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 is the CEO of Equilibrium Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that oversees more than $275 million in assets under management for 330 client households. Today Matthew joins the show to share why he and his firm decided to develop and then implement their pre-, during-, and post-meeting checklists as a way to create a more efficient process and better position themselves as their clients’ personal CFOs offering a more concierge experience.  Listen in as Matthew shares how he leverages one-to-many recorded videos and online FAQs to increase his communication with existing clients on key issues, what he attributes the 4x growth of his firm to, and why he made the decision to break away from a large insurance company. You will learn why he decided to go the independent RIA route, how he narrowed down the number of clients he had without losing a significant amount of revenue, and how he formulated the client capacity targets for his advisory teams that he set to determine when to hire the next new advisor.   For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/308  

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 is the owner of The Efficient Advisor, a financial advisor coaching and consulting firm based out of Ohio that focuses on helping advisors run their businesses in less time and with less stress. She does this by coaching advisors on the efficiency system that she developed by living through it herself, having grown to a $1 million revenue practice that she was able to support with a lean team and working only 25 hours per week as a busy mom. Listen in as Libby shares how she developed the system that she now coaches other advisors on, as well as how she was able to systematize the client experience. You'll learn why she decided to sell her firm and retire at the age of 37, how she was able to right-size her client load based on how much time and energy she spent with each client, and why it’s important for advisors to find support in like-minded communities and work toward their own personal vision of success. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/302

Ramit Sethi is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, and the owner of the online platform of the same name that offers financial educational content so consumers can get refocused on their personal finances. In this episode, Ramit explains how he encourages people to spend extravagantly on the things they love so that they can enjoy their money throughout their life and not just after retirement. Ramit also shares why he is unapologetic about his brand and how he got comfortable charging thousands of dollars for his financial education programs.  Listen in as he describes how psychology plays a major role in the way people prioritize their finances, why he supports the use of financial advisors (but is critical about the traditional AUM), and what forced him to reevaluate his company’s internal processes. You will learn what inspired Ramit to create a podcast that focused on couples and their money struggles, as well as why he feels it is important for younger advisors to find what makes them unique early on and market that uniqueness as a valuable differentiator when trying to find clients and build a successful practice.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/301  

Joe Duran is a Partner and Head of Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, a national wealth management firm within Goldman Sachs that oversees more than $100 billion in assets under advisement for tens of thousands of client households. In this episode, Joe shares how he witnessed firsthand how the financial services industry is evolving as more banks and brokerage firms are implementing advisory services, how the shift of national firms into the advisory business is leading them to reach the next generation of clients, and why he feels that independent advisors are underestimating the power of a brand.  Listen in as Joe shares why he made the big decision for United Capital to be acquired by Goldman Sachs, as well as why he feels that financial advisors are doing a disservice to themselves if they are not utilizing Fintech to develop more efficient processes. You will learn what he believes is the real threat to advisory firms, the importance of finding a way to differentiate yourself through more specialized service offerings, and why he thinks we do not need to fear robo-advisors.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/300 

Tim Regan is the founder of PrairieView Wealth Partners, a hybrid advisory firm based out of Illinois that oversees $100 million in assets under management for 190 households. Transitioning from an insurance agency model, Tim decided to focus his hybrid firm on faith-based planning—and he offers middle and back-office support to other financial advisory firms through a separate company that he restructured from his own back office. Listen in as Tim shares how he first got comfortable with concentrating on faith-based planning despite today’s often polarized environment, why he made the decision to offer back-office support under his Focus Forward business to other financial advisory firms (but keep his own marketing support in a full-time internal role), and why he decided to incorporate continuity agreements with his advisory firm under the PrairieView umbrella. We also discuss why he chose to join Thrivent Advisor Network after being a captive agent for Thrivent Financial for two decades and why he believes that it’s important to hire the right people early—even if there is a fear of spending money. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/299

Carolyn Armitage is the President of Thrivent Advisor Network, an RIA platform that offers partnership and affiliate models for financial advisors and that oversees $6.5 billion in assets managed by over 20 affiliated independent advisories. She joins the show today to share how her experience developing strategies for broker-dealers to transition to advisory models has given her a unique perspective on the industry’s ongoing evolution from brokerage to RIA platforms. Listen in as Carolyn shares how she rose through the corporate ranks in the financial services industry and made her mark by becoming an established executor for major broker-dealers that wanted to add advisory models. You'll learn how she built a new training and development platform in just three short years, why that platform was eventually disbanded for being too successful, and how Carolyn faced head-on the challenges that arose as she was building new kinds of advisory platforms within firms that were often resistant to change. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/298

