Financial Advisor Success Podcast - Full Episode Archives

#FASuccess Ep 017: Using Social Media and Blogging to Drive Business Growth As A Reformed Broker with Josh Brown

April 25, 2017 07:01 am 9 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the seventeenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week’s guest is Josh Brown, a financial advisor and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and regular guest on CNBC’s The Halftime Report, but known to most in the financial advisor community through his prolific presence on social media – including more than half a million Twitter followers – and his popular finance blog, The Reformed Broker.

What’s fascinating about Josh, though, isn’t just that he’s active on social media, but that his firm has been able to turn it into real business growth. As having broken away to become an independent RIA with less than $100M of AUM in late 2013, Ritholtz Wealth Management has grown in under four years to a 13-person firm managing nearly $500M in AUM. In fact, Josh and his team get anywhere from 10-30 inbound prospect inquiries each week now, thanks to the constant publication of valuable (and entirely free!) content produced through the blogs of Josh, firm founder Barry Ritholtz, and several other advisors-who-also-write in the firm.

In this episode, Josh tells the story of how he became one of the best known voices in the industry, after starting out doing cold-calling for nearly a decade in a number of small regional broker-dealers before finally deciding to make the switch to become an investment adviser, and how the trajectory of his entire career was changed when he decided it was worth racking up some credit card debt to accept an invitation to a financial conference where he ended up meeting his future business partner. Josh also talks about how his own role in the firm has shifted and evolved as the business has grown, and the steps he takes to make sure he’s still working on the business and not just in the business.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Josh shares some of the books that have been most influential to his career, and the advice that he offers to anyone – whether a newer advisor, or an experienced one – on how to get started if you want to build your own digital presence with blogging and social media.

So whether you’ve been curious to learn how an advisory firm with a prolific blogging and social media presence turns free content online into real business, or want to hear the story of how a cold-calling broker ultimately broke out to success by becoming an investment advisers, or just want some ideas on how to build your own business with more digital marketing, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 016: Building Authentic Client Relationships By Practicing Skills (Not Pursuing Passions!) with Deena Katz

April 18, 2017 07:01 am 3 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the sixteenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

Our guest this week is Deena Katz, the co-chairwoman of Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial, a $1.6 billion independent RIA in Coral Gables, Florida. In addition, Deena is an author, editor, and contributor to 9 books on financial planning and wealth management, including 3 specifically on practice management for financial advisors… one of which had a tremendous impact on me when I was early in my own career!

More recently, Deena transitioned from financial advising to academia, and is now a professor in the financial planning program at Texas Tech University as well! Though in point of fact, Deena’s transition to becoming a professor isn’t entirely surprising, because she was also a teacher early in her career before making the change into financial planning almost 40 years ago.

In this interview, Deena talks about the early years of financial planning, how she and her partners established one of the first sizable fee-only financial advisory businesses, and how she was able to break through in her own career – at a time when there were even fewer female independent advisory firm owners – by adopting a niche of working with recently widowed and divorcee women.

We also talk a lot about the delivery of financial planning itself, and various business models, including why it is that Deena’s firm does not provide full-length comprehensive financial plans to new clients anymore (and instead breaks up their financial planning process into modules over the first year), the simple process her firm uses to demonstrate its ongoing financial planning value over time, and why success isn’t about following your passion but practicing your skills instead.

And be certain to listen to the end, where we talk about various types of financial advisory business models, the future of the AUM model, and the infamous question of whether it’s better to charge separately for financial planning, or not.

So whether you’re looking for perspective on the future of financial advisor business models (from a woman whose firm has tried almost all of them at some point or another!), ideas in how to get your growth going by focusing into a niche, or are looking for inspiration about how to get started in your financial planning career from here (especially as a woman in a still-male-dominated industry), I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 015: Why Life Planning Is Simply Financial Planning Done Right With George Kinder

April 11, 2017 07:01 am 6 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the fifteenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week’s guest is George Kinder, who is known to most as the “father” of the life planning – a way of holistically delivering financial planning that focuses on delving into clients’ real goals, beyond just their financial concerns, in an effort to help them use their money to deliver freedom into their lives.

What’s fascinating about George, though, is that he didn’t start out trying to create a movement towards life planning. George was actually a math major at Harvard, who then became a CPA (and earned the Bronze Medal for the third highest score in his entire state on the CPA exam!), and only began to explore the intersections between financial planning and psychology after forming a niche financial advisory practice delivering advanced tax strategies for self-employed psychologists and therapists!

