Financial Advisor Success

Ari Weisbard is Managing Partner of Values Added Financial, an independent RIA based out of Washington that oversees $143 million in assets under management for 75 client households. Ari and his partner Zach distinguish themselves by not only implementing fee minimums to ensure profitable service for clients, but also by deliberately adjusting their fees and minimums to control and accelerate their business growth according to their firm's advisor capacity—and to allow for a sustainable work-life balance. Listen in as Ari shares how he and his partner have implemented and adjusted minimum fees for new clients, as well as why they have positioned their firm as one that serves clients with progressive values. We also discuss how Ari has overcome fear and imposter syndrome, why he feels more fulfilled as an advisor than he did as a lawyer, and how he is focusing on the human aspect of financial planning and connecting with clients beyond economics. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/330

Charesse Spiller is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Level Best, an operations and process strategy consulting firm based out of Houston that helps advisory firms evaluate and improve their operations and processes by focusing on three pillars: streamlining, automation, and delegation. Charesse has established a distinctive consulting firm that sets itself apart by not only educating financial advisors on how to systematize and automate their processes, but also serves as an outsourced provider that builds and implements systems on behalf of clients. Listen in as Charesse discusses her approach to evaluating an advisory firm’s technology, processes, and systems, why a lack of clear accountability for team members as the firm grows is often the real blocking point for larger RIAs seeking to scale, and why she created her educational resource and community to educate operations professionals on how they can optimize their systems and processes on an ongoing basis. We also discuss why she hired a financi

Thomas West is a Senior Partner for Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Los Angeles that oversees nearly $16 billion in assets under management, with $570 million of those assets from 250 households being managed by Thomas’ practice. Thomas stands out for his innovative approach to supporting seniors who are searching for suitable housing and healthcare options while facing medical and cognitive challenges in their later years and has developed a unique offering called the Lifecare Affordability Plan, which has been tremendously successful in providing added value to his clients and their elderly parents. Listen in as Thomas shares how he realized that "one-legger" senior couples, where one spouse is healthy and the other is not, face unique challenges in making healthcare decisions with significant financial ramifications and how this led him to create the Lifecare Affordability Plan to provide guidance to senior couples dealing with medical and cognitive issues. We al

Marc Horner is the Founder of Fairhaven Wealth Management, an independent RIA based out of Illinois that oversees more than $1 billion in assets under management for 450 client households. Marc has been able to differentiate his firm by drawing upon his years of wirehouse experience to create a distinctly un-wirehouse brand that leverages parody commercials as a way to distinguish his firm's culture from prospective clients. Listen in as we discuss how Marc developed his unique marketing strategy of writing parody commercials, how he balances the serious nature of financial advising with the not-so-serious way he markets his firm, and how he became comfortable taking such a non-traditional approach to marketing. We also talk about why he decided to go independent after 14 years in the wirehouse world, how he grew his firm from $80 million in AUM to over $1 billion in under 8 years, and how he splits the growth of his team into one-third through organic hiring, one-third through recruiting, and one-third throu

Erica Pauly is the Founder and Owner of Track That Advisor, a consulting and coaching firm based out of Arizona that helps advisory firms track, and then improve upon, their marketing results. Erica developed a series of spreadsheet tools that measure every detail of her advisory firm's marketing funnel, and then transformed them into a system that can be used by any advisory firm to assess their marketing performance, identify areas of improvement, and benchmark against industry averages. Listen in as Erica shares how she helps firms track every step of their marketing funnel, why she prefers Google Sheets over other standalone data tracking platforms, and the 5 key marketing metrics she focuses on to obtain an overall view of a firm. We also discuss how Erica realized the demand for her particular type of work, how she has become more comfortable having difficult conversations with advisors about their marketing strategies, and why she chose not to give herself the role of CEO of Track That Advisor. For sho

Brenda Hiscock is a financial planner with Objective Financial Partners, an advice-only advisory firm based out of Ontario, Canada that works with clients on project-based financial plans while also offering outsourced preplanning to other Canadian advisory firms. Brenda's exceptional trait lies in the fact that she ventured into the financial services industry despite lacking any prior financial knowledge. After facing homelessness, bankruptcy, and alcoholism during her twenties, she uses her real-life experience to engage with clients on a deeper, more meaningful level. Listen in as Brenda shares how her personal experiences have significantly influenced her career as a financial planner, how the hardships she faced shaped her perspective on financial planning and insurance, and why she prioritizes working from home with a flexible work schedule for her mental health. We also discuss how she found her way to financial planning after a stint in insurance, how being a financial planner has allowed her to have

Nancy Knous is the CEO and Founder of Benchmark Wealth Management, an independent RIA affiliated with LPL Financial based in Memphis that oversees nearly $340 million in assets under management for nearly 1,000 client households. Despite facing a cash flow squeeze during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Nancy's experience led to significant changes in how she managed her firm's profit margins, enabling her to scale up her business to over 20 team members and avoid cash flow problems during the pandemic. Listen in as Nancy shares her journey as a CFP professional, where she learned that a good income would not protect her from market drops, and how she transformed her money habits using Dave Ramsey's method and leveraged his SmartVestor program to grow her firm through referrals. We also discuss why she started an independent firm with LPL, how the decision ultimately shaped the way she treats her employees and led her to develop a 4-8 week in-depth hiring process to ensure each hire is a good fit, and why she

