Financial Advisor Success

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 bu...

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 de...

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...

Bob Veres has long been a towering figure in the world of financial planning. He's  been writing about financial planning since the early eighties and has played a key role in shaping the industry as we know it today.  In this interview, Bob shares how and why he's worked to close the disconnect between planners' and clients' interests, and why he thinks financial planning could one day be a profe...

Angie Herbers consults with financial advisors to help them break through growth barriers and bring their firms into alignment with their core values. Although she gets about 4-5 prospects a week, Angie only works with about 10% of the advisors that want to work with her. In this interview, Angie  talks about the critical importance of setting boundaries with your business and your clients. Angie...

There's constantly buzz in our industry about the importance of integrating social media with your practice. Not only is Josh Brown an advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management; he runs the widely-read blog The Reformed Broker and appears on CNBC's The Halftime Report . In this conversation, Josh tells the story of how he became one of the best known voices in the business, beginning in the financial...

Our guest this week, Deena Katz, was already writing entire books about practice management when I was still cutting my teeth as a financial advisor. Deena is a financial advisor, author, and educator who has long espoused the importance of holistic financial planning. Deena was an early adopter of niches, settling into work with widows and divorcees that needed help managing their money. Deena ha...

You've undoubtedly heard of "life planning" within the financial planning world, but we've got the originator himself with us today on Financial Advisor Success.  In this episode, George Kinder talks about his early career and the inception of life planning. He shares the three questions he asks of new clients to get to know them, and the short- and long-term goals he often has clients identify. F...

Carl Richards has a career that many people would be envious of. He's worked for top-notch financial planning firms, built his own RIA, written two books and a column for   The New York Times , and travels internationally to speak to crowds about financial planning. But like most of us, Carl still deals with impostor syndrome that threatens his confidence in his own success. In this interview, Car...

As a serial entrepreneur, Steve Lockshin has founded several businesses in the advisory industry.  Listen to this week's episode to learn how he got started as a financial advisor without any experience in the field and how he created and sold a software company without a background in programming. Steve shares his journey from insurance into financial advising and how he got started. You'll hear...

Today I'm chatting with Sophia Bera, the founder of Gen Y Planning. Sophia was the subject of a post on Nerd's Eye View back in 2013 when she was starting her firm. Four years on, she's bringing home more than $100,000 in revenue and serving about 50 clients on a monthly retainer model.   Sophia's firm is another example of just how powerful a niche can be. Although peers told her that millennials...

Alan and I co-founded XY Planning Network in 2013, but he had to go through a lot of growth and challenges before he got there. Three years later, Alan firmly believes that being your own boss is safer than letting one person (your boss) be in control of your income. In this episode, Alan and I talk about his internship with Rick Kahler and subsequent job, during which he learned that being an ass...

In this interview, Eric gives us some background about Austin Asset today and its incredible growth since he joined the firm in 1997. He shares candidly about how he and his mentor John Henry McDonald complemented each other as they navigated the challenges of a growing firm.  While we discuss the nuts-and-bolts of succession planning, we also touch on the oft-ignored emotional aspects of such a t...

Today on Financial Advisor Success, I'm excited to host Dr. Carolyn McClanahan of Life Planning Partners. Carolyn is a physician and financial planner based out of Jacksonville, Florida, where her truly holistic ensemble practice works with 80 clients and maintains more than $1 million a year of stable recurring income. In this episode, Carolyn lays out the infrastructure & beliefs of her firm and...

David Grau Sr. talks about how he helped start a business at the wholly unique intersection of financial services, technology, and consulting that is FP Transitions' bread and butter.  We also discuss the four sectors that David and his team break the industry into - books, practices, businesses, and firms - and the critical differences between them. David also shares his potentially controversial...

In this episode, Matt talks about how he transformed a stagnant firm into a profitable lifestyle practice with the help of his father Nathaniel (the founder of Jarvis) and his two excellent office staff. He outlines the business' metrics, service model, and the infrastructure he's built to ensure his clients get excellent service even if he's not in the office. We also talk about industry criticis...

Eleanor Blayney talks about the challenges of growing an independent RIA in a male dominated industry. She was one of the founding partners of Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney. The firm grew to a billion dollars in AUM before it was sold to Harris Bank in 2003. She focuses on serving the needs of women - both as clients and as advisors in the profession. Get the full show notes and transcript...

Mark Tibergien is the current CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions, an advisement firm custodian to some of the wealthiest practices and clients in the world. Pershing is part of BNY Mellon, which oversees $33 trillion in assets globally. Mark was formerly a part of Moss Adams, where he pioneered the benchmarking studies that helped define and continue to shape the industry today. In this episode, yo...

Deb Wetherby, owner of Wetherby Asset Management.  The challenges and accomplishments Deb and her team have weathered provide an excellent case study in leadership, growth, and resource development. They have been intentional about creating systems that will facilitate growth while maintaining their focus on client management and high-quality customer service. We cover a number of topics on this e...

Julie Littlechild is a speaker, writer, and researcher focused on understanding and improving financial advisors' engagement with their teams and their clients. She is now the founder of Absolute Engagement, a firm that provides ongoing research into personal, client, and team engagement to support a dynamic business. One of her primary subjects of research, which is especially relevant helping fi...

It's taken Ron Carson considerable energy and determination to get where he is today, and this interview sheds light on all the hard work he's done to build such an impressive career. While it may seem like successful people simply spring into existence, I hope these interviews show you that all financial planners encounter triumphs and obstacles alike. Ron talks candidly his humble beginnings and...

I'm thrilled to bring you weekly episodes featuring interviews of successful financial planners, their stories and the insights you can learn from their valuable experience. In this first episode, I have a conversation with Rick Kahler, a financial planner in Rapid City, South Dakota who built his own practice to a stable of 100 clients and $200M in assets under management. Rick's story is truly h...