Andy Panko is the owner of Tenon Financial, a virtual independent RIA that oversees $70 million in assets under management for 43 retired client households. Andy was able to reach his client capacity goal in only two short years by leveraging a Facebook group that he created to share his expertise directly with the types of clients that he wanted to serve. Listen in as Andy shares how he was able to leverage his Taxes in Retirement Facebook Group to grow his firm, how he inadvertently created a virtual firm through the process, and why he first structured his firm with a flat-fee model to clearly project his revenue potential. We also discuss how he was able to build his initial list of members to his Facebook group, why he created a list of advisors that have similar focuses to refer prospects to, and why he chose not to take on any more clients—even though his Facebook group is still gaining momentum. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/297

Ed Coambs is the founder of Healthy Love & Money, a financial therapy practice based out of North Carolina that helps families uncover and understand the roots of their underlying financial conflicts. Ed himself is a former financial advisor turned financial psychologist, and he utilizes couples therapy techniques to help his clients get to the root of the issues that may be blocking them from achieving their financial goals. Listen in as Ed shares how he connects with clients on a deeper level so they can overcome their stalling points, as well as how he knows when he needs to refer a client out to a mental health professional. We also discuss his career trajectory, from firefighter to financial advisor to financial therapist, and how he overcame the challenges he faced launching his financial therapy business. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/296

Shari Greco Reiches is the Co-Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, an independent RIA based out of Illinois that oversees more than $800 million in assets under management for 350 client households. After experiencing a life-changing incident, Shari created her 5-step framework and “CFO Family Checklist” that she now uses with her clients to help them stay focused on their financial plans and ensure that their plan is consistent with their personal values. Listen in as Shari shares how she developed her “Maximize the Return on Life” framework and how her team built their “CFO Family Checklist” over time to identify planning issues to discuss with clients. You'll learn how they use these tools as a form of living financial plan to help their clients stay focused on their goals and values, how their Diamond Teams approach establishes clear roles for each team member, and how they use a combination of financial planning and a passive investment approach to gain more referrals. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/295

Neel Shah is the Founder of Shah Total Planning, which is a combination of an independent RIA and a law firm based out of New Jersey that oversees $57 million in assets under management for 50 households. Neel himself is an estate planning attorney turned financial advisor who offers a one-stop shop for advice while outsourcing his investments, leveraging his background as an attorney to generate referrals from centers of influence to help scale his growth.  Listen in as Neel shares how he transitioned from attorney to financial advisor, as well as why he went down the path of financial advice to develop deeper relationships with his clients. You'll hear why he views himself not as a career-changer, but as a career-adder, and how he has learned to get comfortable with the realities of building and scaling a business by aiming to make each year better than the last. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/294

Anna N’Jie-Konte is the founder of Dare to Dream Financial Planning, an independent RIA based out of the New York City that has grown to more than $400,000 in annual revenue in only 3 years by having a base of 32 ongoing clients and more than a dozen project-based planning clients who go through her one-day financial planning intensive. Anna has been able to accelerate her firm’s growth by leveraging her reach through appearing on podcasts with sizeable audiences and by developing her own virtual conference that allows her to get in front of the audiences of financial influencers. Listen in as Anna shares how she used a network of 19 financial influencers to get in front of more than 1,000 highly engaged prospects during her free 5-day virtual conference, and how she vets podcasts to appear on and targets those that have not directly featured financial experts previously. We also discuss why she decided to leave her position at a broker-dealer to launch her own firm and find better work/life balance, what she believes the keys are to creating a successful career path as a financial advisor, and why it’s important to know when to ask for help to avoid serious burnout. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/293

Matthew Topley is the Founder and CIO of Lansing Street Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Pennsylvania that oversees $160 million in assets under management for 60 client households. Matthew has been able to differentiate his firm by offering high-net-worth clients the opportunity to diversify their investment portfolio by syndicating private real estate partnerships that directly purchase individual multi-unit rental properties. In this episode, Matthew shares the realization he had that led him to diversify his own investments, as well as how he was introduced to truly passive income. Listen in to learn why he built his firm around financial planning advice (even though his background is in portfolio management), why he outsources much of his back-office services to focus specifically on conversations around financial planning advice and real estate investing opportunities, and how he uses tools and systems to execute on syndication deals on an ongoing basis throughout the year. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/292