Yonhee Choi Gordon is a Principal and the Chief Operating Officer of JMG Financial Group, an independent RIA based out of Chicago that oversees nearly $5 billion in assets under management for close to 1,500 households. What sets Yonhee apart is how, with her nearly four decades at JMG Financial Group, she has been instrumental in the company's succession plan and has personally recruited, trained, and retained the majority of the company's employees through a stringent hiring process to ensure alignment with the company's expectations and values. Listen in as we delve into Yonhee’s career, including how she has been such an integral part of the hiring, training, and development systems, and how she evaluates potential candidates based on the actual tasks of the job, and how JMG structures its leadership roles and share of ownership. We also discuss why Yonhee believes that inconsistent definitions of advisor roles are contributing to the financial industry's rising level of M&A deals, why she teaches you

Kent Skornia is the Founder of Krilogy, an independent RIA based out of St. Louis that oversees nearly $2 billion in assets under management for 1,800 client households. Having created an internal training system at Krilogy that focuses on mentorship and education, Kent joins the show today to share his insights into recruiting and developing advisors in the financial planning industry. Listen in as he discusses his creation of the Krilogy Advisor Development System (KADS) as a proprietary training system for newer advisors to gain deeper knowledge in financial planning and grow their own book of business. You'll learn why the firm offers liquidity options for senior advisors to sell their book of business to Krilogy while still serving as an advisor, why Kent focused on building a values-based approach in the firm, and why he believes that new advisors should interview other newer advisors at their prospective firms to ensure a good fit. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/322

Danqin Fang is a Lead Advisor for Austin Asset, an independent RIA based out of Austin, Texas, that oversees more than $1.3 billion in assets under management for nearly 400 client households. Danqin stands out for her intentional career path in the financial services industry that involved her leaving China, learning a new language and culture in the U.S., getting a Master's in Financial Planning, and creating opportunities for herself through industry associations and networking. In this episode, she shares her journey to Lead Advisor, from connecting with the description of a CFP professional after a Google search to leaving China and immigrating to the U.S. to pursue her CFP marks and having the opportunity to follow a clear career path in finance. You'll hear about how she navigated the complexities of relocating to another country and leveraged cultural differences to better connect with clients, how she used networking opportunities to get connected with the right people in the industry (and ultimately

Jim Dickson is the CEO and Founder of Sanctuary Wealth, an RIA platform with 80 partner firms in 29 states that collectively oversee nearly $25 billion in assets under management. Jim has successfully built an RIA platform in just 5 years through efficient management of hiring, staffing, and raising outside investor capital, while providing middle and back-office support for independent advisors and playing a unique role in helping them grow their businesses. Listen in as Jim shares why he built the "Partnered Independence" platform to provide support systems for advisors who want to run their own practices, why he created a unique partnership structure where advisor practices are their own LLCs but are also IARs under the corporate RIA of Sanctuary Wealth, and why the firm has built a centralized data warehouse providing each advisor with their own level of business intelligence. We also discuss why Jim left the wirehouse world after 25 years and took a year-long trip around the world, how he's working throu

Jim Niedzinski is the Co-Founder of Motive Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Detroit that oversees $250 million in assets under management for nearly 50 households. Jim and his partner have established a successful boutique firm that competes with larger firms to attract and retain ultra-high-net-worth families by implementing a unique client task management system beyond traditional CRM, ensuring their advice is followed by clients. In this episode, Jim shares why he and his partner built their firm around Asana, a project management tool, instead of the traditional CRM system, as well as how he leveraged relationships with accountants, lawyers, and other professionals to gain a steady flow of referrals. He also talks about how they used those referrals to grow the firm from $0 in AUM to $250 million in less than 3 years and why he and his partner are intentional about serving only 25 clients each at a time. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/319

Ali Swart is a Partner and Managing Director for Waldron Private Wealth, a multi-family office based out of Pennsylvania that oversees nearly $3-billion in assets under management for 280 ultra-high-net-worth clients. Ali made a unique transition from a retail brokerage firm, where she served nearly 400 clients and was also responsible for acquiring more business, to a multi-family office where she works with specialized client relationship teams that limit the number of clients per advisor to no more than 10 at any given time. Listen in as Ali discusses the "white glove" service offered by her firm, which serves ultra-high-net-worth families through specialized client relationship teams focusing on wealth planning, investing, and client service, and details the in-depth financial plan offering for prospects, which can take several weeks to months to develop and aims to foster strong relationships with clients. We also discuss Ali’s personal journey, including her decision to leave her previous firm and negot

