Modern Financial Advisor

What if you could expand your client roster by 300% without having to spend a fortune on marketing? This week's guest Beatriz Acevedo and her team at SUMA Wealth discovered a hidden growth gem by serving the Latinx community. It turns out, people in the community tend to bring other clients with them. And as you'll hear Beatriz discuss with Mike Langford, this growth concept is present in many communities. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: How I Built This - Beatriz was a guest on HIBT Lab! with Guy Raz in which she shared more about her journey that led her to starting SUMA Wealth.Is Your Credit Guacaready? - This is a great example of the culturally relevant marketing that the SUMA Wealth team is using to build a community of over a million people. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:23 Summa Wealth's Community-First Approach 06:09 The Aha Moment for Summa Wealth 10:18 Understanding the Target Audience 13:40 Learning from Mistakes and Adjusting 22:01 Adapting to Changing Consumer Behavior 25:22 Learning from Younger Generations 26:10 The Value of Different Perspectives 27:06 The Importance of Embracing Change and Learning from Younger Generations 29:03 Transition from TV Producer to FinTech Founder 31:16 Recognizing the Lack of Financial Education in Latino Communities 33:01 The Role of Culture and Community in Fintech 36:00 The Power of Life Experience in Decision-Making 37:26 The Opportunity of Connecting with Younger Generations 43:25 Attracting Non-Latinx Users to Summa Wealth 48:39 Future Plans for Summa Wealth

The lack of robust organic growth for financial advisors' businesses has been a key concern for industry leaders for years. On this episode of the podcast Tom Rieman, CEO and Founding Partner of PracticeI ntel shares what he believes is the key to cracking the code on organic growth for financial advisors. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: Bridging The Gap Podcast - Tom joined Matt Reiner on this podcast recently and we hit on one of the points from that episode to tip off our conversation.Data from PriceMetrix by McKinsey - Mike mentioned the study and an MFA Podcast episode with Kieran Bol.The Augmented Advisor Podcast - James Lee, the former President of the FPA discussed his conviction that "Financial Planner" is the 4th Great Profession.Fidelity Investments 2023 RIA Benchmarking StudySkyView Partners - Their focus on organic growth as a key driver for business valuation.

There are financial advisors working today who are members of the first generation of people to ever call themselves financial advisors. Think about that! On this episode of the show, Matt Reiner returns to nerd out with Mike Langford about some of the exciting innovations that are creating new opportunities for modern financial advisors. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: The Circle - Matt and his team have created a vibrant community to share actionable strategies, weekly, to enhance your life, elevate your business and enrich your client experience."Your Future Self" by Hal Hershfield - Matt recommended this book in the context of understanding our decision making process.Harry Markowitz - The father of modern portfolio theory passed away in 2023. The guy who created the foundation for the models that financial advisors use for managing their clients' assets only recently passed away!When Ideas Have Sex - A TED Talk by Matt Ridley that inspired a fun conversation in this episode.

Andrew Crowell, Vice Chairman of Wealth Management at D.A. Davidson returns to the show to share some eye popping facts about the prevalence of financial fraud. Andrew and Mike Langford also explore what financial advisors can do to protect their clients for becoming victims of fraud and how to help clients recover if they are victimized. Toward the end of the episode Andrew and Mike dive into the mechanisms financial advisors can use to protect their firm from fraudsters. Because like the famous bank robber Willie Sutton said when asked why he robs banks, financial advisors are "where the money is." Resources Mentioned In This Episode: Americans Are Not Adequately Prepared To Detect Or Prevent Financial Fraud - Scroll down about 3/4 of the way down on this page to see the results of the fraud study.Fraud Prevention: A Guide for Senior Investors - This is a helpful guide created by the team at D.A. DavidsonWilly Sutton Rule - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/willie-sutton-rule.asp

Dr. Jean Oursler "The Results Queen" explains how our caveman brains often get in the way of our ability to develop our businesses to the fullest. However, simple changes to a financial advisor's approach to his or her business development process can lead to dramatic improvements in a short time. Dr. Jean also shares some personal stories about her journey. She credits investing in herself early, even before her business was achieving real traction, as key lever for her success. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: Caveman Brain - Dr. Jean's company specializes in helping financial advisors get better results in their business development.6 Killer Questions - As Dr. Jean mentioned, this free resource outlines the key questions to ask a "potential client" through your funnel.EOS (The Entrepreneurial Operating System) - A framework for clarifying, simplifying, and achieving your vision."Change Your Question, Change Your Life" by Marilee Adams - Dr. Jean recommended this book as a fantastic tool to learn how to ask better questions.