Amy Irvine is the owner of Rooted Planning Group, an independent RIA based out of New York that oversees $67 million in assets under management for 175 households. Impressively, Amy has successfully managed the complexities of starting her own RIA focused on Gen X women despite seeing a very rapid expansion from 30 clients to over 100 clients in under 18 months. Listen in as she shares what made her realize that there was an untapped opportunity to provide financial planning services to career-driven Gen X women, as well as how she gained a generous amount of referrals. We also discuss how Amy managed the rapid growth of her firm, including why she chose to stop taking on any new clients for 3 months and instead hired a coach to prioritize the mental health of her staff over the economic growth of her firm. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/291

Andrew Komarow is the Founder of Tenpath Financial Group and Planning Across the Spectrum, a hybrid firm based out of Connecticut that oversees $100-million in assets under management for 100 households. Andrew identifies as a financial advisor with autism and has built a firm with a specialized niche of neurodivergent clients, helping them navigate their unique and sometimes complex financial planning challenges. Listen in as Andrew shares how being diagnosed with autism as an adult gave him the realization that he was uniquely positioned to serve other neurodivergent clients through his firm, why he credits his autism with helping him earn more than 16 financial planning designations despite never graduating high school, and how he created an impact investing index with 79 companies that embrace neurodiversity and inclusion. We also discuss how educational tools on his website and Facebook groups for the special needs community have helped Andrew grow his client base, and why he believes that hiring his first team member before he had the revenue to afford it was the best business decision he ever made. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/290

Kamila Elliott is the CEO and Founder of Collective Wealth Partners, an independent RIA based out of Atlanta that oversees nearly $25-million in assets under management for 175 client households. Kamila and her partners built a firm comprised entirely of Black CFP professionals that are dedicated to supporting the creation of wealth for BIPOC and underserved communities through a model that charges them for advice only, even if they don’t yet have assets. Listen in as Kamila shares why she intentionally shifted her career focus to build an independent practice, how working with ultra-high-net-worth clients in her previous role gave her the skills and insight to help her firm’s clients grow and retain wealth, and how she explains the value of a financial advisor to clients who have never had an advisor before. We also discuss how Collective Wealth Partners is structured, including why they chose to serve clients collectively with a team approach, and why they chose to create a firm with equal partnership in every aspect. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/289

Patrick Kilbane is a Partner and Director of the Divorce Advisory Group for Ullmann Wealth Partners, an independent RIA based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida that oversees $800 million in assets under management for 350 client households. After stepping away from a successful career as a family law attorney, Patrick transitioned into becoming a financial advisor who specializes in divorce with a unique value-add of being able to work collaboratively with his former legal colleagues. In this episode, we talk in-depth about this transition, including how he leverages the professionalism, trust, and connections he built as a lawyer.  Listen in as Patrick shares how he utilizes his knowledge of the law to offer specialized assistance to divorcing clients so they can better prepare for meetings with their lawyers during divorce proceedings. You will learn when he realized his interest in personal finance, the ways passive income can impact one’s life, and more.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/288 

Jennifer Murray is the owner and founder of Stonebridge Financial Advisors, an independent RIA based out of New Jersey that oversees $100 million of assets under management for 50 families. After experiencing the personal tragedy of losing her husband to cancer, Jennifer built a practice that specializes in recent widows, intentionally working with a limited number of clients to provide a more intimate service.  Listen in as she shares how losing her husband prompted her to focus on providing financial advice for newly-single women, as well as how she used referrals, seminars, bereavement groups, and local hospital foundations to gain clients in the early years. You'll learn what gave Jennifer the confidence to launch her own RIA, how she handles prospects that she doesn’t have the capacity to serve, and why she sees fulfillment as a financial advisor as being a combination of serving clients well and being valued by them (and paid accordingly). For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/287

