Financial Advisor Success Podcast Archives

Welcome back to the 292nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Matthew Topley. Matthew is the Founder and CIO of Lansing Street Advisors, an independent RIA based in Ambler, Pennsylvania that oversees $160 million in assets under management for 60 client households.

What’s unique about Matthew, though, is how he differentiates his firm by offering his high-net-worth clients opportunities to diversify their investment portfolios by syndicating private real estate partnerships that directly purchase individual multi-unit rental properties.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how after years of working as a trader, Matthew realized his career and retirement were dependent on the stock market and decided to diversify his investments in real estate so that he could create passive income for himself, how after years of investing in his own real estate properties and struggling with management and landlord duties that made the real estate not-so-passive in reality, Matthew was introduced to ‘truly passive’ real estate investing through syndication deals and ultimately was inspired to offer those opportunities to his clients, and the tools and systems that Matthew has had to implement in order to scalably execute on private real estate syndication deals with his high-net-worth clients on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

We also talk about how, despite his deep roots in portfolio management as a trader, Matthew has built the center of his “virtual family office” solution for high-net-worth clients around their financial planning advice, why Matthew and his firm choose to outsource their financial plan preparation and other back-office services so that they can focus specifically on their client conversations around financial planning advice and real estate investment opportunities, and how Matthew has been able to so effectively differentiate his firm with its syndicated private real estate offering, even though, in practice, it tends to be no more than 10% to 20% of the typical client’s portfolio.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Matthew shares how, even though he has a background in institutional investing, he is surprised by the number of products still being sold to high-net-worth clients that are not in their best interests, why he feels it’s important for those entering the financial advisory industry to gain as much knowledge as possible and have a good sense of self-awareness to create a better path for a successful career, and why Matthew strongly believes in owning a firm as it gives him the freedom to make his own decisions, the time to work on the aspects of his business he truly enjoys, and the opportunity to create a bigger impact on society.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how Matthew leverages real estate syndication deals to enhance his firm’s value proposition, how utilizing a “virtual family office” approach creates an essential one-stop shop for his high-net-worth clients, or how owning his firm has put him in a better mental and physical space to focus his energy on more positive attributes of his business and personal life, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Matthew Topley.

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Welcome back to the 290th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Andrew Komarow. Andrew is the founder of Tenpath Financial Group and Planning Across the Spectrum, a hybrid firm based in Farmington, Connecticut that oversees $100 million in assets under management for 100 client households.

What's unique about Andrew, though, is how he, as a financial advisor with autism, has built a firm with a specialized niche of autistic and other neurodivergent clients, helping them navigate their unique and complex financial planning challenges.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how being diagnosed with autism as an adult helped Andrew understand himself better and realize he had an opportunity to niche-focus his firm to serve clients who are also neurodivergent adults, how the combination of creating a separate website for Planning Across the Spectrum and leveraging a Facebook group for the special needs community has helped Andrew develop a steady path for growth in his specialization, and how Andrew created an impact investing index that he labeled as a “Neurodiversity Index,” with 79 companies that embrace neurodiversity and inclusion (because on the periodic table, gold is represented by the letters AU, and its atomic number is 79).

We also talk about how, despite never graduating high school (but gaining a GED later), Andrew credits his autism and the hyperfocus that comes along with it for helping him to ultimately earn more than 16 professional financial planning designations, how working at an insurance company early in his career and getting frustrated with adhering to large-firm corporate rules helped Andrew realize he liked giving financial advice to clients but was going to need to be more independent to have the control to serve his unique clients the way they need to be served, and how an unexpected separation from that insurance company ended up being a blessing in disguise as it forced Andrew to find a new growth path that led him to focus into his ideal client type and ultimately fueled the launch his own firm.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Andrew shares how he was surprised by how much he actually enjoyed building his own firm and having the flexibility to decide for himself what procedures and roles are put in place, why Andrew believes we are too hard on ourselves and how important it is to be kinder to ourselves about the challenges we face, and why Andrew feels the best business decision he ever made was hiring his first team member to assist him even before he really had the revenue to afford it… because it was the only way he’d be able to grow and scale further.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how Andrew took advantage of the separation from his former firm as an opportunity to serve the types of clients he preferred and in the way he wanted, how receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult not only gave Andrew a better understanding of himself, but also how he could help other neurodivergent adults navigate their financial challenges, or how Andrew leverages educational tools on his website, along with Facebook groups, to maintain a steady path of growth, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Andrew Komarow.

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Welcome back to the 289th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Kamila Elliott. Kamila is the CEO and Founder of Collective Wealth Partners, an independent RIA based in Atlanta, Georgia, that oversees nearly $25 million in assets under management for almost 175 client households.

What's unique about Kamila, though, is how she and her partners built an independent advisory firm, comprised entirely of Black CFP professionals, dedicated to supporting the creation of wealth for BIPOC and other underserved communities with a model that simply charges them for advice… even if they don’t have assets (or at least, not yet).

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how, after years of working in an environment where she saw first-hand how ultra-high-net-worth clients keep and grow their wealth (and the lack of diversity among those clients), Kamila decided to build a practice that focused on providing holistic financial planning to communities of color with emerging wealth, how Kamila and her partners serve their clients collectively with a team approach where each team member focuses on different areas of specialized expertise such as employee benefits, tax planning, and equity compensation, and why Kamila and her partners feel they can better serve their clients as advisors of color because they have a deeper understanding of both the cultural competencies necessary to serve different communities and the values those communities want to see represented in their investments and financial planning recommendations.

We also talk about why Kamila intentionally shifted her career focus to build an independent practice after years of working with clients and realizing how few looked like her, how despite working hard, Kamila was frustrated she was not receiving the recognition and compensation she felt she deserved and ultimately decided to follow the advice she gives her clients by advocating for herself and leaving her prior firm, and how Kamila explains the value of hiring a financial advisor to her clients (as many in communities of color have never had an advisor before) by likening it to hiring a personal trainer as financial advisors help clients stay focused, motivated, and accountable.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Kamila shares how she was surprised by how much time it takes to manage aspects of her business, like compliance, technology, and having time to learn new industry information in order to build a successful practice, how Kamila now recognizes risk and fear are part of growth and wishes she could have taken more risks early in her career, and why she believes in the importance of taking multiple career steps across different domains of the financial services industry that build upon one’s expertise (especially leadership skills) over time, even if that means having a more circuitous career… as not everything in life is linear.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how working with ultra-high-net-worth clients at her former firm gave Kamila the insight to help others grow and retain wealth, why Kamila and her partners chose to create a firm with an equal partnership, even dividing responsibilities to ensure they are serving their clients to the best of their expertise, or how being comprised of entirely Black CFP professionals gives Kamila's firm the leverage to better serve and connect with clients of color with emerging wealth, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Kamila Elliott.

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