Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 454th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Dr. Daniel Crosby. Daniel is the Chief Behavioral Officer of Orion, an technology platform serving financial advisors.

What's unique about Daniel, though, is how he has turned abstract behavioral finance concepts into practical tools advisors can use to understand their clients' relationships with money and to help them set better goals.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Daniel helped develop a tool to analyze where individuals fall across five dimensions of one's money personality (spending today versus saving, directness of communication about money, worry about money, an individualistic versus collectivistic approach toward money, and the importance placed on money and wealth), why Daniel finds that there is a tendency for those on one end of the spectrum on a particular dimension to judge those on the other end (for example, a spouse who tends to be a saver might judge a more spendthrift spouse for not saving for the future, while the latter might think the saver's habits are limiting their enjoyment of today), and why Daniel ultimately finds that neither end of each dimension is necessarily superior (and how advisors can help clients identify potential blind spots if they fall at one extreme or the other).

We also talk about how Daniel has helped develop a tool that allows advisors to incorporate positive psychology principles into the planning process to better understand what makes clients flourish, how Daniel has clients rank  the importance of six items related to flourishing (including leisure, work, relationships, meaning, personal growth, and physical health) and then rate themselves on how well they're doing on each item, and how Daniel finds that identifying divergences between these scores (for example, rating relationships as important but giving a low self-rating on it) can help advisors and clients identify potential financial goals that could lead to greater flourishing (for example setting aside money for a major family vacation).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Daniel shares why he thinks one of the best uses of behavioral finance for financial advisors is to take a step back and consider how their own attitudes towards money might influence how they communicate with clients, how Daniel finds that  having an understanding of an advisor's own attitudes towards money can help advisors avoid coming across as judgmental (one of the key hurdles for individuals considering whether to approach an advisor) and ultimately lead to more and stronger client relationships, and why Daniel thinks that (beyond behavioral finance tools) the practice of listening carefully to clients can help advisors uncover the underlying reasons for clients' seemingly sub-optimal financial decisions and allow the advisor and client to move forward from a common understanding of where the client is coming from.

So, whether you're interested in learning about how Daniel turned complex behavioral concepts into usable advisor tools, including a "money personality" framework and a flourishing goals assessment, how identifying gaps between what clients value and how they feel they’re doing in life can spark more relevant financial goals, and why advisors must examine their own money beliefs and blind spots, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Dr. Daniel Crosby.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 453rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Becky Walsh. Becky is the founder of Oak Maple Finance, an RIA based in Burlington, Vermont, that oversees approximately $80 million in assets under management for 75 client households.

What's unique about Becky, though, is how she conducts meetings with new clients as "working sessions" where she gathers and analyzes client data in real-time, reducing the amount of time spent on prep and follow-up work before and after each meeting.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Becky organizes her new client onboarding process into a six-month planning "sprint" that includes six meetings (with the first four meetings being "working sessions" requiring little work outside of the meeting itself), how Becky has been able to shorten the time required for remaining between-meeting tasks by leveraging templates and common CRM workflows, and how charging a flat complexity-based fee for this planning process (and the time saved from conducting much of the data-gathering and planning work during meetings) allows her to serve so-called "EWAN" (Earners Wanting Advice Now) clients (who might not have amassed sufficient assets to pay an asset-based fee).

We also talk about how Becky’s "working sessions" also enable her to gain a better understanding of a client’s financial literacy and organizational skills (allowing her to adjust her expectations and communication accordingly), how Becky uses tools from Money Quotient to more efficiently assess her clients’ qualitative relationship with money (including their goals and level of financial satisfaction), and how Becky uses the Elements software program to get a snapshot of each client’s financial picture (and, for relatively less-complex clients, to deliver financial planning recommendations without necessarily having to also use more comprehensive financial planning software).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Becky shares how she’s created different service tiers for clients after they’ve finished their initial planning "sprint" (which allows her to ensure she can earn sufficient revenue from clients requiring different amounts of ongoing planning support), how Becky likens her planning approach to that of a concierge doctor (who can work with many patients effectively and have a more personal standard of care than a general practitioner with a larger patient load), and how Becky has found significant value from participating in a study group with advisors from outside her firm and across the country who are particularly willing to provide encouragement and candid feedback.

So, whether you’re interested in learning about reducing the time spent on between-meeting tasks by conducting "working sessions" with clients, creating service tiers to serve "EWAN" clients, or using software tools to assess clients’ qualitative relationships with money, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Becky Walsh.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 421st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Daniel Friedman. Daniel is the CEO of WMGNA, a hybrid advisory firm based in Farmington, Connecticut, that oversees approximately $270 million in assets under management for 200 client households.

