Tag: Podcast

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10. Rick Ferri on His Career, Mistakes He Has Made and Why He Thinks Most Advisors are Overcompensated.

10. Rick Ferri on His Career, Mistakes He Has Made and Why He Thinks Most Advisors are Overcompensated.

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Rick Ferri has been an outspoken critic of many standard practices in the investment advisory industry. He was an early advocate of John Bogle and index-based investing, claiming most clients were better off with passive investment portfolios over using active, and more expensive, investment managers. More recently, he’s argued that advisors who give investment advice and still charge fees based on a percentage of the assets managed are in the wrong—fees for advice should be divorced from fees for portfolio management—and why many advisors are paid too much for the work they do.

In this episode, David Armstrong speaks with Ferri about how he got his start in the industry, how his thinking has evolved around Wall Street, and whether or not a fee structure that charges clients for investment advice based on assets under management can really exist in a fiduciary framework.  

Rick discusses:

  • His background in the financial industry, including his transition from Wall Street to investment advisory services.
  • Why Rick decided to sell his first $1.5 billion company—and the lessons he learned about what can go wrong.
  • The need to charge separate fees for asset management and financial advice, and why many advisors are charging too much for what they do.
  • How he decided on his hourly rate for advice.
  • The possibility of a AUM based fee existing inside a fiduciary framework
  • Whether ESG investing for most clients is a real trend, or just another way for asset managers to charge more.  

Resources:

Bogle’s Mutual Funds Perspectives Intelligent by John Bogle 

Connect With Rick Ferri:

Connect With David Armstrong:

About Our Guest:

Rick Ferri, CFA, is an hourly-fee adviser for cost-conscious do-it-yourself investors. Visit RickFerri.com for details. Rick has over 30 years experience in the investment industry including ten years as a financial consultant at two major Wall Street firms and the founder and former owner of a large portfolio management firm. Rick is a financial analyst, author, mentor for young advisers. Rick graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. degree in business and an M.S. in Financial degree from Walsh College in Michigan. Rick has published extensively including several books on index funds, ETFs and asset allocation. Major Ferri is also a retired Marine Corps veteran and flew fighter aircraft.

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9. Greg Friedman and Cynthia Greenfield on Why Culture Matters in RIA Mergers or Acquisitions

9. Greg Friedman and Cynthia Greenfield on Why Culture Matters in RIA Mergers or Acquisitions

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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.

Resources:

Integrating Culture in Successful RIA Mergers and Acquisitions by Greg Friedman and Cynthia Greenfield

Connect With Greg and Cynthia:

Connect With Adam Holt:

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.

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8. Matthew Enyedi on Business Solutions for the Modern Advisor

8. Matthew Enyedi on Business Solutions for the Modern Advisor

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The modern advisor is not just a financial advisor to their clients, they are also business owners.  LPL, with their Business Solutions Suite, helps advisors with everything from office administration to real estate needs. 

How comfortable are you with hiring new staff or handling all the office administration within your practice? 

In this episode, David Armstrong speaks with Matthew Enyedi, managing director at LPL Financial, about the many ways in which LPL assists their advisors to run their businesses more efficiently.

David and Matt discusses:

  • A deep dive into LPL’s business support services for advisors
  • How hundreds of LPL advisors are using LPL employees as administrative assistants.
  • The assistance LPL gives advisors when it comes to mergers and acquisitions
  • An explanation of the business service support subscription fees
  • How LPL’s support for advisors will evolve in the future

Connect With Matthew Enyedi:

Connect With David Armstrong:

About Our Guest:

Matthew Enyedi has served as managing director, business solutions of LPL Financial since November 2020. He is responsible for developing and deploying a suite of automated professional services to LPL advisors, and aligning them with the firm’s other programs that support advisors as business owners.  Prior to his promotion to managing director, Matt served as executive vice president, national sales from March 2015 to January 2020. In that role, he led the firm’s data analytics and business intelligence efforts, and oversaw a team focused on providing front‐ and middle‐office capabilities to help advisors grow their businesses and reach new segments of clients.

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7. Gavin Spitzner on What Advisors Get Wrong Around Technology

7. Gavin Spitzner on What Advisors Get Wrong Around Technology

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Clients aren’t leaving their financial advisors because of performance issues.  They’re leaving because of communication and service issues with their current advisors. 

What are you doing to prevent your clients from switching advisors? 

In this episode, David Armstrong talks with Gavin Spitzner, president of Wealth Consulting Partners, about the many ways in which financial technology is growing and changing the financial world. They also discuss what you can do to ensure you aren’t underutilizing what strategies and technology is available to you as an advisor. 

David and Gavin discusses:

  • How most advisors are underutilizing the technology they have.
  • How the long-term bull market in equities has made many advisors complacent and masks problems around organic growth and client expectations.
  • Why advisors should expect companies like Amazon or Apple to enter the wealth management industry, and how to prepare..
  • When every aspect of wealth planning is built around algorithms, what’s left for the human advisor?

Connect With Gavin Spitzner:

Connect With David Armstrong:

About Our Guest:

Gavin Spitzner founded his company Wealth Consulting Partners six years ago. They help wealth managers (banks, RIAs, broker dealers) design and execute profitable revenue growth strategies based on enhancing client and internal associate experiences and leveraging modern, integrated technology, professional development and process re-engineering. Some areas of focus include digital advice, portfolio management, reporting and CRM systems, client portals, data aggregation tools and other systems of engagement capabilities as well as emerging AI/machine learning capabilities. 

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6. Marketing Strategies With Sarah LeBlanc

6. Marketing Strategies With Sarah LeBlanc

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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.

Resources:

Connect With Sarah LeBlanc:

Connect With David Armstrong:

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.

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5. The New Business World of ESG with Jeffery Gitterman

5. The New Business World of ESG with Jeffery Gitterman

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As the world changes, and we realize we can’t keep up the same unsustainable practices as we have in the past, ESG strategies have come to the forefront for many companies around the world. But do you know what that means for you, and your company in the future? 

In this episode, David Armstrong talks with Jeffery Gitterman, co-founder of Gitterman Wealth Management about everything you need to know about being a part of an ESG-centered and sustainably focused business.

Jeffery and David discuss:

  • ESG focused investment strategies that are proven to work 
  • What risks your company might be exposed to and why making a proper ESG plan can save your company thousands of dollars
  • The conversations you should be having with your clients today about ESG and sustainability within your company
  • How the ESG trend has been changing over the last few years, and where it might continue to go in the future

Resources:

Connect With Jeffery Gitterman:

Connect With David Armstrong:

About Our Guest:

Jeff Gitterman is a co-founding partner of Gitterman Wealth Management, LLC, and a thought leader in the field of Sustainable, Impact, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Investing. He is the creator of his firm’s SMART (Sustainability Metrics Applied to Risk Tolerance)® Investing Services, which offer investment opportunities for individual clients, as well as research and investing services for other financial professionals in the Sustainable, ESG, and Impact arenas.

Jeff deeply believes that the migration of investor capital towards more Sustainable, Impact, and ESG investments is one of, if not the most effective way to help realize the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and he is committed to helping both investors and other financial professionals navigate the rapidly growing Sustainable, Impact, and ESG Investing landscape.

Jeff is also the author of Beyond Success: Redefining the Meaning of Prosperity, and an Associate Producer of the feature documentary film, Planetary. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Child Health Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical and dedicates much of his free time to raising funds and awareness for the autism community.

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