Financial Advisor Success

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 decided to "plug-in" to a larger firm. In this episode, Michele discusses her non-traditional journey through the financial advisory industry, as well as how she managed to re-balance both her business and the work she is doing in it. Listen in as she shares her best tips for attracting clients no matter where you are, the importance of developing an expertise, and how to confront the inevitable challenges you will face when starting out on your own. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/139

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 successfully market to and attract such high-income millennials. Listen in as he shares why he decided to stop implementing term insurance policies, as well as what he sees as the key to being able to work with his younger clients. You'll get his take on why the industry tends to have a difficult time attracting millennials, the value of making things easier for clients, and what younger advisors should know as they are looking to get started in the industry. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/138

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 is transitioning into the independent RIA channel after having started out as a traditional life insurance sales agent, as well as how he has structured his firm. You'll get valuable tips for growing your business, hiring the right people, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/137

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 she juggles being an advisor, a firm owner, and a parent. You'll learn how she empowers other female advisors to establish an advisory business and balance the rest of their lives in the process, how her firm handles its mixture of fee-based advisory and commission-based brokerage business, and their plans for the future. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/136

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 persevered despite learning she had breast cancer and undergoing surgeries while she was preparing to go independent. She also discusses the playbooks that she and her partner developed for Morton Brown, why her firm decided to bring on a data geek as one of their first hires, and so much more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/135

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 this episode, Andrew explains what ultimately changed his mind about pursuing a career at his parents' firm—something he was not initially planning to do. You'll learn what it's like working for a family-owned firm, the technology the firm uses to communicate with clients, and how you can better track and find planning opportunities for your clients, too. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/134

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 business with a sibling. Listen in as we talk in depth about their blended fee model, which charges a monthly fee for ongoing planning advice that shifts into an AUM fee as clients' savings and portfolios grow. Danna explains the structured agenda she uses for every client—covering accomplishments since the last meeting and key client takeaways that become the clients' homework for the next meeting—how she balanced motherhood during the early stages of her business, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/133

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 for an ongoing retainer fee. She also explains how she has overcome the self-doubt that so many of us experience when quoting our planning fees so that she is able to charge what she is really worth. Listen in as we talk in depth about Linda's decision to shift from being a solo advisor under a cost-sharing partnership to building her own multi-advisor team, as well as what surprised her most when switching to a team structure after being solo for so long. You'll learn why she decided to go back to school for a Ph.D. in financial planning as an experienced practitioner, how her mentality has shifted over the years, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/132

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 everything he does. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/131

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 to take time off for maternity leave. Listen in to learn how Ashley built her career in the early years, going from cold-calling to cold-knocking to build up a client base, as well as how she opened up the conversation with small business owners to quickly get their interest for a follow-up meeting. If you are looking to start a family while running a business or start a new firm (or both), this is the episode for you. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/130

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 to only ever have 40 affluent clients. In this episode, Donna shares her journey in building her first and second advisory firms, as well as how she decided which clients she wanted to bring to her second firm when starting up again. You'll learn about her process and the tools she uses, how she employs a virtual assistant to maximize her time with her clients, and why she has no concerns about her ability to remain competitive as a stand-alone solo advisor. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/129

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 working with small business owners and how they track how each owner's net worth increases over time. In this episode, we talk about why Justin finds it more effective to break his advisory fee—which can sometimes be as much as $20,000 a year—into a more cash flow friendly monthly subscription fee. Listen in to learn how he has focused his marketing toward these small business owners and how doing so has ironically brought him more prospects outside his niche. You'll also hear which five business books he reads every year to run his own advisory business more efficiently. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/128

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 personal brand and reputation as a trusted fiduciary advisor. Listen in to hear Jania share what it takes to service and support mid to large size 401(k) plans and detail the fee structure for her business. You'll learn why she built and automated a report in her CRM that shows her clients all of the behind-the-scenes work that the firm does on their behalf, how she used LinkedIn to help her business grow, and the challenges she faced when going independent. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/127

