Financial Advisor Success

Learn how behavioral assessment tools could eventually become a way that we show our value as financial advisors where we provide the assessment and show them how we’re helping them change their financial attitudes and behaviors for the better. Access full episode show notes at kitces.com/39.

How you can use social media as a successful path to marketing and specifically to facilitate work life balance. In this episode, the chat with Winnie Sun, co-founder of Sun Financial Group. Winnie explores what’s functioning when it comes to online social media marketing and why she still balances spending two thirds of her time in wealth management and business. She also talks about how she structured her team with her partner to support her practice. Get full episode show notes at kitces.com/38

Today’s guest has seen her company go from gaining nearly 150 clients over a decade to yielding four prospect inquiries per week. How did they do it? Let’s just say Johanna Fox Turner has discovered the power of finding a niche. Her fee-only financial advisory firm, Fox & Company, recently switched to focusing on physicians as its specialty. It has since seen such rapid growth – there is now a six to eight week waiting list for new clients.  On this episode, Johanna shares with us how she managed her company’s change in focus – restructuring their advisory fees from an AUM model to a three-tiered retainer structure. We also learn how she has been able to generate a high volume of referrals through unique centers of influence.  Johanna explains how she broke the news of shifting into a niche to her existing clients, and why her existing non-doctor clients have stayed with her as she focuses into her new doctor niche. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/37  

We routinely bang the drum for choosing a niche and throwing all your effort at it - and Scott Hanson’s firm, Hanson McClain, is proof that this technique works.  The combination of dedicated, long-term marketing strategies and a niche of retiring utility workers has helped Scott and his partner Pat turn their business into a national advisory firm that serves about 4500 clients. And his firm handles all marketing for advisors, so advisors can focus on providing financial planning services rather than worrying about business development. In this interview, Scott talks about the major investment his $2.5 billion AUM firm has made in marketing, including hiring ten-plus marketing staff. And be sure to listen to the end, where Scott talks about the decision to sell 70% stake in his business in order to help the business keep growing strong well into the future. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/36

Cheryl Holland's firm, Abacus Planning Group, is based in Columbia, South Carolina. Working in a mid-sized city such as Columbia might prove tricky for other advisors, but her niche working with families who hold business and other close assets has set her apart. Coupled with her natural drive and a willingness to keep learning, Cheryl has build a firm that rests on the core tenets of learning, growth, empathy, and challenging work. In this interview, Cheryl talks about how she built Abacus, why she invests so heavily in every one of her employees, and what she’s done to systematize just about every process in the office. She shares how technology has helped drive the growth of her firm, and why she’s put such a strong emphasis on teaching her team (and herself!) how to be keen listeners as well as talented financial advisors. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/35

Sheryl’s firm Rowling & Associates was already a robust planning practice before she decided to design and launch a rebalancing software that would be affordable and simple to use. In this interview, she shares the challenges of running concurrent businesses, what she wished she knew before diving into the software world, and what she learned about life and work while managing two related but demanding ventures. She’s also a fierce advocate for work-life balance and has built a practice that allows employees to serve clients to a high standard while also carving out time for the rest of their lives. Sheryl shares the structure of her firm today, along with her hiring philosophy and how she manages such great, holistic relationships with clients. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/34

Building a business is already hard. Building a successful wealth management business in a rural area, where there aren’t as many potential clients, is even harder. Meet Jeff Rose, the founder of Alliance Wealth Management, who will be sharing how his business is now managing over $40 million while making over $100k on the side from referrals and partnerships. Digital marketing is the main key to Jeff’s success. Ever since he got his first online client thanks to his blogging and online presence, his focus has shifted to taking advantage of the internet’s potential for connection. Jeff shares how he’s built up his online presence to make his business known locally and to a wider audience. He also gives us details on how he forged partnerships with insurance agencies and other services to provide more value to his customers while making money on the side. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/33

In this episode, Brittney Castro shares why and how she’s diversified her business and how she’s found great success in all three pillars. Brittney radiates passion for finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship as she talks about her business and the strategies she used to get where she is today. Her financial planning practice, Financially Wise Women, has successfully resonated with her niche due to her attention to what really matters. Brittney keeps things simple, from the fees she charges to the processes she uses to plan. By being in tune with her customers’ needs and maintaining personal limits on time and focus, Brittney has been able to build a reputable and successful brand. She shares the numbers with us and gives a closer look at what she has paid for projects and employees and how she has set up her massively successful marketing outreach. She also digs into the details of how she gets paid to represent brands and the process she went through, and is currently going through, to develop her own onli

When it’s time to hire a new financial planner to help grow the business and build your team, the task can seem overwhelming. Trusting your clients with just anyone isn’t an option, so how do you go about finding and recruiting the best of the best of today’s talented financial planners? Today we have Caleb Brown joining us on the show and sharing his tips for finding the top candidates to join your firm. Caleb is the co-founder of New Planner Recruiting Firm and has many years of both financial planning and strategic recruiting under his belt. He emphasizes the importance of looking beyond skill and diving into the deeper corners of applicants’ resumes and personalities to find any unteachable traits. From different testing methods to case studies and various interview techniques, Caleb teaches managers different tactics for finding trustworthy go-getters who can get clients to take action. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/31

Josh Itzoe is a CFP, AIF, and Partner at Greenspring Wealth, where he consults with corporate clients about how they can improve their 401(k) offerings. Josh is also a self-published author and believes that publishing a book about his industry was the best business decision he’s ever made.  In this episode, Josh shares how he initially got into the institutional side of financial planning and what fascinates him about helping companies hash out their 401(k) programs.  Josh also walks through the process of writing and publishing his book, and the results he saw afterward. He shares some of the best resources for those interested in the 401(k) planning space and talks about why he decided to read the entire ERISA law - which is no small feat - to gain an edge over other advisors. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/30

