Behind The Advisor

How financial advisors are charging for services and what should be considered fair and reasonable for the consumer have become quite the hot button issues. Today Michael Kitces and Scott Gill join the show to dive into these topics and clarify the areas that are under scrutiny. Both men bring valuable information and advice to the issues presented and shed some light on how we can move forward as a community. Listen in to hear Michael and Scott discuss how regulators see financial services differently, as well as how we can communicate better and more clearly to them. You will learn what specific areas and action items to work on regarding consistency and communication, what regulators are trying to evaluate, and why these regulators are being triggered in the first place. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/213

Antowoine Winters spent 10 years working for the Internal Revenue Service, and after seeing so many individuals fall victim to poor or even fraudulent financial guidance, he decided to leave the Service to run a practice where he could be an advocate for the average American citizen. Today, Antowoine joins the show to discuss the process of starting his own RIA and what led him to working with so many creatives. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/212

Grant Bledsoe is the founder of Three Oaks Capital Management, and he joins the show to discuss what gave him the confidence to make the move from institutional trading to starting his own RIA. After realizing that his business was not growing as fast as he wanted it to, Grant decided to get his CFP and has seen his company growing rapidly ever since. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/211

Today we have XYPN Member and South Bay Financial Partners founder Tara Unverzagt on the show! Inspired by her mother—who was one of financial planning's early pioneers—Tara knew from an early age that she wanted to be a financial planner. She joins us in this episode to share her experience growing up in the field, the valuable lessons she learned from having an advisor as a parent, and how she put her own twist on financial planning to do things differently. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/210

After working for his previous firm for 19 years and then being unexpectedly fired, Mark Wilson was forced to reset his life. Now the owner and only employee of Making It Look Easy (MILE) Wealth Management, Mark joins the show today to discuss what pushed him to start his own firm and how he is focusing on the successes ahead. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/209

After coming on the show two years ago to talk about her first year in business, Meg Bartelt has agreed to come back to share her journey and progress since then. In this episode, Meg gives a raw and authentic look at the life of an entrepreneur and opens up about how she handles the many different stressors that come along with that. You'll hear about her process, methods, mistakes, and triumphs over her first three years in business. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/208

After attending Colorado State University on a football scholarship, Jason Speciner graduated with a degree in business administration in 2004 and has been a practicing registered financial advisor ever since. Today he joins the show to discuss how his firm has implemented a comprehensive services model, which he says is helping to shift the value conversation to the planning side while charging the client a simple and transparent fee. Listen in to learn what Jason is doing to lay the foundation for growth and hear about his experience with finding, hiring, and managing his first employee. You'll discover what it took to find the right person to help grow his firm, get his hiring tips based on what he learned, and see how his persistence has paid off. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/207

Michelle Smalenberger has over 12 years of experience working at a nationally-recognized firm and has been mentioned in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Financial Advisor IQ. Today she joins the show to discuss the benefits of owning a business with your spouse and how she and her husband manage the relationship stress that comes along with that. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/206

Today XYPN member Sara Stanich, founder of Cultivating Wealth, joins the show to discuss her unique journey to finding her place in financial planning. We will discuss why she made a career change out of marketing after 12 years and how having experience in multiple industries has led to her success as a financial advisor and business owner. Sara will share what pushed her to launch her own SEC-Registered firm in 2016 and why she sought out full independence. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/205

Sidney Divine, founder of Divine Wealth Strategies, joins the show to share how he climbed his way to the top and ended up being voted Financial Planner of the Year in 2017. He explains how he is fulfilling his dream of helping good people live better lives and how that passion has helped him build strong, lasting relationships with his clients. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/204

How did a teacher with a wanderlust inclination and a therapist interested in business and helping people come together to create Trail Financial Planning? In this episode, we dig into how John Chesbrough and Liz Weinstein crafted their unique career paths into a fantastic partnership that is growing quickly. You will hear about the challenges they have faced, who they serve, and the beneficial relationship between therapy and financial advising. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/203