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 private again. In this episode, Martine shares the process of selling and buying back the firm and how her role has changed throughout the years with SBSB. We also discuss the company's model for serving affluent clients and why they offer tax preparation services on top of financial planning and investment management. Listen in to find out the challenges that surprised Martine the most and her biggest breakthrough in her career. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/126

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 collaborative process of selling Mosaic Financial Partners, Inc. to Private Ocean and how she broke the news to her clients that a transition was going to happen. We discuss how their management team worked with an investment banker and the key filters the firm used to vet their prospective buyers. Listen in to discover the importance of communication when selling or merging a firm and the advice Sabrina wishes she'd had when she started out. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/125

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 opens up about his entrepreneurial journey, as well as how he maintained focus and perseverance during the two and a half years it took for him to be able to take his first paycheck from the business. Listen in to hear how he built his company from zero to 70 employees over a decade, the sacrifices he had to make to get to where he is today, and the key lessons he learned along the way. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/124

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 shares the trajectory of Savant's almost entirely organic growth to over $6 billion in AUM, as well as how the firm navigated the all-too-common challenge of buying out a co-founder. Listen in to learn how they re-capitalized the firm, the system they put in place to strategically plan for and execute the business's goals, and how they plan to 10x the firm in the next ten years. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/123

My guest today built his firm as a support platform for independent advisors. Jeff Concepcion is the founder and CEO of Stratos Wealth Partners, a corporate RIA and super OSJ under the LPL platform that oversees over $13 billion of assets under advisement across nearly 300 advisors in 100 different locations. In this episode, Jeff talks about the challenges he faced launching his firm, because while the business is undeniably successful now, he didn't take a paycheck out of it for the first three years. Listen in to learn how he got through the tough times he experienced in the beginning, the important lessons he learned about investing in your business, and how he divides up advisory firm tasks to improve efficiency. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/122

Rachel Robasciotti is the founder of Robasciotti & Phillipson, an independent RIA that oversees $140 million of assets for more than 100 individual clients. With 15 years of experience in the industry, Rachel has not only built a successful firm, but also a unique proprietary investment process (dubbed RISE, for Return on Investment and Social Equity) that goes beyond doing socially responsible investing and actually engages her local community to help with the screening process. In this episode, Rachel shares her path through the financial services industry, including the unique challenges she faced starting a firm not only as a young advisor, but as a young black female who came from a poor upbringing. Listen in to learn how she had handled the pressure to conform to the industry standard expectations of financial advisors, her experience going out on her own at the age of 25, and the important lessons she learned along the way. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/121

Manisha Thakor is the founder of MoneyZen, a financial literacy and education platform focused on empowering women, and the VP of Financial Wellbeing at Brighton Jones, an independent RIA with $5 billion in assets under management. After following quite a unique path into the industry, Manisha built her own platform to share her message of financial literacy for women through speaking gigs and media appearances—despite being an introvert. In this episode, Manisha shares what it really takes to build a personal finance brand, as well as how she learned to view her introversion as an asset rather than a hindrance. Listen in to learn how she built her confidence, what she wishes she had known earlier, and how she has remained successful by forming relationships, building connections, and relying on the power of being her authentic self. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/120

My guest today keeps up our recent trend of speaking with advisors who serve a unique niche. The founder of Practical Financial Planning, Kenneth Robinson focuses his planning services specifically on Ohio public sector employees. A former public sector employee himself—before he transitioned into financial planning 20 years ago—Kenneth has managed to maximize the efficiency of his practice by developing a specialized knowledge of public sector employee issues and pensions. In this episode, Kenneth shares how he built his business in such a narrow niche, as well as how his heavy specialization not only built his confidence as an advisor, but also made him comfortable increasing his fees. Listen in to learn how he structures his business, tips for dealing with toxic clients, and powerful advice he has received over the years. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/119

