Managing Your Practice
Dimensional Fund Advisors
Managing Your Practice is dedicated to providing financial professionals with best practices in key areas such as driving growth, business efficiency, and the client experience. Dimensional Fund Advisors delivers insights based on our history of industry-leading financial advisor benchmark studies and client surveys. We help advisors leverage those insights when making the critical business decisions successful firms face every day.
The information is provided in good faith without any warranty and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, recommendation, or an offer of any services or products for sale and is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision.
All expressions of opinion are subject to change.
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The information is provided in good faith without any warranty and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, recommendation, or an offer of any services or products for sale and is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision.
All expressions of opinion are subject to change.
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 17, 2021 • 36min
What Makes Diamond Teams Shine?
Many advisory practices use the popular "diamond team" structure to expand their capacity, add more clients, and effectively service those clients. But how do you implement a diamond team, and is it right for your organization? Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by Angie Herbers, founder and managing partner of Herbers and Company and originator of the diamond team concept. They discuss how having the right people in the right roles can create a high-functioning team that benefits both the organization and its clients.
Jul 20, 2021 • 35min
Gold Medal Advice on Finding Your Niche and Engaging with Your Ideal Clients
How do you differentiate yourself in a competitive market and build a profitable practice working with the types of clients that you want to help? Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by four-time Olympian Lauryn Williams of Worth Winning to discuss her path from gold medal-winning athlete to financial planner focused on offering advice and education to an underserved market segment.
Jun 14, 2021 • 28min
Retaining and Rewarding Talent Through Internal Equity Transactions
Sharing equity can help attract and retain talented team members, create a clear succession plan, and help de-risk ownership for advisory firms. But what's the best way to price and distribute equity to meet a firm's strategic objectives? John Furey of Advisor Growth Strategies joins Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, to discuss current trends in compensation and equity planning.
Apr 19, 2021 • 38min
Four Strategies for Becoming an Elite Financial Advisor
As founder and CEO of CEG Worldwide, John Bowen has spent decades coaching thousands of elite advisors. So what separates top financial advisors from the rest? In this conversation with Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, John shares the four business development strategies that he believes all elite advisors should follow. As an added bonus, you can visit www.cegworldwide.com/fasttrack to receive a complimentary copy of John's book "Become the Expert the Wealthy Want," and to arrange a business development strategy call with his team.
Mar 15, 2021 • 46min
Applying Lessons from 2020 to Grow Your Business Today
In 2020, we learned the importance of developing a team that can deliver value to your clients while implementing a systematic growth plan to guide the future of your business. Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by Stacy Francis of Francis Financial and Dave Welty of Avier Wealth Advisors to discuss how they approach their unique market niches and use social media and other tools to drive growth in their businesses.
Feb 16, 2021 • 43min
Creating Long-Term Value in Your Business Through Human Capital
Managing the culture and shared values of your organization is a key element of driving employee development and ultimately the long-term value of your business. In a virtual environment, goals-based management can help you deepen engagement with your teams and prioritize the values that create results. Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by J.D. Bruce of Abacus Wealth and Stacey McKinnon of Morton Capital to discuss how they successfully manage human capital at their firms.
Jan 13, 2021 • 43min
Five Actions Advisors Can Take Today to Position Their Firms for a Successful Merger, Acquisition, or Sale
Despite the challenges of 2020, the year closed with M&A activity at a record-setting pace and no signs of slowing going into 2021. Whether advisors are interested in selling all or a portion of their businesses, there are important steps they can begin to take today to help maximize their valuation in the future and ensure they find the right partner. Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by Scott Slater of Fidelity Institutional to discuss M&A trends and best practices in the industry. You can listen to Fidelity's podcast, Future Ready through M&A, hosted by Scott Slater here.
Dec 15, 2020 • 43min
Keeping Employees Happy and Engaged in a Virtual Environment
Organizations with a high level of employee engagement also tend to have higher morale, higher retention, and a better client experience. With more people working remotely than ever before, how are successful firms retaining, developing, and effectively engaging with employees in a virtual environment? Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, welcomes Shannon O'Toole of Shannon O'Toole Coaching to discuss best practices for employee retention and engagement in 2020 and beyond.
Nov 18, 2020 • 33min
Buying, Selling, or Merging: Advisors' Perspectives on Mergers and Acquisitions
Whether you're seeking an external partner for the purpose of retirement, succession planning, or taking your business to the next level, the merger and acquisition (M&A) process can be daunting for any advisory firm. How do you find the right partner? How do you ensure a good cultural fit for your staff and your clients? What does integration entail post transaction? Catherine Williams, Dimensional's Head of Practice Management, is joined by Susan Strausbaugh of Buckingham Strategic Wealth and Karen Keatley of Modera Wealth Management as they discuss successful M&A experiences at their firms.
