Maria Castillo Dominguez grew up in Ronda, a small mountaintop town in the south of Spain. And while she had a great support system, she also had a very humble childhood, and things were difficult for her family financially. And because of that background, she lacked a lot of opportunities. Most of her family members worked labor jobs, and no one went to college. 

But Maria was determined to be the first person in her family to go to college, and eventually get a desk job. She left home at a young age, and worked any job she could to pay her way through college. But when the financial crisis of 2008 hit Spain really hard, she lost her job and decided she needed to get out of the country. At age 25, with only about $400 to her name and no English under her belt, Maria went to the U.S.

But moving to the U.S. brought new challenges to her life, as she had to overcome a language barrier and not having family around to support her. Despite that, she persevered.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton speaks with Maria Castillo Dominguez, senior financial planner with Apella Wealth, on the adversity she faced on her journey to becoming a financial advisor.

Maria shares her relationship with money and family and how they pushed her to achieve her goals.

Maria discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Maria Castillo Dominguez:

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About Our Guest:

Maria Castillo Dominguez is a senior financial planner at Apella Wealth, an employee-owned advisory firm. She is originally from Spain and moved to the United States in 2010 after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Sevilla. Maria has over ten years’ experience in operations, compliance, personal banking and personal finance. She holds the CFP designation. She became interested in personal finance after she moved to the United States and realized the potential for helping others improve their lives. Maria most recently worked as a Financial Consultant with TD Ameritrade before transitioning to Inspired Financial, which merged with Apella in 2023.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

After selling her firm to EP Wealth in 2016, Lynn Ballou became a fixture among EP’s leadership team that worked to take the RIA to new heights. She’s also served as a mentor for younger advisors and a fierce advocate for greater diversity in the wealth management industry.

Lynn had to put all of that on hold when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. But when she first learned of the diagnosis, she went into denial. The hardest part was accepting the fact she needed to take a step back and focus on her body. In June 2022, Lynn retired from her role at EP Wealth Advisors.

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Lynn Ballou, CFP Emeritus and retired senior vice president of EP Wealth Advisors, who shares her story.

Lynn discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Lynn Ballou:

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About Our Guest:

Lynn Ballou, retired as Senior Vice President/Partner of EP Wealth Advisors in June 2022. She also retired in 2022 as the CFP Board of Standards Ambassador for the San Francisco Bay Area, a role in which she educated the public about the importance of financial planning. Prior to joining EP Wealth Advisors, Lynn founded Ballou Plum Wealth Advisors in 1998 with long-time friend and colleague, Marilyn Plum. Under her guidance, the firm became a trusted financial advisory office in the East Bay, one that placed emphasis on an unparalleled level of service for every generation of its client base. Particularly passionate about educating women, Lynn spent her career helping women unravel the financial complexities that accompany retirement, inherited wealth, loss of spouse, divorce and other transitional moments in life. 

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

In his financial advisory practice, Paul Peeler specializes in planning for mental illness caregivers and their families. But Paul has his own story of caring for a family member with a mental illness and the emotional toll the experience has taken on him.

When a close family member spiraled into a mental health crisis, he was forced to deal with the crippling emotions, while also struggling to navigate a confusing health care system and financial burdens that came along with that. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Paul Peeler, financial advisor at Integrated Financial Group in Atlanta, who shares how he processed the emotional and financial struggles he faced.

The ordeal prompted him last year to launch the Preparedness Project, where he has set a goal of helping 500 families dealing with a serious mental illness in getting financial planning and guidance. 

Paul discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Paul Peeler:

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About Our Guest:

As a financial advisor with more than 20 years of experience, Paul Peeler offers thoughtful, strategic guidance to families and professionals on how to best use their resources to support their wants and needs. He helps clients identify goals and works with them to implement a series of strategies that helps them address their vision for the future.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

A lot of people in the industry know Stephanie Bogan; she’s a sought-after business and practice management coach and speaker. Before starting Limitless Advisor, her current coaching firm, she founded a consulting firm at the age of 24 and sold it in a 7-figure deal to a Fortune 200 company. She then joined Joe Duran’s executive team at United Capital, which was eventually acquired by Goldman Sachs.

But less known is her personal journey. She dealt with a tough childhood, with a father who was in the military and moved the family around a lot, and a mother with a mental illness. At age 17, she moved out on her own, only to experience more struggles. That upbringing shaped a desire to be constantly proving herself, protecting, and hiding.

Her insecurities, perhaps, drove her to build a successful name for herself in the industry. But she eventually realized that this success was not giving her life the meaning she was hoping for.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Stephanie Bogan, founder and CEO of Limitless Advisor, on finding her path to happiness, wellbeing and healing in her own life.

