Model FA Podcast

David is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of DPL Financial Partners, a network that connects Registered Investment Advisors and fee-based advisory channels with insurance solutions from the nation’s top carriers. 

David started DPL with an idea to distribute variable annuities through RIAs and fee-only advisors. That seemed like a gamble at the time. David’s hunch proved accurate. In just two years, DPL membership achieved an RIA footprint that approached some of the largest, well-established platforms in the industry. 

In this conversation, we discuss how DPL has built a turnkey, product-agnostic insurance platform for RIAs. Insurance is an important part of a holistic financial plan. David argues that advisors can — and should — use insurance products when that’s the best and most appropriate solution for their clients. However, fee-only advisors have historically had to refer their clients to outside insurance professionals because of commissions. DPL eliminated the need to do that. 

Resource Links

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

In this conversation, we discuss the Virtual Advisor System that Derek created to empower more advisors to grow their businesses in today's digital ecosystem. Derek’s own practice is location independent, and after having to figure things out for himself the hard way, he’s teaching other advisors how to tap into virtual tools and systems. This podcast episode will be especially useful for those who want to add a location-independent component to their service offering, or those who are curious about what it takes to run a 100% virtual practice. 

As you think about this conversation, ask yourself these questions. Could you scale your business by outsourcing certain workflows and processes? How could you lean into virtual tools to enhance and round out the service that you deliver? And how could you add more value by shifting your “belly to belly” conversations to a virtual system?

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

Resource Links

Whitney Hansen is a Millennial financial coach. After paying off $30,000 in 10 months, hacking her way to a $472 MBA, and buying her first home at 19, Whitney discovered her love for helping Millennials take control of their financial life. The recognition and acknowledgment of generational wealth gaps (that exist largely due to student debt) have been the driving force for why and how Whitney has created her Millennial coaching program. 

In this conversation, we discuss why it’s important for financial advisors to embrace digital marketing in order to reach a younger audience. Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Whitney shares that it’s ok to be honest: “I don’t know everything”. This kind of authenticity can help your clients connect and trust you more. 

As you think about this conversation, which “getting started” tips stand out to you the most? How do you deliver support and intrigue to your Generation Z and Millennial clients? Where are you connecting with your audience? And how are you creating an authentic and “real” brand experience that inspires clients to reach out, without being ashamed of their imperfections?

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors. 


Resource Links

In this conversation, we change things up a bit and ask Aaron to share his journey in the financial advice industry. Aaron’s career progression in financial services had him working in 3 very different wealth management and financial advisory models in quick succession. This experience of having seen the industry from different angles gave him the confidence to start Rapport Financial in January 2017 with just 4 clients.

There are so many different career paths available to advisors, and that's part of the reason why we wanted to have Aaron on the podcast. He has learned first hand the need for good mentorship — and the importance of knowing what role you want to play in this industry.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Aaron shares what he believes are the most important elements for anyone starting out in the financial advice industry. Do your research. Be a planner. Bring your discipline, hard work, and intention. Meet with professionals, ask them questions, and get a mentor to give you direct feedback.

Resource Links

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

My guest today is Jody Padar, CEO and Principal of the New Vision CPA Group, a public accounting firm based in the Chicago area.

In this conversation, Jody talks about what it would take for advisors and CPAs to live a more balanced life and to run profitable firms — without working 80+ hours a week.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Jody explains that optimizing the technical side of tax accounting doesn’t just benefit the client. It also sets CPAs up to spend more time working through their client’s holistic financial needs.  

As you think about this conversation, where does AI fit into the evolution of your practice? How are you preparing to keep up with client expectations for quicker, more integrated service? Share your thoughts in the Model FA Community — and learn how the Model FA Accelerator can help you take your firm to the next level of organic growth.

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

Resource Links

My guest today is Joseph (Joe) Anthony.

Joe is the President of Gregory FCA Communications, a full-service, strategically integrated public relations firm. Gregory FCA Communications has been active in the financial space since 2002. The firm offers “tech-enabled PR” including online, data-backed, and social media programs.

In this conversation, we dive into the impact and influence that PR and marketing can have on the success of a financial firm. Joe sees PR as a powerful tool for building trust. By using an intentional PR strategy, advisors can communicate their expertise, share thought leadership, and even enhance their client experience. 

As you think about this conversation, remember that PR can be the sizzle — but you still need the steak. In order to take advantage of Joe’s advice, you need an effective PR strategy. Who are you trying to attract — and what story do you plan to tell them? You will also need to invest time and money into generating great content, whether for your own website or for publishing elsewhere.  