In this episode, George talks about his early career and the inception of life planning itself, how he ultimately transitioned away from and sold his financial planning firm to teach life planning full time, his now-famous three questions that he asks of new clients to get to know them and begin the life planning process, and the five pursuits that most clients articulate in the life planning process… which rarely have anything to do with “traditional” financial planning goals like retirement! Though notably, George doesn’t view life planning as an alternative to financial planning, but simply as “financial planning done right”.

So whether you’ve been curious to learn more about life planning in particular, or are just looking for ideas about a whole new way to approach financial planning (and differentiate yourself in a crowded financial advisor marketplace!), I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 014: Validating Your Advisor Value Proposition And Overcoming Imposter Syndrome With Carl Richards

April 4, 2017 07:01 am 11 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back for the fourteenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week’s guest is Carl Richards, a financial advisor who has successfully grown and sold his own advisory firm, but to most financial advisors is best known as the creator the famous “Behavior Gap” sketch (of the difference between investment and investor returns), and an industry writer and speaker on how to better communicate with clients about complex financial issues.

Carl has a career that many people would be envious of. He’s worked for top-notch financial planning firms, built his own RIA, written two books, publishes a column for The New York Times, and travels internationally to speak to financial advisors around the world about financial planning. Yet ultimately, like so many of us, Carl still faces his own self-doubts about whether the value he provides is really worth what he charges (despite all evidence to the contrary!), a phenomenon known as the “imposter syndrome” that can threaten anyone’s success.

In this episode, Carl shares his story, from accidentally falling into the securities industry, to building an advisory firm, starting his Behavior Gap platform and getting a regular column in the New York Times, how his speaking career built to the point that he’s now paid $10s of thousands of dollar to give a speech, and what he’s learned about the imposter syndrome, and why many great financial advisors constantly question whether or not they’re providing enough value for their clients given what they pay (despite the fact that our client retention rates suggests the overwhelming majority of clients are happy with what we deliver to them!).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Carl talks about how he sees the future of financial planning changing, to a world where technical competency is just the minimum tables stakes to be a financial advisor, why communication skills will be the real key to success going forward, and his number one tip on what any advisor can/should do to get better at this themselves.

So whether you’re struggling to achieve success because you doubt your own value to clients, or if you’re already successful but still nervous that you may not be providing enough value to keep your clients in the long run… or you’ve simply been curious to hear the story of Carl Richards himself, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 013: Succeeding As A Serial Financial Advisor Entrepreneur Serving Ultra-HNW Clients With Steve Lockshin

March 28, 2017 07:00 am 6 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the thirteenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

This week’s guest is Steve Lockshin, a founder of AdvicePeriod, a Los Angeles-based advisory firm that serves ultra high net worth clients. So if you’ve ever been curious to hear what’s involving in serving clients with tens of millions of dollars of net worth (or more!), and charge financial planner retainer fees that could start at $100,000 and go up from there, you won’t want to miss this episode!

What’s fascinating about Steve, though, is not simply his success in serving ultra high net worth clientele, but his path as a serial entrepreneur who has founded several businesses in the advisory industry. His prior advisory firm Lydian Wealth Management, which also served ultra high net worth clientele and had more than $7B of AUM, was acquired by City National Bank. And the performance reporting software solution he co-founded, Fortigent, was acquired in 2012 by LPL Financial. And currently, Steve is also a part of AdvicePeriod for Advisors, which gives independent advisors access to AdvicePeriod’s branding, tools, and resources, for those who want to use his tools while maintaining control of their own advisory businesses.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Steve first created and sold a software company without a background in programming, and then got started as a financial advisor without any experience in the field either. In fact, his story is a fascinating example of true entrepreneurialism – of someone who sees problems and gaps to be solved, and then marshals the resources necessary to create a solution (and a business around it!), while continuously looking for new opportunities as a lifelong learner.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Steve shares his thoughts on what he thinks is the single most important choice an advisor has to make in building their own advisory business (or shaping their own career trajectory), to be successful in the long run.

So whether you’re curious to get a glimpse of what it takes to serve ultra high net worth clients, or just want to hear the perspective of a true financial advisor entrepreneur, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 012: Delivering Profitable Financial Planning To Millennials For A Monthly Retainer Fee With Sophia Bera

March 21, 2017 07:00 am 19 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the twelfth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week’s guest is Sophia Bera, the founder of Gen Y Planning, a financial advisory firm that is successfully and profitably delivering financial planning to Millennials, by charging them an ongoing monthly retainer fee to access her financial advice.

Sophia’s path to launching her advisory firm was first the subject of a Nerd’s Eye View guest post back in 2013, when she launched her independent RIA for under $10,000 (in a world where most people said it wasn’t possible to get launched for so little!). So I decided to check with her to see how it’s going… and found out that she had replaced her prior job salary within 18 months of her new practice, and now after 3 full years, she’s already taking home $100,000 of profits after all expenses, and is growing rapidly with 2 new clients per month, almost all of whom are in their 20s and 30s.

