By November 2022, all advisors will have to be in compliance with the new rules for marketing and advertising their firms, including the use of client and third-party testimonials. Understanding what these new rules are and how they will impact an advisors’ ability to market their services is crucial.
In this episode, David Armstrong is joined by Max Schatzow, founder of RIA Lawyers, to dissect the new rules and compliance regulations surrounding marketing for advisors. Max shares some of the old prohibitions that carry over with the new rules and the importance of coming into compliance with the new rules before the end of November 2022.
Max discusses:
The biggest changes in marketing rules coming in 2022
What the opportunities, and risks, are under the new regulations
What the new rules say about touting a portfolio’s financial returns and financial performance
What we still don’t know, and what the SEC has yet to issue guidance on, regarding how the rules will be enforced..
Max advises investment advisors and broker-dealers on a range of financial regulatory matters. Max advises private investment vehicles, financial institutions, and other market participants on structure and operations, regulatory guidance and interpretation, investment adviser compliance and controls, and internal and regulatory investigations. He also advises these same entities through examinations, administrative proceedings, and enforcement actions.
Mergers and acquisitions can be a rewarding path to growth for an RIA firm, but also complicated for the companies involved. Often, the most overlooked, but most important, component to making the transaction a success is the firms’ “culture.” But what is culture, how is it formed and reinforced throughout an organization, and how can culture be maintained through a merger?
In this episode, David Armstrong sits down with Greg Friedman, chief executive officer & founder of Private Ocean Wealth Management and Cynthia Greenfield, chief experience officer at Private Ocean Wealth Management to talk about their most recent book, Integrating Culture in Successful RIA Mergers and Acquisitions, and their own experiences—both good and bad—maintaining their company’s culture during a merger or acquisition.
This podcast is an opportunity to hear Greg and Cynthia’s expert advice, and some tips and tricks to make the transition easier for everyone involved, as well as increase your chances of a successful merger.
Greg and Cynthia discuss:
What “culture” in the RIA industry means to them
Greg and Cynthia’s own personal experience with mergers and acquisitions
A view into why most RIA firms get culture wrong when they are approaching M&A
How to read unspoken signals coming from potential partners
Where the most common conflicts happen during a merger or acquisition and what firm leaders can to do to mitigate them
How the size of the acquiring firm may change the culture equation
Maintaining the culture in the pandemic, and what they see happening in a post-pandemic world.
About Greg Friedman: Greg Friedman is the CEO of Private Ocean, an innovative West Coast wealth management firm, and the founder of Junxure, a CRM platform that defined technology for financial advisors. In 2007, Charles Schwab honored him with its prestigious IMPACT Award® for “Best in Tech.” In 2008, Financial Planning Magazine included Greg in its elite list of financial “Movers and Shakers”. Greg was also recognized in InvestmentNews’ 2017 Class of Icons and Innovators for his contribution to the advancement of the financial advice profession and for conceiving new ideas and tools that have propelled the industry forward. In 2018, Greg was named CEO of the Year at the WealthManagement.com Industry Awards.
About Cynthia Greenfield: Chief Experience Officer, Leadership Coach and Author. Cynthia develops strategies that deliver on a company’s mission and enhances the employee and client experience through organization, communication and engagement. She combines over a decade of experience in the financial services and technology industries with life coaching techniques to help build people stronger relationships that lead to successful partnerships. She is a community liaison who strives to partner firms with non-profit organizations and external vendors and she spearheads the event strategy for a $2B+ RIA firm. An advocate of healthy company culture, she helps drive cultural integration efforts during times of growth and transition and is responsible for developing and training staff on how to deliver a consistent client experience. In 2021, Cynthia co-authored the book, Integrating Culture in Successful RIA Mergers and Acquisitions, aimed toward business leaders within the financial services industry.
For many advisors, marketing can be a very scary and daunting task. Advisors don’t want to come off as derivative or phony. And there are many different marketing channels an advisor could use—whether that’s social media, video, blogs, events, email, etc. How should advisors best approach a marketing strategy so that it’s efficient and authentic?
In this episode, David Armstrong is joined by Sarah LeBlanc, vice president of marketing at LPL Financial, who speaks about the most effective advisor marketing strategies and ways you can increase your growth while still reaching the most influential people.
Sarah and David discuss:
Some of the biggest mistakes advisors make when it comes to marketing;
What encompasses an advisor’s “digital presence;”
Advice for those who are tripping up when producing digital content;
How to create the most effective videos to draw in new clients;
How advisors should think about reach vs. quality in terms of social media followers;
Incorporating both in-person and digital events for clients and prospects;
How advisors are expanding their geographic reach; and
How to measure the success of marketing strategies.
About Our Guest: Sarah provides custom marketing and social media consultations for LPL Financial advisors and investment programs. In this role, she consults with and supports clients in effectively marketing their businesses in today’s increasingly competitive environment.
Prior to LPL Financial, Sarah was at the San Diego Union-Tribune where she drove consumer marketing strategy, analytics and advertising agency management for the newspaper’s website, and at Capital One Financial Corporation where she launched vertically integrated marketing programs.
Sarah holds a B.A. degree from James Madison University with a major in Media Arts and Design and a minor in Advertising.