Jared Reynolds is a partner at Wilkerson & Reynolds, an advisory firm that oversees nearly $160 million in assets under management. With a heavy focus on working with small business owners and their 401k plans, Jared has grown his business by serving a niche of bass fisherman, for whom he regularly organizes fishing and hunting trip expeditions as prospecting activities. In this episode, Jared shares how he turned his passion into an effective business model, as well as his experience building his firm into the success it is today. Listen in to learn his strategy for networking and building relationships while having fun, what kind of marketing activities he's found to develop the best prospects, and how any advisor can create a similar opportunity with his or her own hobbies and passions. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/118

Josh Patrick is the founder of Stage 2 Planning, an independent RIA with a niche focus on working with small business owners. Leveraging his own personal experience as a small business owner—before he transitioned into his second career as a financial planner—Josh has been able to create a deeply specialized advice process for his clients that commands retainer fees in excess of $50,000 per year. In this episode, Josh shares what he has done to make his expertise known and build a steady flow of prospects who seek him out. Listen in to learn what he says most advisors don't understand about building a successful business, the important lessons he learned while building his own, and what advisors can do to lessen the demands of their businesses on themselves, while simultaneously making significantly more profit. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/117

My guest today is one of the pioneers of financial planning under the RIA model. Harold Evensky is the co-founder and chairman of Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial, an independent RIA in South Florida that oversees nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management. With over thirty years of experience in the field, Harold literally wrote the book on taking a holistic, goals-based wealth management approach to portfolio design with his 1997 publication, Wealth Management: The Financial Advisor's Guide to Investing and Managing Client Assets. In this episode, Harold shares his experience starting an RIA in the early days of the independent advisor movement, before platforms like Schwab Advisor Services even existed. Listen in to learn what he did to help his firm compete against mega wirehouses, how the industry has evolved in the three decades since he started, and what it will take for financial planning to truly be recognized as a profession by the public. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/116

My guest today has crafted a niche of not just serving, but also trying to empower female clients. Hilary Hendershott is the founder of Hendershott Wealth Management, an independent RIA that oversees nearly $75 million of assets under management, as well as the creator of a coaching program for women trying to accumulate wealth and the host of a very successful podcast focused on helping women take control of their finances. In this episode, Hilary shares her professional journey and how she grew her business into the success it is today. Listen in to learn how she set up and leveraged her podcast to grow her client base, how she overcame impostor syndrome to build up her confidence as a financial planner, and her advice for women just starting out in the industry. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/115

Dennis Moseley-Williams is the founder of DMW Strategic Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that works with financial advisors to help them design and deliver a great client experience. Not simply focused on how to improve client service, Dennis studied under Joseph Pine, co-author of the seminal book The Experience Economy, and is trained in applying the book's concepts specifically to the domain of financial advisors. In this episode, Dennis breaks down the difference between simply giving better service and a creating truly distinct experience. Listen in to learn what practical steps you can take to start adapting your firm toward improving client experience, how to more effectively target who you want to serve, and so much more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/114

My guest today has made it her mission to empower women to take control of their finances. Stacy Francis is the president and CEO of Francis Financial, an independent RIA with a unique niche focus on recent widows and women going through the divorce process. She is also the founder of Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit focused on improving the financial wellbeing of all women. In this episode, Stacy opens up about the challenging family situation that led her to enter the financial services industry to help women in particular, as well as why she says today's market is the worst one for divorcees that we've seen in nearly a decade. Listen in to learn how she built her business up to managing nearly $280 million in assets, why she hired business coaches for both herself and her team, and how making the decision to go all-in on a niche has helped Francis Financial grow as much in the past three years as it did in the 15 years leading up to the change. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/113

Andrea Schlapia is the founder of Ironstone, a practice management coaching and consulting firm for financial advisors who are struggling with the business execution challenges of transitioning from a practice to a business. Building upon her own experience as a financial advisor and a practice management consultant, Andrea has developed what she calls the "fundamental four" pillars of practice management, as well as tools and strategies to support each one. In this episode, she shares her fundamental four framework and where most advisory firms struggle within those key elements of running a successful business. Listen in to learn how often Andrea advises firms to take development days to work solely on the business, why she says it's so important to be ultra-selective when hiring and developing your team, and her specific process for assessing prospective hires and training staff to ensure her team stays as strong as possible. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/112

