Advisor Joseph R. Biondo Sr. just recently celebrated 60 years in the financial services industry, but his path to success was not a linear one. In his 83 years, he has experienced his fair share of struggles—both personally and professionally.

In fact, his life began with tragedy. Just three weeks before he was born, his father passed away, leaving his mother a widow with two young boys at age 30 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. His family ended up on welfare, struggling to make ends meet, so he would help out any way he could, working odd jobs with his uncle. 

Eventually he and his family got out of Brooklyn, and through his own persistence he landed a job as a broker. 

But tragedy would strike him again, when his wife Inga died in an automobile accident in 1979, leaving him with four kids to raise on his own. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Joseph Biondo Sr., founder of Biondo Investment Advisors, who shares his wisdom and life lessons that came out of his experiences. 

Joe discusses: 

Connect With Joseph Biondo:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Joe Biondo believes there is no greater joy than to help people make money, to change their lives and to alter the future for their families. His own life experiences reinforce the idea that anyone, regardless of upbringing or resources, can make something of themselves and prosper in our great country. As a child growing up in hardship, his family left Brooklyn, NY, when he was a teenager and moved to a very small town in Northeast Pennsylvania.  Helping his mother to make ends meet, Joe would commute back to Brooklyn on a daily basis to sand floors for his Uncle. Fascinated by Wall Street, he bought his first stock at the age of sixteen and, eventually, walked back into that same brokerage office six years later and offered to work for free if they would teach him the business. Thankfully, they did and thus began his journey in the financial world.

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 over a year ago, advisor Jonathan DeYoe was in a healthy place; he was meditating on a regular basis, working out, eating and sleeping right.

But in the summer of 2021, he tragically lost his only brother and business partner when he drowned in the Pacific Ocean. He says his life came to a “screeching halt” that day. While coping with grief, he struggled to stay healthy. Since then, he has been on a journey to rebuild healthy habits after experiencing this huge loss.

In this episode, Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, speaks with Jonathan DeYoe, senior vice president of EP Wealth Advisors in Berkeley, Calif., author of “Mindful Money” and host of the Mindful Wealth Podcast, about the struggles of maintaining healthy habits during tragic times. 

Jonathan discusses: 

Connect With Jonathan DeYoe:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Jonathan DeYoe has been involved with the financial services industry for more than 25 years. Prior to joining EP Wealth Advisors in 2021, his career journey led from being a seminarian and Buddhist academic to a financial advisor. After spending 5 years with large Wall Street companies (“just enough to know better”), Jonathan launched his own firm, growing it from 6 clients to 280 over the course of 20 years.

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.

On average, there are 130 suicides per day, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and individuals who work in financial services are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than the national average, according to the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance. 

Right before advisor Larry Sprung was set to break away and launch his own firm, his brother-in-law Keith Milano, who had suffered from bipolar disorder, died by suicide. Now Larry’s dedicated much of his time and energy to bringing awareness to mental health and suicide prevention, including serving on the board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and raising in excess of $1.7 million for that organization.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Larry Sprung, founder and wealth advisor at Mitlin Financial in Hauppauge, N.Y. Larry shares the story of his brother-in-law’s suicide and recounts what lead up to the loss, how it has changed his personal and professional values, and the importance of increasing knowledge and understanding around mental health every day.

Larry discusses: 

Resources:

Connect With Larry Sprung:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

 About Our Guest:

Larry Sprung founded Mitlin Financial, Inc., in 2004 with a focus on prioritizing clients first. He and his team consistently help clients make healthy financial decisions and offer a tremendous client experience that leverages today’s top tools and technology.

Today, he leads the planning and asset management services at Mitlin, in addition to focusing on business development. Larry is also committed to offering educational workshops where he shares his knowledge and insights on a diverse set of financial topics. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and regularly films the firm’s “Mitlin Minute” videos that provide important information on relevant financial topics. Larry also hosts the Mitlin Money Mindset podcast.

In 2020, Danika Waddell’s prior firm was audited by the State of Washington, and the state found that her U4 was never filed properly, after four years of working with clients. The whole ordeal was traumatic for her. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Danika Waddell, president and founder of Xena Financial Planning in Seattle. Danika shares how the filing error caused her to lose over half her income, created stress over her future as a financial advisor, and disrupted communication with close clients during the start of the pandemic. Despite it all, she persevered and found a silver lining—the ordeal ultimately led her to leave that RIA and start her own independent firm. She’s never looked back.