It may sound hyperbolic but the reality is the advisor who tries to do everything his or herself... is bound to let some important things fall off the table. And as Gina Cotner, CEO of Athena Executive Services explains... it's not just simple "To Do" list items that an advisor might miss. It could be important client updates or opportunities that lead to business growth.

James Beam, President of TD Private Client Wealth breaks down a common challenge that clients of today's financial advisors face... information overload that often results in clients having a distorted picture of what is actually happening in the world. Jim and Mike also explore the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the modern financial advisor's business and how the use of a goals based advice approach can serve as a foundation for advisors regardless of what future technologies may come their way.

Michael Lecours, CFP® says that the origin story of fpPathfinder, a company he co-founded with Michael Kitces, is a bit humbling. He found that he was routinely forgetting to ask the right questions or giving slightly incorrect answers or missing timely opportunities for recommendations when meeting with his clients. It wasn't that Michael was incompetent or lacking in financial planning skills... he is a Certified Financial Planner with over a decade of experience. It's just that there is so many things that a client might need to know about or do or not do at any given time. And the landscape is constantly changing. So, Michael came up with a simple idea. He made a series of checklists and flowcharts that he would use during client meeting to ensure he "checked all the boxes" and kept things on track. Suddenly, he felt like he was delivering higher quality advice to his clients and he realized he was onto something that other advisors could use with their clients. Resources Mentioned In This Episode: Advice Engagement Strategies: 4 Core Areas To Motivate Clients To Be More Active In The Financial Planning Process - This is a comprehensive blog post written by Michael Lecours and offers some great insight to the thought processes driving the fpPathfinder solution.Roger Pine and his company Holistiplan were mentioned a few times on this episode. Below are links to two podcasts featuring Roger:How to Increase Post-Acquisition Business Value by Adding Tax Planning Services on The Advisor Financial Forum Podcast by SkyView PartnersRoger Pine of Holistiplan on Speeding Up the Tax Planning Process for Financial Advisors on The SoFin Podcast.

Paul McManus, creator of The Short Book Formula and CEO of More Clients More Fun shares how he helps financial advisors write short books to attract their ideal clients. The concept is simple, write a short book that articulates the solution to a specific problem your ideal client is likely to have. Send the book to prospects. Ask them to read it prior to meeting with you. Then, have a productive initial meeting that is likely to result in closing a new client.

Lucas Siegel, CEO of Harbor Life Settlements joins Mike Langford to share how financial advisors can help their clients unlock assets that are lying dormant and unproductive in their life insurance policy. Lucas also shares the simple question to ask your client about their life insurance policy to help them make the best financial decision for their future.

David Wieland, CEO of Realized shares how financial advisors can tap into a $6 trillion market segment by adding investment property wealth management.

Ryan George, Chief Marketing Officer of Docupace joins Mike Langford to share how new digital document technologies are allowing financial advisors to automate the repapering process for transitions, improve productivity, and increase the speed of the new client onboarding process.

Danielle White, CEO of Myriad Advisor Solutions joins Mike Langford to explore how RIAs can focus on leaning on their strengths by leveraging the capabilities of skilled outsourced providers.

Aaron Klein, CEO of Riskalyze shares how financial advisors can grow their business... in terms of winning new clients, increasing share of wallet, and reducing client attrition by getting better at helping clients understand risk. It all boils down to clients having more confidence and comfort in their financial journey.

Mark Gochnour, Head of Global Client Services at Dimensional Fund Advisors explores some of the discoveries he and his team have made about client preferences and behaviors via DFA's most recent "Global Investor Study". Mark also shares some interesting insights on what successful firms are doing to help their younger financial advisors develop their presence with HNW clients.

Kevin Darlington, the General Manager and Head of Broadridge Advisor Solutions joins Mike Langford for a deep dive on advisor marketing trends. Kevin and his team at Broadridge recently released their 4th annual report on advisor marketing trends and there is a ton of fascinating insights for us to cover... whether you are looking to aggressively grow your business or you want to continue to run it as a thriving lifestyle business.. this is a great episode for you.

