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The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (November 2022)

November 7, 2022 07:03 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Technology & Advisor FinTech

Welcome to the November 2022 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors!

This month's edition kicks off with the news that a new RIA custodian – Entrustody – has launched, as independent RIAs continue to clamor for more alternatives than what has now become the ‘Big 2’ of Schwabitrade and Fidelity. As with Altruist, the ‘other’ new startup RIA custodian to launch in recent years, Entrustody is pledging to have a more modern interface with a better user experience, more and deeper integrations, and a more transparent price structure than ‘traditional’ custody services.

Notably, though, the reality is that changing RIA custodians still requires the repapering of clients and retraining of staff (and the latter cost is still incurred even if firms ‘just’ add Entrustody as a second custodial platform without moving existing clients), which raises the question of whether Entrustody has enough efficiency improvements to actually convince advisors to switch. While at the same time, competition has already heated up for new advisors (who can pick a new custodian without repapering or retraining because they’re just getting started) with SSG, Altruist, and even Schwabitrade itself pledging no minimums, and a number of ‘new’ RIA custodial competitors like LPL and SEI are increasingly competing for breakaways as well. Which raises the question of whether and where Entrustody may even be able to make a beachhead in a surprisingly crowded marketplace for the few advisors who are in a potential custodial transition?

From there, the latest highlights also feature a number of other interesting advisor technology announcements, including:

Orion’s Redtail launches “Redtail Campaigns” in partnership with Snappy Kraken to facilitate CRM-based drip marketing emails
Hearsay Systems rolls out a new small-to-mid-sized RIA platform for social media compliance and website design
Riskalyze signals an intent to rebrand itself away from ‘just’ risk tolerance assessments to a broader focus on helping advisors grow clients and assets

Read the analysis about these announcements in this month's column, and a discussion of more trends in advisor technology, including:

Merrill Lynch launches a new ‘Merrill Match’ system that downplays an advisor’s geography and focuses more on advisor ‘fit’ with respect to expertise, meeting preferences, and communication style
Ezra Group launches a new “WealthTech Integration Score” for major AdvisorTech vendors to help advisors better assess which software has the most meaningful deep integrations

In the meantime, we’re excited to announce several new updates to our new Kitces AdvisorTech Directory, including Advisor Satisfaction scores from our Kitces AdvisorTech Research, and the inclusion of WealthTech Integration scores from the Ezra Group!

And be certain to read to the end, where we have provided an update to our popular “Financial AdvisorTech Solutions Map” as well!

*And for #AdvisorTech companies who want to submit their tech announcements for consideration in future issues, please submit to [email protected]!

#FA Success Ep 304: Leveraging Surge Meetings To Find Efficiency With Client Reviews And New Client Onboarding, With Chad Chubb

October 25, 2022 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 304th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Chad Chubb. Chad is the founder of WealthKeel, an independent virtual RIA based in Tampa, Florida, that advises on over $100 million of assets for 110 client households.

What's unique about Chad, though, is how he has not only implemented a “surge meeting” approach to meet with each of his ongoing clients during a two-month period twice a year, but has gone further to implement a “surge onboarding” approach where he only takes on new clients in two-month intervals twice a year as well… all of which has allowed him to implement a highly systematized and efficient process so that he has more time and capacity throughout the rest of the year to focus on firm strategy, the client experience, and populating his waitlist of new clients for the next surge onboarding cycle.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how, as Chad focused increasingly on serving a niche of Gen X and Gen Y physicians, he noticed an increasingly large overlap in the types of financial planning issues he was solving client after client that led him to a systematized surge approach to client review meetings, how almost reaching a point of burnout while onboarding 40 to 60 new clients per year in 2020 and 2021 made Chad realize that he needed to implement a surge onboarding approach (and a waitlist) to more easily scale and control the growth of his practice, and how Chad leverages the combination of writing for a finance-focused blog for physicians (as well as his own blog), concentrating on SEO tactics, and speaking at hospitals, to find his ideal prospects where they are and rapidly grow his firm.