Dana Anspach and her firm Sensible Money have 110 full-service baby-boomer clients, $130 million AUM, and $1.3 million in annual revenue. And they do it all virtually. In this episode, Dana talks about the structure of her firm and how she’s built it into a brand that she hopes will continue long after she’s gone. She also shares how many of her clients were formerly her readers, and talks about how her foundational client questionnaire, followed by a 3-meeting strategy and comprehensive financial plan, leads about 70% of prospects wanting to become full-on clients. Be sure to listen to the end, where Dana discusses how her writing has formed the backbone of her brand and business, and the schedule she maintains to make sure it all gets done. Dana also shares many of the technological tools that allow Sensible Money to educate, service, and build trust with clients from around the globe. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/29

Our guest today is Michael Nathanson, chief executive officer of the Colony Group. Michael’s private wealth management firm has over $6 billion in assets under management and a 39% profit margin. Michael has driven this phenomenal growth through strategic acquisitions, high-level systems thinking, and targeted organic growth. Michael walks us through how he operates as an effective CEO to nurture his seven offices, recruit top-level talent, and delegate effectively. He gets into the details of compensation, leadership and buying other firms. He also shares the company’s trajectory and how it compares to other RIA practices out in the market. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/28

Amy works hard to help financial advisors grow through targeted referrals to high net worth individuals. She accompanies marketing skills with sales development to make sure those leads convert to clients. She calls upon her experience at Goldman Sachs accruing $50M in AUM in just 18 months through highly-targeted cold calling and emailing. Additionally, she shares her unique methods for finding wealthy individuals. She would go so far as to take pictures of the donor lists at art museums and research the events that these wealthy donors would make great clients. Then, she would reverse engineer a pathway to connecting with them. In this episode, Amy also covers the places, both digital and physical, she recommends visiting to meet the new rich. If you are going to crack into this population, it is better to start with people who have just come into money. They won’t have as many entrenched service providers already in place. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/27

Steve Wershing is a practice management and marketing consultant who teaches clients to stop asking for referrals. He believes, if you operate in a clear niche, that you will stimulate referrals from clients without solicitation.  Steve consults with advisors to clarify how their marketing materials can more clearly communicate their strengths and structure.  In this episode, Steve discusses being guilty of conflating target market with niche market. Towards the end, Steve shares how to manage a niche practice and why clients will eventually outgrow your services. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/26

Tim Delaney had a bit of a different journey into financial planning, but his 23-year career as a CPA was excellent training. After a few years doing both taxes and planning, clients started telling him they slept better at night because of his help managing life’s financial ups and downs.  In this episode, Tim shares the negative investing experience that made him want to focus on a no-selling value proposition, and how he learned not to over-explain the planning process to clients. Be sure to listen to the end, where Tim describes the essential partnerships along the way that have allowed his business to flourish and weather several recessions, all while providing clients with excellent service. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/25

Stephanie Bogan has achieved the level of success that most financial advisors aspire to reach.  She sold her practice, Quantuvis Consulting, to Genworth Financial and now lives in Costa Rica, coaching other advisors. In this episode, she shares her perspective on growing a serious consulting business. Stephanie attributes the rapid growth of her firm to a focus on helping other firms transform their own growth rates. She's worked with clients on business strategy, human capital, operations management, and marketing techniques, and she's developed a top reputation for coming up with valuable, tangible solutions.  Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/24

Today’s guest has a very uncommon structure for her financial consulting business. Liz Davidson is trailblazing a business model where her firm is paid by employers to educate and guide employees’ financial lives. They are now the largest provider of workplace financial wellness programs in the business. It has been a long process of tinkering and refining to figure out precisely how to deliver value to the wide range of employees that Financial Finesse serves. Liz explains her multichannel approach to serving clients and scaling her team’s expertise. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/23

Jude’s firm Upperline Financial has a unique fee structure that allows them to help clients and families of varying net worth while providing a holistic, vision-driven financial plan.  In this episode, Jude talks about how he carefully considered the decision to open his own RIA, and how he timed the transition to be able to spend more time with his family and also grow the business at a slower but more sustainable rate. Be sure to listen to the end, where Jude talks about his upcoming merger with The Planning Center and why he’s excited about the future of the business. By merging with another firm, Jude will maintain ownership of Upperline, yet be able to focus his energy on the parts of the business he loves - working with clients - and delegate those that he isn’t as good at and doesn’t enjoy. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/22

In today’s episode, I speak with Inspired Financial founder, Evelyn Zohlen, an independent RIA in southern California.  Her business is focused on working with women in transition, namely divorcees and widows. Her small, cohesive team dominates the niche and innovates constantly. Evelyn shares the details of how she selected this niche and built her team. They have set up their fees and team to deliver over-the-top coverage to select clients and share responsibilities fairly. Some clients pay for AUM, while others pay her a retainer, which is a growing trend within the industry. For Evelyn, driving referrals from centers of influence has been the foundation of how she has built her business. This has led her to bring $140M in assets under management in 15 years. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/21

I’ve received a lot of requests for me a to be a guest on my own show - so here you have it!  In this interview, I talk with my XYPN co-founder Alan Moore about how I manage to keep up with the blog, five growing businesses, speaking gigs, and actual financial planning - on top of spending time with family. I retrace the steps I’ve taken to arrive at the varied career I have today, and share some of the formative experiences of that journey. Alan and I also talk about the time management strategies I’ve implemented in order to balance everything and avoid overcommitting myself.  Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/20