What's unique about Daniel, though, is how his firm has expanded its tax focus to include "in-house" tax return preparation for its clients as a one-stop shop, but actually outsources the tax preparation work itself to trusted CPAs that he pays out of his own revenue (rather than bringing this service fully in-house) so that he can focus his staff and team time more fully on the tax planning analyses and strategies that make up the core of his firm's value proposition to clients.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about why Daniel decided to outsource tax return preparation (rather than hire someone to do it in-house) to be able to access the expertise of the CPAs his firm uses (particularly for clients with complicated equity compensation plans), how Daniel views these CPA relationships as mutually beneficial from a financial perspective (not for the purposes of generating cross-referrals, but simply because his firm can negotiate bulk discounts on tax return preparation on behalf of his client while the CPA firms get the efficiency of just being able to bill Daniel's firm once directly), and how Daniel positions this Strategic Professional arrangement as a value-add for clients (as they can benefit from independent perspectives on tax planning strategies and the preparation of their tax returns).

We also talk about how Daniel has used a subscription-based model for financial planning fees for 30 years (now setting the monthly subscription fee based on each client's unique needs, including the complexity of their tax situation), why Daniel finds that the vast majority of clients also decide to have his firm manage their assets (paying a separate AUM fee for the service that is priced based on all-in investment costs plus a profit margin for his firm) that has grown to the point that AUM fees far surpass his still-core subscription fees, and how Daniel's firm has successfully implemented a money-back guarantee for its subscription-based planning service to give prospective clients confidence to try out the value his firm offers (with only 2 clients in 30 years having actually ever asked for a refund!).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Daniel shares why his firm uses the term "restylement" rather than "retirement" to reflect that they are helping clients restyle themselves for the next stage of their lives (not the end of their lives), how Daniel has benefited from having a "director of first impressions" on staff whose job is to both make a good first impression on prospective clients who come to the firm and to send cards and gifts to commemorate client milestones, and how Daniel found that while success did not come as quickly as he would have liked in the first several years after starting his firm, his persistence in providing high level of service to his clients has paid off over time in the form of a thriving business today as client relationships compounded over time.

So, whether you're interested in offering in-house tax planning services while outsourcing the actual preparation of tax returns, using a combination of subscription and AUM fees to serve clients, or how to navigate the first difficult years of firm ownership, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Daniel Friedman.

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Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 416th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Fran Toler. Fran is the CEO of Toler Financial Group, a DBA firm under the RIA Rossby Financial, in Silver Spring, Maryland, that oversees nearly $200 million in assets under management for 280 client households.

What's unique about Fran, though, is how she decided to transition from the independent broker-dealer model to a 'supported independence' corporate RIA platform in order to avoid the compliance headaches involved in being a totally independent RIA while reducing the drag of platform fees on her firm's profitability by finding a platform that wouldn't charge her for services that her staff were already performing in-house anyway.

In this episode, we talk in-depth about the moment of realization Fran had when she line-itemed out the annual costs of operating under her previous broker-dealer and discovered that it added up to $500,000 per year (or 25% of her revenue) when accounting for grid payouts, technology fees, and the cost of their trading platform, how Fran's desire to not have to be responsible for her own compliance responsibilities (based on her lack of interest in taking them on and the time involved in doing so) led her to choose to operate under a corporate RIA instead of pursuing independence as her own standalone RIA, and why Fran chose a relatively streamlined supported independence model that provides just the key compliance and software tools she needs rather than alternative offerings that provided more service but were more expensive and redundant to the staffing she already had in place.

We also talk about how Fran's decision to be upfront and public about her progressive social and political stances has allowed her to attract both employees and clients seeking a firm with these values (helping her 10X her AUM in just the past 9 years… after it had taken her 14 years to get her first $20M using the traditional approach), why Fran believes that building a more diverse advisor team will help her firm be better prepared to serve a more diverse range of clientele in the decades to come (as the demographics of those seeking financial advice change over time), and why Fran, instead of taking an 'eat what you kill' approach with new advisor talent, pays her newly hired financial advisors a livable base salary in order to attract potential candidates who might be talented but lack either natural connections to wealthy prospects or simply don't have the financial means needed to get by while they build their client base and revenue to be long-term successful with the firm.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Fran shares how she has laid the groundwork for a succession plan where team members (including both advisors and other key personnel) buy multiple tranches in the firm before she eventually steps aside, how Fran serves both her firm and the community by being willing to meet for an hour with any prospect who reaches out to her (but is very firm about her minimum pricing to work with each client so the business remains profitable and sustainable in the long run), and how Fran's previous work as a midwife has helped her nurture long-term trusted client relationships as she has navigated successfully into the world of financial advice.

So, whether you're interested in learning about transitioning from a broker-dealer to a 'supported independence' model, how to choose among available corporate RIA platforms, or how a firm can generate prospect leads by being vocal about its values, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Fran Toler.

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