Brian Nuttall and Rick Wilkens from Elevate CPA Group return to the show for a fascinating conversation that fits right into a trend that seems to a frequent topic as of late. The team at Elevate is rolling out a new Tax Prep As A Services solution for the clients of independent financial advisors and RIAs. As Mike Langford explains, these value-add services are expanding the possibilities for client relationships and open the door for increased share of wallet.

Laura Gregg, Senior Vice President and Director of Practice Management & Advisor Research at FlexShares ETFs shares the findings from her team's latest study titled "The Race to Scalability 2022 - Current Insights from 12 years of Advisor Research on Investment Management Trends” Of particular interest is the adoption of outsourced solutions by independent financial advisors and RIAs and how outsourcing is helping to drive scalability.

Matt Spielman, Founder and Head Coach at Inflection Point Partners shares how financial advisors can leverage coaching principles in their business to achieve more in their careers and personal lives while also providing higher quality service to their clients.

Greg Prokott and Samatha Angell, Managing Partners at Advisor Financing LLC make the case for why financial advisors should consider a partial sale of their business to ensure the continuity of their firm. Greg and Sam also offered a detailed roadmap for securing financing to facilitate M&A deals and internal success plans.

Julie Pinkerton, CEO of ClientFirst by Evozen sat down with Mike Langford to explore how "community" can solve three of the biggest problems facing financial advisors today.

Jeff Conyer, CEO of Wealth Advisor Financing joins Mike Langford for an expansive conversation about how financial advisors and RIA firms can secure the financing they need for M&A deals and succession.

Robert Russo, CEO of Independent Advisor Alliance joins Mike Langford for an in-depth conversation about how financial advisors can navigate the transition from "accidental business owners" to owners of high-performing wealth management firms.

Calvin Williams Jr, CEO of Freeman Capital shares why he sees massive opportunity in serving overlooked financial consumer segments who need help building wealth.

Lacy Garcia, Founder and CEO of Willow sheds some light on the tremendous opportunities available to financial advisors who learn to serve women investors better. With 70% of widows changing advisors after the death of a spouse and 80% of divorcees changing advisors after their marriage ends... there's a case to be made for learning to better serve women investors is a defensive strategy as well.

Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of AssetMark shares some key insights into the expectations millennial and Gen Z investors have of their financial advisors. She also offers some key strategies for advisors to scale their business and provide a more modern service experience by leveraging outsourced solutions.

David Kakish, CEO of RIA WorkSpace says that financial advisors often like to ask about the ROI of investing in cybersecurity solutions... that's the wrong question. They should be asking what's the RON (Return On Negligence) of not investing in cybersecurity. On this episode, David shares some simple tips that RIAs and independent financial advisors can use to boost their firm's cybersecurity to better protect their clients and their business. David and Mike Langford also share a few other suggestions for upping your tech stack on a budget.

Kyle Simpson, Head of Field Strategy at FS Investments joins Jeremi Karnell and Mike Langford to explore the benefits of investing in programs designed to help financial advisors thrive in all areas of their lives. The key takeaway? A well-rounded and balanced professional is more likely to avoid the pitfalls that keep many advisors from reaching their full potential.

Chuck Failla, CEO of Sovereign Financial Group shares how what was supposed to be a small online event that he was going to host for 20 to 30 folks grew to a large national event with premier speakers from the wealth management industry. Now, he's co-hosting the RIA Labs with InvestmentNews.

Laurie Barkman, CEO of Small Dot Big makes the case for why financial advisors should focus on serving entrepreneurs and business owners who are selling or retiring. Laurie and Mike Langford also explore how financial advisors can attract entrepreneurs and business owners who are on the cusp of a transition. BTW: Much of this conversation is also relevant and helpful for RIAs and independent financial advisors who are considering their own transition.

Brian Thorp from Wealthtender explains how financial advisors can embrace client testimonials and endorsements from referral partners, friends, and their wider network thanks to new recent SEC rule changes. Brian and Mike Langford also discuss how financial advisors can level up their online presence by focusing on solution-based and client-specific content marketing.

Gil Baumgarten as a solo advisor grew his business from $200 million AUM to over $1.2 billion AUM in only 10 years. His firm, Segment Wealth Management has only 9 employees serving 210 households and operates as an "extraordinarily simple business."

Pepper Anderson, President and CEO of Chilton Trust shares her insights on how modern financial advisory firms can scale in the face of a rapidly changing business environment.

