Financial Advisor Success – Details, episodes & analysis

Mark Tibergien is the former CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions, a former Principal with Moss Adams Consulting, and a longtime practice management consultant and thought leader in the financial advisory industry. Over his 50-year career in financial services, Mark has witnessed the evolution of the financial advice industry and has actively defined best practices for advisory firms aiming to scale up and build enduring businesses. His extensive experience has enabled him to measure and track the key strategies that help firms not just grow in size, but also enhance their scalability and operational efficiency.

In this episode, Mark shares his insights on the crucial distinction between growing in size and truly scaling an advisory firm, emphasizing that genuine scale is achieved when revenue increases outpace expenses. He also discusses the ongoing industry consolidation and outlines the different types of firms looking to acquire RIAs—financial, tactical, and strategic buyers—highlighting how smaller firms can still thrive by focusing on local excellence or specific client demographics. Listen in to learn about the importance of proactive succession planning and defining personal measures of success, which influence both strategic decisions and the broader impact of the advisory business on the community and the industry.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/400

Kelli Kiemle is the Managing Director of Growth and Client Experience of Halbert Hargrove, an RIA based out of California that oversees $3.1 billion in assets under management for 75 households. Kelli uniquely spearheads initiatives at Halbert Hargrove to uphold the firm’s four core values and foster a strong corporate culture, a critical task as the company expands to 50 employees across 10 offices in the western United States. This growth makes even their in-person offices effectively 'remote' and 'virtual' relative to the leadership at the firm's main headquarters.

Listen in as Kelli shares how she has implemented effective communication and relationship-building programs at Halbert Hargrove, including biannual in-person meetings and weekly all-hands sessions to enhance accountability and integrate new hires through a formal two-year mentorship program. She discusses initiatives that reinforce the firm’s core values—like sharing 'Gladiator Stories' and 'Goofs That Give Us Guidance'—and aligns employee benefits with these values by supporting education, charitable contributions, and family care, while also managing a unique vacation policy to prevent burnout. Additionally, Kelli explains her strategic role in growing the firm’s AUM past $3 billion, utilizing external PR and SEO, and integrating sales coaching to enhance client acquisition efforts without compromising the firm’s fiduciary commitments.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/399

Brent Carnduff is the Founder of Advisor Rankings, a marketing firm based out of Idaho that specializes in search engine optimization for financial advisors. Brent's firm uniquely assists advisors by enhancing their organic SEO through targeted content creation, designed to attract prospects with specific planning needs, and also boosts advisors' local SEO, ensuring top placement in Google rankings when consumers search for nearby financial advisors.

Listen in as Brent shares how he guides advisors to enhance their local SEO by starting with a fully optimized Google Business Profile and encouraging systematic client reviews to improve search rankings and increase website traffic. We also discuss strategies for boosting organic SEO, the importance of serving a specific niche for better Google rankings, the different timelines for seeing results with local versus organic SEO, and how hiring a coach has transformed Brent's business practices, enabling him to focus on delivering top-tier SEO advice.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/390

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