The COO Roundtable

The COO Roundtable Episode 55 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management Matt was joined by two thoughtful and experienced Operations professionals for Episode 55. Tee Meeks is the Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Waddell & Associates, headquartered in Memphis, TN.  Cory Jackmuff, from BLB&B Advisors in Montgomeryville, PA, is the firm’s Operations Manager. Waddell & Associates was founded in 1986, currently manages approximately $1.4 billion of client assets, and has 7 advisors with 19 full-time employees. BLB&B Advisors dates its inception to its broker dealer days, all the way back to 1964. The firm currently has 30 employees and has approximately $2 billion of assets under management. After detailing their career paths that led them to where they are today, Tee and Corey discuss the following topics with Matt: How they each approach the tricky task of integrating the various vendors that make up their RIA infrastructure What initiatives both have implemented at their firms to best achieve scale How those initiatives have allowed advisors at their respective firms to spend more of their valuable time on client-facing activities Hiring strategies they both have designed to ensure the best people are coming to their organizations How they promote personal growth at their firms, for themselves and their employees We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The COO Roundtable Episode 54 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management In Episode 54, Matt is joined by two operations professionals he has worked with in the past.  Bryce Wisan is the Managing Director, CFO, and CCO with Sepio Capital, headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT.  Angie Tower is Managing Director and COO at Prairie Capital Management, located in Kansas City, MO.  Sepio Capital manages approximately $7 billion for high net worth and ultra high net worth clients, many who have recently experienced an exit from a startup.  The firm currently has 28 employees and is contemplating a shift in focus from wealth management to asset management.  Prairie Capital Management’s team of 40 employees oversees more than $6 billion for individual clients, foundations, and endowments.  They consider themselves a holistic wealth manager with a focus on private equity and alternative investments.  Bryce and Angie both joined their firms about 18 months ago, and they discuss with Matt how they’ve looked to add scale and efficiencies to their organizations, as well as: How they each approach the people management side of their roles Strategies they both have implemented to increase user adoption of new tools and processes Where they see their firms getting more complex in the years ahead, and how they have started addressing that complexity today Their approach to client segmentation

The COO Roundtable Episode 53 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management With episode 53, Matt welcomes two guests that both take a very measured approach to Operations at their firms:  Julie Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Geometric Wealth Advisors and Kevin Galvin, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor with Hopwood Financial Services.  Geometric Wealth provides comprehensive financial planning for executives and partners in management consulting.  The firm is roughly 8 years old, manages approximately $600 million of client assets, and has 21 employees, all working remotely full-time (the firm was fully remote pre-COVID).  Hopwood Financial Services is headquartered in Reston, VA, was founded in 2003 by Herb Hopwood, has approximately $500 million assets under management, and has 11 employees.  Matt, Julie, and Kevin discuss how they view people and process to best poise their firms for future growth and much more, including: Their take on the industry’s “old thinking” with respect to how Operations supports client service and ultimately, business development How both firms rely on the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to better align their employees with the firm’s vision and values Each guest’s approach to hiring and onboarding employees How they design their org chart to ensure the right employees are in the right seats Client segmentation strategies used by both guests to determine the best service offering for their clients We hope you listen, share, and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. You can read the full transcript here.

The COO Roundtable Episode 52 Powered by Coldstream Wealth Management In episode 52, Matt assures our listeners that no major changes will occur with the podcast moving forward, despite its new sponsor (and Matt’s new employer), Coldstream Wealth Management.  As of May 1, 2023, Matt has taken the role of Chief Operating Officer at Coldstream, headquartered in Bellevue, WA.  The firm employs 135 people and manages roughly $6.5 billion of client assets, spread across 7 client service teams.  Coldstream has three affiliated businesses (Fit Insurance, Ascent Capital, and Rainier Group) and has additional office locations in Portland, OR, Boise, ID, and Kenai, AK.  During this monologue episode, Matt discusses why he’s excited to join Coldstream, what his major responsibilities will be as COO, and much more, including: Advice for any RIA operations professionals approaching a transition to a new firm How to approach change management at your firm While referencing several past episodes, he reminds listeners how to ensure their success when joining a new organization and mistakes to avoid The five common business situations leaders may find themselves moving into Why his passion for professional management across the RIA industry will propel both the COO Roundtable podcast and COO Society coaching platform into the future Each guests’ career path and how they became operations professionals We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! You can read the full transcript here. You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Here is a link to Michael Watkins’ book, The First 90 Days  

The COO Roundtable Episode 51 By PFI Advisors For our 51st episode, Matt welcomed two operations professionals who run relatively new firms, Vince Crane, COO, CCO and Partner of Flower City Capital and Zach Morris, Managing Partner and Founder of Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors. Flower City Capital was founded in 2016 and is located in Rochester, New York. They are currently a team of 5 and manage roughly $200M in AUM.  Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors was founded in 2018 and is located in Atlanta, Georgia. They have 6 employees and manage approximately $300M in assets. Matt, Vince, and Zach chat about how, from Day 1, our guests have set in place systems and processes with future scalability in mind and much more including: Each guests’ career path and how they became operations professionals The pros and cons of a centralized back office vs a pod structure Each firm’s ideal client and how that persona drives the services they offer How each guest approaches their firm’s “next hire” How each guest shapes their firm’s culture We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.

