Financial Advisor Success

Melody Townsend is the President of Townsend Financial Planning, an RIA based out of Kentucky that oversees $112 million in assets under management for 160 client households. Embracing a transformative business model, Melody's strategy centered around providing a comprehensive suite of services, blending financial planning with investment management. This significant shift from a fee-based to a va...

David Savir is the Co-Founder and CEO of Element Pointe Family Office, a fee-only RIA based out of Miami that oversees almost $1.6 billion in assets under management for 50 client households. David's unique approach at Element Pointe, developed over eight years and catering to high- and ultra-high-net-worth clients, involves an Equity Appreciation Rights plan that allows team members to share in t...

Tim Goodwin is the founder of Goodwin Investment Advisory, an RIA based out of Georgia that oversees $275 million in assets under management for 370 client households. Tim's distinct approach involves a strong focus on search engine optimization, especially Google Reviews, alongside paid search ads to attract individuals actively seeking a "financial advisor near me." This strategy has resulted in...

Michelle Ogden is the founder of Ogden Wealth, an RIA based out of Florida that oversees $50 million in assets under management for 120 households. Unique in her approach, Michelle chose a cautious and deliberate path for her business growth, avoiding rapid expansion and minimal staff reliance for over a decade. This strategy, however, led to a pivotal moment where the business's success depended...

Thomas Kopelman is the Co-Founder of AllStreet Wealth, a financial planning firm for millennial business owners and those with equity comp that has quickly grown to more than $500,000 of run-rate revenue generated from serving 70 ongoing households. Thomas stands out for his effective use of social media, particularly Twitter, to attract over 170 prospects this year by sharing concise, impactful b...

Kimberly Enders is the Lead Financial Planner and Managing Partner of Enders Wealth Management, a hybrid advisory firm based out of Michigan that oversees $50 million in assets under management for 85 client households. Kimberly's unique journey in the financial industry began with rebuilding her practice from scratch after a divorce in 2015, starting with just 12 clients and $7 million in assets....

Stevyn Guinnip is the founder of Grow Wellthy, a health and wellness consulting firm based out of Missouri that specializes in working with busy (but not always healthy) financial advisors. Stevyn stands out for her unique approach, blending her family background in financial advice with her extensive experience in health and well-being coaching. She focuses on addressing 'The Big Swap' phenomenon...

Rob Nelson is the CEO and Founder of NorthRock Partners, an RIA based in Minneapolis that oversees $5 billion in assets under management for 1,500 client households. Rob stands out in the advisory landscape by offering a wide array of services from bill paying to tax preparation, akin to a 'personal CFO'. He achieves this while maintaining competitive AUM-based fees, capitalizing on economies of s...

Ted Jenkin is the consultant of JPTD Partners, a consulting firm based in Atlanta that helps financial advisors gather offers, negotiate, and ultimately sell their advisory firms. What sets Ted apart is his firsthand experience of selling his own $2.2 billion AUM firm, cultivated over a decade. This unique perspective as a former owner deeply influences his approach, enabling him to empathetically...

Christa Madison is the Managing Director of Financial Planning and Business Development at Sebold Capital, a fee-only RIA based out of Chicago that oversees $300 million across more than 100 households. Christa's distinct approach lies in her adept use of business development and networking skills to rebuild her client base from scratch three times, amidst personal and professional changes. She tr...

Jeff Brown is the President of Stratos Private Wealth, an RIA based out of San Diego that oversees nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management for over 350 households. Jeff's firm stands out for its innovative career track system, which features well-defined performance indicators across three levels to systematically guide junior advisors toward becoming lead advisors. This unique structure no...

Peter Tiboris is a Partner of Park Avenue Capital, an advisory firm affiliated with Northwestern Mutual based out of New York City that oversees $2.4 billion in assets under management for over 1,300 households. Peter and his business partner have distinctively grown their firm within the Northwestern Mutual ecosystem through organic expansion and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Their position...

Suzanne Powell is a Senior Financial Advisor that oversees approximately $110 million in assets under management for nearly 150 households at Meridian Wealth Management, an RIA based out of Kentucky. Suzanne stands out for her strategic scheduling, amassing over $100M in AUM by concentrating client and prospect meetings into two 3-month periods each year, enabling her to dedicate the rest of the y...

