Financial Advisor Success

Join James Osborne, founder of Bason Asset Management, as he shares his journey of building a thriving solo advisory firm with over $225 million in assets under management. James reveals the benefits of his unique flat-fee structure, charging clients a predictable $4,800, which fosters transparency and aligns with his lifestyle goals. He discusses the emotional complexities of growth, the importance of personal fulfillment over income, and how to maintain a sustainable practice while prioritizing client relationships.

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

Mitch Anthony discusses the value of financial planning based on life-centered strategies, focusing on transitions not just goals. He emphasizes the importance of asking insightful questions, delivering advice uniquely, and redefining success beyond investment returns. The podcast explores the evolution towards financial life planning, introducing tools for client engagement and shifting focus to meaningful questions. Anthony advocates for prioritizing wisdom over knowledge, defining success through personal calling, impact on others, and embracing life transitions in financial planning.

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

My guest today has built one of the largest successful advisory businesses in the country. Ric Edelman is the founder and executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services, a mega-independent RIA with more than $22 billion in AUM, with 165 advisors serving 36,000 clients across 43 office locations from coast to coast. After starting out like any other financial advisor—selling mutual funds in the 1980s as an individual advisor—Ric has spent the last thirty years ultimately building a marketing machine that brought in a whopping 45,000 prospects to his firm last year alone. In this episode, Ric shares how he grew and scaled Edelman Financial over time, as well as how his marketing of the firm has evolved over the years. Listen in to hear why he considers it the firm's job to bring in new clients (and the role of advisors to simply service those clients), how he would do things differently if he were starting fresh today, and advice for advisors who are thinking about or actively building a practice from scratch. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/89

Today we're going to talk about a topic that makes many financial advisors cringe: sales. But despite the negative reaction many people within the industry have to this topic, my guest today is here to explain why "sales" actually isn't a dirty word. Nancy Bleeke is the founder of Sales Pro Insider, a training platform for financial advisors that teaches how to better turn prospects into actual clients, and she's here today to share how to take a comfortable and ethical approach to selling that really works. In this episode, Nancy shares her somewhat nontraditional sales training approach that simply focuses on having a structure to conversations with prospects to ultimately help them make a decision or take an action at the end. Listen in to hear her expert advice for how to talk to both prospects and clients using the WIIFT™ structure—which is both focusing on what's in it for them and a five-step conversation process—the big mistakes many financial advisors make that scare away potential clients, and what it takes to increase both your comfort level and the comfort level of your prospects when it comes to selling. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/88

My guest today has had quite an unusual path through the industry. After building a successful practice at a wirehouse for the first 20 years of her career, René Nourse went independent so she could use the system she wanted to use to build with the type of clientele she wanted to serve. Now the founder of Urban Wealth Management—an independent RIA in the Los Angeles area that manages nearly $120 million of AUM for more than 200 clients—René is focused on serving her niche working with professional women. In this episode, she shares what it was like building her advisory practice in a wirehouse environment as both a woman and a minority, as well as the process she went through to break away from the wirehouse world and form her own independent RIA. Listen in to learn how she retained the trust of her clients after the shift, how she structures her own firm, and how she has used a digitally savvy marketing approach to grow her business to where it is today. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/87

Eric Roberge is the founder of Beyond Your Hammock, an independent RIA that specializes in financial planning services for high-income young professionals in their 30s and 40s. In just five years, Eric propelled his advisory firm from $0 to $300,000 of revenue with a unique marketing approach that's earned him a fair share of criticism along the way. In this episode, he shares how his unusual marketing process works, as well as why it serves as the ultimate differentiator for his business. Listen in to learn how he survived the early years of getting his practice off the ground, what he did to move away from the way advisory businesses typically operate, and how he ultimately figured out and attracted the exact type of client he wanted to serve by simply being himself. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/86

My guest today has been in the financial planning industry for 35 years, and has been incredibly active in the profession. In addition to serving as CEO of Yeske Buie, an independent RIA that manages nearly $750 million in AUM for 240 clients, Elissa Buie sits on the Cornerstone Advisory Board of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, serves as a Dean for FPA's Residency Program, and holds an appointment as Distinguished Adjunct Professor in Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business. In this episode, Elissa shares what has kept her excited to remain in the field for all these years, as well as her firm's unique way of leveraging next-generation talent. Listen in to learn how Yeske Buie uses a resident program to boost productivity, how things have evolved with the way advisors are trained and educated as professionals, and advice for new advisors coming into the field. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/85