Nerd's Eye View

MARCH 3, 2025

This month's edition kicks off with the news that Morningstar Office will be shutting down in early 2026 as a part of Morningstar's ongoing effort to refocus on its core investment data and analytics business – forcing advisors currently using the tool to switch (which might be a net positive for many of those advisors who have long complained (..)

Estate Planning 152

Estate Planning Portfolio Management Communication Portfolio 152

Nerd's Eye View

MARCH 24, 2025

In this article, Senior Financial Planning Nerd Sydney Squires discusses how to construct an associate advisor onboarding plan that guides an associate advisor through their first year, establishes clear checkpoints for progress, yet still allows enough flexibility to grow with the new advisor! building an initial financial plan).

Planning 130

Planning Clients Financial Planning Communication 130

Nerd's Eye View

JANUARY 24, 2023

Jennifer is the CEO and a Senior Advisor for Milestone Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in Bedford, New Hampshire, that oversees $360 million in assets under management for 225 client households.

Management 246

Management Financial Advisor Planning Retirement 246

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 26, 2022

Amy is the owner of Rooted Planning Group, an independent RIA based in Corning, New York that oversees $67 million in assets under management for 175 client households.

Financial Planner 246

Financial Planner Management Planning Financial Advisor 246

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 29, 2024

Most financial advisors strive to provide excellent client care and prioritize a systematic process to maintain regular communication with their clients both on a scheduled (e.g., annual meeting) and an "on demand" basis. Other benefits also manifested from tracking the firm's progress as processes and standards were gradually refined.

Clients 246

Clients Communication Healthcare Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 29, 2025

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. My guest on today's podcast is Gideon Drucker.

Clients 130

Clients Financial Advisor Planning Assets 130

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 26, 2024

Additionally, those promoting change can be very clear about what the process will entail and how it will be implemented (with the caveat that the plan needs to be flexible to allow for change as conditions evolve). In this model, the groundwork for change is first established by assessing the situation (e.g.,

Communication 152

Communication Commission Financial Advice Planning 152

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Eric is the Managing Partner of Prospero Wealth, an RIA based in Seattle, Washington, that oversees $52 million in assets under management for 80 client households. Welcome to the 414th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast ! My guest on today's podcast is Eric Franklin.

Planning 130

Planning Financial Planning Financial Advisor Clients 130

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 22, 2025

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. My guest on today's podcast is Vanessa N.

Clients 130

Clients Planning Estate Planning Communication 130

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 2, 2023

Welcome to the October 2023 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!

Communication 246

Communication Portfolio Management Clients Tax Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

MARCH 19, 2025

Yet, even if one partner isn't actively managing finances, they are still affected by saving and spending decisions. These conversations also offer an opportunity to discuss preferred communication styles about financial matters (especially in response to market performance).

Risk Tolerance 137

Risk Tolerance Clients Communication Management 137

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 6, 2023

But some advisors who choose to take more time off from their schedules might be concerned that prospects and clients will consider them to be less committed to serving their planning needs than other advisors. Notably, the choice of work schedule can affect the type of client with whom an advisor might want to work.

Clients 242

Clients Communication Financial Planning Numbers 242

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

The increasing popularity of financial planning has led to a growing awareness of how important managing finances and planning for the future can be. For most financial advisors today, a website is a critical tool that allows them to market their services and communicate their fees to potential clients.

Financial Planning 243

Financial Planning Planning Financial Planner Financial Advisor 243

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 10, 2023

Financial advisors who have established and successfully built up their advisory firms over several years can often go through many stages of firm development, requiring them to hire staff and additional advisors to manage their growing clientele.

Financial Advisor 238

Financial Advisor Clients Communication Management 238

Nerd's Eye View

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

a client service associate to handle various administrative and client communication tasks, or a paraplanner or associate advisor to work on more planning-centric issues such as building out drafts of financial plans).

Financial Planning 246

Financial Planning Planning Recruitment Clients 246

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Additionally, advisors can spend time in the initial discovery meeting explaining who the firm’s clients generally are when meeting with new prospects, reviewing typical asset management ranges and any particular niches served.

Assets 246

Assets Communication Financial Advisor Financial Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 31, 2024

Which means the firm will need to provide records of holdings and transactions for each of its clients (which may require some training and practice for employees to be able to quickly pull the needed data from the firm's custodian), as well as archived client communications and any advertisements produced by the firm.

Compliance 246

Compliance Ethics Advertising Clients 246

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 27, 2023

While many financial advisory firm owners have long-term goals that involve building a career based in a profitable and sustainable advisory firm, there are some firm owners who develop their firm as a means to explore and pursue other business endeavors.

Clients 245

Clients Communication Management Business Planning 245

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 26, 2023

One of the most intimidating aspects of launching a solo advisory firm is the question of how to manage compliance. Creating a compliance calendar for a solo RIA can help to systematize and manage compliance tasks, requirements and deadlines.

Compliance 246

Compliance Clients Advertising Accounting 246

Nerd's Eye View

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

A recent McKinsey report surveying growth in the wealth management industry predicted that the struggles of small RIA firms would increase as larger firms continue to grow and overshadow the industry. Yet, despite that many smaller firms have enjoyed success, scaling the business remain to be challenging prospects for those aiming to grow.

