Only Fee-Only

Two weeks before the shutdown, Dan Ryan left a big firm to launch Sinceris Advisory with a simple plan: stay virtual, serve clients deeply, and let great work drive growth. Then COVID hit. Meetings vanished, Zoom became standard, and he had to adapt fast. Today, the firm manages $226M for 150 families. Dan shares the real story—cancelled deals, “tire kickers,” 80-hour onboarding weeks, and learnin...

Andy Fisher spent 25 years leading operations at a Fortune 500 company before launching Path Setter Financial, a fee-only RIA built on clarity, transparency, and calm. In this episode, we talk about his transition from corporate leadership to advisory firm owner—and what engineering discipline taught him about building better financial planning processes. We discuss how fee structures influence ou...

Meet the person you want on your side when policies get real. We sit down with Charles Priest, our new head of Property and Casualty at BC Brokerage, to unpack how a planning‑first mindset turns confusing coverage into clear, confident decisions for households and businesses. Charles brings 16 years of experience helping clients navigate tough choices, manage risk trade‑offs, and pick carriers tha...

Why do some advisors thrive without managing assets? We talk with Kelly Nilsson , founder of Brava Financial, about building a planning-first, advice-only practice that focuses on real-life risk—not just market returns. With a background in insurance, Kelly believes households are more often disrupted by death, disability, or long-term care than by volatility, and her plans are built to handle tho...

Imagine walking into tax season already knowing the number. That’s what happens when a fee-only planner and a proactive CPA plan the year together—before December 31. In this episode, we’re joined by Elliot Vaughn, CFP® , and Ryan Hickel, CPA , to show how they turn scattered inputs like Social Security, IRA distributions, pensions, and equity sales into one coordinated plan. We break down their j...

A simple spreadsheet for his dad sparked a complete career pivot. In this episode, Andy Cole breaks down his move from civil engineering to fee-only financial planning—and how he built a lean, resilient practice while working full time and raising a family. What began as a deep dive into risk-adjusted returns evolved into a planning-first firm serving engineers with a flexible, transparent fee mod...

Want a founder story that includes spreadsheets, a stint as a roadie, an Atlantic crossing, and a will-signing party that packed the room? Meet Shane Mason of Brooklyn FI — a CPA/CFP who went from Big Four tax to touring life, then teamed up with AJ to build a 20-person advisory firm rooted in transparency, productized service, and genuine hospitality. We dig into the early days: running a tax pra...

How do you go from knocking on doors in the snow to running a referral-driven, tax-focused retirement firm? Hamilton Brandenburg shares his path from Chick-fil-A’s “my pleasure” culture, to prospecting at Edward Jones, to launching a fee-only practice built around tax-smart retirement planning. A near-lapsing whole life case pushed him toward a model where taxes, decumulation, and clear service rh...

Krystal Fortner built a thriving, advice-only firm by choosing clarity, community, and client-first values over sales pressure. In this episode, we trace her path from cold-calling at a wirehouse to launching her RIA with same-day state approval, and how learning product sales made her a stronger fiduciary. Krystal shares how witnessing a "don't ask questions" sales culture shaped h...

What if you could scale your advisory firm without rushing to hire and manage a full team? In this episode, we talk with Michelle Wong , founder and CEO of Nifty Advisor Support , about how solo and small RIAs can build lasting capacity through remote support, strong processes, and a culture-first approach. Michelle shares how Nifty grew from a pre-COVID launch to supporting more than 60 firms tod...

How does a fee-only firm grow without losing its purpose? In this episode, we talk with Sean Gillespie , president of Redeployment Wealth Strategies , about the lessons behind raising fees, building the right team, and serving military families with care and consistency. Sean explains why their first-year planning fee reflects the real work of sorting through insurance, TSP choices, and transition...

Prudence Zhu (pronounced "zoo"), CPA, CFP®, CFT™, is the founder and CEO of Enso Financial, a fee-only financial planning firm dedicated to helping couples, families, and entrepreneurs thrive through open communication and values-driven money management.  Born in rural China, Prudence moved to the U.S. in 2012 alone with few belongings and achieved financial freedom nine years after thro...