We also talk about how Chad has evolved the pricing of his firm to use a retainer model that still approximates the revenue opportunities of an assets-under-advisement approach (which has given him a path to increase his fees over time to scale his firm), why Chad’s next steps are to focus on developing and expanding his team even further so that he can move into a CEO role where he is less-client facing and more focused on the operations of the firm to keep it growing and scaling, and how Chad has gotten comfortable with referring out clients who don’t want to wait for the next surge period and has even been ‘right sizing’ his client base by sending no-longer-good-fit clients out to other advisors who may be a better fit.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Chad shares how despite the fast-growth success he’s had, he’s still dealing with the ever-present feelings of imposter syndrome and what he calls the “entrepreneur dilemma” where, when you hit a goal, the only remaining focus is to hit the next goal, leaving little room to celebrate the smaller wins that comprise a successful business, why Chad wishes he discovered the power of an SEO strategy coupled with a clear niche specialization earlier on in his career after grinding early on with the ‘Project 100’ approach of just calling on friends and family, and why Chad believes creating systematized processes and a structured client communication meeting cadence (like surge meetings) isn’t just about operational efficiency to scale but is also the key to helping him develop a better balance between his professional and personal life.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how Chad structures his time so he can handle surge meetings and onboarding twice a year, how serving a niche made it easier for Chad to create more efficient processes, or how Chad utilizes a combination of different technology to streamline notetaking and communication, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Chad Chubb.

#FA Success 303: Pivoting From ‘Robo’ Investment Management To Financial Planning In South Africa, With Louis van der Merwe

October 18, 2022 07:09 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Louis van der Merwe Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome back to the 303rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Louis van der Merwe. Louis is the Director of WealthUp, an independent advice practice based in Cape Town, South Africa, that oversees the U.S. equivalent of nearly $60 million in assets under management for 115 client households.

What's unique about Louis, though, is how he and his partner (in anticipation of a shift in the financial advisory industry to more automated client services nearly 10 years ago) developed a robo-advice technology prototype to help clients have their investments managed at a very low cost… which then struggled to gain traction with consumers, inadvertently giving them the inspiration to launch their own ‘fully human’ financial planning practice instead.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how, after 4 months of development, the robo-advice prototype Louis and his partner created was not seeing the rate of success they had hoped (as most clients were not completing the process because they actually wanted and needed more investment advice than what self-directed technology could offer) which made them realize what consumers really needed was better financial planning. We also explore how, even though the auditing firm where Louis and his partner were employed was very interested in the prototype they built, they refused to purchase the product, which led Louis to a crossroads that ultimately led him to the decision to leave the firm and start his own financial planning practice, and how, even though Louis and his partner built their business based on how they could offer better portfolio management to their clients, they ultimately decided to employ a discretionary fund manager to outsource their investment management so that they could have more capacity to fully focus on their financial planning advice and the client experience.

We also talk about how, at just 24 years old, Louis decided to launch his own practice as he realized, if he was going to take a big risk, his age gave him the advantage to do so while avoiding the regrets that many successful entrepreneurs have of not starting their businesses earlier in life, how, while being considered for an “approved practice” award through South Africa’s Financial Planning Institute, their in-depth review process highlighted how Louis’ practice was not really following their 6-step process and motivated Louis to go even deeper with more financial planning services like estate planning and better demonstrating the impact of financial decisions to clients, and why Louis finds running an independent practice challenging as even though it has been 10 years and the practice has come a long way, there is always room to grow and new practices and skills to discover that can help transform the way he delivers advice to his clients and manages his team.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Louis shares why he feels that the financial planning profession is a helping profession and as an advisor it’s important to recognize that providing value in a client’s life can be as simple as giving one’s time and energy to help the client (as that is a rare commodity in life), why Louis believes it's valuable for advisors entering the financial services industry to spend time discovering their individual strengths and find employment or build a practice that focuses on their own individual strengths to have a more fulfilling and successful career, and how Louis’ own definition of success has changed from early on when he hoped to build a big robo-advice technology enterprise to today where he can instead maintain a tight-knit group of clients so that he can have more time and capacity to make a difference in their lives (and be compensated well for his value) while still being able to spend meaningful time with his family… and have some fun, too.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how the financial services industry and its regulations differ in South Africa, why Louis decided to focus more on financial planning and less on investment management, or how, even though Louis did not start a fintech company, he still integrates as much technology as possible to automate his back-office, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Louis van der Merwe.

