Financial Advisor Success

Terry Parham Jr. is the CFO and Co-Founder of Innovative Wealth Building, an independent RIA based out of Maryland that oversees nearly $330 million in assets under management for nearly 900 households. After almost failing out of the business because of a struggle to secure new clients in the first two years of his career, he changed his approach and within 18 months was one of the fastest-growing advisors in his entire company. Listen in as Terry shares how the small pivot to asking prospects upfront to commit to making a referral—only after he had shown them real financial planning value—turned his career around. We also discuss why he took time to confer with colleagues and conduct research before deciding to go independent, how he used dinner seminars as a way to consistently get $ 3 million to $ 5 million of new assets under management with every event (that cost less than $2,000 to host), and how a simple tool early in his career helped him to gain confidence and better relay information and connect with clients. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/311

Natalie Taylor is the owner of Natalie Taylor Consulting Services, an independent virtual RIA, and the Head of Financial Advice for Monarch Money, a personal financial management tool that helps consumers track their spending and net worth. While working for a FinTech company, Natalie realized that the way to provide the greatest amount of impact and value to the end consumer is to collect the data, deliver the advice, and filter out the rest. Listen in as Natalie shares how working for LearnVest inspired her to develop a framework for their financial advisors that focused on providing only the most impactful financial advice to help clients move forward, how she developed a brand voice to help advisors communicate advice to clients more consistently, and the catalyst that led to Natalie ultimately leaving LearnVest and dismantling the advice offering that she had originally built. We also discuss why she switched firms to get more hands-on mentoring and the opportunity to work with higher caliber clients, why it is important for newer and younger advisors to concentrate on getting clear on their values and then filtering their career choices accordingly, and why the key to her success has stemmed from developing her own personal list of six core values that she uses to filter major family and career decisions. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/310

Anh Tran is the Founder and Managing Partner for SageMint Wealth, a corporate LPL-affiliated RIA based out of California that oversees nearly $325 million for 195 clients. As a solo advisor, Anh differentiated her firm by leveraging the combination of a high-touch point concierge approach to client service with a unique investment management approach using very carefully chosen structured notes to differentiate her portfolio design from other advisors. Listen in as Anh shares why her firm integrates structured notes into their client portfolios despite the extra time and work that is required to conduct extensive due diligence and analysis beforehand, and how they ladder the structured notes on a rolling quarterly basis so clients can continuously reinvest at then-current rates and features. We also discuss why Anh pivoted to become a CFP from a career as an attorney, why she remains a licensed attorney still, and how she was able to find a community that uplifts her by leveraging study groups while also helping to uplift other minorities in the financial services industry. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/309

Matthew Blocki, CEO of Equilibrium Wealth Advisors, shares insights on transforming client interactions through structured checklists. He discusses his shift from a corporate insurance environment to an independent advisory model, focusing on client relationships and personalized service. Blocki emphasizes the importance of effective communication, including recorded videos and post-meeting summaries, to enhance client engagement and drive growth. He reflects on the strategies that led to his firm's remarkable expansion and the significance of maintaining a high-value client base.

Stacey Hyde is the President of Envision Financial Planning, an independent RIA that oversees nearly $200 million in assets under management for 206 client households. Stacey and her partner decided to drop their FINRA licenses and launch their own RIA to gain more flexibility and independence for the firm, and in this episode, we talk about why they decided to drop their broker-dealer licenses and drop out of the corporate RIA structure. Listen in as Stacey explains what she did to simplify language for clients and help them better understand the firm’s offerings, as well as why her firm implemented a fee schedule where the tiers have hard breakpoints after a certain threshold. You’ll learn the processes she has put in place to more easily communicate the fee schedule to clients, how she and her firm built their client base by leveraging both client referrals and an advisor network that has many connections, and what helped Stacey to realize that she had a greater impact in her clients' lives than simply being their “advisor.” For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/307  

Cean Kenefick-Rogers is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ironwood Wealth Management, an independent RIA based out of Arizona that oversees just under $550 million of assets under management for nearly 500 households. Cean and his partners inadvertently created a three-way struggle in the early days of their firm that forced them to seek third-party intervention, restructure their partnership roles and compensation, and ultimately unlock the next stage of business growth. Listen in as Cean shares the journey that he and his partners look from brokerage firm to their own independent RIA, as well as how infighting within their firm nearly led to its dissolution—and how they ultimately managed to turn the firm around and scale the business to the next level of success. We also discuss Cean’s role as CEO, including how he navigated having sole accountability and decision-making for the firm, how he adjusted his mindset from advisor to leader, and why he measures his success beyond his own contributions to the firm. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/306

Mindy Crary is the owner of Creative Money, an independent RIA based out of Seattle that offers a unique 12-month financial planning engagement that has allowed her firm to work with almost 400 households this year alone. Using organic marketing and harnessing the power of Google and Yelp, Mindy has been able to attract clients who are interested in a firm that will advise them without trying to sell them on anything else—and made it possible for her to profitably scale to nearly $1 million of revenue.  Listen in as Mindy shares the journey that led her to launching her current firm and offering advice-only services with a limited-time engagement, as well as how this structure has allowed her to serve a large number of clients comfortably while scaling her business and charging lower fees than other advisors. We also discuss how Mindy has been able to attract hundreds of leads without much marketing spend, how she was able to stick to her convictions and offer financial planning in a way that made sense for her (despite the doubts of others), and why she believes that the key to enjoying a career in financial planning has more to do with staying true to your core competencies than it does with building your own practice. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/305

Chad Chubb is the founder of WealthKeel, an independent virtual RIA based out of Tampa, Florida, that advises on over $100 million in assets for 110 households. Chad has not only implemented a “surge meeting” approach to meet with his ongoing clients, but he has also gone further to implement a “surge onboarding” approach, where he only takes on new clients twice per year. Listen in as Chad shares the realization that led to the creation of his surge meeting and onboarding approach to the client experience that eliminates the risk of burnout and allows for him to more easily scale and control the growth of his practice. We also discuss how his pricing has evolved, why he is focused on expanding his team further so he can step into the CEO role, and why he still deals with imposter syndrome—despite the fast growth and success that he has achieved so far. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/304

Louis van der Merwe is the Director of Wealthup, an independent advice practice based out of Cape Town, South Africa that oversees the U.S. equivalent of almost $600 million in assets under management for 115 households. Louis and his partner initially developed a robo-advice technology prototype that automated client services, but after it failed to gain traction, they pivoted to a “fully human” financial planning practice instead. Listen in as Louis shares his journey of developing—and then pivoting away from—the robo-advice prototype that he built with his partner, as well as why he ultimately decided to leave the firm he was at after they refused to purchase the prototype despite being interested in it. We also discuss why Louis feels that his young age gave him an advantage when starting his own firm, why he feels that running his firm is just as challenging today as it was when he first started, and how his definition of success has changed from the early days of his career. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/303

Libby Greiwe, owner of The Efficient Advisor, shares her system for running a successful advisory business in less time and with less stress. She talks about right-sizing client load, creating a model week for productivity, streamlining processes, and providing a great client experience. The importance of finding support within advisor communities and defining personal success is emphasized.