Behind The Advisor

Not only are students of all ages needing financial guidance, the solutions available to them can completely change the way we look at student loan repayment and consolidation. In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with Erik Kroll, CFP®, the founder of Hilltop Financial Advisors and Student Loans Over 50. Erik tells stories about how he has changed the financial landscape for his c...

We often hear how the network of support and connection that XYPN offers is a strong component of success. In today's episode, we learn that for our guest, Leland Gross, CFP®, the founder of PeaceLink Financial Planning, "community" wasn't just a benefit, it was essential after a life-changing event pulled his focus from building his business. In September 2021, Leland launched his firm and discov...

If you're wondering whether taking custody of client accounts and a virtual assistant is right for your independent advisory firm, this episode's for you! Taking custody can be a scary decision, but sometimes it's the right one. Just ask XYPN member Kate Yearwood Young, CFA, CFP®, founder of Yearwood Young Advisors.  From engineering to Wall Street to founding a successful business, she acquired t...

If you are interested in learning highly effective, yet simple ways to use data-driven market research to find and maximize your niche, this episode is for you! In this candid and informative conversation with XYPN member Marlon Wesh, MBA, founder of Wesh Financial, we learn how Marlon's early experience in HR for the Marine Corps helped formulate his firm's operational systems. I hope you enjoy t...

If you're interested in the impact being a student of your own art can have on your priorities and business, this episode is for you!  Terry Bradford-Crane MBA, CFP® of Bradford-Crane Company went to the Naval Academy for college with a dream of becoming a pilot and an astronaut. Just as she was finishing her training program, the US repealed a law prohibiting women from serving in combat zones, a...

If you're interested in how finding your niche can change everything and how well the equity compensation niche has worked for XYPN member Christine Amill Centeno, CFP®, MS, founder of Simplicity Wealth Management, this episode is for you! Christine started her career in financial services at Ameriprise in 2007 and worked in a variety of broker's side roles until she ultimately decided to launch h...

If you're interested in learning how employment contract restrictions can seriously disrupt your plans to take clients with you should you decide to break away from your broker, as well working through growth and fee structuring decisions, this episode is for you! XYPN member John Underhill, CFP®, founder of Acorn and Oak Wealth Management, based in Raleigh, North Carolina shares how his journey f...

In this fun conversation with XYPN member Brian O'Neill, CFP®, founder of Winged Wealth Management and Financial Planning, we hear how niching not only what you know, but who you know can radically grow your business—even in the first year!   Brian spent the first 20 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, during which time he developed a passion for personal finance. Brian launched his firm in...

If you are interested in what it takes to transition from a long-term wirehouse position to solo RIA ownership, what it means to truly answer a calling, and how to sustainably serve others without being self-sacrificing, this episode is for you! Kaysian Gordon, founder of Kaysi Gordon Financial Planning, spent 14 years at UBS focusing on financial planning for ultra-high net worth clients. Seven y...

If you're interested in learning about the advantages of growing your firm with like-minded advisors, hiring a virtual assistant, and having a supportive spouse, this episode is for you! Mike Troxell, founder of Modern Financial Planning, started his career in tech as an accountant but eventually transitioned into financial planning. Though he loved his job at an RIA, he decided to launch his own...

If you've ever found yourself questioning what "having it all" looks like for you, how to pull focus on those visions and find balance as you start and run your business, this episode is for you. In this reflective and empowering conversation, XYPN member Betty Wang, CFP®, founder of BW Financial Planning, shares a very real look into her journey from a career in financial services on the buy side...

If you're interested in learning how to grow your initial firm investment five-fold in 3 ½ years in a dual-entrepreneurial household, this episode's for you! Join in the conversation with XYPN member Jake Northrup, CFP®, CFA, CSLP®, founder of Experience Your Wealth and hear about how he started his firm journey in late 2019, with no clients, at the ripe age of 27. As if that wasn't challenging en...

Andie married her high school sweetheart, who was an Air Force pilot and started moving all over the world every two years. She found work as a math teacher at community colleges, and over time, that ended up shifting into the realm of financial planning. She took part in a joint program between FINRA and the DOD that helped her get her AFC designation. That led her to getting her CFP® and, as her...

