The COO Roundtable

In the 15th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Loren Pierson, COO of Mercer Advisors and Michael Kossman, COO, CCO, and Partner of Aspiriant.  A trailblazer in the RIA industry in the field of mergers and acquisitions, Mercer Advisors has acquired 31 firms to date.  Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Mercer has over 400 employees and approximately $18 billion in client assets.  Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Aspiriant has 11 offices around the country and manages over $12 billion in client assets.  With the goal of highlighting how a COO’s key contributions to a firm’s operations lead to successful mergers and acquisitions, Matt, Loren, and Michael sit down to discuss the importance of an organized, scalable infrastructure, alignment of common core values, translating vision into action, and much more including:   Their individual paths that led them to become COOs at powerhouse RIAs The story behind San Francisco’s “Michael Kossman Day” Comparing and contrasting their respective firms’ philosophies on M&A The role the COO plays in each of their respective firms’ M&A strategy How to create a culture and scalable process that gives a unified, stand out client experience across offices nationwide How they each plan for their respective firms’ future   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Stitcher.   Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.      

With M&A activity at an all-time high and no sign of stopping anytime soon, we take a break from our usual interview format here in Episode 14 and Matt speaks directly to our listeners about the ever-important topic of Buyer Preparation.  For any firm to be a successful buyer in this ultra-competitive M&A market, we believe they first need a strong COO and well-defined back-office systems and workflows, as these are what Sellers are looking for when comparing their options of who to partner with and entrust with their client assets.  With the goal of highlighting the importance of having the proper infrastructure in place before jumping into the M&A game, Matt draws inspiration from Christina Townsend’s recent InvestmentNews article “RIAs: Shopping for M&A Deals?: Better Get Your House in Order First…” Chris Voss’s Never Spit the Difference, and even sprinkles in a little humor with an Old School reference when discussing “capacity, people, and technology.” Matt’s “rant” includes:   Setting realistic expectations for acquisitions The importance and value of a comprehensive onboarding plan for M&A The fears employees face during the transition period and how to handle those situations in a way that is fair and productive for both firms The 7 Components of Successful M&A strategies How the COO can be leveraged during M&A transactions   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Stitcher.   In this episode, Matt discusses many of the previous articles we have written on our blog -- sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.    

In the 13th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Kristi de Grys of Merriman Wealth Management and Larry Miles of AdvicePeriod.  After spending almost two decades in the aerospace industry, Kristi de Grys brings an outside (and strongly analytical) perspective and occupies a role not yet seen on The COO Roundtable—that of the Chief Investment Officer/COO.  Similarly, Larry brings the perspective of a “recovering history and English major” to his role of providing strategic leadership for growth and profitability.  With the goal of highlighting the importance of values & culture when it comes to the  management of a firm, Matt, Kristi, & Larry sit down to discuss how a COO can make the firm’s values the basis for its processes, how to build the right culture for your firm, and more, including:   The benefits of hiring a diverse set of team members from both within and without the industry How intentionality is key when building a distinct culture at your firm How a COO can maintain an outsider’s perspective in order to continually challenge the status quo Larry’s experience being both a principal and a practice management author Kristi’s three levels of communication within a firm The importance of professional management, and the COO specifically, for RIAs in acquisition mode Where Kristi and Larry turn to for peer-level best practices and education   Check out Larry’s book, It’s That Simple: How to Build the Professional Service Firm of the Future, here.   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Stitcher.   Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.  

In the 12th episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Mark Tibergien and Karen Novak of BNY Mellon Pershing.*  Mark, CEO, Advisor Solutions, BNY Mellon Pershing is a monumental figure in the RIA space and a true champion of professional management in the RIA industry.  Similarly, Karen has contributed thirty years to the financial services industry, twenty-three of which have been at Pershing, where she serves as Chief Operating Officer, Advisor Solutions, BNY Mellon Pershing.  With the goal of highlighting the importance of professional management when it comes to the COO role, Matt, Mark, and Karen sit down to discuss what key metrics a COO should consider when seeking to execute the vision for the firm and much more, including:   The benefits of a good cultural fit between the CEO and COO and how they can enhance firm-wide growth through a joint effort How Karen helps make Pershing an “employer of choice” by thinking through the employee experience from onboarding through succession planning Mark’s six components of a successful business and how the COO can drive those standards of excellence forward The importance of re-evaluating and adjusting business plans and admitting when the direction of the firm might need resetting Understanding the three biggest trends every firm owner should be mindful of Matt’s unbridled joy at speaking with his personal hero Mark Tibergien (are you familiar with Eddie Van Halen’s idolization of Eric Clapton?)   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Stitcher.   Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.   *This interview was conducted on November 18th, prior to the Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger announcement on November 21st.