Danika discusses: 

Connect With Danika Waddell:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

In 2020, Danika Waddell founded Xena Financial Planning. While she enjoyed the role at her prior firm, Danika felt called to be bold and create something from the ground up. Starting her own practice allows her to be more nimble and innovative, while specializing in a particular niche. Women are so often left out of the conversation when it comes to their finances and investing. Danika has many years of experience with equity compensation: going back to her husband’s years of working at Amazon.com in the early 2000s, when she first learned about RSUs and had to figure out what the heck to do with them. Since becoming a CFP, she has worked with clients at many of the big tech companies and knows her way around ISOs, NQSOs and ESPP.

The loss of a loved one can lead to a tidal wave of emotions before reaching acceptance and continuing on in life without them.

Before starting his own practice, advisor Vance Barse experienced profound grief after losing five family members, including his biological father who he had never met. However, this darker time in his life was followed by a period of life-changing introspection, which forced him to rethink his personal and professional life.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Vance Barse, wealth strategist and founder of Your Dedicated Fiduciary, who shares his journey through grief toward acceptance. Vance reveals the emotional struggle he faced and what led to the completion of the journey his father never took.

Vance discusses: 

Connect With Vance Barse:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Vance Barse, is a wealth strategist and founder of Your Dedicated Fiduciary. He began his career in the financial services industry at Altegris Investments, where he served as an investment consultant to leading private wealth and retail financial advisers throughout the U.S. He saw firsthand that many advisers are constrained in their approach to planning, often leaving clients underserved. After nearly a decade in this role, Vance became a financial planner and founded Your Dedicated Fiduciary with a simple mission: to be authentic, transparent, and have a positive impact on the lives of his clients.

Managing employee burnout is key to creating a healthy workplace environment. But what steps should advisory and financial services firms be taking to reduce stress and burnout in the workplace?

In 2022, ActivTrak released a benchmark study on productivity and wellbeing within the financial services industry, revealing that this space is, in fact, better at managing burnout risk than other industries. For instance, compared to a cross-industry sample, 19% more employees have a healthy workload, and 23% fewer employees are overutilized. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Gabriela Mauch, vice president of ActivTrak’s Productivity Lab, who says the positive statistics may belie the issues financial services firms need to work on. Gabriela provides a deeper dive into ActivTrak’s research and looks beyond the data to help us understand the real drivers of employee burnout and happiness. 

Gabriela discusses: 

Resources:

Connect With Gabriela Mauch:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Gabriela Mauch joined workforce productivity software provider ActivTrak as head of Productivity Lab following a career in organizational effectiveness, leadership and design at management consulting firms including McKinsey & Co. and KPMG LLC. Gabriela helped stand up McDonald’s first Organizational Effectiveness & Leadership Center of Excellence where she worked across the McDonald’s system to improve its business performance and maintain relevance in the digital age. She earned a bachelor of science in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and is an expert in helping teams understand how productivity extends beyond business performance and is deeply rooted in employee well-being and engagement.

Gabriela, originally from Boston, resides in Denver, Colorado where she spends her free time enjoying all the mountains have to offer. She is involved in mentoring college-bound high school youth, career counseling at the Bean Project, a non-profit women’s social enterprise, and volunteering at the Latin0 Cultural Arts Center.

Early in his career in financial services, Matthew Grishman was working as a wholesaler, making a lot of money, and on the outside, he looked as though he was living his best life, with the Rolex watch, the shiny Allen Edmonds shoes, the Hickey Freeman suits. But on the inside, he was empty and trying to fill a hole with money, alcohol and other things. 

But one day his money addiction got so out of control that he was broke. He had hit rock bottom and was faced with a critical decision: make massive changes to how he was living his life, or die broke and alone. He chose change. 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Matthew Grishman, principal and wealth advisor at Gebhardt Group in Roseville, Calif. Matthew opens up about how his money addiction—and later on, an alcohol addiction—almost cost him everything. He shares his journey getting to a place of financial sobriety,  including the pivotal role a financial advisor (and now business partner) played in his healing. 

Today, through his book, “Financial Sobriety: Rebuilding Your Relationship With Money One Step at a Time,” and podcast, Matthew is dedicated to helping others become more intentional with three complex and interconnected relationships: money, people, and self.

Matthew discusses: 

Resources:

Connect With Matthew Grishman:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Matthew Grishman began his career in financial services in 1995 with A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. and became fully licensed as an Investment Broker in 1996. He spent 17 years as a national spokesperson for large mutual fund and insurance companies (Lord, Abbett & Co, Putnam, and MetLife). 

Matthew left corporate America in 2011 to devote his time and experience in financial services to his family, friends, and neighbors. 

In 2014, Matthew joined Gebhardt Group, Inc., an independent Registered Investment Advisor. He became an owner of the firm in 2015. 