Eric Miller, Chief Financial Advisor and Co-Owner of Econologics Financial Advisors, joins the show today to discuss his innovative approach to financial planning. His unique Financial Prosperity Index, a comprehensive assessment covering 100 questions and 9 different domains, provides clients with a holistic view of their financial health—and helps Eric demonstrate the value of his financial plan...

Veronica Karas is a Senior Financial Advisor at CAPTRUST and works from the RIA's Lake Success, New York office, where she oversees $360 million in assets under management for 200 households. What sets Veronica apart is her distinctive 3-question method to garner referrals from clients, centers of influence, and even prospects—all while maintaining a genuine and non-aggressive demeanor. In this ep...

Jon Henderson is the Founder and CIO of Echo45 Advisors. Based in Walnut Creek, California, Echo45 Advisors oversees $163 million in assets under management for more than 180 client households. What sets Jon apart is his meticulous approach to integrating technology and personalized service, culminating in a finely-tuned advisor tech stack and a dedicated "Client Concierge" team member armed with...

Sarah-Catherine Gutierrez is the founder of Aptus Financial, a fee-only financial planning firm based out of Arkansas that is nearing $2 million in revenue for 480 client households. What stands out about Sarah Catherine is how she has built a multi-advisor, flat-fee, advice-only firm, challenging the industry's common reliance on AUM. Her success is attributed to sustainable marketing systems tha...

Brad Arends is the co-founder and CEO of Intellicents, an independent RIA based out of Minnesota that oversees $6 billion in assets under management for more than 3,000 households. Brad stands out for having built a multi-billion-dollar advisory firm by offering comprehensive financial planning to large company employees as an added benefit, rather than targeting multi-millionaire clients. Listen...

Grier Rubeling is the founder of Advisor Transition Services, a consulting firm based out of North Carolina that helps advisors move from one broker-dealer or custodian's platform to another—often while breaking away to start their own firm. Grier stands out with her meticulous approach to aiding firms in swiftly transitioning custodians, a complex task both legally and emotionally. She has develo...

Brett Danko is the Founder of Brett Danko Educational Center, a CFP Board Education and Exam Prep Provider, and the CEO and Managing Partner for Main Street Financial Solutions, an independent RIA based out of Pennsylvania that oversees nearly $2 billion in assets under management for 1,700 households. Brett stands out for combining his love for teaching with financial expertise, creating one of t...

Bridget Venus Grimes is the President of WealthChoice, a virtual independent RIA that oversees nearly $80 million in assets under management for 68 families, and Co-Founder of Equita Financial Network, an advisor platform that helps advisors share resources. As a solo advisor, Bridget quickly grew her firm to $77M in AUM over 7 years, but found herself stretched thin managing various business aspe...

Jessica Polito is the Founder and Principal for Turkey Hill Management, a mergers and acquisitions consulting firm that assists financial advisors with the sale, acquisition, integration, or merger of their firms. Jessica stands out for her specialized practice in assisting financial advisors and firms, offering comprehensive guidance—from understanding business goals and educating clients on tran...

Jason Wenk is the CEO of Altruist, a newer RIA custodian that has quickly grown to serve more than 3,500 advisory firms and has become the fourth-largest independent RIA custodian by firm count. In response to the inefficiencies he encountered with existing RIA custodians while building his own TAMP a decade ago, Jason developed an 'all-in-one' custodian platform for RIAs, which incorporates portf...

Olivia Luper is the Founder of Lexicon Advisor Marketing, a virtual outsourced digital marketing company that specializes in working with financial advisors to generate a steady flow of prospects. Olivia is unique in that she initially began as a ghostwriter for financial advisors before soon realizing that quality content needed a robust marketing system to truly attract prospects. Consequently,...

Jeff Jones is the owner and founder of Cypress Financial Planning, an independent RIA based out of New Jersey that oversees $275 million in assets under management for 380 client households. Jeff stands out for creating custom financial planning spreadsheets in Excel that seamlessly integrate into PowerPoint presentations, an approach that not only crafts a compelling financial story for clients,...