Today XYPN member Sue Peck, founder of Evolution Financial, recounts the compelling story of how she discovered she was ready to start her own business after nearly 12 years of working for an investment management firm. She discusses the struggles of starting off on your own, where she has seen the most luck in finding clients, and more. You'll learn what Sue envisions for her business and why she wants to remain by herself, exclusively working with a manageable number of clients. It's important to remember what you are doing will pay off eventually, and Sue's unique story will remind you of that and keep you inspired along your own journey to building the business of your dreams. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/202

From corporate finance to financial planning with almost no experience as a planner, Quinn Arnold went from not being able to find a financial planner for himself to fostering a relationship that pushed him into the field and ultimately led to him owning a firm. In this episode, he discusses the ups and downs of his journey and shares the major lessons he learned along the way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/201

Over the past 200 episodes, we've sat down with hundreds of entrepreneurs to show you the ups and downs of building a practice and the lessons learned along the way. Our goal is to help you see a wider perspective of what it means to be a financial planner and own a business, and one of the best ways to do that is by asking all of our guests what advice they would give their younger selves. So to celebrate this milestone episode, we've taken those valuable tips and put them together for today's show. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/200

Jamie Rice joins the show today to describe how he made the career jump from engineering for the U.S. Navy to investment management. The chief investment officer for his firm, JQR Capital, Jamie specializes in serving individual investors, adventurers, and small businesses. You'll learn how he earned the right to use the CFA designation and the importance he places on truly caring for his clients. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/199

Today, Emlen Miles-Mattingly joins the show to describe how he took his career from bank teller to president and CEO of the successful firm, Gen Next Wealth. We'll discuss Emlen's unique niche in providing multi-generational financial planning to minority families and what he is doing to bring diversity to the industry. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/198

Today, Julie Ford joins the show to share how she started her successful financial planning career and how XY Planning Network helped her along the way. Specializing in serving city-dwelling couples, Julie prioritizes empowering her clients with the tools they need to create order in their financial world and reduce stress around money. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/197

My guest today is XYPN member Lauryn Williams, founder of Worth Winning and the only American to have medaled in both the summer and winter Olympics. She joins the show to share her experience starting a financial planning firm as her athletic career came to a close and the major challenges she faced along the way. Listen in to hear Lauryn open up about what it was like transitioning into the financial planning industry, as well as what made her want to join the field in the first place. You'll learn why she decided to start her own advisory business after working at a couple of other firms, how she's targeting three different niches, and how she has managed to keep going after plenty of setbacks along her road to success. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/196

Today's episode is going to be a bit different. Dan Moisand has been in business for almost 20 years, so our conversation will focus on how he runs his firm and does so with a remarkably low turnover. Dan has worked in most environments, including commissioned insurance, broker-dealer, independent broker-dealer, fee-only RIA and more, and he's here to cover a wide range of important information that will be helpful for any planner. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/195

If you're interested in what's going on in the world of student loans and want to find the best ways to help your clients who have them, then this episode is for you. Two of the leading student loans experts, Heather Jarvis and Jantz Hoffman, join the show today to discuss the latest news and tips regarding student loans and how to best serve clients within this niche. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/194

Ryan Galiotto's interest in finance and investing began in a unique way. Today, he joins the show to share how he found his love for finance so early on and his journey into the corporate world. Ryan has some great information and tips on how to transition investment-centric clients to full financial planning, as well as how he is transitioning into taking over the firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/193

When it comes to starting a firm, there's so much to know about implementation and getting started. After experiencing this firsthand, Arielle Minicozzi found a way to help other advisors with their processes to give them the ability to serve more clients and run their business more successfully. In this episode, she sits down to chat about her career transition, passion for helping millennial home buyers, partnering up with another financial planner, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/192

From a Kentucky monastery to paying off over $100,000 in debt by co-driving a truck with his wife, Ben Martinek has had an unusual journey to starting his own financial planning firm. In this episode, he shares how the unconventional nature of his career path, his passion for philosophy, and discovering Dave Ramsey got him started in the financial world. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/191

