This site uses cookies to improve your experience. To help us insure we adhere to various privacy regulations, please select your country/region of residence. If you do not select a country, we will assume you are from the United States. Select your Cookie Settings or view our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Used for the proper function of the website
Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Cookie Settings
Cookies and similar technologies are used on this website for proper function of the website, for tracking performance analytics and for marketing purposes. We and some of our third-party providers may use cookie data for various purposes. Please review the cookie settings below and choose your preference.
Strictly Necessary: Used for the proper function of the website
Performance/Analytics: Used for monitoring website traffic and interactions
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 444th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Libby Greiwe. Libby is the founder of The Efficient Advisor, a financial advisor coaching and consulting business based in Loveland, Ohio, that's focused on helping advisors create systems and processes for themselves so that they can run their businesses in less time and with less stress.
The first quarter of 2025 brought a significant amount of turmoil for most financial advisory firms, as markets responded with high volatility to newly proposed tariffs – and advisors saw the challenging reality that in volatile markets, revenue dips while service demands from clients rise, as we're called (figuratively or literally) to help clients stay the course through turbulent times.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week’s edition kicks off with the news that a recent study finds that while financial advisory firms on the whole have seen strong AUM growth in recent years, strong market performance might be masking organic growth challenges among many firms (though, notably, RIAs have been growing their advisor headcounts and market share, often at the expense of wirehouses and large broker-dealers during this time).
In recent years, financial advice has expanded beyond spreadsheets and technical strategies to consider the behavioral and emotional factors driving clients’ relationships with money. Advisors today often serve not just as technical experts but also as thinking partners – helping clients process their money stories, explore values, and determine what they want their wealth to accomplish.
Many financial advisory clients might work for 40 years or more, ideally seeing their income – and capacity to save for retirement – increase over time as they advance in their careers. While many retire in their 60s (or even later), others with sufficient savings and/or guaranteed income sources might seek an earlier retirement, perhaps in their 50s.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 443rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Griffin Kirsch. Griffin is the owner of GK Wealth Management, an RIA based in Reno, Nevada, that oversees $200 million in assets under management for 450 client households. What's unique about Griffin, though, is how he has grown his AUM to $200 million in five years (with a 70% margin in terms of earnings before owner compensation) by providing high-touch planning for busines
Advisors have a relatively brief window of time to communicate their value to prospective clients. Many prospects ask friends and professionals for recommendations, browse a few firm websites, and typically interview only one or two advisors before deciding whom to hire. This means advisors must communicate both their services and values within a very limited – and not always synchronous – span of time.
In recent years, financial advisors have increasingly embraced tax planning as a core element of delivering value to clients. This shift reflects the reality that taxes permeate virtually every financial decision clients make – whether related to investing, retirement, business structure, or charitable giving – and often represent one of the largest expenses faced by clients over their lifetime.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 442nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is David Bahnsen. David is the founder of The Bahnsen Group, an RIA based in Newport Beach, California, that oversees approximately $7.5 billion in assets under management for 1,800 client households. What's unique about David, though, is how his firm has been able to attract $100 million in new client assets per month thanks in large part to his content creation and public comme
How advisory firms charge for financial advice has long been a central question in the profession. While many firms have historically relied on commission-based compensation methods – reflecting a sales-driven approach – financial advice has evolved with technological advancements and a greater focus on financial planning, with the Assets Under Management (AUM) fee emerging as the primary compensation model.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey of U.S. investors found that while 96% of respondents said they trust their (human) financial advisor, only 29% said they trust algorithms, suggesting that consumers continue to impose a "trust penalty" on algorithmically generated advice.
Every financial or business decision brings some amount of inherent risk. However, the consequences of those decisions – positive or negative – don't always align with the actual level of risk taken. As a result, when advisors are tasked with (re-)educating clients about the potential consequences of financial decisions, there may be a disconnect between potential risk and what a client actually experiences.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 441st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Leila Shaver. Leila is the founder of My RIA Lawyer, a compliance and legal services firm based in Alpharetta, Georgia, that serves RIAs, broker-dealers, and other financial services companies. What's unique about Leila, though, is how she helps firms navigate the increasing compliance burdens that can arise as they grow in size and complexity to ensure they remain in line wit
2025 has had a tumultuous start for most advisory firms, as tariffs-driven market volatility has increased client anxiety and the amount of required hand-holding, forcing advisory firms to manage their own expenses a bit more closely in the face of greater revenue uncertainty. In the meantime, the buzz around AI continues to increase as well, less now about whether the tools will replace financial advisors (they don't), and more about how advisory firms can better leverage the technology to be m
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent report finds that the number of SEC-registered RIAs, the assets that they manage, and the number of clients they serve all increased between 2023 and 2024 and suggests the industry is robust across the size spectrum, with both smaller and mid-sized firms seeing growth (often pushing them into higher size brackets and/or from state to SEC registration) and re
When a financial advisor transitions from one firm to another, they're often offered incentives by the new firm based on how much client revenue they bring with them. The challenge, however, is that advisors generally don't have the legal authority to simply transfer clients to a new firm. Because client relationships are technically "owned" by the firm – not the individual advisor – any transition requires clients to take action to shift from one firm to the other.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 440th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Nina Hajjar. Nina is a partner of Stratos CA, a hybrid advisory firm affiliated with Stratos Wealth Partners and based in Los Angeles, California, that oversees approximately $500 million in assets under management for 300 client households.