Kieran Bol, Head of Platform Operations at PriceMetrix by McKinsey joins Mike Langford for a deep dive into "The State of The North American Retail Wealth Management" market. Specifically, Kieran and Mike examine the lack of real growth for individual financial advisors. Why are so many advisors not adding new clients or new assets?

If you wanted to sell your RIA or independent financial advisory business to an internal successor or a third party would you be able to? Josh Patrick, Founding Principal at Stage 2 Planning Partners and author of "Sale Ready Company" shares what you need to do to make your firm sale ready even if you have no plans to sell.

Land Bridgers, CEO of Integrated Financial Group (IFG) shares how the use of compassion has become a core cultural strength for his firm when it comes to recruiting new financial advisors and clients. Additionally, because compassion is a fundamental ethos across all advisory teams at "The Brain Trust", as IFG is affectionately known, there is a tremendous amount of cultural glue with the relationships between advisors, staff, and their clients. This has created a lot of stability for the business.

Bill Trigleth, Executive Director of Certifications at Cannon Financial Institute offers an actionable roadmap for transitioning a financial advisory business from one that relies on product sales and AUM to a modern firm that serves clients more holistically.

Laura Gregg, Senior Vice President, and Director of Practice Management & Advisor Research at Northern Trust’s FlexShares ETFs joins Mike Langford to share some powerful results from a new survey the firm conducted on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The ecosystem of consultants and professional services providers who work with RIAs and independent financial advisors is extensive. Yet, most providers lack the ability to evaluate the value and performance of a modern financial advisory firm. In this episode of The Modern Financial Advisor podcast, Owen Dahl, Head of Professional Services at Truelytics and the original architect of the company's software, shares his insights and vision for how consultants and practice management professionals can best serve advisors by leveraging the Truelytics platform.

Andrew Crowell, Vice Chairman of Wealth Management at D.A. Davidson & Co. shares why financial advisors should actively participate in educating their community on the concepts of financial literacy.

Most financial advisors do not offer tax planning and strategy services to their clients. Why? Well, according to Steven Jarvis, CEO of Retirement Tax Services the answer is simple. Most advisors aren't CPAs and they lack the skills "in-house" to deliver tax planning services. But now it's possible for advisors to use a firm like Retirement Tax Services to offer more value to their clients.

Nick Cantrell, CEO of Green Future Wealth Management shares how he founded a rapidly growing financial advisory firm that focuses on serving clients who value ESG investing.

Jeff Hamaoui, Co-founder, Chief Education & Innovation Officer of Modern Elder Academy joins Jeremi Karnell, CEO of Truelytics, and Mike Langford for a fascinating and fun conversation about navigating life transitions.

Brian Nuttall, Joe DeMarco, and Rick Wilkens of Elevate CPA Group return to the show to join Mike Langford for an exploration of what an RIA or independent financial advisor can do to ensure they succeed when buying another RIA firm or book of business.

Scott Danner, CEO of Freedom Street Partners has acquired many financial advisor's books of business over the years to build a large wealth management firm. In this episode of the show, Scott shares his process for identifying and completing acquisitions as well as the personal growth journey he has undertaken as the firm has grown.

Ian Karnell, Chief Revenue Officer of Truelytics joins Mike Langford to share a fresh perspective on the opportunity for wealth management firms, RIAs, and independent financial advisors to navigate business transitions and achieve new levels of growth through the use of data and platform-based solutions.

Allen Darby, CEO of Alaris Acquisitions shares how his team of buyer advisors helps RIAs and independent financial advisors acquire high-quality practices with greater speed and less expense than other options available.

Financial advisors often help their clients with estate planning. But few help their clients prepare for the duties of becoming the executor of an estate. It's a weighty responsibility. Dan Stickel of EstateExec joins Mike Langford to share how their solution can help advisors ensure their clients are ready when the time comes to manage a loved one's estate.

It may sound odd but, many financial advisors have never sat down with a financial planner to make sure they are on track to achieve their long-term goals. Brookly Brock of Ellevate Advisors shares how she and her team are helping RIAs and independent financial advisors with their financial plans and helping them navigate their business exits.

Jeremi Karnell, CEO of Truelytics, and Scott Wetzel, CEO of SkyView Partners join Mike Langford for an expansive conversation on what the next decade holds for advisor transitions. This episode was originally shared with the audience of the Virtual Financial Advisor Conference hosted by Broadridge Advisor Solutions and Advisorist