From tax planning to owning a growing RIA, Shannon Moenkhaus has had an interesting path to finding her place in financial planning. With her firm successfully reaching $360,000 in just 2 years, we can all learn a lot from Shannon's journey through partnerships, transitions, planning, and implementation. In this episode, we dig into how she built her career and the pivotal moments and important people that made all the difference. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/190

In this episode, you'll get to hear what it's like being the owner of a large RIA firm. Chip Munn of Signature Wealth Strategies joins us to share his journey and transition from teaching to building a fast-growing firm with multiple locations and thousands of clients. He has a lot of great insight when it comes to building a strong structure, developing a solid team, and having a powerful acquisition strategy. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/189

Jeremy Walter had a unique experience breaking into the financial advising world. In this episode, he shares his uncommon career path, including his transition from working at a firm he enjoyed to starting his own firm—and how he cordially navigated the change with his boss. He also gives some great insight into how to grow steadily from the start and the importance of adjusting your vision along the way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/188

What happens when you can't find the financial advice you need, so you decide to become the advisor you were looking for? Angela Moore's journey into financial advising began with personal frustration over the lack of accessible, trustworthy financial guidance—even for well-educated professionals. That experience didn't just change her finances—it changed her career path. In this episode, Angela shares how she transitioned into financial planning, built her own firm from the ground up, and strategically merged with another firm to scale her impact. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/187

Having a flexible schedule is valuable, especially when you're starting a family and want to spend more time at home. Alyssa Lum shares her journey going from a financial projection team to learning her way around financial planning and eventually starting her own firm at home. She discusses the ups and downs of the experience and lets us in on what she learned throughout the process. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/186

Making the shift from serving in the Marines to navigating the financial services world is not the easiest transition, but Steven Fox managed it and ended up owning his own successful firm. In this episode, he shares how he initially learned about the financial planning field and decided it was what he really wanted to do, as well as the steps he took to build his career. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/185

Malcolm Thomas became XYPN's Director of Advisor Success about six months ago, and he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience. Having had the unique experience of being on both the buy-side and sell-side of mergers, as well as various roles throughout his career, Malcolm has seen almost every corner of the industry. In this episode, he shares his insight on the various business models out there, as well as the struggles each are facing. Listen in to hear the lessons he's learned over the years, his mission in working with XYPN's Advisor Success Department, and his outlook on the future of the industry. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/184

Today's episode is great for all financial planners, but especially those wanting to incorporate more in-depth tax planning—and even tax preparation—into their service model. XYPN member Dave Zaegel is here to share his journey from public accounting to financial planning to starting not one, but two firms of his own. Now a partner at both an accounting firm called CPAs for Hire and a financial planning firm called CWOs for Hire, Dave provides comprehensive financial planning services, including tax work, for his clients. In this episode, Dave discusses how his two businesses are structured and how they work together within his service model. He also talks in depth about the way his financial planning process works, why he decided to focus on a niche of small business owners, and his plans for the future as both of his businesses continue to grow. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/183

Although he didn't expect to become a financial advisor, Evan Loomis is now a successful owner of a firm that has gained 22 clients in just one year. How did he get there? In this episode, we'll hear about his start in collections, as well as how he excelled in his financial career due to his work ethic and ability to ask the right questions and listen. Evan discusses how he strives to improve people's lives through his unique philosophy that unites his passion for soccer and finances, and opens up about the issues he had working at different levels of the financial sector that pushed him to move to a smaller firm before eventually starting his own. He also shares why he still coaches on the side, how he leverages his soccer network and what his plans are for the future of his firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/182

Today I'm excited to have XYPN's Chief Operating Officer, Raul Dominguez, on the show! After spending the first part of his career as a Navy helicopter pilot, Raul decided to transition to civilian life and ultimately joined our team back in 2015. He joins this episode to share what his day-to-day looks like as COO in order to give listeners some insight into what operations-focused team members do—and why they are so valuable. We talk in depth about the concept of the visionary and integrator roles that we've been exploring lately on the podcast, and we discuss helpful tools for clarifying roles and responsibilities, goal setting, and developing staff. Whether you're an entrepreneur thinking about hiring an operations manager or someone who wants to be on the operations side of things, this is an episode you don't want to miss. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/181