Sophia’s firm is a great example of not only the fact that Millennials can be served profitably, but the power of having a niche. Because not only is Sophia’s firm actively growing, but her primary source of new clients is Google. That’s what happens when you have a niche. Just search for “Financial Planning for Millennials” yourself, and you’ll see that Sophia is at the top of the search results as the recognized expert in her niche!

In this episode, Sophia breaks down exactly how her fee structure and service model work, from how she charges a combination of upfront and ongoing advice fees, how she incorporates investment management for certain clients (using a “robo-advisor” platform to do it!), and what exactly it is she does for clients throughout the year (and why it’s not necessary to do something for them every month!). And Sophia goes into detail about what client retention looks like with a retainer model as well, and how she sees her business growing over time.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Sophia talks about how her practice has evolved into an entirely “location-independent” virtual advisory firm, and how that not only helps her to live the lifestyle she wants, but also to diversify her income streams across financial planning, speaking, writing, and even a new coaching service for other financial advisors who want to build a similar business for themselves.

So if you’ve been curious to know how exactly to serve young Millennial clients in your firm, or have been wondering what it would be like to “take the plunge” and start your own business to do it yourself, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 011: How Launching An Advisory Business Can Be Safer Than Working In One with Alan Moore

March 14, 2017 07:00 am 3 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the eleventh episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

My guest this week is Alan Moore. Alan and I co-founded the XY Planning Network in 2014, but the reason I invited him to the podcast has little to do with XYPN itself, and everything to do with his own fascinating path as a financial advisor, business owner, and successful entrepreneur.

Because Alan started out his career as most of us are taught from the days we’re young – to go out and try to find a stable job with a steady income, and move up the ladder over time. Except Alan realized barely 6 months into his first job that it wasn’t going to be the right fit. Only to change to another job… from which he got fired in another 6 months. And so, realizing that perhaps being an employee just wasn’t the right fit, Alan decided to launch his own advisory firm. From scratch. At age 25.

These early experiences led Alan to the counter-intuitive conclusion that perhaps the traditional view of trying to find a job with a steady income is wrong, and that it can actually be more stable (at least in the long run) to build a business from scratch. Because as a business owner, even your best client firing you might only cost you a 2% to 5% of revenue… which is a lot “safer” than relying on a single boss who can take away 100% of your income in a heartbeat by firing you!

In this podcast episode, we talk about Alan’s journey from financial planning college student, to getting involved as a volunteer with NAPFA and its young-advisor group Genesis, to his path from employee to (young) entrepreneur of his own advisory firm, how he later launched a second business (XY Planning Network) as well, and how and why he ultimately made the decision that he couldn’t keep both a B2B and B2C business and would have to wind one down to fully focus on the other.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Alan talks about the rut he got into that almost led him to leave his rapidly-growing business entirely after a particularly bad month, and what it took to turn everything around and re-energize him in the business again.

So if you’re thinking about making the switch from employee to entrepreneur, or perhaps are an advisory firm business owner wondering how to better keep your young entrepreneurial employees, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 010: From Unpaid Intern to Advisory Firm CEO and Successful Succession Planning With Eric Hehman

March 7, 2017 07:00 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the tenth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

My guest this week is Eric Hehman of Austin Asset, who over the past 20 years has completed an incredible journey from being an unpaid intern for the founder John Henry McDonald when he was still a solo practitioner, to now becoming the successor owner and CEO of what is today a successful independent RIA with $750M of AUM.

In this podcast episode, Eric gives us some background about Austin Asset today and its incredible growth since he started working for the founder in 1997, from how the firm established itself as an early fee-only pioneer in the Austin area, to how it adapted its business model from standalone financial planning fees to charging on AUM (and why the firm still often charges separately for a financial plan as well), the way the firm develops its younger financial planner by having them work with smaller clients to gain experience and confidence, and the firm’s current structure today with 16 staff (including 12 CFPs) serving about 300 affluent clients.

What’s fascinating about this interview with Eric, though, is not simply the story of Austin Asset’s growth, but how its succession plan unfolded over time, as told from the perspective of the successor. Eric details why the founder was willing to sell him a 10% stake at just 1X revenue, how the founder transitioned his own role away from client relationships and out of management over time, and the way ownership and salary was transitioned to maintain the founder’s income at a steady level for a period of time.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Eric discusses what led him to ultimately write a book about his succession planning experience – aptly called Success and Succession – and why it is that notwithstanding the industry’s focus on the crucial financial and management transitions of a succession plan, it’s the emotional issues that ultimately drive (or can ruin) the outcome.