The 9 ‘Best’ Financial Advisor Conferences (For Scaling Up) In 2023

October 17, 2022 07:06 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Conferences

After more than 2 years of ongoing disruptions, from the original COVID-19 outbreak, to wave after wave of variants as the pandemic rolled on, 2022 proved to be the year that advisor conferences were “back”, as events ceased canceling or rescheduling in response to new variants and powered forward… often with virtual options for those who still felt uncomfortable traveling, but with most events actually reaching or even exceeding their pre-pandemic highs as advisors showed that they, too, are hungry to re-connect and re-engage.

However, not all advisor conferences have recovered, and, instead, the pandemic seems to have operated as a catalyst that took ongoing shifts in the conference landscape and accelerated them. As while conferences in the past were primarily a combination of ‘trade shows’ (where advisors could see the latest products and services from the vendors who exhibited) and educational content for CE, the conferences that have been the fastest to rebound are either built around their communities that also offer education and networking (as advisors still have a desire to ‘go home’ to their communities, from RIA custodians to broker-dealers, to advisor networks and associations they’re connected with) or those that are built around practice management.

In fact, with the astonishing success of advisory firms through the pandemic – as nearly all firms held onto and still managed to grow their client count despite the disruption, and saw revenue reach new highs as AUM was largely buoyed by market growth (recent market volatility notwithstanding) – in the new conference landscape, the challenges that advisors face when trying to “scale up” through the growth have become a major focus. Leading to an expansion in various ‘niche’ conferences that specialize in particular challenges that advisors face as they follow the growth journey. Which, in turn, is spawning even more hunger for specialized practice management conferences in 2023.

As someone who has been speaking at 50-70 conferences a year for 18 years myself, I’ve seen the good and bad of our wide range of industry events, which are spread across membership associations, broker-dealers, insurance companies, RIA custodians, product manufacturers, media companies, private events, and more. And as a result, I am often asked for my own suggestions of what, really, are the industry’s ‘best’ conferences to attend.

Accordingly, back in 2012, I started to craft my own annual list of ’best-in-class’ top conferences for financial advisors, allocated across a range of different categories (as what’s best for solo advisors isn’t the same as what’s best for larger advisor enterprises, what’s best for fee-for-service advisors isn’t the same as what’s best for AUM firms, more technically-oriented advisors will prefer different conferences than those seeking practice management or marketing ideas, etc.).

Having updated our annual conference list every year since, I’m excited now to present my newest list of “Top Financial Advisor Conferences” for the upcoming 2023 year, with a particular focus on the best conferences for advisors facing various “scaling up” challenges – from solo advisors who have gotten ‘stuck’, advisors looking to transition to become a multi-advisor boutique, navigating the unique human capital and growth challenges that founders face when scaling up an enterprise, as well as the best conferences for scaling up advisor marketing, advisor technology, and the advice delivery process itself. Along with a few other notable conferences for those looking for a good overall educational experience (for those who don’t yet want to get their CE online!), those who need a ‘recharge’, and those who are just looking for something new and different (who may want to check out Future Proof’s new ‘un-conference’ wealth festival!).

In addition, we've also updated our popular "Master Conference List" of all financial advisor conferences in 2023, for both advisors looking for a wider range of events to attend (if you want to delve deeper into a particular topical area), and for vendors looking for more conferences to exhibit at!

So I hope you find this year’s 2023 top conferences list (and our new Master Conference List) to be helpful as a guide in planning your own conference budget and schedule for next year, and be certain to take advantage of the special discount codes that several conferences have offered to all of you as Nerd’s Eye View readers!

#FA Success Ep 301: Guiding Clients To Design Their Rich Life With A Focus On Spending Dials Not Goals, With Ramit Sethi

October 4, 2022 07:03 am 2 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome back to the 301st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Ramit Sethi. Ramit is the author of the New York Times’s bestselling book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, and the owner of the online platform of the same name that offers financial education content and programs to consumers so they can get refocused on their personal finances and the things they love.

What's unique about Ramit, though, is how he literally wrote the book (and subsequently launched an online educational platform and brand) on how consumers can not just learn more about their finances but change their financial behaviors, without focusing on a budget or setting retirement savings goals, and instead helping them focus their money more directly on what they envision to be their “rich life”… and the paths they can take to make that a reality.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Ramit helps people design their rich life through the use of spending dials, where, like a radio dial, he encourages people to turn up and spend extravagantly on the things they love (and cut mercilessly on the rest) so that they can enjoy their money throughout their life and not just after retirement, how Ramit was inspired while attending Stanford to write his book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, after gaining a decently sized audience from his blog that focused on teaching people about personal finance and realizing the potential for its growth as a brand, and why Ramit is unapologetic about his brand, its sometimes unique positions on money and financial behavior, and how he got comfortable charging thousands of dollars for his financial education programs as after years of fine tuning his product (because he knows that the people who are truly a good fit will find value in what he offers, and will know its worth).