XYPN co-founder Michael Kitces is back on the show! For the second year now, we have collected data from our member firms to help us better understand their businesses and how they're operating, and Michael joins me today to talk about what we found. We dive into our 2018 Benchmarking Study's primary charts and cover key data points that will help advisors thinking about launching a firm set realistic expectations about growth. How much revenue should you expect for your first years in business? Is it really necessary to find a niche? Does the CFP even matter? Listen in to get those answers and more! You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/180

XYPN member Michelle Gass has had quite a unique path into the financial planning world. After starting her career as a tax accountant, Michelle transitioned into a family office, and then ended up launching and running a successful hedge fund for over twenty years. It wasn't until after she retired that she decided to get her CFP and launch her own financial planning firm. Now the founder of Paradigm Advisors, a fee-only financial advisory practice that focuses on guidance and support, Michelle joins this episode to share her professional journey. She opens up about what it was like starting a firm from scratch, what her business looks like today, and the important lessons she learned along the way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/179

Morgen Rochard started out trading but eventually ended up owner her own RIA firm. In this episode we will learn how her trading experience has affected how she does business and actually guided her into financial planning. She shares her journey with us and tips from her experience in breaking into the financial planning world, growing a firm and even advice for women who want to start a firm AND a family. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/178

Danna Jacobs and Rob Colon are an impressive brother and sister duo that went from launching a firm in 2013 with just one client—who happened to be their grandfather—to running not just one, but two successful businesses. The founders of Legacy Care Wealth and Inspired Vision Accounting, Danna and Rob have figured out how to balance their particular strengths and weaknesses to form a strong partnership. In this episode, they share how their brother/sister dynamic works for their business, as well as how they divide up responsibilities between Danna's role as the integrator and Rob's role as the big-thinking visionary. Listen in to hear what they did to grow their businesses to where they are today, the technology tools they use to help manage their assets and to-do lists, and advice they'd give themselves if they could go back and do it all over again. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/177

Todays' guest decided to start his own firm just six months after buying into a partnership to become the succession plan for a retirement-age advisor. Now the founder of Greater Than Financial, Wakefield Hare began his journey to starting his own firm after he learned about XYPN in 2015 and realized that he wanted to serve clients his way. Three years later, Wakefield runs a successful practice serving just over 100 client households, and he has started to focus more on his niche of working with homeschool families. But now that he has achieved all that he initially set out to achieve, he admits that contentment has kept him from actively pursuing more opportunities. Listen in to hear our discussion about what made him decide to take the leap and start his own firm, how he built it to the success it is today, and what drives you in your entrepreneurial journey when you realize you have enough. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/176

My guest today is a great example of how powerful it can be to nail down a niche. David Barson is the founder of Barson Financial Planning, and nearly two years after starting his firm, he has really started focusing on his ideal client profile: Genentech employees. Having started his own career in biotech and worked at the company himself, David is able to connect with current employees in ways most other advisors can't, making his client relationships that much stronger. In this episode, David shares his experience transitioning into the financial planning world and ultimately making the leap to starting his own firm. Listen in to hear how he built his firm from the ground up, as well as key advice for other advisors hoping to do the same. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/175

When it comes to balancing work and life, Linden Cornett seems to have found a really interesting way to do that. Last time we spoke with her she had promised her family to not work as much by taking on only 5 new clients per year. In this episode we catch up with her to see how this plan has gone and how she is balancing family life, her practice and a part-time job. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/174

Balancing two careers, Police sergeant Mike Bronson brings us some serious motivation and inspiration with his whirlwind life and career. He has some great insight and advice to share on time management, niche marketing, resilience and much more. Mike talks in depth about where he found his passion for finance and noticed an important need for financial help in the field he is so passionate about. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/173

Many people start a business as a side-hustle with the goal to take that full time but Leo Nunez and James Estep of Everest Financial Advisors have two full time jobs. On this episode you'll learn how two firefighters fell into finance and decided to follow their passion for helping firefighters manage money while remaining with their original careers. They have some great insight into managing two careers, letting passion lead the way and ensuring work/life balance. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/172