Welcome to the June 2025 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors! This month's edition kicks off with the news that FinmateAI has announced a new integration with PreciseFP, which will allow financial planning data that's collected in advisory meetings (like balance sheet, cash flow, and savings information) to be pu
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey of financial advisory firm employees found that about half of respondents are currently working in the office five days a week, with the remainder divided among hybrid formats or full-time work from home.
Financial planning is inherently complex, especially when it comes to data gathering, analysis, and crafting well-reasoned recommendations. But delivering those recommendations in a way that clients can understand and act on is a separate skill. Advisors not only need to do the deep technical work, they also need to translate that complexity into clarity – a step that can be surprisingly time-consuming and cognitively demanding.
Retirement has long been associated with leisure, relaxation, and winding down from a long career. But as more individuals confront the emotional realities of this life transition, many find that the absence of structure, socialization, and identity once provided by work can create a gap that traditional retirement planning doesn't fully address. In this guest post, Kathleen Rehl, a "ReFired" financial advisor and educator in legacy planning, shares a framework to help advisors guide clients thr
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 439th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Alvin Carlos. Alvin is the CEO of District Capital Management, an RIA based in Washington, D.C., that generates $850,000 of annual, primarily retainer-based, revenue serving 155 client households. What's unique about Alvin, though, is how he has grown his firm by using project management software Monday.com as a central hub for financial plan presentations and efficient client
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 438th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Nikki Savage. Nikki is a senior director in the Tampa, Florida, office of the RIA Sequoia Financial Group, where she manages approximately $150 million in assets under management for 100 client households. What's unique about Nikki, though, is how she has been able to boost client retention and satisfaction by asking key questions that help her reach a deeper level of understa
Training programs for new financial advisors have traditionally followed a sales-focused, sink-or-swim approach that primarily paid on commission for product sales. While some of these programs still exist, the role of an associate advisor has evolved alongside the broader financial planning profession. In many advisory firms today, associate advisors don't begin with prospecting or running client meetings; instead, they start with back-end technical work, such as financial plan preparation, bef
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that Republicans in the House of Representatives this week released their long-awaited tax plan to address the impending sunset of many measures in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The proposed legislation makes several aspects of TCJA 'permanent', including maintaining TCJA's tax brackets and the elevated estate tax exemption, while also introducing new potential tax-savings op
Young advisors may feel – and face – an extra burden to prove their expertise to clients. After all, it can feel odd to create an estate plan that will impact a client’s grandchildren… when those grandchildren may be older than the advisor themselves! And while any advisor needs to determine how much detail to share when explaining strategic decisions, younger advisors may feel added pressure to prove their credibility.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 437th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Ed Slott. Ed is the president of Ed Slott And Company, a financial education company based in Rockville Centre, New York that offers seminars and newsletters for financial advisors and consumers focused primarily on IRAs. What's unique about Ed, though, is how he has been able to charge premium fees for his accounting and education services over time by becoming a nationally r
A common structure at many advisory firms is for the owner to handle most of the sales and prospecting, while employee advisors focus on delivering planning and analysis for existing clients. While this model can work well in the early stages of a firm, it often becomes a bottleneck over time, limiting growth to the firm owner's marketing capacity and leaving employee advisors underprepared for more senior roles that require business development skills.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" - this week's edition kicks off with the news that a recent survey found that long-feared fee compression in the financial advice industry has yet to come to pass, though some advisors continue to see potential for small reductions in asset-based fees in the future. These results largely match results from the recent Kitces Research Study on Advisor Productivity, which found that the typical fee schedule for firms charging
For many financial advisors, an early planning conversation often includes asking clients to identify financial goals. But when clients are still emotionally weighed down by an immediate pain point – the source of their stress or uncertainty that led them to seek out their advisor in the first place – their ability to articulate meaningful long-term goals may be limited.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 436th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Nicole Gopoian Wirick. Nicole is the president of Prosperity Wealth Strategies, an RIA based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that oversees $70 million in assets under management for 40 client households. What's unique about Nicole, though, is how she hired a branding consultant soon after going out on her own as an independent advisory firm to help her create a unique brand ide
Welcome to the May 2025 issue of the Latest News in Financial #AdvisorTech – where we look at the big news, announcements, and underlying trends and developments that are emerging in the world of technology solutions for financial advisors! This month's edition kicks off with the news that Altruist has announced a $152 million fundraising round, the latest in a steadily increasing series of capital raises as it has built out new technology features to compete with the "Big Two" custodians
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that CFP Board announced this week that it will raise its annual fee for new and renewing certificants by $120 to $575 in order to help fund its public awareness campaign to promote the CFP brand with the public and encourage consumers to seek out CFP professionals when looking for a financial advisor.