We also talk about how Ramit’s interactions with people on his platform and on his social media channels has led him to increasingly focus not just on personal finance but how psychology plays a major role in the way people prioritize their finances and sometimes create unrealistic or unhealthy relationships with their money, why Ramit supports the use of financial advisors but is critical about the traditional AUM model many financial advisors implement and feels that advisors (and their clients) would benefit more from a model that is based on charging for behavioral management because, like hiring a personal trainer, clients are seeking more ways to be held accountable, and how the tough decision to let go of some of his trusted team due to a retrenchment in his business in 2016, forced Ramit to reevaluate his company’s internal processes, which, unexpectedly reinvigorated him and the team as they realized they needed to concentrate on the ways they can innovate and propel the company forward.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Ramit shares how, going through his own personal dilemma of talking to his fiancé about a pre-nup and experiencing firsthand how finances take shape in a marriage inspired Ramit to create a podcast that focused on couples and their money struggles so that he could bring to light the real conversations people, and especially couples, have when it comes to money and the alignment of values, why Ramit feels it is important for younger advisors to find what makes them unique early on and how they can market that uniqueness as a valuable differentiator when trying to find clients and build a successful practice, and why, after experiencing it himself, Ramit understands that entrepreneurs put undue pressure on themselves to be the core competency of their business, and how over time he has learned to delegate responsibilities to a great team of people so that his time can be better spent on the value he as the founder brings to the company and its ability to keep growing into the future.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how Ramit helps people shape their “rich life” and focus on spending money on the things they love, why Ramit thinks financial psychology is a huge contributing factor in how we develop relationships with money, or why, despite writing a book and offering educational programs, Ramit gives most of his material away for free, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Ramit Sethi.

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (Sept 10-11)

September 9, 2022 02:00 pm 1 Comment CATEGORY: Weekend Reading

Enjoy the current installment of “Weekend Reading For Financial Planners” - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that as Millennials grow their wealth, they could be increasingly turning to financial advisors for guidance. But amid competition from large asset managers and broker-dealers, advisors can consider how they can shape their service offerings and fee structures to attract Millennials and build client relationships that could last for decades to come.

Also in industry news this week:

As broker-dealers increasingly offer fee-based planning services, RIAs are responding by enhancing their own service offerings, and offering alternative fee structures to differentiate themselves from the competition
More states are adopting continuing education requirements for investment advisers, with three states establishing rules that must be followed by the end of 2022

From there, we have several articles on practice management:

A new company aims to train the next generation of planners and provide a valuable outsourced service to advisory firms
Why creating internal career paths and considering fully remote workers could help firms thrive in the current tight labor market for advisor talent
What advisors are doing to maximize the efficiency of their firms without bringing on additional staff

We also have a number of articles on retirement planning:

How the introduction of new ‘modern’ tontine products could provide retirees with a new way to mitigate longevity risk
The options available to clients who want to reverse their decision to start claiming Social Security benefits
How sequence of return risk can affect accumulators as well as retirees

We wrap up with three final articles, all about time management:

Why scaling your time can be more effective than trying to stretch or save it
How exercise can not only extend your lifespan, but also increase the quality of those years
How the ‘money value of time’ can help explain why certain periods of time are more valuable than others

Enjoy the ‘light’ reading!

Serving Pro Bono Clients As A Busy Advisor: How Advisers Give Back Makes Volunteering Easy

August 15, 2022 07:07 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: General Planning

Working as a financial advisor can be both financially rewarding and emotionally satisfying. By helping clients develop financial goals, creating a financial plan, and supporting the implementation and monitoring of the plan, advisors help clients live their best lives. But while new fee models have allowed fee-only advisors to reach an expanding range of potential clients, there are many Americans who could benefit from professional financial advice but might not have sufficient income or assets to pay for it. This gives advisors the opportunity to offer their services on a pro bono basis, and the Advisers Give Back platform allows them to do so in as little as one hour per month.