Matt Cosgriff is the Director of Wealth Management for BerganKDV, an independent RIA based out of Minnesota that oversees more than $2 billion in assets for 1,000 households. Matt has a unique career path, having leveraged the launch of a specialized division within BerganKDV and creating a path toward leadership of the entire RIA. Listen in as we talk about how he got the opportunity to operate as an intrapreneur within the firm and developed a separate brand that catered to next-generation clients, as well as how his role as an intrapreneur also led to him having to ‘side hustle’ in a new retirement plan practice to justify his salary. You’ll learn how he shifted from a career focus to a leadership path, the challenges he faced when he became the Director of Wealth Management at the age of 29, and the keys to a successful career in the financial planning industry. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/286

Ryan Townsley is the founder of Town Capital, an independent RIA based in Bel Air, Maryland, that oversees nearly $50 million in AUM for 65 client households. After spending the first 15 years of his career as a nuclear power plant supervisor, Ryan then transitioned to become a financial advisor that quickly grew to nearly $50M of AUM in under 4 years by developing a high-touch service back to those in the nuclear power industry. In this episode, he shares what inspired him to build the only financial planning firm in the country dedicated to nuclear power professionals and how he ultimately grew his client base to the successful size it is now.    Listen in as Ryan explains his tireless work to develop his financial planning process that reflects nuclear power plant procedures and engineering workflows, as well as why he chooses to meet with potential clients over a several-month period before onboarding. You will learn how joining a large financial services firm helped him quickly understand that he enjoyed financial planning more than the sales and investments sides of the industry, why he was surprised at how few referrals he received when first launching his firm, and what motivated him to keep pushing forward until the new client momentum began to build.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/285 

Andy Schwartz is a partner at Bleakley Financial Group, a hybrid advisory firm based out of New Jersey that nearly tripled in size to over $9-billion in assets after breaking away from a major insurance company. Andy and his partners have built their firm into a platform that allows advisors the opportunity to leverage centralized large firm support services while maintaining the freedom and flexibility to run their own investment book of business. Listen in as Andy shares how he and his partners have structured their firm as a cooperative with advisors sharing resources and services, and provide advisors with the space, capacity, and flexibility to grow and scale their own practices. We also discuss why they choose to reinvest money generated by the firm back into the business to provide more services that advisors can then leverage, why Andy walked away from a 30-year career with a large insurance broker dealer and a $3-billion practice to start his own firm, and why he believes that the combination of building credibility and having financial resources are the keys to truly make an impact as a financial advisor. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/284

Seth Streeter is the Founder and CIO of Mission Wealth, an independent RIA based out of Santa Barbara that oversees nearly $5-billion in AUM for over 2,000 client households. Seth has uniquely grown Mission Wealth through mergers and acquisitions, essentially hiring by acquisition as a means of acquiring the talent needed to scale the firm. Listen in as Seth shares how he uses a “Mergers and Integrations” approach to acquire top talent and how he leverages Diamond Teams, dedicated departments, internal succession plans, and partnership equity opportunities to attract entrepreneurial talent into employee roles. We also discuss how the firm uses an 11-dimension happiness framework to guide more holistic wealth discussions with clients, why they segmented their clients into four tiers and vary the services offered to each, and why Seth believes that forming referral partnerships is the key for advisors to scale their firm. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/283

Allison Felix is a managing partner and COO for Cassaday & Company, a hybrid advisory firm based in McLean, Virginia that oversees more than $4 billion in assets for nearly 2,500 client households. Allison has a unique story in that she has made the journey from executive assistant all the way to COO, helping the firm scale to 3X its size over the past decade alone. Today she joins the show to discuss the restructuring of the firm that ultimately pushed Allison to be chosen as the COO and the events leading up to this switch in the firm’s succession plan.    Listen in as Allison shares how Cassaday & Company developed its unique compensation structure, as well as how her firm has propelled its growth with weekly seminars that were honed by hiring coaches to give constructive criticism. You will learn why her firm has been expanding its service offerings, why she believes it’s important for future generations (especially young women) to understand the wealth of opportunities in financial planning, and why she feels that stepping into the role of COO was pivotal to create representation for women at her firm and in the financial industry.   For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/282   

Duncan Kelm is a managing partner for Arrow Point Wealth Management, a hybrid advisory firm based in Santa Rosa, California that oversees $163 million in assets under management for 142 client households. Today Duncan joins the show to discuss how he leverages owning and operating his own tax firm, in addition to his advisory firm, to offer more integrated tax planning and wealth management services to his small business owner clientele.  Listen in as he shares how he leveraged his tax expertise and years as a business consultant to build his own tax firm to offer full suite tax and financial planning to his clients, as well as how he created what he calls “character insurance” with his clients to help them define who they are and document their ethos for future generations. You will learn how Duncan struggled to accept becoming his father's successor, what mental toughness means to him, and why he chooses to no longer be outcome-focused.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/281  