In the eleventh episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomes Kelli Cruz, CEO of Cruz Consulting and Jim Regitz, Founding Partner and Senior Advisor at Newport Advisory Financial Counsel.  The three professionals discuss the importance of the COO role at growing RIAs, and what led Jim to realize he needed to hire professional management at his firm 2 years ago.  Kelli is a well-known consultant to the wealth management space -- her firm specializes in human resource sourcing and human capital development.  Based in Newport Beach, California, Newport Advisory is an independent wealth management firm that has more than tripled its AUM in the past few years, to over $700 million today.  With the goal of highlighting the importance of the human capital element when it comes to the COO role, Matt, Kelli, and Jim sit down to discuss what characteristics make for a good COO and much more, including:   Jim and Kelli’s respective backgrounds and views on the people-side of workflows The importance of self-awareness in the C-suite while crafting roles and responsibilities How Jim best supports his COO and how he delegates duties, allowing them both to be successful in their roles Kelli’s views on the pros and cons of hiring a COO from outside the firm, as opposed to promoting from within How Jim utilizes his COO in M&A transactions from negotiations through integration The qualities and characteristics Jim and Kelli look for when identifying the right talent for operations roles   We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe!   You can listen and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Stitcher.   Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.

In the tenth episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt takes some time to reflect on some of the highlights and biggest takeaways from the nine content-packed episodes we’ve produced so far and he even finds time to squeeze in a Princess Bride reference!  By focusing on all the unique perspectives that our guests bring to the table—including a number of COOs and operations professionals, as well as CEOs and service providers—we can see how the COO role is multifaceted and can encapsulate so many different responsibilities depending upon the needs of the firm.  Listen in to learn how a COO can be an instrumental part of an RIA’s C-suite through: Applying a keen attention to detail in process documentation Attracting and retaining top talent Balancing profit and growth Leveraging technology to improve the client experience Making the firm operate its best through improved workflows Delineating tasks among the C-suite and employees Making client relationships more sticky Preparing the firm for M&A and/or implementing an acquisition Listening for the most pressing needs of the firm Supporting employees to best support the end client We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here or to subscribe on Google Play, click here. Sign up here to be notified of new practice management content added to our blog on a regular basis.

In the ninth episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt welcomed Susan Dickson and Suzanne Williamson, principals of Private Ocean.  Susan is the Chief Operating Officer of the firm, and Suzanne is the Director of Client Services.  Private Ocean, headquartered in San Rafael, CA, manages over $2 billion in client assets with 51 employees and has additional offices in San Francisco and Seattle.  With the goal of highlighting that people come before technology in the COO role, Matt, Susan, and Suzanne sat down to discuss the importance of culture, how that culture can successfully translate to M&A acquisitions, and much more, including: The history and tremendous growth Private Ocean has experienced since its founding in 1983 Susan and Suzanne’s respective backgrounds and how they both have impacted and managed Private Ocean’s growth The pros and cons Susan faced coming from outside the industry as COO Suzanne’s unique role as Director of Client Services and how she acts as the liaison between various departments throughout the organization The importance of culture at Private Ocean and the post-hire personality test they have instituted to help ensure their culture remains intact as they add more employees How Susan, as COO, is involved in M&A transactions from the very beginning of negotiations Suzanne’s role in integrating their acquisitions’ various client service models under one roof We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here or to subscribe on Google Play, click here. We are increasing the frequency of our own RIA practice management articles – to sign up to be notified of new content, click here. To purchase Greg Friedman’s (Private Ocean Founder & CEO) book, “The Financial Advisor M&A Guidebook,” click here.

