Financial Advisor Success

Kathy Longo is the president and founder of Flourish Wealth Management, an advisory firm in the Minneapolis area that oversees nearly $130 million of AUM for 61 affluent clients. Surprisingly, Kathy chose to start this firm after successfully climbing the partnership track ladder to become one of the next generation successor owners of an independent RIA worth over $1 billion. In this episode, Kathy shares what led to her choosing to leave a successful firm to pursue her own entrepreneurial goals, as well as the challenges she faced in doing so. Listen in to hear how she has grown her business, why it's so important to find study groups of peers and colleagues, and the crucial philosophy she says all small business owners should embrace. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/75

Diane MacPhee, founder of DMAC Consulting Services and a seasoned fee-only financial advisor, shares her insights on overcoming self-limiting beliefs and the challenges solo financial advisors face. She emphasizes the significance of self-confidence in professional growth and offers strategies to manage feelings of overwhelm. Diane also discusses the transition from solo practices to team collaborations, effective client fee management, and the importance of communication in navigating client relationships. Her personal anecdotes provide a relatable touch to the journey within financial advisory.

My guest today is well known in the financial services industry as a true creative force. Sheri Fitts is the founder of ShoeFitts Marketing—a marketing consulting firm for financial advisors—and the Chief Marketing Officer for Sheridan Road Advisors—a Chicago-area advisory firm with nearly $13 billion in AUM. With more than 25 years of industry experience, Sheri specializes in crafting unforgettable marketing strategies that really stand out. In this episode, she shares her journey from working a traditional corporate job to going out on her own as an independent consultant, as well as the key marketing concepts that have helped her get to where she is today. Listen in to hear Sheri's take on how to leverage and maximize marketing ideas, the fundamental difference between sales and marketing, and what advisory firms need to cultivate in order to succeed. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/73

Dave DeVoe, founder of DeVoe & Co., brings his expertise in advisory firm valuations and M&A to the discussion. He highlights the flaws in traditional revenue-based valuation methods, advocating for a more nuanced, cash flow-focused approach. The conversation explores the emotional complexities advisors face in partnership decisions and the importance of governance and succession planning. DeVoe also delves into the current duality of the market, revealing unique insights into financing strategies and the nuanced dynamics of mergers in the advisory space.

Peggy Ruhlin, CFP board member and CEO of Budros, Ruhlin and Roe, joins us on the show to share her experience and financial planning journey. She goes into depth about her firms unique process that ensures all clients get the same treatment and experience. Peggy gives us the details of what they offer regarding planning and investment services and talks about how their clients actually requested they get more involved in the investment area. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/71

My guest on today's podcast has had what I consider one of the most fascinating journeys into the financial services industry. After making several major shifts in her career—which she began as a freelance and professional cellist who played in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra— Sue Stevens founded Stevens Wealth Management, an advisory firm in the Chicago area that serves 150 clients with nearly $350 million in AUM. In this episode, Sue shares how her unique ability to take leaps of faith led to her leadership roles at Morningstar, Vanguard, Arthur Andersen, and now Buckingham Strategic Wealth. Listen in to hear how she navigated multiple career changes, what she did to craft her own dream job description as the owner of an advisory firm, and her advice for tuning in to your own intuition on your path to success. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/70

Barry Glassman is the founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services, a wealth management firm in the Washington D.C. area that has grown to nearly $1.2 billion in assets under management in barely ten years. Now serving about 250 affluent client families, the company's impressive growth makes sense when you consider the time and energy Barry spends focusing on building the firm as a business, as well as his distinct methods for standing out to clients. In this episode, he shares his unique approach to differentiating Glassman Wealth by doing what he calls "interrupting the pattern" from what clients and prospects are typically used to. Listen in to learn the uncommon industry practices that have worked to win over clients, advice for sticking out in prospects' minds, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/69

Today's guest has had quite an unusual career path in the industry. After starting out as a Client Care Associate for SignatureFD—an independent RIA that currently serves more than $3 billion of AUM for nearly 1,000 clients—Heather Fortner is now a partner, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer for the firm. It's an impressive feat by any standard, but especially in a world where it's still relatively rare for non-revenue-producing members of a firm to have an opportunity to become a partner (not to mention how rare this is for women). In this episode, Heather shares how SignatureFD's unique business model works with their series of various niches under the firm's umbrella, as well as how their holistic financial design process aims to help clients with all types of wealth, including money, time, and relationships. Listen in to hear what skills she believes are most important for everyone—especially women—to develop in order to climb the career track in an independent advisory firm, how advisors can identify the right firm to stick with in the long run, and what she says are the most understated issues limiting the career growth of women in the industry today. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/68

Elliot Weissbluth is the founder and CEO of HighTower Advisors, a unique back and middle office support platform for independent advisory firms that now oversees more than $50 billion of assets under management, with nearly 600 employees. As if those numbers weren't impressive enough, HighTower built their own data platform to house all their advisor and client data. With this unique setup, they can not only build deeper integrations between popular software programs, but they also have the option to easily swap out their software solutions if a newer best in class comes along. In this episode, Elliot shares the details of his company's one-of-a-kind structure with a subsidiary broker-dealer, including how the HighTower model ultimately produces significant cost savings—even at a cost of as much as 15 - 20% of a firm's revenue. Listen in to hear Elliot's unique perspective on the industry, having built and grown his company with a very different model, as well as the inspiring story of how he coped with severe dyslexia, and ultimately turned the challenge into skills that allowed him to excel in the business world. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/67

My guest on today's podcast took over as CEO of Buckingham Strategic Wealth and BAM Advisor Services a little over 10 years ago (at just 32 years old!) and has nearly quintupled its size since then. One of the youngest CEOs of any major advisory firm, Adam Birenbaum leads his organization in serving over 22,000 clients and overseeing more than $30 billion in assets under management. In this episode, Adam shares the growth strategies that have worked for Buckingham Strategic Wealth and BAM Advisor Services, as well as why the company has chosen to grow offices in multiple locations. Listen in to hear his advice for leaders of large wealth management firms, how he looks at the mergers and acquisitions marketplace today, and what he says will determine the most successful advisory firms in the future. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/66