Jennifer Climo is the CEO and a Senior Advisor for Milestone Financial Planning, an independent RIA based out of New Hampshire that oversees $360-million in assets under management for 225 households. Despite already having a successful solo practice, Jennifer decided to merge with another solo practitioner when an opportunity presented itself during an unusual crisis, and she took on the challenge of managing the complex business dynamics that came with this decision in order to achieve her goal of expanding and growing her practice into a larger enterprise that would continue to thrive beyond her involvement. Listen in as Jennifer shares why she merged her solo practice with another firm due to an opportunity that presented itself during an unusual crisis, how she created a unique succession plan that included a 15%-of-profits retirement payout, and how this succession plan ultimately led to a second merger that allowed Jennifer to continue growing and scaling her business. We also discuss why Jennifer crea

Matt Sonnen is the founder and CEO of PFI Advisors, a consulting firm based out of Redondo Beach, California, that helps wirehouse advisors transition to independence and provides training and consulting services to the COOs of independent RIAs to help them develop and scale their advisory businesses. Matt and his wife have taken the knowledge and experience they gained from providing hands-on support to independent advisory firms to improve their operations, technology, and scalability, and turned it into a unique offering for Chief Operating Officers in the industry, dubbed the "COO Society.” Listen in as Matt shares what it takes to establish an independent advisory firm when it breaks away from a wirehouse, how he developed his "stand-up-from-scratch" breakaway experience to help RIA owners understand their operational strengths and weaknesses, and how his unique “COO Society” helps COOs become more well-rounded in their roles. We also discuss how Matt got started in his advisory career as a 22-year-old c

Lisa Brown is a Partner and Wealth Advisor for CI Brightworth, an RIA under the CI Financial umbrella with offices in Georgia and North Carolina that oversees nearly $5 billion in assets under management for over 1,500 households. By digging deeper into an existing firm niche focus of Coca-Cola employees within the organization, Lisa was able to write white papers for these employees that eventually built her expertise and client base within the company and led to referrals and growth from being so visible at the Coca-Cola offices. Listen in as Lisa shares how she became known as a familiar and trusted financial expert in the Coca-Cola community, how she is now beginning to guide and train the next generation of advisors in the firm on how to become effective business developers, and how she was able to build her confidence and expertise as an advisor. We also discuss how she has been able to prioritize her work so she can regain more family time, as well as why she believes the key to her success now is meas

Sue Chesney is the owner of Delegated Planning, which offers virtual outsourced financial planning support to 55 advisory firms, and co-founder of Planning Zoo, an outsourced financial planning data entry business that helps current and recently graduated students from college CFP programs connect with advisory firms for paraplanner support. Through both of these firms Sue has pioneered one of the largest outsourced financial planning support firms in the country, and she shares her experience in witnessing how many advisory firms are scaling the delivery of their financial plans by separating the delivery of the plans from the creation of the plans. Listen in as Sue shares why she launched Delegated Planning and Planning Zoo to help advisors find planning and data entry support, why she feels it is important to help new planners get real-world experience under their belts, and how advisors have been able to better align their fees with the financial planning offering by charging by the hour. We also discuss

John Stokes is the Founder and CEO of John Stokes Financial, a hybrid advisory firm based out of California that oversees more than $400 million in AUM for 1,800 client households. John has built a really unique expertise in layoff transitions, and has leveraged corporate layoff workshops that he delivers to soon-to-be-laid-off employees. He has also built a niche focusing on helping employees go through their layoff transition, allowing him to capture the inevitable rollover and other financial planning opportunities that arise along the way. Listen in as we discuss how John has established and built relationships with large companies, and then leveraged those relationships to be their expert in layoff transitions. You'll learn what led him to pursue this niche, how he has been able to achieve a steady stream of over a hundred in-person workshops a year and a steady flow of new clients in both bull and bear markets, and why he chooses not to charge for his workshops, but instead feels that it’s his duty to p

Emily Rassam is the Senior Financial Planner for Archer Investment Management, a virtual independent RIA based out of Texas that oversees $170 million in assets under management for 170 households. After struggling in a position with ever-mounting responsibilities and pressure that kept her away from her family, Emily made it a priority to find a position that not only appreciated the expertise she brought to the table, but also allowed for a better work/life balance. Listen in as Emily shares her experience working towards burnout at her previous firm, how this experience allowed her to get serious about finding a role that was ideal for her, and how she found her current firm and used key questions to determine whether they offered a positive work/life balance. We also discuss how she overcame imposter syndrome, how she became comfortable with shedding the typical stereotype of a financial planner focused on selling services, and why she believes that newer advisors should focus on the value they bring to c

Terry Parham Jr. is the CFO and Co-Founder of Innovative Wealth Building, an independent RIA based out of Maryland that oversees nearly $330 million in assets under management for nearly 900 households. After almost failing out of the business because of a struggle to secure new clients in the first two years of his career, he changed his approach and within 18 months was one of the fastest-growing advisors in his entire company. Listen in as Terry shares how the small pivot to asking prospects upfront to commit to making a referral—only after he had shown them real financial planning value—turned his career around. We also discuss why he took time to confer with colleagues and conduct research before deciding to go independent, how he used dinner seminars as a way to consistently get $ 3 million to $ 5 million of new assets under management with every event (that cost less than $2,000 to host), and how a simple tool early in his career helped him to gain confidence and better relay information and connect wi