Pro bono financial planning refers to free, no-strings-attached financial advice and planning for underserved people. Most advisors are already familiar with many of the issues these individuals face, from setting goals to debt management, although the specifics might be slightly different given the typically lower incomes and wealth of pro bono clients. In addition to providing a valuable service to the community and serving as a meaningful activity for advisors, pro bono planning is also an important part of growing financial planning into a profession, similar to other fields (e.g., law) with established pro bono programs. Further, pro bono planning can help advisors develop their skills, whether it is working with individuals of different ages or incomes than their usual clients to practicing their empathetic listening and client meeting skills (which is especially relevant for more junior advisors whose primary functions may be focused on back office responsibilities supporting senior advisors, and who might not have as many opportunities for substantive one-on-one client interactions!).

Given the demands from running (or working for) an advisory firm as well as the time needed to research ways to offer pro bono planning, the non-profit group Advisers Give Back (AGB) has created a platform that allows advisors to participate in pro bono planning for as little as one hour per month. AGB allows advisors to meet with clients and develop recommendations while significantly reducing the potential friction involved in getting started with pro bono planning. For instance, AGB connects with pro bono clients so advisors do not need to spend time advertising their services.

Any advisor with the CFP certification can use the AGB platform after completing an online, 60-minute training session, after which advisors can set their availability for pro bono client meetings. The AGB platform facilitates multiple meetings with the same pro bono clients, allowing advisors to build relationships with their clients and to track their progress, so that both short-term stressors and long-term goals can be addressed. AGB also offers dedicated assistants who help with administrative tasks, communicating with clients and tracking their progress between meetings, which saves advisors even more time.

Ultimately, the key point is that the Advisers Give Back (AGB) platform allows busy advisors to engage in pro bono planning in as little as one hour per month. Which is important, because even though volunteering can offer advisors the personal satisfaction of offering a valuable service to the community, participating in pro bono opportunities is also a vital part of the business of financial advice itself becoming a recognized profession, and is an important contribution to the growth of financial planning as well!

#FA Success Ep 293: Jumpstarting Growth By Showing Up Differently Where Prospects Are (Digitally) Concentrated, With Anna N’Jie-Konte

August 9, 2022 07:04 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Anna NJie Konte Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome back to the 293rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Anna N’Jie-Konte. Anna is the founder of Dare to Dream Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in New York City that has grown to more than $400,000 of annual revenue in barely 3 years by building a focused base of 32 ongoing clients coupled with more than a dozen project-based planning clients who go through a one-day financial planning intensive.

What's really unique about Anna, though, is how she accelerated her early growth to $400,000 of revenue by not just trying to build her own podcast audience, but leveraging her reach by appearing on other existing podcasts that already had a sizable audience, coupled with developing her own virtual conference that worked with financial influencers to again leverage her reach through their audiences, all to get in front of as many of her ideal clientele as she could, as quickly as she could, in her early years.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Anna built a network of 19 financial influencers to launch a free 5-day virtual conference in order to get her name in front of more than 1,000 engaged prospects, the way Anna determined the ideal podcasts to target to get the word out about her advisory business by intentionally choosing over 70 podcasts that discuss economic or business issues but have not directly featured financial experts before, and how Anna has managed to buck the industry naysayers who believe marginalized communities can’t be served profitably and has instead been able to succeed by continuously evolving her niche to increasingly stand out as a financial advisor of color successfully working with people of color.

We also talk about why Anna decided to leave her former position at a broker-dealer and launch her own independent RIA so that she could have the freedom to work with clients who, like her, are entrepreneurs and women of color in their 30s and 40s, how Anna came to the realization that despite the traditional industry approach of seeking out a large firm with a stable salary and benefits as the key to work/life balance as a parent that the better path to motherhood for her, and being able to be more present with her family, was to leave the large-firm job and become an entrepreneur instead, and why, in addition to her ongoing retainer clients, Anna has chosen to offer a one-month and now even a one-day financial planning engagement to expand the reach of the types of clients she can serve.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Anna shares how she continues to teach herself to be comfortable with choosing a career path of entrepreneurship that is pervaded with doubt and uncertainty (after growing up in a household that valued stability and consistency), how, during the early stages of launching her firm, Anna realized she needed to put aside her pride of being a one-woman band and hire the help she needed to not only grow the firm, but to also save her from serious burnout, and why Anna believes authenticity, taking risks, and being outspoken regardless of what others think are the keys to creating a successful career path as a financial advisor and business owner.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about how Anna launched her own virtual conference with financial influencers and leverages podcast appearances as a means of cross-promotion to get more prospects, why Anna decided to launch her own firm to gain the freedom to work with more of her ideal client and to have more time with her family, or how Anna realized it’s important to not only take risks to have a successful career, but to also know when to ask for help, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Anna N’Jie-Konte.