In the eighth episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt sat down with David Canter and Scott Slater of Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions.  David is the Executive Vice President and Head of the RIA Segment at Fidelity.  A lawyer by trade, David has been in the industry for 25 years and has been involved in everything from setting up RIAs from a legal and compliance perspective to helping them grow and scale from a practice management standpoint.  Scott is the Vice President of Practice Management and Consulting at Fidelity.  He helps some of the largest firms in the industry work through their M&A strategy and is also host of the Future Ready Through M&A Podcast.  Matt, David, and Scott sit down to discuss their unique perspective into RIAs of various shapes and sizes across the country and much more, including: David and Scott’s respective professional backgrounds and how those affect their roles today The evolution of the Chief Operating Officer role and how they can help a firm navigate the greater RIA ecosystem How Fidelity is working with firms outside of their clearing and custody solutions The four areas Fidelity focuses on to help take RIAs to the next level Scott’s take on what Buyers and Sellers need to do in order to be successful in the M&A market David’s perspective on the profit vs. growth debate Their thoughts on why professional management tends to fail at RIAs We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here or to subscribe on Google Play, click here. We are increasing the frequency of our own RIA practice management articles – to sign up to be notified of new content, click here. Check out Scott’s favorite entrepreneurship book, The E-Myth Revisited, here. Check out David’s favorite entrepreneurship podcast, Startup, here. Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions® provides clearing, custody, or other brokerage services through National Financial Services LLC or Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Members NYSE, SIPC. Fidelity is not affiliated with PFI Advisors.

In the seventh episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt sat down with Heather Goodman of True Capital Management and Mark DeLotto of Massey Quick Simon.  Heather is the COO, President, and Co-Founder of True Capital and helps the firm manage $1.1 billion in client assets across two offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles with 36 employees.  Mark, Managing Partner, COO, and CCO, helps Massey Quick Simon manage over $4 billion in client assets across six office locations with 55 employees.  Matt, Heather, and Mark sit down to discuss their roles in sustaining their firms' plethora of family office services and much more, including: The history and background of True Capital Management and Massey Quick Simon Heather and Mark’s respective professional backgrounds and how they’ve influenced their roles today Mark’s dual role of COO and CCO and the overlap he sees between the two Heather and True Capital’s internship program and the benefits it has provided the firm The unique hiring committee Mark has created at Massey Quick Simon How True Capital and Massey Quick Simon truly offer family office services Heather’s view on her role as COO in the M&A recruiting process A very fitting Jerry Maguire reference! We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here or to subscribe on Google Play, click here. We are increasing the frequency of our own RIA practice management articles – to sign up to be notified of new content, click here.

In the sixth episode of The COO Roundtable, Matt was excited to welcome the first CEO to the Roundtable discussion!  Jeff Concepcion, Nancy Andrefsky, and Lou Camacho from Stratos Wealth Partners joined Matt for an easy going, yet extremely insightful interview.  Stratos Wealth Partners has 287 advisors in 87 offices across 24 states and serves more than 13,000 clients with over $13 billion in assets under management.  Jeff is Founder and CEO of the firm while Nancy, who has worked with Jeff since the firm’s inception, holds the COO and CFO titles and Lou heads Stratos Wealth Alliance as its President.  In this episode, Matt, discussed with Jeff, Nancy, and Lou how they each play a vital role in sustaining such a large, acquisition-focused enterprise and much more, including: The Stratos Wealth Partners model and how they differentiate themselves in the marketplace Nancy and Lou’s respective backgrounds and how those experiences influence their current roles at the firm How Nancy balances the plethora of responsibilities that come with being COO and CFO Jeff’s take on the importance of professional management in the RIA space Nancy’s thoughts on the age-old profit vs. growth debate How Lou leverages Stratos’ technology platform in the sales process with advisors Jeff’s opinion on the recent large liquidity events of RIA aggregators (Focus Financial Partners, Hightower Advisors, and the recent sale of United Capital to Goldman Sachs) We hope you enjoy, share, and subscribe! To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here or to subscribe on Google Play, click here. We are increasing the frequency of our own RIA practice management articles – to sign up to be notified of new content, click here.