Clients 246

Clients Wealth Management Communication Financial Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

As while it is easy to get caught up in the (sometimes unfounded) fears that even just one misstep can have catastrophic consequences, keeping a realistic perspective on the impact of failed attempts also becomes more manageable when aiming for smaller subgoals that are part of a larger process.

Strategic Planning 245

Strategic Planning Planning Communication Financial Advisor 245

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

Stacey is the President of Envision Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in Memphis, Tennessee, that oversees nearly $200 million in assets under management for 206 client households. My guest on today's podcast is Stacey Hyde. Read More.

License 244

License Financial Advisor Clients Communication 244

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 30, 2024

Troy is the Founder and CEO of Oak Harvest Financial Group, an RIA based in Houston, Texas, that oversees approximately $750 million in assets under management for about 1,000 client households. My guest on today's podcast is Troy Sharpe. Read More.

Financial Advisor 246

Financial Advisor Clients Retirement Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

DECEMBER 29, 2022

But by deliberately managing a lifestyle that focuses on work, play, and rest, younger professionals can establish a healthy work-life balance that can benefit their well-being throughout their entire lives.

Financial Services 232

Financial Services Communication Financial Advisor Financial Planning 232

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 26, 2023

One of the most intimidating aspects of launching a solo advisory firm is the question of how to manage compliance. Which can be especially helpful for RIA founders who are also their own Chief Compliance Officers, and still have duty to oversee (and document that they are overseeing) themselves.

Compliance 246

Compliance Clients Accounting Advertising 246

Nerd's Eye View

MAY 16, 2023

Jim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dew Wealth Management, an independent RIA based in Scottsdale, AZ, that provides virtual-family-office-style financial planning on a monthly retainer basis for 150 small-business owner entrepreneurs. Welcome back to the 333rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast !

Valuation 246

Valuation Financial Advisor Financial Planning Recruitment 246

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

However, by encouraging clients to shift their focus from managing the status quo to reimagining their goals and pursuing new aspirations, advisors can guide them into the Flourish phase – where they pursue goals and aspirations beyond the basics of simply maintaining stability.

Clients 152

Clients Financial Planning Planning Management 152

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

However, by creating a systematic annual process to monitor and update client plans based on seasons, not only can advisors save time and work more efficiently, but they can also communicate the value of ongoing financial planning services to prospects and clients more effectively.

Financial Planning 244

Financial Planning Planning Estate Planning Clients 244

Nerd's Eye View

OCTOBER 24, 2023

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how, despite some false starts and initially problematic underpricing, Sarah-Catherine intentionally built her financial planning fee to transparently communicate her value and the work she does as a financial advisor while also pricing within a range for her originally accidental (but now fully embraced) niche (..)

Financial Advisor 245

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Planning Clients 245

Nerd's Eye View

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

While there is a plethora of ways that financial advisory firm owners can build and run their practices (from service models to specialties to fee structures and beyond), one of the most complex activities shared by many growing firms are those that involve hiring, training, managing, and retaining employees.

Communication 246

Communication Clients Management Business Planning 246

Nerd's Eye View

APRIL 10, 2023

Hosted by Joel Bruckenstein and his team from T3 Consulting, the conference covered everything from how technology providers are continuing to expand their features and integration capabilities to how advisors can manage their own expanding tech stacks to the ever-present question of how AI tools like ChatGPT will impact the advisory industry.

Financial Advisor 242

Financial Advisor Financial Planning Planning Consulting 242

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 25, 2022

As the financial advisory industry has evolved, though, it has shifted to a business model that focuses more on teaching new advisors how to provide good financial planning services first, and to focus on business development later.

Financial Planning 244

Financial Planning Clients Planning Commission 244

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 25, 2022

As the financial advisory industry has evolved, though, it has shifted to a business model that focuses more on teaching new advisors how to provide good financial planning services first, and to focus on business development later.

Financial Planning 242

Financial Planning Clients Planning Commission 242

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 24, 2022

In his latest article for the Nerd’s Eye View blog, Chris Stanley, investment management attorney and Founding Principal of Beach Street Legal, laid out the statutory requirements for RIA advisory agreements and what to include in the agreement when describing the RIA’s services and fees.

Electronics 241

Electronics Clients Retirement Planning Financial Advice 241

Nerd's Eye View

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

In the early days of financial planning, serving clients often meant developing transactional relationships focused on facilitating trades and selling insurance. Over time, advisors shifted toward more analytical approaches, such as investment management and retirement planning.

Clients 130

Clients Planning Financial Planner Financial Planning 130

Nerd's Eye View

AUGUST 24, 2022

In his latest article for the Nerd’s Eye View blog, Chris Stanley, investment management attorney and Founding Principal of Beach Street Legal, laid out the statutory requirements for RIA advisory agreements and what to include in the agreement when describing the RIA’s services and fees.

Electronics 236

Electronics Clients Retirement Planning Financial Advice 236

Nerd's Eye View

JULY 31, 2024

Which means the firm will need to provide records of holdings and transactions for each of its clients (which may require some training and practice for employees to be able to quickly pull the needed data from the firm's custodian), as well as archived client communications and any advertisements produced by the firm.

Compliance 189

Compliance Ethics Advertising Clients 189