Financial Advisor Success

Today's guest is Tim Kochis, the co-founder of Aspiriant, one of the first independent RIA's to have reached $1 billion of assets under management in the early 2000s. Today the company is one of the industry's few independent RIA's focused on comprehensive wealth management to have reached a whopping $10 billion AUM threshold. In this episode, Tim shares how he was able to grow the company so quickly to become one of the leading RIA's with a niche focus on working with corporate executives, as well as how he attracted and retained top-notch talent to manage that growth. Listen in to learn how he differentiated his firm and gained credibility even without having a big corporate name on his business card, the insights he has gleaned over the years, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/55

Today's guest has been in the financial services industry for over 25 years. The co-founder of Private Ocean—an independent RIA in Northern California that manages nearly $1.2 billion of assets under management—Greg Friedman has not only been an advisor, but he also founded the country's leading practice improvement firm for financial advisors, Junxure. In this episode, Greg shares the unique niche that helped Private Ocean gain its initial traction, as well as how he got started in technology despite not intending to do so. He also shares valuable lessons he learned when he decided to merge his successful advisory firm with a larger one, what he would do differently if he had it to do all over again, and advice for advisors who are just starting out. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/54

It is so hard to know what to say to or what to do for a grieving person. The awkwardness fills us up and makes it hard to give grieving people what they need to feel comfort and cared-for. Amy Florian is a thanatologist and expert in grief, death and loss. She joins us on the show to give some incredibly valuable and actionable advice on how to deal with clients, coworkers, friends and family who are grieving. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/53

Today's guest is one of the industry's leading advisor technology gurus. The publisher of the Technology Tools for Today newsletter, Joel Bruckenstein has a nearly 20-year history of writing about advisor technology trends, from publishing regular columns in Horsesmouth, Morningstar Advisor, Financial Advisor, and Financial Planning magazines, to his own newsletter, and now his latest platform, the t3 Technology Hub. In this episode, Joel discusses recent trends in advisor technology, the results of the latest advisor software survey that he administers along with Bob Veres, and why he says that today is the "golden age" of advisor technology. He also shares the real-world challenges of implementing advisor technology in a typical firm, as well as the biggest areas where advisors can get better ROI from their technology, particularly when it comes to better utilizing CRM software for business intelligence purposes. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/52

Today we have a different kind of guest on the show, and he offers a unique perspective for more reasons than one. Not only is Dan Egan a representative of the so-called "robo-advisor" Betterment, but, ironically, he also serves as their Director of Behavioral Finance and Investments. Given that the primary criticism robo-advisors get is for their supposed inability to help clients with their behavioral issues when it comes to investing, Dan provides an interesting viewpoint that is also very informative. In this episode, Dan shares the real picture of how things work for onboarding clients at businesses like Betterment, how his company tests behavioral finance interventions using a robust scientific process, and what we can all learn from their findings. Listen in to hear the insights they've gained, as well as advice that all advisors can apply to improve their own services. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/51

Our guest today is one of the very first coaches to specialize in working with financial advisors. For nearly 20 years, Tracy Beckes has helped her clients navigate the common challenges of trying to run what she calls an "effortless, outrageous advisory practice." What's even more impressive about Tracy is the way she has been able to systematize her coaching strategies into concrete tools and templates. In this episode, Tracy shares these coaching tools and how she sets up engagement standards with clients in order to set the terms of the client/advisor relationship. She also talks about the importance of regular meetings within an advisory firm, as well as how to set up these meetings to target the most important issues. Listen in to hear her valuable insight and what she says is the real secret to advisory firm growth. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/50

Anna Sergunina is the owner of Mainstreet Financial Planning, an hourly-based financial planning firm under the Garrett Planning Network. Not only has her company grown to more than $600,000 of revenue, but it has done so from simply getting paid to provide hourly financial planning advice with no income at all from insurance products or managing investment portfolios. What's also fascinating about Anna's business is the way that she's figured out how to communicate the value of hourly financial planning by creating very specific financial advice packages for various types of prospective client profiles. In this episode, we talk in depth about Anna's five-meeting process for financial planning, how she uses her website to both explain the value of those financial planning packages to prospects and to screen out those who aren't really likely to take the process seriously, and why she charges $100 as an upfront deposit for an initial inquiry approach meeting with prospects. We also discuss how Anna sets the level for her financial planning fees and the sources of new business that has her firm on track to add more than 100 new hourly financial planning clients this year. For show notes and more visit https://www.kitces.com/49

Today's guest is the CEO of Graham Strategy, a marketing consulting firm that helps financial advisors craft relevant marketing messages to reach their target clientele. Gail Graham has had a fascinating career spanning a wide range of advisory businesses, and she has held a similar marketing role as she moved from the private wealth division of PNC Bank to Fidelity's Private Client Group, and later to her position as Chief Marketing Officer for United Capital. The experience she has gained over the years means she truly understands what it takes to successfully market an intangible like financial planning services. In this episode, we talk in depth about how to more effectively communicate financial planning and its value, as well as why financial advisors need to get clear about who their ideal client is. We also discuss why it's absolutely essential to focus in order to find the right marketing messages that really resonate and Gail's process for finding and refining your own value proposition. For show notes and more visit https://www.kitces.com/48

Today's guest is the Director of Operations for Sequoia Financial Group, a hybrid RIA that manages more than $3.7 billion and spans four office locations. Shaun Kapusinski started out in the industry over fifteen years ago as a financial advisor selling life insurance, but made a shift early in his career to the operations side of the business. Since then, he has been able to grow his career by following an operations career track instead of the more traditional paths. In this episode, we talk about the organizational structure of his mega advisory firm, how they split apart a division of shared services, and why the firm is looking to make a shift to Salesforce Financial Services Cloud for their next stage of growth. We also talk about Shaun's own unique career path, as well as why he believes that getting an MBA may be more valuable for those in the operations side. Tune in to hear Shaun's valuable insight as he shares what he has learned throughout his impressive career. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/47

Today's guest, Susan Bradley, is the founder of Sudden Money Institute, which trains financial advisors to work with clients who experience an abrupt increase in their finances. These so-called "sudden money transitions" can come from a personal injury settlement, an inheritance, a divorce settlement, or any other swift influx of money, and they require a unique skill set from advisors. That's why Sudden Money Institute trains advisors through a designation program called The CeFT (Certified Financial Transitionist). In this episode, we talk in depth about why advisors need to understand how to help clients through sudden money transitions, the requirements and benefits of earning a CeFT, how Sudden Money Institute facilitates productive conversations with clients, and more. For show notes and more visit https://www.kitces.com/46