Financial Advisor Success

Jeff Dobyns is the founder of Southwestern Investment Group, a hybrid advisory firm that oversees nearly $3.5 billion of assets under management. Today Jeff joins the show to discuss how he has developed next generation talent in his firm by only hiring new advisors in their 20s and giving them the opportunity to learn alongside experienced advisors. In this episode, you'll hear about the mentorin...

Ross Levin is the co-founder and CEO of Accredited Investors Wealth Management, an independent RIA that oversees nearly $2 billion of assets under management for 475 affluent clients. Today Ross joins the show to discuss the way he systematized the financial planning process across his firm and developed a wealth management index system that tracks clients' progress. Listen in as he shares how he...

Roger Pine is the co-founder of Holistiplan, a tax planning software built to systematize and automate the process of reviewing a client's tax return to find potential planning opportunities. Today he joins the show to discuss how he transitioned from working as a financial advisor to becoming a financial tech entrepreneur. Listen in as we talk about Roger's software and the ever blurring lines be...

Tom Bradley is the former president of TD Ameritrade Institutional, one of the leading RIA custodial platforms serving nearly 7,000 independent RIAs with almost $600 billion of assets held in custody. For over 25 years, Tom was a part of the growth of financial advisors operating as independent RIAs on a custodial platform. Today he joins the show to discuss the evolution of the RIA custody model...

Cathy Curtis is the founder of Curtis Financial Planning, a solo independent RIA that oversees nearly $60 million in assets under management for 52 client households. By positioning her business into a niche of serving women—in particular, single, independent-minded women who want to work with a female advisor—Cathy has managed to stand out in an over-crowded marketplace to build her firm. Listen...

Matt Oechsli is the founder and CEO of Oechsli Institute, which does primary research into affluent investors and how they select advisors. A marketing and sales consultant for financial advisors, Matt joins the show to share how you can connect with more affluent clients simply by building better relationships with them. Listen in as we discuss the importance of paying attention to details—like t...

Kristen Luke is the founder of Kaleido Creative Studio, a marketing consulting firm that specializes in multi-advisor fee-only RIAs with $100 million to $1 billion in assets under management. Today she joins the show to discuss the wheel of advisor marketing activity she has created, as well as its six core areas and what it takes to improve in each of them. Listen in as Kristen explains the impor...

Adam Cmejla is the founder of Integrated Planning and Wealth Management, an independent RIA that oversees approximately $45 million in assets under advisement for nearly 100 clients. Over the past two years, Adam's practice has undergone an incredible transformation, increasing their financial planning fees and growing revenue by nearly 80%. In this episode, Adam shares how his marketing process h...

Michele Clark is the senior portfolio manager for Acropolis Investment Management with more than 25 years of experience in financial services. From cold knocking to becoming a regional investor educational specialist and now working in investment management, Michele really has done it all within the industry. She even ran her own independent hourly financial planning practice until she recently de...

Douglas Boneparth is the founder of Bone Fide Wealth, an independent RIA that manages nearly $80 million of assets under management. After starting out in a fairly traditional broker-dealer model serving affluent retirees, Douglas decided to transition and focus on high-income millennials. Today he joins the show to discuss why he chose to invest in younger clients and how he has been able to succ...

Lou Tranquilli is the founder of Tranquilli Financial Advisor, an independent full-service financial firm that oversees $100 million in assets under management for 110 clients. Now focused on a niche that has helped triple his firm in under four years, Lou joins the show to discuss how his advisory firm has evolved over more than two and a half decades in business. Listen in as he explains how he...

Nina O'Neal is a partner and investment advisor with Archer Investment Management, a hybrid advisory firm that oversees nearly $90 million in assets under management. She joins the show today to talk about her advisory firm's structure and why they have no plans to change it, as they don't view the hybrid model as a way to the independent RIA model. Listen in to hear Nina speak candidly about how...