Stephanie discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Stephanie Bogan:

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About Our Guest:

In her 25 year career, Stephanie Bogan has consulted and coached top firms, thought leaders and C-suite leaders to greater success. A regular speaker and writer, Stephanie authored The Power of Practice Management (Bloomberg Press), has written for every major publication. She is also a regular contributor to Financial Advisor, Kitces.com and Advisor Perspectives.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

Sathya Chey Patterson was born into struggle. She came into the world in a Thai refugee camp, as her family had just escaped from the Cambodian genocide, an explosion of mass violence that saw between 1.5 and 3 million people killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, a communist political group, in the 1970s. Her family then arrived in the U.S. financially destitute. Yet her humble beginnings and financially challenged upbringing have defined her truth.

 The experience taught her resilience and built habits of frugality that few others can grasp. Today, she uses those skills in her own wealth management practice.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Sathya Chey Patterson, Wealth Advisor and Managing Partner at Arise Private Wealth, in discussing how her experience has shaped her perspective on life and the work she’s doing now.

Sathya discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Sathya:

Connect With Wealth Management:

About Our Guest:

Sathya Chey Patterson is a Managing Partner of Arise Private Wealth, an independent wealth management firm that consistently guides clients to pursue an elevated perspective.

Sathya is more than a wealth advisor, she is her clients’ financial beacon, consistently offering an informed perspective so they can craft and implement an effective investment strategy that is suited to their specific needs and desires. Sathya understands the many complex financial decisions her clients may face, as well as the intricacies of their portfolios and investment markets, and ensures her clients are cared for today and in the future.

While receiving her BA in finance from Cal State Fullerton and an MBA from USC Marshall School of Business, Sathya began building experience in wealth management at Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors, LLC. She then joined the Carlsen Elliott Wealth Management team at Wells Fargo Advisors before launching her independent wealth management company, Arise Private Wealth, with her business partner Steve Carlsen.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses content some listeners may find upsetting.

A lot of folks in the wealth management industry know Tyrone Ross; he’s a frequent speaker at industry events, an active “finfluencer” on social media, and a thought leader in the crypto asset space. Less known is his life journey and how he got to where he is today.

Raised in New Jersey in a family where no one had a high school diploma, as a 16 year old, he watched sprinter Michael Johnson set records at the 1996 Olympic Games and dreamed of winning his own gold medal. Training over the years, he eventually qualified for the 2004 team in the 400-meter dash, only to be left off the roster when coaches decided to trim the athletes competing in Athens, Greece. He tried again in 2008 and 2012, and still didn’t make it to the Olympic games. 

In 2012, after his final Olympic dream was dashed, he says his life came crashing down. There was a confluence of events that year, including his beloved grandmother’s death, struggles with work and money, and a failed relationship. 

In this episode, Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com managing editor, speaks with Tyrone Ross Jr., CEO and co-founder of Turnqey Labs and President and founder of 401 Financial, about this dark time in his life and how he came back from it. Tyrone shares how his experiences have shaped the work he’s doing today. 

Tyrone discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Tyrone Ross:

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About Our Guest:

Tyrone Ross Jr. is the CEO and Co-founder of Turnqey Labs, Inc., an API suite for bringing cryptocurrency asset data into advisor workflows, and President and Founder of 401 Financial, a registered investment advisor. He’s also the former CEO of Onramp Invest and a thought leader in the crypto asset space. He is a graduate of Seton Hall University, and was also a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifier in track and field in the 400 meters. Tyrone was recognized by Investment News 40 under 40 (2019), and WealthManagement.com as a top ten advisor set to change the industry in 2019. FinancialPlanning.com named him as one of 20 people who will change wealth management in 2020. Recently, he was named to Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

A little more than six years ago, Robert started living a healthier lifestyle, working out a lot more, in an effort to lose weight. But one day while working out, he had a widowmaker heart attack, which happens when you have a blockage in the biggest artery in your heart. The name of it leaves no question about the severity of it—only 12% of people suffering from this heart attack outside the hospital survive, according to the American Heart Association. Fortunately, he was one of a few to live to tell about the experience.  

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton speaks with Robert Steinberg, founder and CEO of Blue Chip Partners, an advisory firm in Farmington Hills, Mich., about how the ordeal has changed his views personally and professionally. 

Robert discusses: 

Resources: 

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About Our Guest:

Robert Steinberg is the founder and CEO of Blue Chip Partners, an advisory firm in Farmington Hills, Mich. He began his career specializing in tax preparation and planning at Deloitte and went on to practice as an estate-planning attorney for Honigman, Detroit’s largest law firm. Robert’s unique combination of tax, legal, and investment expertise is extremely valuable in helping clients achieve their financial goals.

Robert graduated with an accounting degree from Michigan State University and is an honors graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. Robert has been a frequent contributor to Michigan Lawyers Weekly on a variety of tax and estate planning issues.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz). Variable products are distributed by its affiliate, Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, member FINRA, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. 800.542.5427 www.allianzlife.com. 