Today I'm joined by our first international guest, who gives us a look at not only what financial advisor businesses look like in other parts of the world, but also how all advisors should start looking at their value propositions. Jim Stackpool is the founder of Certainty Advice Group, a practice management consulting firm for financial advisors based in Australia. With a unique focus on how to price and demonstrate the true value of financial advice, Jim is a firm believer that the expert value of advisors should be distinct from the products we implement. In this episode, Jim shares what advisors need to consider when it comes to setting fees, as well as his advice for demonstrating value instead of simply justifying prices. Listen in to learn how to know whether your advisory services are priced appropriately, what many advisors fail to understand when it comes to being business owners, and what firms everywhere should be doing to make advice more valuable. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/111

My guest today transitioned from working over 70 hours per week to refining his practice to the point that he's now only in the office for four months out of the year. Micah Shilanski is a partner with Shilanski & Associates, an independent RIA in Anchorage, Alaska that oversees nearly $130 million of assets under management for almost 160 client households. Focused on a niche of helping federal employees with their retirement benefits, the firm has streamlined its processes and increased efficiency to maintain Micah's unique schedule while still growing 20% per year. In this episode, Micah shares how he's managed to grow such a profitable practice despite his time out of the office, as well as the steps he's taken to make the most of the time he does spend working at the firm. Listen in to learn how he sets client expectations about his unusual schedule from the very beginning, how he differentiates his practice to justify their above-average fees, and advice for any advisor who wants to improve his or her own efficiency at work. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/110

Jon Guyton sits at an interesting intersection of the advisor world. The founder of Cornerstone Wealth Advisors—an independent RIA that oversees $240 million in AUM for mostly retiree clients—Jon runs an advisory business that implements the very retirement strategies he researched and published a number of important and influential articles about in the mid-2000s. In this episode, Jon shares his unique approach to retirement planning, including how and why he separates out client retirement expenses into two distinct categories. Listen in to learn how he is applying his own research to the way he works with clients, the sustainable retirement income framework he utilizes in his practice, and how he went from qualifying for the low-income EIC tax credit in his first year of business to running an incredibly successful firm. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/109

My guest today is Lisa Kirchenbauer, founder and president of Omega Wealth Management. Lisa's firm oversees more than $100 million of assets for nearly 100 affluent clients, with whom they've been able to form deep relationships by implementing George Kinder's EVOKE life planning process. And yet, even with the close relationships Lisa has with her clients, she has achieved what most advisors consider impossible: taking two six-week sabbaticals in the past six years. In this episode, Lisa shares how she works with her staff to prepare the firm, train the team, and transition tasks so that she can step away from the business completely. Listen in to learn the steps she took to train her clients to become less dependent on her and more comfortable working with the other members of her team, how she breaks the news to clients about her taking time off, and the lessons she's learned throughout the experience that will change how she does her next sabbatical. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/108

Roger Whitney is a partner with WWK Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA where he works with a personal client base of retirees with $75 million of assets under management. Perhaps even more impressively, he's been able to attract almost $50 million of those assets in just the past two years by launching a niche podcast on retirement. In this episode, Roger shares why and how he built his Retirement Answer Man podcast, as well as how he transitions listeners into prospects. Tune in to learn what makes his unique approach to retirement management so effective, what he's doing to serve the subset of podcast listeners who are unlikely to hire him as their financial advisor, and advice for up-and-coming advisors who hope to follow a similar path to success. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/107