Brian Carney is the co-founder of RiversEdge Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Delaware that oversees over $400 million in assets under management for 300 client households. Brian’s firm doubled in only 18 months, causing burnout, staff turnover, and the need to completely re-build their infrastructure to be able to sustainably scale to the next level, and he joins the podcast today to talk about how he was able to get the firm back on track to success. Listen in as Brian shares how his firm’s massive growth actually turned out to be a nightmare in disguise, as well as how he was able to turn things around. You’ll learn how they have made operations a key focus of the firm and the lessons that Brian learned that will allow him to scale his firm to the next level in a sustainable and healthy way. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/280

Erika Karp is the Chief Impact Officer at Pathstone, an independent RIA based out of New Jersey that oversees $35 billion in assets under management for a few hundred ultra-high-net-worth client households. Erika has uniquely incorporated sustainable investing into her firm by utilizing an internal ESG analysis that aligns her clients’ sizeable capital with their own values. Listen in as she shares what inspired her to start her own firm, as well as how she put up her own capital to launch and reached $25 million in AUM within 90 days to receive SEC approval. You'll learn how she overcame the struggle of wanting to be known as a trusted advisor while also having to get comfortable selling herself and her services, why she believes that it is most important for advisors to focus on work that brings them joy, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/279

Derek Gregoire is a co-owner of SHP Financial, an independent RIA based in Plymouth, Massachusetts that oversees nearly $1.2 billion of total assets for over 1,200 clients. Derek and his firm have centralized the execution of multiple marketing strategies to increase the amount of prospective client leads the firm provides to its advisors, so they in turn can concentrate more on developing client relationships, rather than chasing prospects. Today Derek joins the show to discuss how his firm has built a combination of radio programming, short interview-style television ads, seminars, and digital marketing to bring in prospects.  Listen in as we talk in-depth about the simplified three-meeting sales process his firm developed that aims to avoid overwhelming prospects with choices and how his decision to centralize marketing has ultimately freed up the budget to maintain a larger service staff to ensure a more personal experience for his clients. You will learn the hard lesson Derek and his partners learned after almost reaching burnout and how he got his firm back on track for long-term growth.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/278 

Lauren Oschman is the CEO of Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors, an independent RIA based out of Nashville that oversees $600 million in assets for nearly 500 households. Lauren has epitomized what it means to niche down by not only serving a unique niche of physicians, but also serving niches within their client base and providing hyper-specialized services that allow them to truly differentiate. Listen in as Lauren shares how her firm has developed niches within their client base to better serve them, including advising on salary contract negotiations, mortgages, and disability insurance for variable incomes. You'll learn how the adversity Lauren faced in her career has shaped how she has built her firm to make a bigger impact, as well as why she believes that learning to communicate and cultivate human connections with clients is just as important as learning how to build a financial plan. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/277

John Hagensen is the founder of Keystone Wealth Partners, an independent RIA based out of Arizona and North Dakota that oversees $650 million of assets under management for 1000 households. John is one of the first non-lawyer financial advisors in the nation who built, owns, and operates a law firm which he then leverages with his own tax firm to create an entirely one-stop shop for affluent clients. Listen in as John shares how he grew his firm to nearly 1,000 clients in a decade by leveraging his one-stop shop approach to gain more referrals from his affluent clients, as well as how he uses what some would consider “old school” marketing techniques to grow his reach and authority. We also talk about the mindset shift that happened as John’s firm scaled, why he firmly believes that the key to happiness and success is helping to uplift those around us, and how a trip to Ethiopia changed his perspective on his purpose in life and the impact his money can have. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/276

Michael Chasnoff is the founder and CEO of Truepoint Wealth Counsel, an independent fee-only RIA based out of Cincinnati that oversees $4.5 billion in assets under management for 750 households. Michael has grown his firm completely organically by focusing on working with business owners and executives—and scaling his team by offering a distributed ownership structure with a broad equity participation plan. Listen in as we explore the unique structure that he has built his firm around, becoming a one-stop shop for clients offering both financial planning and in-house tax and estate planning advice. You'll learn how he sells off his own founder shares to select team members to buy into company equity, as well as how he grew his firm entirely organically by focusing on working with business owners and executives with an average of $6 million in AUM, leveraging his expertise, establishing relationships with centers of influence, and becoming an active participant in industry organizations. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/275

