Power Your Advice

Axos Advisor Services is an RIA custodian that delivers individualized attention, intuitive technology, and knowledgeable consulting support to financial advisors. In his role as the head of RIA Custody there, Mike Watson is in a unique position to observe, understand and help advisors make sense of the constant evolution of client expectations and their own business models.  In today’s episode, Doug and Mike talk about the re-emergence of the term “holistic advisor” and how the convergence between advisory practice types is driving advisors to once again redefine their practices to differentiate themselves. They also talk about What it means to be a holistic advisor in 2022 The value of becoming a more holistic advisor – for their clients and for their practice Why younger advisors are more likely than older to adopt this model What trends Axos Advisor Services is seeing as their clients work to expand their offering to banking solutions, insurance,  annuities and other solutions What are some first steps advisors can take to expand their offering and build deeper relationships with clients How expanding your offering is good for your clients Resources:  Axos Advisor Services   Source

Realto, through its partnership with Axos Clearing, became the first ever platform to have a fully electronic secondary transaction of an alternative investment.  In today’s episode, Michael Scaplen, Senior Vice President of Sales at Axos Clearing, LLC, and Brian King, CEO and Co-Found of Realto again join Doug for a discussion about the importance of choosing the right partner for now and into the future. Why do firms choose a specific clearing partner to suit their needs?  How Axos is working to expand its FinTech capabilities How far in advance Realto worked to get the right partner in place How Axos invests in its clients by bringing in the correct resources to design solutions to meet their needs The questions Realto needed answered as they searched for the correct clearing partner Resources: Axos Clearing | Realto   Source

Tony Leal is President at Envestnet | MoneyGuide, a resource that helps advisors’ clients define and prioritize their goals into needs, wants and wishes before meeting with them.  In today’s episode, Doug and Tony talk about the evolution of retirement planning over the last 20 years and how Envestnet, through the MoneyGuide Pro platform, helps advisors better discuss their clients’ retirement aspirations with them. They also discuss What advisor conversations about retirement should look like How MoneyGuide can help advisors discuss both the accumulation and decumulation process with their clients How we as an industry got to a place where annuities have gone from good to bad to good again How MoneyGuide can assist with calculation of social security in a client portfolio What makes MoneyGuide Pro different from other retirement planning products Resources:  Envestnet Source

Rochelle Moulton is the President of Be Unforgettable Media, co-host of The Business of Authority podcast, and author of The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise. In this episode of Power Your Advice, Doug and Rochelle talk about what it means to be an authority and how to capitalize on this superpower in managing your practice.  Examples of people who are authorities in the world of financial services Why advisors should work to build authority for themselves and their businesses Tips for how to make yourself an authority Can you make your team an authority How you know when you (or your team) have become an authority Resources:  Be Unforgettable Media | The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise   Source

Douglas Blake is the managing director of investment solutions at Kingswood U.S., An SEC-registered RIA and a FINRA-licensed broker/dealer that offers comprehensive wealth management and business-building services designed specifically for the independent financial advisor. In this episode of Power Your Advice, Doug and Doug talk about one of the hottest asset classes around: alternatives.  The basics of alternative investments – what they are & why people are crazy about them right now Why they are an important resource for advisors to use in client portfolios How Doug discovers and vets companies to put on the Kingswood platform, and how he monitors and manages the companies they work with How advisors can equip themselves to deal with the onslaught of alternatives coming their way What Doug sees coming in the alternative space Resources:   Kingswood U.S. Source

We love to hear, learn from and share advisor stories. What works for them, what challenges they face, how they continually up their game, and what they’ve learned along the way that has helped shape the advisor they are today. Today’s guest is Paul Lee from Kingswood U.S., an advisor with a rapidly advancing career who helps the next generation of investors make smart investment choices. In this episode of Power Your Advice, Doug and Paul talk about his career in financial services and his perspective on some of the challenges advisors face today. They also discuss: What he learned working in a wirehouse What his sweet spot is in working with clients How he manages the responsibility of being a financial advisor What his thought process was in choosing a new firm with which to affiliate his business Why he chose to work with Kingswood U.S. over other firms Resources:   Kingswood U.S. Source

Mike Watson is the head of RIA Services at Axos Advisor Services, a hybrid custodian and financial services company that offers powerful, integrated custodial and banking solutions designed to enable RIAs to offer a wider range of services to their clients. In this episode of Power Your Advice, Doug and Mike talk about Mike’s 30+-year career in financial services and his perspective on some of the challenges advisors face today. They also discuss: How advisors must continue to iterate and refine their value proposition over time while demonstrating the value they provide How advisors can work with their technology partners to navigate the ever-changing tech landscape What’s going on with the great generational wealth transfer What Mike sees coming in the regulatory landscape Why Mike is excited about Axos Advisor Services and its opportunity to serve advisors Resources:   Axos Advisor Services Source

Frank Bonnano is a managing director and head of marketing at StoneCastle Partners, LLC. Stonecastle provides stable, cost-efficient funding to bank throughout the U.S. and harnesses this demand to create unique fixed-income cash products for institutional depositors.   In today’s episode, Doug & Frank talk about a subject we have not discussed on our more than one hundred podcasts at Advisorpedia – cash and how advisors can take advantage of it in their clients’ portfolios. They also discuss: The opportunity advisors are missing when they don’t talk with clients about their cash positions With interest rates starting to edge back up, is cash back in play as an asset class Can Advisors grow their business through cash Why advisors should feel comfortable taking a sell down StoneCastle’s FICA Impact product, and how it benefits local communities. Resources: StoneCastle Partners, LLC Source

Matthew Radgowski is head of Advisor Services at Morningstar. Morningstar Advisor Services helps financial advisors harvest the power of Morningstar data and research and integrate it in the way they work.   Doug and Matt sat down at the FSI OneVoice Summit and talked about Morningstar Advisor Services and their primary focus on discovering key trends that impact the delivery of advice and then delivering solutions that help advisors deliver quality advice to investors. They also discuss: Key themes in today’s industry Important regulatory trends and observations Technology enabling hyper-personalization of client porfolios Competition in the industry How data can empower advisors to deliver quality advice Resources:  Morningstar| Flyer Financial Technology Source

Tom Huddleston is the Chief Information Officer and managing director of Redi2 Technologies, the leading provider of hosted fee billing and revenue management solutions for asset and wealth managers.   Doug and Tom sat down at the FSI OneVoice Summit and talked about Redi2 and billing – not the most glamorous of topics, but one of the most practical and important to everyone in the industry. They also discuss: How Redi2 designed its original offering, and how it has evolved to meet needs today The basics of billing What sleeves work & how they work within the Redi2 system What separates Redi2 from their competitors What kind of transparency should advisors expect from their providers? Resources:  Redi2 Technologies | Flyer Financial Technology Source