Financial Advisor Success

As advisors, many of us have been taught that it's a bad idea to discuss religion or politics with clients, but my guest today disagrees with this conventional wisdom. In fact, he has found that focusing on religion has actually been good for business. Rob West is the president of Kingdom Advisors, a membership organization that supports financial advisors who want to serve Christians as their niche market segment and boasts 70% growth over the last five years.

In this episode, Rob shares how he has successfully integrated faith and finance into his business, from incorporating nearly 23,000 passages from the Bible about money and possessions into financial planning conversations with clients to developing a training program and supporting Certified Kingdom Advisor® designation to be "the gold standard for delivering biblically wise financial advice." Listen in to hear how he has formed a niche in an underserved majority, and why combining your values with your work is important not only for differentiation, but also for finding purpose and significance in what you do.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/99

My guest today has not only gone against the conventional wisdom of never talking politics with clients, but he's based his entire business on that very subject. Zach Teutsch is the founder of Values Added Financial, an independent RIA that focuses on working with progressive Democrats. And while this undoubtedly drives some prospects away, it has also quickly accelerated the growth of his firm, which has reached more than $300,000 in recurring retainer fees in less than 18 months.

In this episode, Zach shares how picking a niche—even one based on politics—can actually be quite effective, as well as what he's done to leverage this fact. Listen in to hear what kinds of clients he has been able to attract with his targeted messaging, how he's created a pricing model specifically to fit his clientele, and how the way he's structured his firm has gotten him to the point where he no longer has to choose between work that feels good and being financially successful.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/98

My guest today brings a very different perspective to the show, not just because of the clients she works with and how she runs her practice, but also because of her unusual path into the industry. After transitioning from working as a math teacher to offering financial coaching and counseling to doing financial planning work, Phuong Luong founded Just Wealth, a virtual, fee-only, hourly financial planning practice focused on working with younger clients who are still in the wealth-building phase of their careers. Having worked extensively with low-income individuals and people of color, Phuong has seen firsthand the racial and socioeconomic challenges that impact their ability to build wealth.

In this episode, she shares how stereotypes about race and low-income individuals can become blocking points when it comes to giving them effective advice and helping them to reach their financial goals. Listen in to learn how many of the financial challenges people of color face can be traced back to past institutional and government policies, how this may be limiting the reach of financial planning to minority communities, and what we can do to help.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/97

Stephanie Bogan is a successful practice management consultant who teaches advisors how to run an advisory business as a business. After building and selling her first consulting firm, Stephanie has gone on to found a new one called the Limitless Adviser Coaching Program, not because she needed to do so, but as a way to have a greater positive impact on the advisor community.

In this episode, Stephanie shares what she calls the seven pillars of building and running a successful advisory firm, as well as the important mindset shift that really creates business breakthroughs. Listen in to learn the common mental constructs that hold too many advisors back, the key to success and satisfaction with your advisory business, and how to execute your vision to turn it into reality.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/96

My guest today has seen what it's like to build an advisory business and what it's like to build a business for advisors. Previously a co-founder of IPS Advisor Pro—the first software for doing investment policy statements in a standardized way—Linda Lubitz Boone is now the founder of The Lubitz Financial Group, an independent RIA in that oversees nearly $250 million of AUM for 125 affluent clients. Yet, despite having reached a phenomenal level of success, Linda continues to proactively make changes to improve her advisory firm.

In this episode, she shares how she continues to evolve her business, from the service providers she uses to support the business to the very business model itself. Listen in to learn why she decided to outsource her back office investment operations, how she is shifting her own role within the business, and what she's doing to build trust with her clients.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/95

Today's guest has built a high-margin solo practice with quite an unusual structure. The founder of Bason Asset Management, James Osborne grew his advisory firm to over $225 million of AUM and nearly $400,000 of revenue by charging his clients a simple flat fee of $4,800—regardless of their assets. And he managed to do so by the age of thirty-five.

In this episode, James shares why he decided not to follow the traditional AUM model, as well as the benefits of his flat-fee approach. Listen in to learn why he chose to build a business model that fits his personal lifestyle and family goals, why he isn't working to gain more clients and hire staff, and what he plans to do in order to maintain his high-income lifestyle practice once he reaches his personal capacity.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/94

My guest today has one of the most fascinating practices and niches in the advisor space. Sunit Bhalla is the founder of Oak Tree Financial Planning, a solo advisory firm that oversees more than $40 million in assets under management in a hyper-targeted niche of engineers. A former engineer himself, Sunit has been able to build nearly $300,000 in revenue—with an 85% profit margin—by working with just 17 affluent clients.

In this episode, he shares how he built his highly efficient solo practice with a relentless focus on staying focused. Listen in to hear about his unique financial planning process, why he offers all his prospective clients just one comprehensive financial planning and investment management service, and what he says all advisors should focus on in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/93

Today's guest is an expert at operations and systems. Jennifer Goldman is the founder of an eponymous practice management consulting firm that works intimately with advisory firms on their operations, technology, workflows, and processes. After starting her career as a financial advisor and transitioning to operations leadership roles at two more advisory firms, Jennifer ultimately decided to go out on her own as a consultant.

In this episode, Jennifer shares her personal journey to building her own consulting practice, as well as the important lessons she learned while scaling her business. Listen in to hear the key mentality shift she had to make in order to transform from an advisor to a business owner, what it really means to adopt and implement workflows and processes into an advisory firm, and why it's so important for business owners to do just that in order to grow and scale their firms without losing themselves in the process.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/92

My guest today trains and coaches financial advisors on how to ask the right questions in order to have better conversations with clients. Mitch Anthony is the co-founder of ROLAdvisor, a coaching community that helps practices transform into Life-Centered Planning firms. With his truly unique gift for finding the right words for effective client conversations, Mitch describes the value of financial planning itself based on six principles that all advisors should take into account.

In this episode, we talk about the real value that financial advisors provide, as well as the best way to communicate this to clients and prospects. Listen in to hear Mitch's advice for effective client conversations, the problem with the traditional focus of benchmarking an advisor's return on investments, and why he is more focused on providing what he calls a "return on life."

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/91

My guest today has not only had a unique journey into the financial planning world, but she also brings a very different approach and perspective to the field. Julie Murphy is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of JMC Wealth Management, a dual-registered advisory firm that serves more than 200 clients with $200 million of AUM—on top of generating nearly $300,000 a year in recurring planning fees. With financial conversations that are heavily focused around the intersections of money, our emotions, and our energy flow, Julie's firm offers a distinctive focus on financial healing.

In this episode, Julie shares how was able to accelerate her success and growth by doing what she calls "letting her freak flag fly" and simply being her authentic self. Listen in to hear how she's allowing clients who are interested in what she has to offer to be drawn to her (rather than trying to advertise out to them), how she transitioned into doing only the things that make her happy in her business, and what she says is a critical component for people to be successful.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/90