Frank Austin, CFA, ChFC®, founder of Sustainable Financial Planning, achieved his FIRE goal of retiring at 50 and starting his own financial planning firm. His goal in starting the firm wasn't to make a lot of money as he was already set up for retirement, but instead to impact the lives of as many clients as possible. We talked about some of the things he thought he would focus on early in the bu...

In this informative conversation with XYPN member Joanne Burke, CFP®, CPA/PFS, founder of Birch Street Financial Advisors, we learn why Joanne left a big four firm to join a partner who'd split off to go independent and help start their accounting practice. After a few years and the birth of her second child, she decided to launch her own tax practice to give herself the flexibility to spend more...

Whether you live in a single or dual-entrepreneurial household, have children you're balancing in that equation, or are just looking for effective tips to convert prospects into clients, this episode is for you! In this fun and informative conversation with XYPN member Sarah Ponder, CFP®, MBA, founder of Real Estate Wealth Planning, Sarah joked that she's 37 and on her fifth and hopefully final ca...

We're excited to welcome back XYPN member Kay Dee Cole, CFP®, founder of Clarity Wealth Development, on the show today. Kay Dee was on the show back in 2017 and we wanted to bring her back on now, to give us an update on her firm and how things have progressed and changed. I have to say it was hard to find anything that was similar to the business she was running five years ago, aside from her bei...

At XYPN we talk a lot about community. This holiday season feels like a great time to celebrate what a powerful gift being independent, but never alone can be.  So, we invited three members of an XYPN Mastermind Group, Dillon Cobb, CPA, CFP®, Andrew Gray, CFP®,  and Allen Mueller, CFA, MBA, to share how their group has become a gift that "keeps giving" toward their personal and professional succes...

We're excited to welcome XYPN member, Daniel Yerger, MBA, CFP®, ChFC, AIF, CDFA, founder of MY Wealth Planners, a fee-only firm based in Colorado on the show today.  Today's podcast follows Daniel's career path from joining the Army and specializing in PSYOPS to becoming an IT manager for IBM before deciding to pursue financial planning. He effectively started his own firm at a broker-dealer becau...

We're excited to welcome XYPN member Jessica Goedtel, founder of Pavilion Financial Planning, on the show today. Jessica started her career thinking she wanted to be an archeologist. After a few jobs and a few different industries, her love of personal finance brought her to her first job in financial planning. She worked for a couple of different firms, including an online startup RIA, and learne...

Today we welcome XYPN member Andy Panko, CFP®, RICP®, EA, founder of Tenon Financial, to XYPN Radio. Andy always knew he wanted to be a financial advisor—but the harsh reality of financial planning opportunities (or the lack of them) for a fresh college graduate was discouraging. So, Andy spent the first 19 years of his career working in insurance, banking, and brokerage firms. It was in 2016 that...

Co-Founders Alan Moore and Michael Kitces review the highlights of the sixth-annual Member Benchmarking Study in this episode of XYPN Radio. Each year, the study gathers information from XYPN member participants to get an accurate picture of how advisors are doing in their firms. If you're interested in learning what really works for fee-for-service advisors, then this is the episode for you. You...

In today's episode, we're excited to have Nancy Hetrick, founder of Smarter Divorce Solutions, who specializes in collaborative divorce. After her own divorce in 2007, Nancy realized the lack of resources for divorcing individuals and became a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst to offer a kinder, court-free process. Nancy shares her journey from founding her divorce planning practice to selling t...

Today we talk to Maggie Beach, CFP®, CPA/PFS, and XYPN Member who is the founder of NexJenn Financial Services—a fee-only firm servicing the real estate niche—and NexJenn CPA—an accounting firm that specializes in individual and trust taxation. Today's podcast is full of information as Maggie shares her expertise in real estate, and how her early career path gave her the ability to provide advice...

We're excited to welcome XYPN member Cody Garrett, CFP®, founder of Measure Twice Financial—an advice-only firm based in Houston, TX. After 10 years in the music industry, Cody jumped into a career in financial planning. As Cody learned about financial planning, he shared blogs to teach others at the same time. His generosity changed the trajectory of his career. Cody lasted two and a half years a...