Maria King is the President and Co-Founder of Transcend Practice Management, a practice management coaching and consulting firm based in Concord, Massachusetts. Maria helps advisors with hiring and compensation plans for next-generation advisors, and goes one step further by creating legacy plans to outline an arrangement for succession. In this episode, she joins the show to discuss how she helps advisors focus on their firm's values—including business, culture, and client experience—to ensure that they choose a well-aligned successor.   Listen in as we talk in-depth about how Maria utilizes the four pillars of consulting, coaching, human resources, and internal firm growth to create bespoke legacy plans for her clients. You'll learn how she helps advisors understand why it’s important to recognize that their business succession decisions have a ripple effect that impacts family, staff, colleagues, and (of course) clients.  For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/274 

Penny Phillips is the President and Co-Founder of Journey Strategic Wealth, an independent RIA platform for advisors to outsource their back-office compliance and operations management. Through the firms they work with, Journey Strategic Wealth oversees $3 billion in assets and offers their advisors the ability to lean into already-built processes so they can scale their own time and productivity in order to focus on the client work they enjoy. Listen in as Penny shares her journey through the advisor industry, from coaching advisors who were transitioning from insurance to financial advice, to launching her advisor platform in the middle of a pandemic. We also discuss the challenges that firms face building structures and centralizing operations (even with all the technology advancements in the industry), how Journey Strategic Wealth gives advisors the flexibility to choose how much plug-and-play support they need, and why making unpopular decisions often comes with the territory when leading a growing business. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/273

Kate Guillen is the founder of Simplicity Operations Management, a consulting firm based out of San Diego that specializes in helping advisory firms get the most out of their Customer Relationship Management systems and streamline their internal operations. Kate uses the advisors' CRM system as the central hub for the entire business and builds out workflows from the CRM to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Listen in as she explains how realizing that most firms are underutilizing their CRM systems inspired her to launch Simplicity Operations, what it was like launching at the beginning of the pandemic, and how she soon realized that her consulting services were needed now more than ever as firms went remote. Kate also shares why she sees the CRM system as the hub around which advisory firms should be built, the key to building solid workflows from that hub, and how firms can streamline their operations significantly by systematizing key repeatable steps of their business. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/272

Cady North is the founder of North Financial Advisors, a boutique fee-only financial planning firm that focuses on serving female business owners. Based out of San Diego and Washington, North Financial oversees more than $24-million in assets for 30 households, and purposefully maintains a limited number of clients to create high income without the risk of burnout. Listen in as Cady shares why she built a firm around helping a younger clientele of female entrepreneurs, how she helps them balance their money goals and use their capital in the best way possible, and why she intentionally downsized to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to her clients. We also discuss how she has been able to maintain a solo advisor practice by systematizing and automating processes, why she took a 6-month sabbatical to examine what was truly important for her, and why she let go of the to-do lists to focus on feeling fulfilled both mentally and financially. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/271

Kyra Morris is the founder of Morris Financial Concepts, one of the oldest independent fee-only RIAs in the country. Based out of Charleston, South Carolina, Morris Financial oversees $350 million of assets under management for 250 clients—a size that Kyra has taken care to scale to by focusing on finding and retaining top talent, as well as letting go of hires who don’t meet the firm’s high standards. Listen in as Kyra shares how she balances her firm’s growth trajectory carefully by growing fast enough to allow for her team to have new opportunities, but not so quickly that she can’t find and hire the necessary talent. We also discuss how she retains top talent once she finds them, how she manages stress and finds work-life balance as a busy entrepreneur, and why she gives back to her community by creating mixed-use development that enables minority-run local businesses to flourish. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/270

Michael Hartman is the founder of Hyperion Financial, an independent RIA based out of Pennsylvania that oversees nearly $60 million in assets under management for 75 households. What's unique about Michael is the way he fast-tracked his fee-only RIA through the acquisition of a commission-based book of clients that he then converted to fee-only. Listen in as he shares how he got started in the financial planning industry after being in the insurance world, as well as the realization he had that led him to become an independent firm owner to serve clients the way he wanted to and achieve his own personal business aspirations. You'll hear about the challenges Michael went through while transitioning his insurance firm to financial planning, why sometimes you have to take a leap of faith to truly make your business what you know it can be, and more. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/269

