Financial Advisor Success

Olivia Summerhill is the founder of Summerhill Wealth, an independent RIA based near Seattle that exclusively works with ultra-high net worth women who are adjusting to life during—and after—divorce. Olivia is a great example of how many of us navigate through the industry, having gone from a large national firm to launching her own firm focusing on this very specialized niche. Not only does Olivia's niche make her unique, but her fees and client base are also specialized: she charges $20,000 for an engagement and commits to working with no more than five active clients at a time. As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, she provides financial advice and planning, and she holds the hands of clients as they navigate through many "firsts" after divorce, including buying a house and managing a budget. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/214

Dave Yeske is the co-founder of Yeske Buie, an independent RIA based out of San Francisco that oversees $740 million of assets under management for more than 300 affluent clients. Dave has successfully blended together academic financial planning research with the practice of financial planning to culminate in an evidence- and policy-based financial planning approach that sets clients up with the confidence to handle any number of future scenarios with ease. Listen in as Dave shares in detail how his firm applies evidence-based planning and how this approach helps to reduce client stress during market volatility. He will also discuss why it's important to be ready to adapt to change instead of trying to predict the future, where his passion for academic research came from (and how he applies it to financial planning), and why he was motivated to create what may have been the very first financial planning client portal ever. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/213

Alex Hopkin is the founder of Simply Paraplanner, a job board and training portal for U.S.-based virtual paraplanners. Simply Paraplanner is not just a way for paraplanners and firms to connect, but the platform also supports the ongoing evolution of paraplanning from an entry-level support role into a dedicated career path. In this episode, Alex shares why she created Simply Paraplanner, what paraplanners really do in an advisory firm to make it more efficient, and the best way to divvy up tasks between a paraplanner and an advisor. She'll also discuss how the internal process of creating a financial plan needs to change when a paraplanner is crafting the plan but a lead advisor is actually executing it, and how the technical demands of the paraplanner role have changed to the point where traditional certifications are no longer sufficient to be successful as a professional paraplanner. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/212

Kristin Harad is the founder of a marketing consulting firm that focuses on coaching solo advisors to reach the next level and outsource CMO services for RIAs and mid-size firms. In addition to working as a marketing consultant, Kristin also has her own advisory firm that she launched from scratch and grew to six figures in fee-only revenue in just three years. She now uses her experience and expertise to coach other advisors to scale in the same way. Listen in as Kristin shares how her journey through the consumer goods and financial industries set the stage for her advisory and consulting passions, how her interest in life coaching played a role in the launch of her own advisory, and how she was able to market in an extremely cost-efficient but effective way to her niche client. You'll learn how she has been able to have one of her best years in business despite the global circumstances, what challenges she faced when uprooting her family and moving to Australia, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/211

Sten Morgan is the founder of Legacy Investment Planning, a hybrid advisory firm near Nashville that generates more than $2 million in revenue per year from 220 affluent clients. Sten is one of the most accomplished young advisors in the country and has built his success by focusing on putting himself—and his advice—at the forefront of his product offering. Listen in as Sten shares how he built his advisory firm by using a philosophy that embraces "the advisor is the product," and why he charges a full-rate financial planning fee with a monthly retainer in the hundreds or thousands of dollars—and then discounts his AUM fees for those who subsequently implement with him. He'll also dive into how he quantifies the economic benefits his advice will bring to get clients comfortable with his fees, the mindset changes that were critical for him to turn a struggling advisory into a successful one, and why it's best to start not with your why but with your who. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/210

Forrest Baumhover is a financial advisor and partner with Lawrence Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in Tampa that oversees more than $100 million of assets under management for 70 affluent clients. Forrest's path to partnership as a financial advisor was a unique journey from the military to his own firm to merging with a larger firm—and quickly becoming a partner of that firm. Forrest joins me today to share how he built his advisory from the ground up—starting before he even left the military—and the challenges he faced along the way. He'll also discuss the groundwork he put in place before retiring from the military so he could hit the ground running, why he made the decision to merge his firm with another larger firm, and what the process was like becoming a full partner at the table with Lawrence Financial Planning. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/209

Debbie Freeman is a partner with Peak Financial Advisors, an independent RIA out of Denver, Colorado that oversees $175 million of assets under management for 105 families. Peak Financial is unique in that they not only do tax planning, but also in-house tax preparation as a value-add service for their clients. Listen in as Debbie explains why her firm views tax preparation as an essential component to service and retain their client base, as well as how they actually manage operating a tax preparation business within their firm. You'll learn how maternity leave gave her and her firm a newfound appreciation for each other—eventually leading her to become an owner—and how a personal tragedy changed how she views not only life, but her career as well. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/208

Lindsay Elwood-Goetz is the founder of Elwood & Goetz, an independent RIA based out of Athens, Georgia that oversees $365 million in AUM for 375 affluent clients. Lindsay launched her business within a year of graduating from the Texas Tech Financial Planning Program and has been able to steadily grow and create a firm that works for her, her team, and the clients she serves. Listen is as Lindsay explains how it was serendipity that led her into the financial planning world, how she first approached job-hunting once she graduated to only focus on the firms she really wanted to work with, and why she eventually forged her own path to start her own advisory. She'll also share her insight into why it's important to persevere and try different things until you find what works, how her firm is managing client interactions during the pandemic, and why the details can say so much more about your firm than you might think. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/207

Drew Stotler is the founder of Stotler Wealth Management, a hybrid advisory firm based in St. Louis that serves 100 middle-income clients. Drew had a unique journey to building his own advisory firm, having started first in the employee advisor model at Edward Jones and moved to an independent broker-dealer—where he was hit with a temporary restraining order after leaving—before finally building his own advisory firm the way he always wanted to. In this episode, Drew shares how he built his career as a financial advisor, including what it was like focusing on anti-money laundering at Edward Jones before becoming an advisor. Listen in to learn how he built his early client base, what books gave him the inspiration to keep moving forward despite the challenging years, and how he has built his practice while also navigating the stringent non-solicit provisions put forth by Edward Jones. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/206

Marina Hernández is the founder of Swiss American Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA that specializes in working with cross-border Swiss-American expatriates. Marina's model is unique because her niche allows her to work with next-generation clients and face little to no competition, all while commanding sizable financial planning fees from clients. In this episode, Marina shares how she has made her chosen niche work for her, how cross-border planning can be exceptionally complex (especially when it comes to taxation), and how the U.S. has placed extra layers of tax reporting on expatriates to prevent money laundering and foreign tax cheats. She also shares her very unique journey to launching her own firm, how she manages to keep her workflow efficient despite the challenges her specialization creates, and how some of her biggest obstacles were those that were least expected. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/205