Looking for more ideas about growing your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, a premier coaching and practice management program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

Resource Links

In this conversation, we discuss that a great advisory practice is, at its core, a behavioral coaching practice. Daniel reflects on his 10+ years of experience in the financial services industry, and on how advisor-client engagement can bring about better outcomes through meaningful relationships and value-focused behavioral changes.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Daniel talks about the 3 E’s an advisor can work through to provide their clients with the best behavioral coaching. In Daniel’s model, Education, Environment, and Encouragement together can help clients make incremental behavioral changes and achieve their desired financial goals. 

As you think about this conversation, do you see yourself engaged in behavioral coaching? Or are you unsure of how to bring these practical applications to your client experience? The tools that Daniel discusses will not only help you shift your thinking, but will also demonstrate how the behavioral coaching aspects of your practice can make a real dollar impact in your clients’ lives.

Looking for more ideas about adding behavioral coaching to your practice? Join the Model FA Facebook Community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm with an incredible client experience. Or, check out our Model FA Accelerator, the industry’s first Silicon Valley-style accelerator and coaching program for entrepreneurial financial advisors.

Resource Links

Connect with The Model FA

Web  Social

My guest today is Dominique Molina. Dominique is the co-founder and President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches. As the driving force and visionary behind the San Diego-based company, she set out to change the way tax professionals approach tax planning. She created an elite network of tax professionals including CPAs, EAs, attorneys and financial service providers who are trained to help their clients proactively plan and implement tax strategies that can rescue thousands of dollars in wasted tax. Dominique is also a published author of two books on taxation.

In this conversation, we discuss advanced tax reduction. Dominique shares some of the best ways financial advisors can provide proactive planning to help solve the challenges of America’s taxpayers. Advisors bring a world of opportunity and awareness of the danger in the world for their clients, and when it comes to tax planning there is a need for renewed professionalism that is client focused. Dominique shares about the major difference in automated tax planning vs. advisor led is the client needs and the judgement of the professional advisor. The advisor’s judgement is the added value to the expertise that is brought to the table and it truly is the competitive advantage to make you the trusted advisor.

Looking for more ideas about creating value for your financial advice practice? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

Resource Links

My guest today is Ryan Shanks. Ryan has over 19 years of experience in financial services. He is the Founder & CEO of FA Match, a digital career management platform for financial advisors. He is also the CEO of Finetooth Consulting, which provides transition consulting, outsourced recruiting and succession planning to financial advisors within the United States. 

In this conversation, we discuss how the advisor is always the product of the firm. Advisors bring enterprise value to the firm. As an advisor, if you don’t know your value you may be more passive in your career than you should be. Ryan shares about why asking the question, “What is your purpose and what do you want to be doing in this business?” is an important step in knowing if your current firm is the right place for you.

Don’t miss one of our favorite moments, when Ryan talks about advisors being hired for the wrong role. Ryan mentions that it is a two part issue, the firm needing to fill a seat, but not knowing the advisors strengths beyond their credentials. He encourages the firm to understand the strengths of the advisor to align them in the best fit role at the firm. Firms also need to be open to the new perspective the younger generation can bring the firm.

Looking for more ideas about creating value for your financial advice practice? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

Resource Links

My guest today is Jason Wenk. Jason is a fintech executive, writer, self-proclaimed math geek, and investment systems developer. He has been working within the financial advise world for over 19 years and has witnessed how underserved the everyday investor is again and again. This motivated Jason to create several successful companies that provide an avenue “to do more good in the world.”  Most recently, he founded Altruist to build a fully-digital brokerage platform with commission-free trading. “Altruist is on a mission to make investing fair for everyone, allowing real people to earn more while paying less.”

In this conversation, we do things a little differently than our past episodes and Jason shares with us the story of who he is and how he has built several successful companies, all while flying under the radar in the finance network.  We discuss how the old way of doing business is coming to an end, and that Jason can see a potential for millions of people in need of advice gaining access to quality client care, while keeping it reasonably priced. We talk about the current systems being non accessible to the blue collar worker, and Jason asks the question, “Are you wanting to help people or are you wanting to only help RICH people?”

Looking for more ideas about video blogging for financial advisors? Join the Model FA advisor community, where you will find expert advice on how to launch, grow, scale, and transform your firm.

Resource Links

Connect with The Model FA

Web  Social

Did you enjoy the Model FA Podcast?

Never miss an episode! Subscribe to get automated updates about all future episodes.

Enter your email address here