Between Now and Success

In this fourth and final episode in the millennial advisor series, we discuss an area that was not addressed with our previous guests. The other guests were all running their own independent RIAs and generally targeting other young professionals with non-traditional business and pricing models. But what about millennial advisors who are pursuing a traditional career within a well-established RIA? What's their story? How are the established RIAs finding, managing, and retaining talented young advisors in their business? To find out, I dialed up my friends at United Capital, one of the country's largest RIAs, and had a great conversation with Jarrod Upton and Brandon Moss. Jarrod and Brandon are two of the firm's leaders and they work with their young, up and coming advisors.

Today’s guest, millennial Alan Moore, started out working for a traditional RIA firm, then started his own “location independent” RIA while concurrently developing other entrepreneurial sources of income. Alan and I discuss how millennial advisors think, act and make money differently than traditional financial advisors and what that means for the future of the financial advisory profession. Traditional RIAs can benefit from hiring a millennial advisor and injecting some “millennial thinking” in their business.

MILLENNIAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR JAMES OSBORNE STARTED OUT ON A TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL ADVISOR TRACK then he became disillusioned. He noticed there wasn't much difference in the services he provided to a client with a 3 or 4 million dollar portfolio versus a client with a half million dollar portfolio. As he told me, "It started to feel that the fee structure was not based on what we did for people or the value proposition, but was really based on ability to pay." So what did he do? He left the traditional RIA, started his own firm, and began charging a flat fee of $4,500 per year, which includes financial planning and investment management services. Today, after just three years, James has about $100 million in AUM, roughly 50 clients, and is earning a nice living running a lifestyle practice in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. If you do the math, you'll notice his fee comes out to about 25 basis points on $100 million in assets. That's equal to what the average robo advisor charges but in James' case--it also includes personal financial planning directly with him. He's beating the robo advisors at their own game! His pricing structure is just one of the many ways he's reimagining the financial services industry. We discuss them all in the podcast. This is the second in my series on how millennial financial advisors are shaking up the industry. Be sure to checkout the first one with Brittney Castro--including her finance rap video.

MILLENNIALS GET A LOT OF PRESS AND THERE'S GOOD REASON FOR THAT. They’re over 80 million strong, they’re digitally savvy, and they tend to think and act much differently than earlier generations. In this new series of podcasts, I interview several leading millennial advisors and explore their business models, their thinking, and how their cohort may reshape the financial industry over the next 15 years. Although there’s no definitive start and end date for this generation, it’s fair to say they range in age from about 35 to as young as 15. You may think they’re too young and too few in the business to have an impact on our industry. In the short-term, that’s true. But long-term, they’ll cause a titanic shift in how financial advice is conducted. As I spoke to these millennials, it’s clear—they’re smart, articulate, and definitely not your “traditional” RIA. They have different business models. They price their services differently. They market differently. And they’re not afraid to call out what they see as “problems” with the way financial services is structured today. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to these advisors and I know you’ll enjoy listening to their stories. Keep an open mind because they are the future of our business. First up is Brittney Castro, a talented and innovative RIA from Los Angeles. Brittney is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, entrepreneur, personal finance expert for women and Founder & CEO of Financially Wise Women. She specializes in working with busy, established professional and entrepreneurial women who are passionate about life and want to finally understand money—how to manage it, save it, invest it, and protect it—in a fun and simple way.

A relatively small number of RIA firms have grown faster and more profitably than their peers in recent years, according to research from InvestmentNews and BlackRock. Dubbed "Elite RIAs," these firms have cracked the code and implemented strategies, tactics, and "ways of doing business" that propelled them to the top. On average, these Elite RIAs have > $500 million in AUM, $5.8 million in revenue, 13 full-time employees, 365 active households, and revenue per client of $14,327. In today’s episode, Hollie Fagan, head of BlackRock's RIA business, and I discuss the specifics of what these leading RIAs are doing to scoop up the lion's share of industry assets.