My guest today works with financial advisors to teach them how to handle a tricky area for a lot of firms: working with widows. Kathleen Rehl is a speaker, trainer, and researcher specializing in the particular challenges of widowhood and how advisors can be more effective in dealing with these issues. Also the author of Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows, Kathleen spent seventeen years working as a financial advisor before becoming a widow herself and shifting her focus to helping other women in similar circumstances. In this episode, she talks in depth about what advisors need to understand about helping widows through their financial transitions, as well as what to say and what not to say in the process. Listen in to hear how to avoid pushing the wrong financial issues after the death of a client's spouse, tips for handling the three stages of widowhood, and what Kathleen's research tells us about how financial planning affects widows' outlook and confidence in their financial future. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/106

Chip Munn is the co-founder and managing partner of Signature Wealth, a hybrid wealth management firm on the Raymond James platform that has quickly gone from $300 million to over $1 billion of assets in just the past few years. With a focus on buying books of business from retiring advisors and handing them off to younger advisors, the firm's tremendous growth comes not only from their unique acquisition strategy, but also from the particular set of freedoms an independent RIA has to try out different technology tools and marketing strategies. In this episode, Chip shares what it was like transitioning from a regional broker-dealer to the independent model, as well as the challenges and surprises he faced along the way. Listen in to hear how he has successfully built his firm by following his passion for helping out those new to the industry, his approach for positioning young lead advisors as part of a team to make transitioning clients comfortable, and why it's so important to support advisory firms that have chosen the independent model. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/105

My guest today is here to help with one of the most common challenges we face as advisors: getting clients to actually follow through and implement our financial advice. The founder of Sage Financial Solutions, an organization that provides Financial Fitness Coach (FFC) and Accredited Personal Financial Coach (APFC) training and certification programs, Saundra Davis teaches advisors skills and techniques that will help clients make lasting behavior change. In this episode, Saundra shares how her approach of financial coaching differs from the typical approach of financial planning, as well as how it leads advisors to navigate the client discovery process in a substantively different way. Listen in to hear how both approaches complement each other, why it's important to guide clients to making discoveries on their own rather than telling them the answers, and what we can do as advisors to not only give technically accurate advice, but also help clients to improve their financial behaviors. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/104

My guest today is here to talk about a kind of success that hasn't been covered much on the podcast: building a career within a larger firm instead of going independent. Kathleen Kenealy is the Managing Director and Senior Wealth Advisor for Boston Private Wealth—a private bank and trust company that oversees nearly $8 billion of assets under management—and while she manages more than $300 million for seventy-five client households, she isn't actually responsible for bringing in clients. Instead, she focuses her time on doing financial planning for the firm's clients and improving the financial planning processes within the company, which recently earned her recognition as an InvestmentNews 40 under 40 honoree. In this episode, Kathleen opens up about what it's like to work within a larger advisory firm that has separated out prospecting and business development from financial planning work, as well as how she's been able to find job opportunities with companies that reward her for being a great financial planner without requiring her to find clients herself. Listen in to hear how she found her way into the financial planning world and navigated her unique career path, why she chose to work within larger firms rather than going out on her own, and where she plans to end up in the long run as she follows this corporate career path. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/103

There has been a lot of buzz over the past couple of years about the breakaway trend that has seen sizeable advisory firms moving away from wirehouses, and my guest today very recently went through that process himself. After spending the first decade of his career at Merrill Lynch, Michael Henley moved on to become co-founder and CEO of Brandywine Oak Private Wealth, an independent advisory firm that manages more than $500 million of client assets, at just thirty-four years old. In this episode, Michael shares what made him decide to go independent after he'd been so loyal to Merrill Lynch that he had a bull-shaped wedding cake, as well as how he handled the breakaway transition not quite going the way he expected. Listen in to hear what it was like for him to build an advisory firm in the wirehouse environment, the unique way he created the necessary startup capital to fund his transition, and how the grass is—and isn't—greener in the independent channel. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/102