#FA Success Ep 290: Serving Neurodivergent Clients As A Financial Advisor With Autism, With Andrew Komarow

July 19, 2022 07:02 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Andrew Komarow Podcast Featured Image FAS

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.

#FA Success Ep 284: Sharing Centralized Resources To Create More Capacity And Scale For Advisors To Grow, With Andy Schwartz

June 7, 2022 07:04 am 1 Comment CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Andy Schwartz Podcast Featured Image FAS

Welcome back to the 284th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Andy Schwartz. Andy is a partner of Bleakley Financial Group, a hybrid advisory firm based in Fairfield, New Jersey that broke away from a major insurance company and in just a few years nearly tripled its size to over $9 billion in assets across more than 50 advisors.

What's unique about Andy, though, is how he and his partners have built their firm into a platform that gives advisors the opportunity to leverage centralized large firm support services such as marketing, technology, compliance, and human resources, while still maintaining the freedom to run their own investment book of business how they see fit for their clients.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Andy and his partners run their firm as a form of cooperative with advisors sharing resources and additional services, to provide space and capacity to grow and scale their own practices, even including an in-house life coach (for both their advisors and their clients), how Andy and his partners purposefully do not receive any compensation as equity owners (making a living purely from their own practices’ P&L) and instead reinvest money generated by the firm back into the business to provide even more services their advisors can leverage, and how Andy attracts new top talent by not only trying to offer capacity and scale that is aligned to their advisors, but doing so while supporting a wide breadth of RIA custodians to give their advisors flexibility.

We also talk about how Andy accidentally started his financial services career in college by selling life insurance to college seniors after looking for a way to pay for his education, how after working at a large insurance broker dealer for over 30 years and becoming frustrated with corporate constraints, Andy made the difficult decision to walk away with his $3 billion practice and start his own firm, and how Andy approaches his leadership of the firm by viewing himself as a player and a coach (rather than simply an executive) as he maintains his own practice within Bleakley to show solidarity and create alignment with the other advisors in the firm.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Andy shares how, despite working hard for more than 3 decades on building an advisory firm and reaching $9 billion in AUM, he is still surprised at just how far it has grown over the years, how Andy has taken the approach that the moments when things go wrong can be viewed as learning and growth opportunities to better himself and to lessen the regrets he has in his own life, and why Andy believes it's the combination of building credibility, and our own financial resources, that is the key to position oneself to truly make an impact as an advisor.

So whether you’re interested in learning about how Andy runs his firm as a cooperative and is able to offer advisors freedom and shared resources to leverage for their own practices, why Andy intentionally forgoes equity compensation and instead reinvests in tools and resources for the firm, or how Andy applies his unique leadership role to not only help his own practice reach their goals, but to also guide the firm as a whole to reach $9 billion in AUM, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Andy Schwartz.

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The Latest In Financial #AdvisorTech (November 2022)

#FA Success Ep 304: Leveraging Surge Meetings To Find Efficiency With Client Reviews And New Client Onboarding, With Chad Chubb

#FA Success 303: Pivoting From ‘Robo’ Investment Management To Financial Planning In South Africa, With Louis van der Merwe

The 9 ‘Best’ Financial Advisor Conferences (For Scaling Up) In 2023

#FA Success Ep 301: Guiding Clients To Design Their Rich Life With A Focus On Spending Dials Not Goals, With Ramit Sethi

Weekend Reading For Financial Planners (Sept 10-11)

Serving Pro Bono Clients As A Busy Advisor: How Advisers Give Back Makes Volunteering Easy

#FA Success Ep 293: Jumpstarting Growth By Showing Up Differently Where Prospects Are (Digitally) Concentrated, With Anna N’Jie-Konte

#FA Success Ep 290: Serving Neurodivergent Clients As A Financial Advisor With Autism, With Andrew Komarow

#FA Success Ep 284: Sharing Centralized Resources To Create More Capacity And Scale For Advisors To Grow, With Andy Schwartz

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