Financial Advisor Success

Ari Weisbard is Managing Partner of Values Added Financial, an independent RIA based out of Washington that oversees $143 million in assets under management for 75 client households. Ari and his partner Zach distinguish themselves by not only implementing fee minimums to ensure profitable service for clients, but also by deliberately adjusting their fees and minimums to control and accelerate their business growth according to their firm's advisor capacity—and to allow for a sustainable work-life balance. Listen in as Ari shares how he and his partner have implemented and adjusted minimum fees for new clients, as well as why they have positioned their firm as one that serves clients with progressive values. We also discuss how Ari has overcome fear and imposter syndrome, why he feels more fulfilled as an advisor than he did as a lawyer, and how he is focusing on the human aspect of financial planning and connecting with clients beyond economics. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/330

Charesse Spiller is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Level Best, an operations and process strategy consulting firm based out of Houston that helps advisory firms evaluate and improve their operations and processes by focusing on three pillars: streamlining, automation, and delegation. Charesse has established a distinctive consulting firm that sets itself apart by not only educating financial advisors on how to systematize and automate their processes, but also serves as an outsourced provider that builds and implements systems on behalf of clients. Listen in as Charesse discusses her approach to evaluating an advisory firm’s technology, processes, and systems, why a lack of clear accountability for team members as the firm grows is often the real blocking point for larger RIAs seeking to scale, and why she created her educational resource and community to educate operations professionals on how they can optimize their systems and processes on an ongoing basis. We also discuss why she hired a financial coach to avoid burnout and improve her leadership skills, what it was like scaling a service firm and transitioning from employee to founder, and how she leveraged local mentoring programs, read business books, and formed two Mastermind groups to develop her own skills as she and her business grew. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/329

Thomas West is a Senior Partner for Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Los Angeles that oversees nearly $16 billion in assets under management, with $570 million of those assets from 250 households being managed by Thomas’ practice. Thomas stands out for his innovative approach to supporting seniors who are searching for suitable housing and healthcare options while facing medical and cognitive challenges in their later years and has developed a unique offering called the Lifecare Affordability Plan, which has been tremendously successful in providing added value to his clients and their elderly parents. Listen in as Thomas shares how he realized that "one-legger" senior couples, where one spouse is healthy and the other is not, face unique challenges in making healthcare decisions with significant financial ramifications and how this led him to create the Lifecare Affordability Plan to provide guidance to senior couples dealing with medical and cognitive issues. We also discuss why over 90% of the assets managed by his firm are held on a non-discretionary basis (which has increased client communication and portfolio customization), why his firm doesn't charge more for trading assets on a discretionary basis and charges less for clients who allow them to manage with discretion, and how his definition of success has shifted from focusing on production to the impact of his elder planning work, which in turn motivates him to work harder. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/328

Marc Horner is the Founder of Fairhaven Wealth Management, an independent RIA based out of Illinois that oversees more than $1 billion in assets under management for 450 client households. Marc has been able to differentiate his firm by drawing upon his years of wirehouse experience to create a distinctly un-wirehouse brand that leverages parody commercials as a way to distinguish his firm's culture from prospective clients. Listen in as we discuss how Marc developed his unique marketing strategy of writing parody commercials, how he balances the serious nature of financial advising with the not-so-serious way he markets his firm, and how he became comfortable taking such a non-traditional approach to marketing. We also talk about why he decided to go independent after 14 years in the wirehouse world, how he grew his firm from $80 million in AUM to over $1 billion in under 8 years, and how he splits the growth of his team into one-third through organic hiring, one-third through recruiting, and one-third through acquisitions. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/327

Erica Pauly is the Founder and Owner of Track That Advisor, a consulting and coaching firm based out of Arizona that helps advisory firms track, and then improve upon, their marketing results. Erica developed a series of spreadsheet tools that measure every detail of her advisory firm's marketing funnel, and then transformed them into a system that can be used by any advisory firm to assess their marketing performance, identify areas of improvement, and benchmark against industry averages. Listen in as Erica shares how she helps firms track every step of their marketing funnel, why she prefers Google Sheets over other standalone data tracking platforms, and the 5 key marketing metrics she focuses on to obtain an overall view of a firm. We also discuss how Erica realized the demand for her particular type of work, how she has become more comfortable having difficult conversations with advisors about their marketing strategies, and why she chose not to give herself the role of CEO of Track That Advisor. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/326

