Grow for Impact

Every advisor has had the client who hands over a folder and says "just tell me what to do." The paperwork shows the truth of their financial life. It doesn't show what they believe about it.

In Episode 2 of Grow for Impact, co-hosts Dasarte Yarnway and Lev Mandel take on what Dasarte calls off-the-spreadsheet advice: the part of the job no software does for you. They work through three places where the numbers and the client's life stop matching — financial planning, portfolio construction, and the family history that shapes both.

WHAT THEY GET INTO

· The prospect who hands over a folder and says "just tell me what to do"

· What the statements show, and what they can't: the beliefs, worries and values underneath

· Why leading with data is the least human way to open a relationship

· Building a values-aligned portfolio without chasing performance, and why there's no perfect one

· Money lessons learned before we could choose them, and doing that work with couples

· Advisor or counselor: where the job actually lives

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome back

00:23 When the better answer isn't the right one

02:56 One: financial planning

04:06 The pension decision, and how the client will feel about it

06:31 The differentiator is how you connect

08:47 Two: portfolio construction

12:53 Hearing what the client hasn't said out loud

16:35 Three: family history, bias, and how money felt growing up

19:06 "You can't make a great plan without the family side"

21:33 "The numbers are the numbers"

22:34 The feel-good moment of the week

JOIN US IN PHOENIX

The Growth for Impact Conference is November 8–11, 2026 at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona — four days with advisors who refuse to choose between their clients' values and their business growth.

Register: https://www.growforimpact.com/

Learn more about Formative: https://www.formativefinancial.com/

Advisor inquiries: [email protected]

Disclosures

The same block closes both: at the foot of the YouTube description under the heading DISCLOSURES, and at the foot of the Libsyn show notes.

The opinions and concepts presented are based on data believed to be reliable; however, no assurance can be made as to their accuracy. Mention of a specific company or security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Past performance is never a guarantee of future results. For information regarding the suitability of any investment for your portfolio, please contact your financial advisor.

The views expressed in this conversation are those of the individual speakers at the time of recording and are not necessarily those of Formative.

Lev Mandel is an investment advisory representative of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC DBA Formative an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587).

The views expressed herein are those of First Affirmative, doing business as Formative, and may not be consistent with the views of individual investment advisors or Broker-Dealers or RIA firms doing business with Formative. Network Advisors may offer securities through various Broker-Dealers and Registered Investment Advisory firms. These affiliations, and all fees charged to clients, are clearly disclosed. Formative's ADV Disclosure Brochure is available any time. Please write or call for a copy or visit formativefinancial.com/about-us.

Copyright © 2026. A publication of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, doing business as Formative. Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) · 5475 Mark Dabling Boulevard, Suite 320, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 · p: 719-478-7036 · www.formativefinancial.com

There is no shortage of financial industry podcasts. There is a shortage of them made from the point of view of the modern, values-based advisor. This is that show.

In the first episode of Growth for Impact, host Dasarte Yarnway sits down with advisor Lev Mandel to open the Think Forward campaign: what it actually means for an advisor to think forward, what the last decade of this business is worth preserving, and what needs to change.

Lev spent ten years as an advisor, and before that worked in tech and taught high school math. Dasarte started, scaled and sold his own firm. Between them they make the case for three things: a complete worldview, the right tools, and a tribe of people thinking the same way.

WHAT THEY GET INTO

· Why forward-thinking always sounds a little crazy to people used to the status quo

· The client as the hero of the story, and the advisor as the passenger in the car

· Wealth management as a hospitality business — and why service becomes the differentiator as technology commoditizes everything else

· The behavior work almost nobody is paid to do well, and why advisors skip it

· Putting your money where your mouth is, in an era when you can bet on a football game from the same app you buy an ETF in

CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome to Growth for Impact

02:35 What "thinking forward" actually means

04:50 Worldview, tools, tribe

07:20 The client is the hero. You're the guide.

12:15 Worth preserving: the whole financial picture

14:40 Wealth management is a hospitality business

19:25 Worth changing: getting honest about how money feels

23:20 Putting your money where your mouth is

25:45 The most human moment of the week

JOIN US IN PHOENIX

The Growth for Impact Conference is November 8–11, 2026 at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona — four days with advisors who refuse to choose between their clients' values and their business growth.

Register: https://www.growthforimpact.com/

Learn more about Formative: https://www.formativefinancial.com/

Advisor inquiries: [email protected]

The opinions and concepts presented are based on data believed to be reliable; however, no assurance can be made as to their accuracy. Mention of a specific company or security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Past performance is never a guarantee of future results. For information regarding the suitability of any investment for your portfolio, please contact your financial advisor.

The views expressed in this conversation are those of the individual speakers at the time of recording and are not necessarily those of Formative.

Lev Mandel is an investment advisory representative of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC DBA Formative an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587).

The views expressed herein are those of First Affirmative, doing business as Formative, and may not be consistent with the views of individual investment advisors or Broker-Dealers or RIA firms doing business with First AffirmativeFormative. Network Advisors may offer securities through various Broker-Dealers and Registered Investment Advisory firms. These affiliations, and all fees charged to clients, are clearly disclosed. First Affirmative'sFormative's ADV Disclosure Brochure is available any time. Please write or call for a copy or visit formativefinancial.com/about-us.

Copyright © 2026. A publication of First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, doing business as Formative. Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) · 5475 Mark Dabling Boulevard, Suite 320, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 · p: 719-478-7036 · www.formativefinancial.com