So whether you’re simply looking for ideas on how to grow a large financial planning firm, or are specifically looking for perspective on succession planning – as the founder, or the successor – I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 009: Carolyn McClanahan On Using A Complexity-Based Retainer Model To Deliver Holistic Financial Planning

February 28, 2017 07:02 am 11 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the ninth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week, I’m excited to host Dr. Carolyn McClanahan, of Life Planning Partners. Carolyn is an emergency medicine physician turned comprehensive financial planner in Jacksonville, Florida, where she maintains a practice serving 80 clients and nearly $1 million of stable recurring revenue from financial planning retainer fees.

What makes Carolyn’s firm especially unique is the way she has applied the principles of a professional medical practice, into her advisory practice. Each of Carolyn and her three advisors all communicate and support clients directly – akin to a doctor with nurses and other support staff who all interact with patients directly – with each working in their respective area of expertise. And their holistic services are covered by a single “complexity-based” retainer fee, including both financial planning and asset management services.

In this podcast episode, Carolyn shares her journey from wanting to be an actuary, to becoming a physical therapist, and then an ER physician, and finally transitioning into financial planning. She also discusses why her plan is never to grow beyond 100 client families, the hard lessons she has learned about hiring, and the parallels she sees between professional medicine and the emerging professionalization of financial planning.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Carolyn talks about exactly how she prices and adjusts her complexity-based retainer fee for each client, and the “client engagement standards” document that she requires every client to sign to ensure she only works with considerate, responsive, and all-around “good” clients!

So whether you’ve been thinking about adopting some kind of retainer fee structure, or simply want insight on a unique kind of holistic financial planning lifestyle practice, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 008: David Grau On Maximizing The Valuation Of A Financial Advisor’s Book, Practice, Or Business

February 21, 2017 07:00 am 3 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back for the eighth episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

This week’s guest is David Grau Sr. David is not a financial advisor himself, but over the past 20 years his business, FP Transitions, has facilitated the sale of nearly 1,500 advisory firms, and valued almost 9,000 of them. Which means David brings an incredibly unique perspective to the evolution of buying and selling independent advisory firms, having had a front-row seat over the past two decades.

In this podcast episode, David shares the four different types of advisor ownership structures – books, practices, businesses, and firms – what characterizes each, how they’re typically valued, and what kinds of acquirers are interested in one type versus another. We also explore how to grow ownership from one stage to the next, and the classic pitfalls along the way – for instance, why the industry-standard revenue-based compensation is actually prohibitive of transforming a practice into a true business.

You’ll also hear about how advisory firm deals are typically structured today (and how it’s changed from 10 and 20 years ago), valuation trends with the looming seller wave of Baby Boomer advisors, the best way to find the right prospective buyer if you’re looking to sell now (or soon), and how the growing availability of bank financing is changing the way advisory firms are bought, sold, and valued.

And be certain to listen to the end, where David talks about why most advisors should be very wary of relying on their broker-dealer or custodian platforms to facilitate a sale, and how to spot the “predatory buyers” that are often lurking within those platforms.

So whether you’re a financial advisor getting ready to sell your advisory firm, just thinking about how to maximize the value for the future, or are a newer advisor who wants perspective on the dynamics of buying into an advisory firm, I hope you enjoy this latest episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 017: Using Social Media and Blogging to Drive Business Growth As A Reformed Broker with Josh Brown

#FASuccess Ep 016: Building Authentic Client Relationships By Practicing Skills (Not Pursuing Passions!) with Deena Katz

#FASuccess Ep 015: Why Life Planning Is Simply Financial Planning Done Right With George Kinder

#FASuccess Ep 014: Validating Your Advisor Value Proposition And Overcoming Imposter Syndrome With Carl Richards

#FASuccess Ep 013: Succeeding As A Serial Financial Advisor Entrepreneur Serving Ultra-HNW Clients With Steve Lockshin

#FASuccess Ep 012: Delivering Profitable Financial Planning To Millennials For A Monthly Retainer Fee With Sophia Bera

#FASuccess Ep 011: How Launching An Advisory Business Can Be Safer Than Working In One with Alan Moore

#FASuccess Ep 010: From Unpaid Intern to Advisory Firm CEO and Successful Succession Planning With Eric Hehman

#FASuccess Ep 009: Carolyn McClanahan On Using A Complexity-Based Retainer Model To Deliver Holistic Financial Planning

#FASuccess Ep 008: David Grau On Maximizing The Valuation Of A Financial Advisor’s Book, Practice, Or Business

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