My guest today comes from a different background than my usual guests, and she's here to answer the fundamental question of why clients sometimes don't take the advice we give them. Dr. Moira Somers is a clinical neuropsychologist who studies the complexities of how hard it is for people to change their behaviors, especially when it comes to money. Moira has applied her financial psychology expertise not just to consumers themselves, but also to teaching advisors how to better deliver advice in a way that actually sticks. In this episode, we discuss how patient compliance research from the medical field is being applied to help clients better adhere to financial advice, as well as how to assess whether someone is truly ready to apply what an advisor suggests. Listen in to learn why it's unrealistic to expect even good-intentioned clients to always follow through on advice, why it's important to measure client adherence, and specific steps advisors can take to improve the way they deliver advice in order to significantly increase the likelihood that it will be followed. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/101

Joe Duran is the founder and CEO of United Capital, a national independent RIA that oversees nearly $25 billion of assets under management and consistently ranks as one of the nation's fastest-growing wealth counseling firms. However, Joe doesn't view his firm as being in the wealth management business; he sees it as being in the financial life management—or FinLife—business, because, as he puts it, the primary focus of the company is to help clients live richly, not die richly. In this episode, Joe opens up about the unique approach that has seen United Capital grow to more than $200 million of revenue in under 15 years, as well as what holds many advisors back from experiencing similar growth. Listen in to hear what he says is the secret to scaling an advisory business, the major shifts he predicts for the financial planning world, and his advice for new advisors coming into the industry today. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/100

As advisors, many of us have been taught that it's a bad idea to discuss religion or politics with clients, but my guest today disagrees with this conventional wisdom. In fact, he has found that focusing on religion has actually been good for business. Rob West is the president of Kingdom Advisors, a membership organization that supports financial advisors who want to serve Christians as their niche market segment and boasts 70% growth over the last five years. In this episode, Rob shares how he has successfully integrated faith and finance into his business, from incorporating nearly 23,000 passages from the Bible about money and possessions into financial planning conversations with clients to developing a training program and supporting Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation to be "the gold standard for delivering biblically wise financial advice." Listen in to hear how he has formed a niche in an underserved majority, and why combining your values with your work is important not only for differentiation, but also for finding purpose and significance in what you do. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/99

My guest today has not only gone against the conventional wisdom of never talking politics with clients, but he's based his entire business on that very subject. Zach Teutsch is the founder of Values Added Financial, an independent RIA that focuses on working with progressive Democrats. And while this undoubtedly drives some prospects away, it has also quickly accelerated the growth of his firm, which has reached more than $300,000 in recurring retainer fees in less than 18 months. In this episode, Zach shares how picking a niche—even one based on politics—can actually be quite effective, as well as what he's done to leverage this fact. Listen in to hear what kinds of clients he has been able to attract with his targeted messaging, how he's created a pricing model specifically to fit his clientele, and how the way he's structured his firm has gotten him to the point where he no longer has to choose between work that feels good and being financially successful. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/98

My guest today brings a very different perspective to the show, not just because of the clients she works with and how she runs her practice, but also because of her unusual path into the industry. After transitioning from working as a math teacher to offering financial coaching and counseling to doing financial planning work, Phuong Luong founded Just Wealth, a virtual, fee-only, hourly financial planning practice focused on working with younger clients who are still in the wealth-building phase of their careers. Having worked extensively with low-income individuals and people of color, Phuong has seen firsthand the racial and socioeconomic challenges that impact their ability to build wealth. In this episode, she shares how stereotypes about race and low-income individuals can become blocking points when it comes to giving them effective advice and helping them to reach their financial goals. Listen in to learn how many of the financial challenges people of color face can be traced back to past institutional and government policies, how this may be limiting the reach of financial planning to minority communities, and what we can do to help. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/97

Stephanie Bogan is a successful practice management consultant who teaches advisors how to run an advisory business as a business. After building and selling her first consulting firm, Stephanie has gone on to found a new one called the Limitless Adviser Coaching Program, not because she needed to do so, but as a way to have a greater positive impact on the advisor community. In this episode, Stephanie shares what she calls the seven pillars of building and running a successful advisory firm, as well as the important mindset shift that really creates business breakthroughs. Listen in to learn the common mental constructs that hold too many advisors back, the key to success and satisfaction with your advisory business, and how to execute your vision to turn it into reality. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/96