Austin Preece went from selling insurance to building a thriving fee-only financial planning firm—by doing things differently. He rejected the traditional AUM model in favor of charging 0.5% of net worth, aligning his fees with client outcomes. When he realized a 100% prospect close rate meant his pricing was too low, he raised his fees and built a sustainable practice around clients who truly val...

What happens when someone who used to sell financial technology decides to become a financial advisor? Clark Jeffries, founder of Jeffries Wealth Management, takes us inside his transition from FinTech sales to running his own independent practice. After five years at Hidden Levers (later acquired by Orion Advisor Tech), Clark worked closely with hundreds of advisory firms and noticed a major gap....

How do you build a financial planning practice that succeeds without losing your values? Fran Walsh, co-founder of Opulus LLC and one of Investopedia’s Top 100 Advisors, believes the key is authenticity. From a football award that unexpectedly introduced him to his future business partner to launching his firm just before COVID hit, Fran’s path has been anything but straight. His mindset has staye...

Meet Dev Thompson – the newest addition to the BC Brokerage team. Dev’s journey to insurance is a unique one—from college football player to strength coach at Purdue and Kentucky, to fee-only financial planner, and now a trusted resource for advisors across the country. His background blends a passion for personal finance with the discipline of athletic coaching, giving him a thoughtful and client...

What does it take to build a successful financial planning firm—while living off the grid in a cabin-caboose hybrid? Ryan Sullivan of Off the Beaten Path Financial did just that. After leaving a career in engineering that lacked the flexibility and impact he wanted, a chance meeting led him to financial planning. Despite industry warnings, he launched his RIA while still working full-time. He and...

Matt Zeigler and Ben Tuscai of Sunpoint Investments take a different approach to wealth management. Instead of just managing money, they combine deep financial planning with investment consulting to build real relationships and help clients make smarter decisions. Their paths into the industry were unique—Matt was a music major, and Ben worked for the Phillies before spending eight years at Vangua...

A lot of financial planners don’t actually want to run a business. They just want to help people. But when the only way to do that is to launch your own firm… you end up becoming an accidental entrepreneur—juggling compliance, operations, tech, and marketing instead of focusing on clients. Stephen Fox saw that problem firsthand. Marine Corps veteran. Financial planner. Firm builder. And now, the f...

Choosing the right tech for your advisory firm can feel overwhelming. In this episode, we talk with Joe Moss, COO at January Capital Advisors and founder of Connector, about how to build a tech stack that actually improves your client experience. Joe shares his story from mowing lawns to helping advisors cut through the noise of outdated and overpriced software. He explains how to evaluate tools b...

The way financial advisors market themselves is evolving—and testimonials are leading the charge. Brian Thorp, founder of WealthTender, joins us to break down how SEC rule changes have opened the door for compliant client reviews. WealthTender, the first SEC-compliant review platform, helps over 500 advisors use testimonials effectively. For just $49/month, advisors gain visibility without referra...

What if financial planning could be simpler—and better? Guy Penn, founder of Core Planning, joins us to share how building the simplest version of an RIA has led to something powerful: a close-knit community of advisors built on generosity, trust, and support. At Core, everything starts with one question: “What can we remove to make this better?” Instead of adding layers of complexity, the firm fo...

What happens when two advisors decide to completely rebuild their firm from the ground up? In this episode, Tommy Blackburn and John Mason share how they transformed Mason & Associates from a commission-based practice to a thriving fee-only RIA focused on federal employees. Driven by a desire for stronger client relationships and a clear vision for the future, they took on the challenge of “ri...

What happens when your lifestyle practice takes off faster than you ever expected? Andy Panko, founder of Tenon Financial, didn’t set out to build a firm. After leaving the corporate finance world in 2019, his goal was simple: work with 50 clients, enjoy flexibility, and ease into retirement on his own terms. But within two years, he was at capacity—and suddenly facing a new question: Now what? In...

Taylor Stewart didn’t set out to build software. He created a simple spreadsheet to help with his own planning, and it quickly caught the attention of other advisors. When one offered to buy it, he named a price that felt too high—and they said yes without hesitation. That moment sparked the creation of Income Mapper, and later, the tools that would become the foundation of Partheon, where Taylor...