This notice does not apply in the state of New York.

Mary Martin had always been very health conscious, making sure she ate right and stayed in shape. But several years ago, she had a miscarriage at five months’ pregnant, although she didn’t know she was pregnant at the time. The experience helped her learn that from an emotional standpoint, she wasn’t really present in her body. She came to realize what it was like to truly be a human being, not simply a human doing.  

Now she focuses on teaching advisors about taking care of their own wellbeing through personal considerations and building connections with others.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton speaks with Mary Martin, Ph.D., mindfulness educator and author of “Mindfulness for Financial Advisors,” on being human in a technological world and how being mindful of your emotional and mental wellbeing is just as essential as your physical wellbeing.

Mary discusses: 

Resources: 

Connect With Mary Martin:

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About Our Guest:

Mary Martin is a mindfulness educator, author of Mindfulness for Financial Advisors: Practicing a New Way of Being, creator of the original course, and Futures Thinker. She’s a designer of learning experiences that cultivate awareness, adaptability, and optimism. She attended Brown University, Mindful Schools, and is trauma-certified. She’s also the recipient of 2022 Imagination Leadership Award from the Institute for the Future.

​

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz). Variable products are distributed by its affiliate, Allianz Life Financial Services, LLC, member FINRA, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. 800.542.5427 www.allianzlife.com. This notice does not apply in the state of New York.

Allianz Investment Management LLC (AllianzIM) is an investment manager specializing in the development and execution of innovative risk management strategies, with $18.8 billion in AUM. Based in Minneapolis, AllianzIM’s investment management is powered by the same proprietary in-house hedging platform that is used among affiliates to help manage more than $145 billion in assets for institutional and retail investors around the globe.1

Risk management is provided by AllianzIM a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America that provides hedging services to the broader Allianz Group.

1 As of 6/30/2022

Trigger warning: This episode discusses content some listeners may find upsetting.

Journalist Davis Janowski grew up in the Panhandle of Florida, where he grew accustomed to sunny weather and developed a deep passion for the great outdoors. But when he moved to Syracuse, N.Y., at age 25 for grad school, the cold weather and lack of sunlight and exercise began to impact his mental health. The stress of a full workload at school, as well as a part-time job further exacerbated the problem.

The pressure became so much for him to handle that one day he decided he was going to take his life. Luckily, a friend called him right at that moment; Davis told him what he’d done, and emergency crews came to help.

That was the first step in Davis’s journey of being diagnosed with major recurring depression and getting help and the right treatments for this mental illness.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Davis Janowski, senior technology editor of WealthManagement.com, who opens up for the first time publicly about his years-long battle with depression, and how his love for kayaking and being out on the open water has helped bring him out of it.

Davis discusses: 

Resources:

Connect With Davis Janowski:

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About Our Guest: 

Davis Janowski is a career journalist who has done stints with FinTech startups and as an analyst. Along the way his work has appeared in the New York Times and many other publications. While much of his focus has been in the FinTech sector for the last 13 years, Davis also has extensive experience in evaluating technology and tech products. His career in tech journalism began at PC Magazine, where Davis tested and reviewed consumer and business products and managed a team of editors, technicians and analysts. He also spent six years covering FinTech for InvestmentNews, where he was a technology reporter and columnist and also spoke frequently at industry conferences. 

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.

When Lori Eisel first found out her son had an addiction problem, she tried to do everything in her power to get control over the situation and help him. But even years later, he is still on the road to recovery.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor at WealthManagement.com, speaks with Lori Eisel, president of fee-only financial planning firm Arcadia Financial Partners, who shares the struggles and achievements faced by both her son and herself in dealing with this addiction. Lori recounts the lessons she’s learned about addiction, and how she found the help and support she needed to get through it.

She’s become an advocate for awareness around Opioid addiction and supports families facing similar circumstances. She’s also supporting Ohio’s Recovery Within Reach campaign, a new program to help financial advisors in the state to spot the signs of a family facing the emotional and financial costs of opioid addiction, and how to help them through those struggles. 

Lori discusses: 

Connect With Lori Eisel:

More Addiction Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Lori Eisel is the president of fee-only financial planning firm Arcadia Financial Partners in ​Pickerington, Ohio. For more than 25 years, Lori has dedicated her career to helping people make good financial decisions. She holds a master’s degree in Family Financial Management from The Ohio State University, where she also served many years as adjunct faculty and continues to be a frequent presenter and guest speaker. She is a Certified Financial Planner, an Enrolled Agent, and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst​. Lori received the Women’s Choice Award in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. ​She was also chosen to receive the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Leadership Award in 2019.

If you have a struggle and wish to share your experiences and help others in similar situations, please reach out to Diana at [email protected].

The Healthy Advisor podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are found.