My guest today has seen what it's like to build an advisory business and what it's like to build a business for advisors. Previously a co-founder of IPS Advisor Pro—the first software for doing investment policy statements in a standardized way—Linda Lubitz Boone is now the founder of The Lubitz Financial Group, an independent RIA in that oversees nearly $250 million of AUM for 125 affluent clients. Yet, despite having reached a phenomenal level of success, Linda continues to proactively make changes to improve her advisory firm. In this episode, she shares how she continues to evolve her business, from the service providers she uses to support the business to the very business model itself. Listen in to learn why she decided to outsource her back office investment operations, how she is shifting her own role within the business, and what she's doing to build trust with her clients. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/95

Today's guest has built a high-margin solo practice with quite an unusual structure. The founder of Bason Asset Management, James Osborne grew his advisory firm to over $225 million of AUM and nearly $400,000 of revenue by charging his clients a simple flat fee of $4,800—regardless of their assets. And he managed to do so by the age of thirty-five. In this episode, James shares why he decided not to follow the traditional AUM model, as well as the benefits of his flat-fee approach. Listen in to learn why he chose to build a business model that fits his personal lifestyle and family goals, why he isn't working to gain more clients and hire staff, and what he plans to do in order to maintain his high-income lifestyle practice once he reaches his personal capacity. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/94

My guest today has one of the most fascinating practices and niches in the advisor space. Sunit Bhalla is the founder of Oak Tree Financial Planning, a solo advisory firm that oversees more than $40 million in assets under management in a hyper-targeted niche of engineers. A former engineer himself, Sunit has been able to build nearly $300,000 in revenue—with an 85% profit margin—by working with just 17 affluent clients. In this episode, he shares how he built his highly efficient solo practice with a relentless focus on staying focused. Listen in to hear about his unique financial planning process, why he offers all his prospective clients just one comprehensive financial planning and investment management service, and what he says all advisors should focus on in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/93

Today's guest is an expert at operations and systems. Jennifer Goldman is the founder of an eponymous practice management consulting firm that works intimately with advisory firms on their operations, technology, workflows, and processes. After starting her career as a financial advisor and transitioning to operations leadership roles at two more advisory firms, Jennifer ultimately decided to go out on her own as a consultant. In this episode, Jennifer shares her personal journey to building her own consulting practice, as well as the important lessons she learned while scaling her business. Listen in to hear the key mentality shift she had to make in order to transform from an advisor to a business owner, what it really means to adopt and implement workflows and processes into an advisory firm, and why it's so important for business owners to do just that in order to grow and scale their firms without losing themselves in the process. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/92

My guest today trains and coaches financial advisors on how to ask the right questions in order to have better conversations with clients. Mitch Anthony is the co-founder of ROLAdvisor, a coaching community that helps practices transform into Life-Centered Planning firms. With his truly unique gift for finding the right words for effective client conversations, Mitch describes the value of financial planning itself based on six principles that all advisors should take into account. In this episode, we talk about the real value that financial advisors provide, as well as the best way to communicate this to clients and prospects. Listen in to hear Mitch's advice for effective client conversations, the problem with the traditional focus of benchmarking an advisor's return on investments, and why he is more focused on providing what he calls a "return on life." For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/91

My guest today has not only had a unique journey into the financial planning world, but she also brings a very different approach and perspective to the field. Julie Murphy is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of JMC Wealth Management, a dual-registered advisory firm that serves more than 200 clients with $200 million of AUM—on top of generating nearly $300,000 a year in recurring planning fees. With financial conversations that are heavily focused around the intersections of money, our emotions, and our energy flow, Julie's firm offers a distinctive focus on financial healing. In this episode, Julie shares how was able to accelerate her success and growth by doing what she calls "letting her freak flag fly" and simply being her authentic self. Listen in to hear how she's allowing clients who are interested in what she has to offer to be drawn to her (rather than trying to advertise out to them), how she transitioned into doing only the things that make her happy in her business, and what she says is a critical component for people to be successful. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/90