Advisors spend a lot of time crafting their financial advice recommendations – and how they deliver those recommendations – for their clients. These ultra-personalized suggestions are central to what makes financial advice valuable and can have a significant impact on a client's life. So, what happens when a client doesn't act on that advice – especially when their inaction can compromise their financial and holistic wellbeing?
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 435th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Gideon Drucker. Gideon is the CEO of Drucker Wealth, a hybrid advisory firm based in New York City, that oversees approximately $1 billion in assets under management for 800 client households. What's unique about Gideon, though, is how he initiated a "Wealth Builder" offering serving high-income next-generation clients (within a firm that historically had worked primarily with
An advisory firm's website often serves as the hub for attracting new clients, with various forms of content acting as 'spokes' that attract prospective clients to the firm. But for many advisors, the hardest part of creating a content marketing strategy is knowing where to start. Without a structured approach, content creation can cost the advisor valuable time without leading to meaningful leads.
During periods of market volatility, it's common for financial advisors to receive calls from clients who are nervous about what a steep market decline might mean for their portfolio and long-term financial goals. In these moments, an advisor's first instinct might be to take a logic-based approach – citing long-term market trends and encouraging the client to stay invested.
During periods of market volatility, it's common for financial advisors to receive calls from clients who are nervous about what a steep market decline might mean for their portfolio and long-term financial goals. In these moments, an advisor's first instinct might be to take a logic-based approach – citing long-term market trends and encouraging the client to stay invested.
Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 434th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Vanessa N. Martinez. Vanessa is the CEO of Expressive Wealth, an RIA based in Chicago, Illinois, that oversees $135 million in assets under management for approximately 70 client households, including 10 ‘core' ultra-high-net-worth families.
When onboarding new clients, financial advisors often use a three-meeting cadence: a Discovery Meeting to gather information, a Presentation Meeting to discuss the plan, and an Implementation Meeting to finalize it. While this approach works for many clients, individuals who are 12 months away from retirement face a range of complex financial and emotional considerations.
When onboarding new clients, financial advisors often use a three-meeting cadence: a Discovery Meeting to gather information, a Presentation Meeting to discuss the plan, and an Implementation Meeting to finalize it. While this approach works for many clients, individuals who are 12 months away from retirement face a range of complex financial and emotional considerations.
Enjoy the current installment of "Weekend Reading For Financial Planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that as total household financial wealth grew to a record high of $90 trillion at the end of 2024, so too did the number of households advancing up the wealth ladder, with the High-Net-Worth (HNW) category of households with at least $5 million seeing a significant gain.
Hiring a contractor is an exciting step for many advisory firms. It represents a chance to delegate tasks, step away from day-to-day operations with more peace of mind, and pass a key milestone of (traditional) firm growth. However, hiring contractors isn’t without its complications. Even outsourced support requires some oversight, and delegation doesn’t always go as far as some might hope.
The White House's tariff policies have dominated headlines in recent weeks, raising concerns among investors, consumers, and businesses. A rapid sequence of policy announcements and reversals has created volatility across nearly every asset class, with the S&P 500 falling to near-bear-market levels before rebounding sharply. In these moments, the conversations that advisors have with their clients play a crucial role in helping clients maintain perspective, avoid emotional decisions, and sta
We organize all of the trending information in your field so you don't have to. Join 36,000+ users and stay up to date on the latest articles your peers are reading.
You know about us, now we want to get to know you!
Let's personalize your content
Let's get even more personalized
We recognize your account from another site in our network, please click 'Send Email' below to continue with verifying your account and setting a password.
Let's personalize your content