Rebecca Connor took the leap and started her own financial planning firm. Her early success is something she credits to having a specific niche from the start and implementing processes that nurtured growth. She discusses the risks she took on, her unique niche in tech and the various experiments she made to figure out the right path for her firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/171

Most people are very careful to keep politics out of their business in order to not offend or alienate potential clients. Zach Teutsch has found that his unapologetic political stance has actually helped his business. He discusses why he thinks his practice has grown due to his political views and why he decided to choose the controversial niche that he did. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/170

Entrepreneurs view risk differently and Martin Lundgren is the perfect example of this. We'll chat about his career journey into financial consulting and eventually his own successful business. He talks about the unique challenges and risks involved as an immigrant and shares many tips on what to do (and not to do) when it comes to starting your own firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/169

Today I'm excited to have XYPN member Deb Meyer on the show. The founder of both WorthyNest and SV CPA Services, Deb started her career on the tax side of the business before eventually finding her way into financial planning. After working for a large family office firm, she realized that her passion wasn't in working with super wealthy families and decided to switch gears. Deb launched WorthyNest two years ago, and her focus is now on working with Christian parents who share her values. She continues to run her tax practice in addition to the RIA, and managed to do so while living in Spain for three months with her husband and three young sons. In this episode, she shares how she balanced her work and family time throughout her entrepreneurial journey, why she felt compelled to launch her RIA, and advice for listeners who are considering starting a business of their own. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/168

Steve Crawford is a financial advisor, a coach to other financial advisors, and the founder of both Experience Wealth and XY Adviser in Australia. After working in the industry and realizing he wasn't serving the client base he wanted to focus on, Steve started his own financial planning firm at what was probably the worst possible time to start a firm: 2008. Despite the timing—and despite committing four major don'ts with his own firm—Steve has been steadily growing his business and helping his clients become financially independent. Since bringing on a couple of other advisors, he's shifted his focus to providing cash flow planning services, and also training other advisors on how to provide this service. Listen in to hear how Steve integrated cash flow planning into his service model, where the majority of his clients come from, and what to expect from the cash flow presentation he'll be giving at the XYPN LIVE 2018 Conference. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/167

Today I'm excited to have XYPN Member Eric Gabor on the show! Eric has spent his entire career as a financial advisor, but he realized early on that he wanted to work with a different client base than the one most firms serve. After making the decision to leave a high-paying job to follow that desire, he ultimately launched his own firm, Eagle Grove Advisors, in 2016. In this episode, he shares the struggles he went through in his first year as an entrepreneur, dealing with very little interest from prospects and limited revenue. Now averaging one prospect meeting per week, Eric has built a successful firm that allowed him to spend 5 months out of the country over the last two years. Listen in to hear how he did it, as well as his advice for other financial planners hoping to start their own businesses one day. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/166

The financial planning industry has mostly targeted the higher earners and often been less accessible for those that really need financial planning and advising services. Michael Anderson joins us to talk about how he is working on providing options for the lower income clients. He also discusses the importance of having a relationship with his clients and why he works so hard on communicating effectively in order to understand his clients' needs and serve them in the best way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/165

Breanna Reish is the founder of Wealth of Confidence, a women's wealth firm that aims to transform the financial planning experience for women. After starting her career on the tax side of the business (and having to plan pregnancies around tax season), Breanna decided to leave and work for an RIA doing financial planning. Still finding herself unsettled, she ended up meeting a coach who helped her really understand the clients she wanted to serve and rediscover why she was in this business. Breanna ultimately chose to start her own firm, making the decision with her husband to become a two-entrepreneur household—while having two young children. In this episode, she shares her journey to finding her place in the industry, as well as encouragement for women who want to start a firm, but also want to start a family. Listen in to hear how Breanna managed her own firm launch, how she determined her service model, and how she balances it all so well that she's hit her revenue goals for her first twelve months and first full calendar year in business. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/164