Patti Brennan is the CEO of Key Financial, an independent RIA based out of the Greater Philadelphia area that oversees more than $2-billion in assets under management for 800 client households. Patti has managed to scale her firm by centralizing departments into a unique team structure and systematizing processes to create a high-touch experience for clients. Listen in as we dive into how Key Financial uses customizable templates to create individual plans for each client and why Patti created a unique concierge-style client services department to help her clients feel truly valued. Patti also shares why letting go of fear and learning to trust her team was key to being able to scale her business, why she believes it’s important for leaders to be able to show vulnerability, and how she optimizes her team’s individual talents to create a well-oiled organization. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/268

Jared Siegel is a Partner at Delap Wealth Advisory, a fee-only RIA based out of Portland that oversees nearly $260 million of assets under management for over 70 client households. Jared has created a high-quality and high-touch experience for his clients by outsourcing operations, which has also allowed him to focus on the parts of his business that he loves rather than the everyday back-office minutiae. Listen in as we dive into how Jared has re-focused his firm to allow him to do the client-facing work that he really enjoys and the lessons that motivated him to spend more time in his zone of genius. Jared also shares how he develops deeper and more meaningful relationships with clients by focusing on non-financial conversations, as well as how he eventually became comfortable with adversity and can now appreciate how his early life failures have shaped him for the better. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/267

Jim Gold is the CEO and co-founder of Steward Partners Global Advisory, an independent advisory firm with multiple locations across the country that serves nearly 10,000 client households. Managing $16 billion of AUM under 180 financial advisors, the firm is unique in that it is attempting to recreate the wirehouse model of old by merging the “large firm” infrastructure with an employee-owner partnership model. Listen in as we dive into the "why" behind the formation of Steward Partners Global Advisory, including how Jim’s firsthand experience at a wirehouse led him to build his dream business model with all the benefits of a large firm—and none of the corporate scandal or compliance issues that usually follow old-school wirehouses. Jim also shares the details of his firm’s partnership model that allows for advisors to have greater career flexibility while also having a stake in the company, as well as the personal challenges he faced along the path to building the firm he had always dreamt of. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/266

Amy Castoro is the President and CEO of the Williams Group, a coaching and consulting firm based out of California that helps financial advisors engage with more than 800 high-net-worth families to help them develop solid foundations in heir preparedness. Amy’s coaching style is unique in that she approaches families from the perspective of encouraging effective communication as wealth is inherited, rather than focusing on the tax distribution of family assets to preserve wealth. Listen in as Amy shares how she helps ultra-high-net-worth families keep their wealth past the typical three-generation cycle by encouraging communication and trust-building among family members, which is especially important given that 85% of multi-generational wealth loss is due to trust breakdown or lack of preparedness. We also talk about the 10 questions that Amy and her firm use to help not only raise awareness about the strength of a family’s relationships, but also to gauge family readiness for passing on wealth from one generation to the next. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/265

Dan Callahan is the Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Capasso Planning Partners, an independent RIA based out of South Carolina that oversees $250 million of assets under management for 300 households. Dan and his firm began with zero clients but were able to grow substantially in only 3 years through client acquisitions by outsourcing lead generation to online third-party platforms. Listen in as Dan shares how he grew his firm virtually, the challenges and triumphs he experienced starting from zero, and how he has been able to keep pace with larger firms in terms of client outreach efforts. We also dive into how Dan uses third-party platforms to maximize his reach beyond South Carolina and how he justifies the revenue-sharing and substantial marketing costs it takes to buy leads. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/264

Joyce Franklin is the founder of JL Franklin Wealth Planning, an independent RIA based out of San Francisco that oversees $200 million of assets for 40 families. Joyce built a true boutique financial advisory firm by serving as a personal CFO for high-profile tech executives and positioning herself as a steward of their wealth. Listen in as we dive into how Joyce started out preparing tax returns during the tech bubble of the 1990s, as well as how she turned her tax prep side business into a boutique independent advisory firm. Joyce also shares how she has intentionally maintained a smaller client base that averages around 71 hours of work per client every year, how she became the go-to expert for entrepreneurs and executives building wealth in startups, and why she is now turning her sights to building her staff to create a future succession plan. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/263