You could be a highly competent financial advisor but if few people know about you, you’ll starve for new business. There are two main ways to become known to your ideal audience. Develop the audience yourself through marketing. Show up in the middle of somebody else’s audience and display your value. I can assure you, the second option is by far the most effective both in terms of time and money if done correctly. In today’s episode, we discuss the mechanics of how to show up in the middle of a media outlet’s audience and share your voice, your opinion, and your insights to a large group of ideal prospects who are hungry for your wisdom. My special guests are Jim Pavia, senior editor-at-large at CNBC Digital and Fred Gabriel, editor at InvestmentNews. Jim and Fred are two of the financial industry’s top journalists and they share an incredible number of tips and insights on how to work with the media to get your message out. Visit www.belayadvisor.com/media-marketing to read 9 tips from today's episode.

Today’s podcast with Steve Sanduski is all about understanding the concept of exponential technology and how you can incorporate it in your business to accelerate your growth, your profitability, and keep you relevant for years to come. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why your mindset is a more important asset than time. How a deep understanding of the "6 D’s of Exponentials" will prepare you for explosive business success. Why the marginal cost of sales and marketing is heading toward zero and what that means to you. How a simple exercise called “Add a Zero” can completely change your thinking. Why you can’t just redesign your process, you have to reimagine the entire client experience. Why radical pricing transparency is critical to your future success. Get ready for a wild ride as Steve takes you on a tour of the future of financial planning. It's very bright for those who are ready to embrace exponential technology and Steve lays out a roadmap on how to do it.

Consumers are getting spoiled with services like Uber, Airbnb, Netflix, and the iPhone and they expect the same level of ease and access when working with an advisor. If you don’t deliver it, you’ll lose clients to advisors who will. In today’s podcast, I discuss the conversations I had in New York last week with Betterment founder and CEO Jon Stein, Personal Capital co-founder and CEO Bill Harris, and the on-stage duo of Ric Edelman, chairman and CEO of Edelman Financial Services and Bill Bachrach, founder and CEO of Bachrach & Associates. You’ll learn… How Betterment’s RetireGuide is the latest example of a Robo firm quickly moving up the complexity scale and digitizing what used to be solely done by financial advisors. The one thing both Jon Stein of Betterment and Bill Harris of Personal Capital told me financial advisors should be scared of. What Jon Stein thinks of the traditional 1% AUM fee and his take on Vanguard’s new hybrid advice offering. The metrics behind Personal Capital’s conversion of clients from account aggregation to directly managed assets. Why Ric Edelman firmly believes half of all financial advisors will be gone within the next 10 years and what you can do to NOT be one of them. What Ric Edelman believes the advisor/client relationship will look and feel like in the future. My main reason for visiting New York last week was to attend Singularity University’s Exponential Finance Conference. Today’s podcast is the first of two podcasts that will address some of the things I heard at this event. While some of the things discussed at the event were “way out there,” my role is to connect the dots and translate what I’m hearing and seeing into practical ways for you to grow your business and make it more profitable.

If you want to accelerate your growth rate and create a consistent stream of new clients, you have to move beyond referral marketing and become a marketing machine. David Canter, EVP, Practice Management and Consulting at Fidelity leads an ace team that has been consulting with RIAs and researching how they can elevate their performance for years. In today's podcast, David and I discuss what the RIA Marketing Leaders are doing to grow their business 40% faster than non-marketing leaders. You'll learn... The percentage of revenue the Marketing Leaders invest in marketing and business development. The 6 key disciplines Marketing Leaders devote the most resources to. How to leverage the "Rule of 15" to double your business. Why your "About Us" page should be more like an "About You" page. How to generate more referrals by being a "giver," not just a "taker." The importance of using events to get your message out.

Elliot Weissbluth started $30 Billion RIA firm HighTower by asking, "If we had a blank piece of paper and a blank slate and I started with my mom as the client, what would she expect from a thoughtful financial advisor?" Working backward from that premise, he built the firm into a powerhouse. In this episode, we discuss: How he raised $65 million in institutional money before even having his first client. Why he fires himself each year. The one metric all RIAs should track. The two things their advisor do (and don't do) to grow organically at double the industry rate. The three keys to building a thriving RIA in the years ahead. Who will be disrupted by robo technology. As a founder and excellent business leader, Elliot is well worth listening to.