Kathryn Brown is the co-founder of Morton Brown Family Wealth, a firm that oversees nearly $110 million of assets under management for 85 affluent households. With her firm now positioned for the potential of 10x growth in the upcoming years, Kathryn has overcome many challenges to get to where she is today. In this episode, she opens up about her inspirational journey, including how she persevere...

Andrew Altfest is the president of Altfest Personal Wealth Management, an independent RIA based in New York City that oversees $1.3 billion for nearly 600 affluent clients. Andrew has become the second-generation leader in his family's business, which was started by his parents, and he joins the show to discuss the dynamics of a family business and how he is positioning the firm for the future. In...

Danna Jacobs is the co-founder of Legacy Care Wealth, an advisory firm and accounting practice that she launched with her brother. While Danna handles the financial planning side of things, her brother focuses on the accounting and tax planning as they grow their business together. Today she joins the show to discuss how her firm works with next-generation clients and what it's like running a busi...

Linda Leitz is the president of Peace of Mind Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in Colorado Springs that provides comprehensive financial planning services on a retainer fee basis to nearly 100 clients. Today Linda joins the show to discuss what she has learned over her 20 years of experience, including key takeaways about pricing her services and why her team of four works with clients...

Dan Goldie, the former president of Dan Goldie Financial Services, started out in 1991 with no clients or assets under management. Through focus and drive, he built up his firm to $900 million of assets for 275 affluent clients—all without even a full-time administrative staff member. Today he joins the show to discuss how he structured his advisory business and his approach to customizing everyth...

Ashley Micciche is the CEO of True North Retirement Advisors, a firm she founded with her father. Today she joins the show to discuss how she achieved work-life satisfaction while growing a business and starting a family. Ashley will delve deep into the arrangement she made with her father to be the backup advisor for her clients and how she communicated the news to her clients that she was going...

Donna Skeels Cygan, the President of Sage Future Financial, joins the show to discuss how she runs a firm overseeing nearly $90 million in assets under management and still maintains a work-life balance. After building her first successful firm, Donna decided to sell it and come back three years later to start over again, this time building a much more deliberately-crafted schedule that's intended...

After starting his first of five businesses at the age of 15, there aren't many business activities Justin Goodbread hasn't experienced. In 2009, he founded Heritage Investors, an independent RIA based in Knoxville, Tennessee, in hopes of helping individuals, business owners, and retirees attain their financial goals. Today, Justin joins the show to discuss how his firm has crafted a niche in work...

Jania Stout is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Fiduciary Plan Advisors at HighTower Advisors, an advisory firm that is focused on 401(k) planning. Her team is responsible for nearly $4 billion in assets across almost 120 businesses. In this episode, we discuss how Jania was able to rapidly grow her business entirely from scratch over the past 5 years, as well as how she built her own perso...

Martine Lellis has had a unique career with Sullivan Bruyette Speros & Blayney (SBSB). She started out as an associate advisor, and after seeing the firm sold to a bank, she later moved into a mid-level management role and continued climbing all the way up to become the firm's Chief Operating Officer and Principal. She then joined four other principals to buy the firm back from the bank, making it...

With sixteen years of experience in the wealth management industry, Sabrina Lowell is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach® (CPCC). With a focus on working with career engaged couples and clients in tech, Sabrina brings her expertise to her workplace at Private Ocean and helps clients form and achieve their goals. In this episode, she shares the collab...

Shirl Penney is the co-founder and CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, a back and middle office service provider for large independent RIAs. With more than $32 billion on their platform across the 47 advisory firms they support, Dynasty has focused itself purely on being a highly-scaled service provider, while allowing the firms it services to remain completely independent. In this episode, Shirl o...

My guest today has one of the largest independent RIAs we've had on the podcast. Brent Brodeski is the co-founder and CEO of Savant Capital, an independent RIA that oversees more than $6 billion of assets under management for nearly 5,000 clients. With a team of 173 employees, Savant has also shared opportunities for ownership across more than 50 employees at the firm. In this episode, Brent share...