As a Principal and Wealth Advisor of Gebhardt Group, Inc., Matthew provides wealth management services for families experiencing major life transitions (inheritance, sale of a business, death or divorce of a spouse, planning for retirement, career change, or sudden loss of a job).

Jess Bost found CrossFit during a traumatic time in her life. About her workouts, she says, “I went to the darkest place I could, and I fought my demons in that place.” 

CrossFit, which stands for cross-discipline fitness, became her bridge to healing. 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Jess Bost, the vice president of brand partnerships at Alpha Architect and part-time CrossFit Coach. Here, she opens up about how her experience with intense workouts and a supportive community gave her the outlet she needed during a time of profound grief. She also shares how exercise and community have shaped how she views the role of financial advisors.

Jess discusses: 

Connect With Jess Bost:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Jess Bost is the vice president of brand partnerships at Alpha Architect, and she also runs her own financial planning practice under the firm’s ADV. She’s also host of “The Breakthrough Factor” Podcast. 

Jess has been in the wealth management industry for about four years. Prior to that, she was a CrossFit coach and a personal trainer. Jess still coaches CrossFit part-time and plans to take the CrossFit Level 3 Certification in the near future. In 2017, she won a national title in Olympic weightlifting and qualified for the 2018 Pan Am Masters Weightlifting Championships. 

In 2011, Jeff Martinovich was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority from any role in selling securities or associating with FINRA members, and he’s currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, with about 2.5 years more on home confinement in Norfolk, Va. An ankle monitor on his left ankle keeps tabs on his movements. 

But Martinovich has few regrets with the decisions he made, including rejecting three government plea deals. He hasn’t let his experiences defeat him, as many barred brokers have; rather, he believes it’s all part of a larger purpose in life and that what you take away from those moments shapes who you become in the future.

“I don’t think we come down on the planet to lead this life of luxury, retire and go fishing every day,” he says. “I think it’s all a journey, and it’s about overcoming fear and all of us are faced with these incredible challenges at different times.”

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Jeff Martinovich, First Gulf War veteran, CEO of JAM Accelerator, a business consulting and incubation firm, former founder and CEO of MICG Investment Management and author of “Just One More: The Wisdom of Bob Vukovich.” Jeff shares his experience growing his first business and how he found himself in legal trouble, eventually going to trial against the U.S. Government and ultimately prison.

Diana and Jeff discuss: 

Connect With Jeff Martinovich:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Jeff Martinovich has thirty-years of experience building startups and executing mergers and acquisitions. He has enjoyed extraordinary success in business and life, as well as overcome great failure, all which provide JAM Accelerator clients and partners a rare library of wisdom for not only building significant shareholder value, but also protecting it. Jeff’s commitment to stand up for what’s right following the 2008 Financial Crisis, and the resulting legal challenges, are the topics of multiple books and national articles.

Jeff is generous with his expertise in leadership and management, financial statements and strategies, sales and growth outperformance, and operational efficiencies to increase gross and net margins. On top of everything, Jeff’s engaging personality and commitment to joint success create an enjoyable experience with advisor and client. Many great successes and failures bring wisdom, experience and the ability to now see around corners.

Our experiences throughout childhood can have a major impact on the way we live our lives into adulthood. But after meeting Marc Nichols, you might never have guessed the trauma that he experienced growing up, one he describes as “inconsistent.” 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Nichols, product director at Arbor Digital, who opens up about being the victim of sexual and mental abuse by people he was supposed to look up to and trust. During much of his childhood, he lived in an all-female household, so he has struggled with traditional definitions of masculinity in an industry that is still male dominated. 

Yet he came out of those experiences a stronger person, and has even become somewhat of an advocate for mental health and healing in the financial services industry. 

Marc discusses: 

Connect With Marc Nichols:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Marc brings his experience as a Certified Investment Management Analyst CIMA® and Wealth Management Certified Professional WMCP® to serve as Product Director for Arbor Digital’s suite of SMA offerings. Marc also holds a Certificate in Blockchain and Digital Assets® and serves as an asset analyst and portfolio manager. You will also find Marc sharing responsibilities as manager of Investor Relations.

Prior to joining Arbor Digital, Marc started his career as a professional tennis player and coach before transitioning to financial services as an associate advisor with Merrill Lynch in Princeton, N.J. Seeking to further develop himself through serving others, Marc started an advisory business to meet the wealth management needs of clients in the New York and New Jersey market with Charles Schwab.

This episode has referenced mental abuse, physical abuse and sexual assult.  If you or someone you know is experiencing a similar situation, please contact your local resources or click the link below for more informational resources.  https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/tools-resources/individuals/index.htm