The COO Roundtable Episode 50 By PFI Advisors For our milestone 50th episode, Matt is joined by two guests who are equally committed to highlighting the importance of professional management across the RIA industry: Allison Felix, Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Cassaday & Co. and Scott Brown, President of Pinnacle Associates.  Celebrating their 30th anniversary, Cassaday & Co was founded in 1993 and is a hybrid broker dealer and RIA.  They are located in McLean, Virginia, have 85 employees, and currently manage $4.5B in AUM.  Pinnacle Associates was founded in 1984 and has both an institutional and a wealth management component to their business model.  They are located in New York City, have 65 employees, and currently manage just over $7B in AUM.  Matt, Allison, and Scott discuss how the COO role impacts their teams internally, their firm holistically, and themselves personally, and much more including how each guest: Navigated their career path, including Allison’s journey from Executive Assistant to Chief Operating Officer, and Scott’s beginnings as General Counsel, to CCO, COO and now President Has continued to grow their skillset and advance their career Tackles the HR portion of their job Has affected their firm’s client experience and service offerings Manages to stay sane as they tackle all their role requires And don’t miss Scott’s Godfather impression at the top of the interview! We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.

Edgar Collado, COO at Tobias Financial Advisors, and Alex Satterfield of Byron Financial join the discussion, sharing their unique paths to operations roles. They dive into the evolving role of COOs and the significance of team involvement in strategic planning. The duo challenges the 'Myth of Outsourcing,' emphasizing in-house capabilities and the vital role of HR in organizational success. Listeners gain insights on enhancing client experience and the importance of inclusive strategic thinking to foster growth.

The COO Roundtable Episode 48 By PFI Advisors   For our first podcast of the new year (and our fourth year running!), Matt is welcomed by two exciting guests – Daryl Seaton, President at Sowell Management and Barrett Karvis, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Edge Capital Group. Sowell Management is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  Founded as a TAMP, they recently celebrated 20 years in business and have 29 employees. They currently manage $4B in AUA. Edge Capital Group is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2007, their AUM as of last year was approaching $5 billion and currently have 37 employees. Matt, Daryl, and Barrett chat about how their roles as operations professionals intertwine with their firm’s inorganic growth strategies and much more including:   Who supports them running their larger than average RIAs The role of the COO in talent acquisition and talent management How each guest balances scalability with customization What metrics they use to judge the health of their organization   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.   Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.  

The COO Roundtable Episode 47 By PFI Advisors For our final episode of 2022, we were joined by two incredible members of our COO Society community: Julie Allen, Vice President of Business Operations at FirstWave Financial, and Chris Pelch, Chief Operating Office of Vance Wealth.  FirstWave Financial began as a CPA firm in 1995 with a strong family foundation aimed to help its clients “deal with the complexity that wealth brings.”  They are located in Satellite Beach, Florida, and currently have $400M in AUM and a team of 12 employees.  Vance Wealth was founded in 2003 and helps its clients tackle important questions they face when looking to retire. They have two offices in California, $450M in AUM, and a team of 18 employees.  During their discussion with Matt, Julie and Chris tackle both the Human Resources and Operations component of their roles and much more including: The different strategies each firm has used to successfully onboard new employees How each guest handles ongoing new-employee engagement and career development The steps each guest takes when evaluating different vendors Time management tips and tricks Their top initiatives for 2023 We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.

The COO Roundtable Episode 46 By PFI Advisors Our latest episode of The COO Roundtable features a rare single-guest format.  Stacey McKinnon of Morton Wealth recently wrote an important paper titled, “Your Career is Up to You” which features Philip Palaveev of the Ensemble Practice.  Matt and Stacey discuss the paper by turning the spotlight inward and instead of focusing on how listeners can help their firms achieve more growth, they discuss ways everyone can be more fulfilled and successful in their professional life.  Matt and Stacey have an honest and revealing conversation about their own career paths and much more including: What it means to really “own” your career How you can’t become the best version of yourself without the help of others Common obstacles people face in their careers and how to overcome them Keys to standing out in your organization to ultimately advance your career How to keep your sanity through it all! We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! You can listen and subscribe on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.