Financial Advisor Success

Cheryl Holland's firm, Abacus Planning Group, is based in Columbia, South Carolina. Working in a mid-sized city such as Columbia might prove tricky for other advisors, but her niche working with families who hold business and other close assets has set her apart. Coupled with her natural drive and a willingness to keep learning, Cheryl has build a firm that rests on the core tenets of learning, growth, empathy, and challenging work. In this interview, Cheryl talks about how she built Abacus, why she invests so heavily in every one of her employees, and what she's done to systematize just about every process in the office. She shares how technology has helped drive the growth of her firm, and why she's put such a strong emphasis on teaching her team (and herself!) how to be keen listeners as well as talented financial advisors. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/35

Sheryl's firm Rowling & Associates was already a robust planning practice before she decided to design and launch a rebalancing software that would be affordable and simple to use. In this interview, she shares the challenges of running concurrent businesses, what she wished she knew before diving into the software world, and what she learned about life and work while managing two related but demanding ventures. She's also a fierce advocate for work-life balance and has built a practice that allows employees to serve clients to a high standard while also carving out time for the rest of their lives. Sheryl shares the structure of her firm today, along with her hiring philosophy and how she manages such great, holistic relationships with clients. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/34

Building a business is already hard. Building a successful wealth management business in a rural area, where there aren't as many potential clients, is even harder. Meet Jeff Rose, the founder of Alliance Wealth Management, who will be sharing how his business is now managing over $40 million while making over $100k on the side from referrals and partnerships. Digital marketing is the main key to Jeff's success. Ever since he got his first online client thanks to his blogging and online presence, his focus has shifted to taking advantage of the internet's potential for connection. Jeff shares how he's built up his online presence to make his business known locally and to a wider audience. He also gives us details on how he forged partnerships with insurance agencies and other services to provide more value to his customers while making money on the side. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/33

In this episode, Brittney Castro shares why and how she's diversified her business and how she's found great success in all three pillars. Brittney radiates passion for finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship as she talks about her business and the strategies she used to get where she is today. Her financial planning practice, Financially Wise Women, has successfully resonated with her niche due to her attention to what really matters. Brittney keeps things simple, from the fees she charges to the processes she uses to plan. By being in tune with her customers' needs and maintaining personal limits on time and focus, Brittney has been able to build a reputable and successful brand. She shares the numbers with us and gives a closer look at what she has paid for projects and employees and how she has set up her massively successful marketing outreach. She also digs into the details of how she gets paid to represent brands and the process she went through, and is currently going through, to develop her own online content and courses. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/32

When it's time to hire a new financial planner to help grow the business and build your team, the task can seem overwhelming. Trusting your clients with just anyone isn't an option, so how do you go about finding and recruiting the best of the best of today's talented financial planners? Today we have Caleb Brown joining us on the show and sharing his tips for finding the top candidates to join your firm. Caleb is the co-founder of New Planner Recruiting Firm and has many years of both financial planning and strategic recruiting under his belt. He emphasizes the importance of looking beyond skill and diving into the deeper corners of applicants' resumes and personalities to find any unteachable traits. From different testing methods to case studies and various interview techniques, Caleb teaches managers different tactics for finding trustworthy go-getters who can get clients to take action. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/31

Josh Itzoe is a CFP, AIF, and Partner at Greenspring Wealth, where he consults with corporate clients about how they can improve their 401(k) offerings. Josh is also a self-published author and believes that publishing a book about his industry was the best business decision he's ever made. In this episode, Josh shares how he initially got into the institutional side of financial planning and what fascinates him about helping companies hash out their 401(k) programs. Josh also walks through the process of writing and publishing his book, and the results he saw afterward. He shares some of the best resources for those interested in the 401(k) planning space and talks about why he decided to read the entire ERISA law - which is no small feat - to gain an edge over other advisors. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/30

Dana Anspach and her firm Sensible Money have 110 full-service baby-boomer clients, $130 million AUM, and $1.3 million in annual revenue. And they do it all virtually. In this episode, Dana talks about the structure of her firm and how she's built it into a brand that she hopes will continue long after she's gone. She also shares how many of her clients were formerly her readers, and talks about how her foundational client questionnaire, followed by a 3-meeting strategy and comprehensive financial plan, leads about 70% of prospects wanting to become full-on clients. Be sure to listen to the end, where Dana discusses how her writing has formed the backbone of her brand and business, and the schedule she maintains to make sure it all gets done. Dana also shares many of the technological tools that allow Sensible Money to educate, service, and build trust with clients from around the globe. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/29

Our guest today is Michael Nathanson, chief executive officer of the Colony Group. Michael's private wealth management firm has over $6 billion in assets under management and a 39% profit margin. Michael has driven this phenomenal growth through strategic acquisitions, high-level systems thinking, and targeted organic growth. Michael walks us through how he operates as an effective CEO to nurture his seven offices, recruit top-level talent, and delegate effectively. He gets into the details of compensation, leadership and buying other firms. He also shares the company's trajectory and how it compares to other RIA practices out in the market. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/28

Amy works hard to help financial advisors grow through targeted referrals to high net worth individuals. She accompanies marketing skills with sales development to make sure those leads convert to clients. She calls upon her experience at Goldman Sachs accruing $50M in AUM in just 18 months through highly-targeted cold calling and emailing. Additionally, she shares her unique methods for finding wealthy individuals. She would go so far as to take pictures of the donor lists at art museums and research the events that these wealthy donors would make great clients. Then, she would reverse engineer a pathway to connecting with them. In this episode, Amy also covers the places, both digital and physical, she recommends visiting to meet the new rich. If you are going to crack into this population, it is better to start with people who have just come into money. They won't have as many entrenched service providers already in place. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/27

Steve Wershing is a practice management and marketing consultant who teaches clients to stop asking for referrals. He believes, if you operate in a clear niche, that you will stimulate referrals from clients without solicitation. Steve consults with advisors to clarify how their marketing materials can more clearly communicate their strengths and structure. In this episode, Steve discusses being guilty of conflating target market with niche market. Towards the end, Steve shares how to manage a niche practice and why clients will eventually outgrow your services. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/26