Brenda Hiscock is a financial planner with Objective Financial Partners, an advice-only advisory firm based out of Ontario, Canada that works with clients on project-based financial plans while also offering outsourced preplanning to other Canadian advisory firms. Brenda's exceptional trait lies in the fact that she ventured into the financial services industry despite lacking any prior financial knowledge. After facing homelessness, bankruptcy, and alcoholism during her twenties, she uses her real-life experience to engage with clients on a deeper, more meaningful level. Listen in as Brenda shares how her personal experiences have significantly influenced her career as a financial planner, how the hardships she faced shaped her perspective on financial planning and insurance, and why she prioritizes working from home with a flexible work schedule for her mental health. We also discuss how she found her way to financial planning after a stint in insurance, how being a financial planner has allowed her to have a more significant impact on her clients’ lives, and why she believes that new advisors should find mentors and proactively seek support to achieve their career goals. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/325

Nancy Knous is the CEO and Founder of Benchmark Wealth Management, an independent RIA affiliated with LPL Financial based in Memphis that oversees nearly $340 million in assets under management for nearly 1,000 client households. Despite facing a cash flow squeeze during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Nancy's experience led to significant changes in how she managed her firm's profit margins, enabling her to scale up her business to over 20 team members and avoid cash flow problems during the pandemic. Listen in as Nancy shares her journey as a CFP professional, where she learned that a good income would not protect her from market drops, and how she transformed her money habits using Dave Ramsey's method and leveraged his SmartVestor program to grow her firm through referrals. We also discuss why she started an independent firm with LPL, how the decision ultimately shaped the way she treats her employees and led her to develop a 4-8 week in-depth hiring process to ensure each hire is a good fit, and why she believes in the importance of having employees who are not like her. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/324

Yonhee Choi Gordon is a Principal and the Chief Operating Officer of JMG Financial Group, an independent RIA based out of Chicago that oversees nearly $5 billion in assets under management for close to 1,500 households. What sets Yonhee apart is how, with her nearly four decades at JMG Financial Group, she has been instrumental in the company's succession plan and has personally recruited, trained, and retained the majority of the company's employees through a stringent hiring process to ensure alignment with the company's expectations and values. Listen in as we delve into Yonhee’s career, including how she has been such an integral part of the hiring, training, and development systems, and how she evaluates potential candidates based on the actual tasks of the job, and how JMG structures its leadership roles and share of ownership. We also discuss why Yonhee believes that inconsistent definitions of advisor roles are contributing to the financial industry's rising level of M&A deals, why she teaches younger advisors to find their ideal role by first understanding their personal values and culture, and how her definition of success has evolved over time to focus on the impact and value she provides in the lives of the employees she leads. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/323

Kent Skornia is the Founder of Krilogy, an independent RIA based out of St. Louis that oversees nearly $2 billion in assets under management for 1,800 client households. Having created an internal training system at Krilogy that focuses on mentorship and education, Kent joins the show today to share his insights into recruiting and developing advisors in the financial planning industry. Listen in as he discusses his creation of the Krilogy Advisor Development System (KADS) as a proprietary training system for newer advisors to gain deeper knowledge in financial planning and grow their own book of business. You'll learn why the firm offers liquidity options for senior advisors to sell their book of business to Krilogy while still serving as an advisor, why Kent focused on building a values-based approach in the firm, and why he believes that new advisors should interview other newer advisors at their prospective firms to ensure a good fit. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/322

Join Danqin Fang, Lead Advisor for Austin Asset, as she shares her remarkable journey from China to the U.S. Discover how she overcame cultural and language barriers while building her financial advisory career. Danqin highlights the power of networking and education in navigating the industry, and emphasizes the importance of clarity in career vision for aspiring advisors. She also reflects on her experiences as an immigrant and shares insights on adapting to diverse client needs, proving that personal growth and determination can redefine success.