ultimately define their financial (and holistic) well-being. In doing so, they move beyond simply answering financial questions, instead becoming trusted partners in their clients' evolving lives: creating relationships that are not only more durable and referable, but also more fulfilling for the advisor and more impactful for the people they serve!

Don’t “Avoid Probate”: Reframing Estate Planning Success Around Managing (Not Escaping) The Probate Process

March 4, 2026 07:00 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Estate Planning

When it comes to estate planning conversations, many clients come to the table with the goal of avoiding the probate process, which can trigger images of a lengthy legal process that unnecessarily slows the distribution of a deceased individual's estate. Relatedly, when some or all of a decedent's assets do go through the probate process, it is sometimes seen as a 'failure' of estate planning. In reality, probate is often a normal and necessary part of estate administration, even when planning has been done well.

To start, probate is not a punishment for failing to plan; rather, it is the statutory estate plan that applies to every resident of a given state. Probate serves as infrastructure for establishing who has legal authority to act, clarifying ownership of assets following a death, providing a process for identifying and resolving claims, and creating procedural deadlines and guardrails to ensure an estate is settled with finality.

Notably, probate procedures vary by state and the complexity of the estate, so the probate experience can be quite different depending on a decedent's particular circumstances (ranging from a simplified process to one with expensive court supervision and more cumbersome administrative requirements). Nonetheless, for certain clients, the public nature of the probate process can be a bigger concern than the administrative burden.

To attempt to avoid the probate process, some clients set up trust structures that bypass probate. However, doing so doesn't mean avoiding the need for administration, which requires many of the same tasks as probate (e.g., identifying assets, valuing property, and transferring ownership). In effect, trust administration functions as a 'private' form of probate, operating outside the court system but subject to similar responsibilities and risks.

Even when estate planning is done 'well', individuals can still be exposed to the probate because of what happens (or fails to happen) after documents are signed. Such issues include acquiring assets after their estate plan is completed (and not coordinating ownership and beneficiary designations), inconsistent titling, digital and intangible assets (e.g., online accounts, intellectual property, and social media accounts), and out-of-state property (which can trigger "ancillary probate" and the possibility of multiple probates in multiple states). There are also cases (e.g., when family conflict exists, when a guardian must be appointed, or when there are creditor concerns) where going through the probate process might be preferable to private administration, given the structure and clarity it can provide.

For financial advisors, the value of probate literacy is in part a matter of client expectation management, because if clients have been conditioned to believe that probate equals planning failure, the presence of probate can trigger frustration, distrust, and/or confusion. Conversely, if probate has been explained as a normal part of the process that may apply in certain circumstances, its occurrence is less likely to feel like a shocking surprise. Also, understanding probate can allow an advisor to serve as a 'central coordinating figure' after a client passes away, reducing uncertainty and smoothing the asset transfer process for the client's survivors and beneficiaries (allowing the advisor to build trust with this group throughout the process).

Ultimately, the key point is that by shifting estate planning conversations from "avoiding probate" to "coordinating administration", advisors elevate the discussion and set realistic expectations that can mean a better client experience and a higher likelihood of maintaining the relationship intergenerationally!

Maintaining Good Work/Life Balance While Adding Advisors And 4X’ing The Firm To $315M: #FASuccess Ep 479 With Andy Panko

March 3, 2026 07:03 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 479th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Andy Panko. Andy is the owner of Tenon Financial, an RIA based in Metuchen, New Jersey, that oversees $323 million in assets under management for 105 client households.

What's unique about Andy, though, is how he has been able to add additional advisors to his firm (quadrupling the assets he manages over the past few years) while maintaining the strong level of work/life balance that he desires.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Andy decided to bring on two new advisors (creating additional business management requirements for himself) despite running a highly profitable solo practice that met his lifestyle goals, why Andy sought out mid-career professionals when making his new hires (due in part to their established professionalism, ability to operate independently, and the likelihood they would stick around for the long haul), and how Andy decided to set a client capacity of 60 households for himself and for each of his advisors based in part on his firm's tax-focused planning and meeting calendar.

We also talk about how Andy charges his clients on a flat-fee basis (with one price for single clients and another for couples), which is enabled in part by having clients who fit a similar profile (those nearing and in retirement who want tax-informed decumulation and retirement planning advice), why Andy decided to pay his advisors a highly competitive base salary (rather than combine a base salary with incentive compensation) that reflects the client workload they take on (enabled in part by knowing exactly how much each new client will pay in fees), and how Andy thinks the flat-fee model is a plus both for his clients (who receive a high level of service at a price point that is often less than they would pay on an assets under management basis) and his firm (which can easily assess the time and revenue tradeoffs of bringing on new clients and advisors).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Andy shares how he attracts a steady flow of prospects by creating educational content on his retirement specialization (creating a separate brand that's an outside business activity on his ADV), how Andy has overcome the loneliness that can occur from having a solo (or now, remote multi-advisor) practice by engaging with the advisor community online and at in-person events, and how Andy has succeeded in achieving his lifestyle goals in part by adjusting his workload in line with his outside responsibilities (for example, by intentionally maintaining a solo practice while his kids were younger).

So, whether you're interested in learning about growing a firm while maintaining strong work/life balance, hiring mid-career professionals directly as advisors, or using educational content to attract a steady flow of good-fit prospects, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Andy Panko.