Financial Advisor Success

Tim Delaney had a bit of a different journey into financial planning, but his 23-year career as a CPA was excellent training. After a few years doing both taxes and planning, clients started telling him they slept better at night because of his help managing life's financial ups and downs. In this episode, Tim shares the negative investing experience that made him want to focus on a no-selling value proposition, and how he learned not to over-explain the planning process to clients. Be sure to listen to the end, where Tim describes the essential partnerships along the way that have allowed his business to flourish and weather several recessions, all while providing clients with excellent service. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/25

Stephanie Bogan has achieved the level of success that most financial advisors aspire to reach. She sold her practice, Quantuvis Consulting, to Genworth Financial and now lives in Costa Rica, coaching other advisors. In this episode, she shares her perspective on growing a serious consulting business. Stephanie attributes the rapid growth of her firm to a focus on helping other firms transform their own growth rates. She's worked with clients on business strategy, human capital, operations management, and marketing techniques, and she's developed a top reputation for coming up with valuable, tangible solutions. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/24

Today's guest has a very uncommon structure for her financial consulting business. Liz Davidson is trailblazing a business model where her firm is paid by employers to educate and guide employees' financial lives. They are now the largest provider of workplace financial wellness programs in the business. It has been a long process of tinkering and refining to figure out precisely how to deliver value to the wide range of employees that Financial Finesse serves. Liz explains her multichannel approach to serving clients and scaling her team's expertise. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/23

Jude's firm Upperline Financial has a unique fee structure that allows them to help clients and families of varying net worth while providing a holistic, vision-driven financial plan. In this episode, Jude talks about how he carefully considered the decision to open his own RIA, and how he timed the transition to be able to spend more time with his family and also grow the business at a slower but more sustainable rate. Be sure to listen to the end, where Jude talks about his upcoming merger with The Planning Center and why he's excited about the future of the business. By merging with another firm, Jude will maintain ownership of Upperline, yet be able to focus his energy on the parts of the business he loves - working with clients - and delegate those that he isn't as good at and doesn't enjoy. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/22

In today's episode, I speak with Inspired Financial founder, Evelyn Zohlen, an independent RIA in southern California. Her business is focused on working with women in transition, namely divorcees and widows. Her small, cohesive team dominates the niche and innovates constantly. Evelyn shares the details of how she selected this niche and built her team. They have set up their fees and team to deliver over-the-top coverage to select clients and share responsibilities fairly. Some clients pay for AUM, while others pay her a retainer, which is a growing trend within the industry. For Evelyn, driving referrals from centers of influence has been the foundation of how she has built her business. This has led her to bring $140M in assets under management in 15 years. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: www.kitces.com/21

I've received a lot of requests for me a to be a guest on my own show - so here you have it! In this interview, I talk with my XYPN co-founder Alan Moore about how I manage to keep up with the blog, five growing businesses, speaking gigs, and actual financial planning - on top of spending time with family. I retrace the steps I've taken to arrive at the varied career I have today, and share some of the formative experiences of that journey. Alan and I also talk about the time management strategies I've implemented in order to balance everything and avoid overcommitting myself. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/20

Bob Veres has long been a towering figure in the world of financial planning. He's been writing about financial planning since the early eighties and has played a key role in shaping the industry as we know it today. In this interview, Bob shares how and why he's worked to close the disconnect between planners' and clients' interests, and why he thinks financial planning could one day be a profession on par with medicine and law. We trace the changes of the profession through time, followed up with Bob's predictions for the future. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/19

Angie Herbers consults with financial advisors to help them break through growth barriers and bring their firms into alignment with their core values. Although she gets about 4-5 prospects a week, Angie only works with about 10% of the advisors that want to work with her. In this interview, Angie talks about the critical importance of setting boundaries with your business and your clients. Angie explains why your business by nature is a selfish entity, and how to protect your time and energy to ensure you don't lose yourself to the business. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/18

There's constantly buzz in our industry about the importance of integrating social media with your practice. Not only is Josh Brown an advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management; he runs the widely-read blog The Reformed Broker and appears on CNBC's The Halftime Report. In this conversation, Josh tells the story of how he became one of the best known voices in the business, beginning in the financial world as a broker dealer for some questionable companies. Josh also shares advice about building your social presence and the necessity of being authentic with your audience. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/17

Our guest this week, Deena Katz, was already writing entire books about practice management when I was still cutting my teeth as a financial advisor. Deena is a financial advisor, author, and educator who has long espoused the importance of holistic financial planning. Deena was an early adopter of niches, settling into work with widows and divorcees that needed help managing their money. Deena has empowered not only women during her 41-year career, but clients and planners from all walks of life. In this interview, Deena talks about the early years of financial planning and how she and her partners established one of the first fee-only practices. Deena also talks about the second half of her career, which she's dedicated to teaching the next generation of financial planners. Get the full show notes and transcript for this episode at: https://www.kitces.com/16