Modern Financial Advisor

Paul McManus is back on the show with a new company name, a new look, and a bold message for advisors: the old SEO playbook is dead. Paul, Founder and CEO of Influential Advisor Media, explains how to get found... and recommended... by Google and ChatGPT, and how one guest appearance on Michael Kitces’ podcast brought in more than 200 appointments and doubled his business.

Connect with Paul McManus here:

• Paul McManus on LinkedIn
• Influential Advisor Media
• The Influential Advisor Podcast

Connect with Mike Langford here:

• LinkedIn
• finservMarketing

In this episode we cover:

• Why Paul rebranded from More Clients More Fun to Influential Advisor Media
• Why cold lead generation falls short and how a short book speeds up trust
• The three playing fields: client referrals, centers of influence, and the “infinite referral network”
• What “search everywhere optimization” means and how AI decides who to recommend
• The CPA who asked for 500 copies of an advisor’s book to send on his letterhead
• How one appearance on Michael Kitces’ podcast led to 200+ appointments in a year
• Why guest podcasting and hosting your own show train AI to surface you

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:04 Welcome Back, Paul

04:56 The Rebrand: From More Clients More Fun to Influential Advisor Media

08:57 The Book as a Trust Accelerator

17:23 The Authority Operating System

22:42 Why Referrals Alone Aren't Enough

24:51 The Three Playing Fields

29:59 When ChatGPT Recommends You

41:00 How a Book and Podcasts Train AI to Cite You

45:16 The Kitces Halo Effect

53:12 Why Every Appearance Compounds

55:06 Why You Need Your Own Show

57:02 Where to Find Paul

58:00 Wrap-Up

Charlie Van Derven, President of Social Advisors and host of the RIA Collective podcast, joins Mike Langford to explain why so much of the marketing content built for financial advisors was designed for compliance departments, not for the advisor, and why that sameness is hurting advisors in one of the least trusted industries in America.

Charlie shares his path from snowboard sales rep in Duluth, Minnesota to founding Social Advisors in 2013, then walks through the four steps of business development that haven't changed in decades: know your audience, get in front of lots of people, nurture, and convert. He makes the case for owning your email list instead of renting reach on LinkedIn, explains why guest-driven webinars and small events convert, and closes with a timeless story from his days living out of a van and pitching websites to Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney branches: the corner office guy.

Connect with Charlie Van Derven on LinkedIn and learn more about Social Advisors.

In this episode:

• Why advisor marketing content was built for compliance, not for advisors
• Charlie's path from snowboard sales rep to founding Social Advisors
• Why authenticity matters more as AI makes content easier to create
• Why your email list is an asset you own and LinkedIn is "rented space"
• The four steps of business development: audience, reach, nurture, convert
• The corner office guy and what top producers were really doing all day

Chapters:

00:00 Cold Open: Terrible for the Advisor

00:29 Intro

01:48 Welcome Charlie Van Derven

02:51 From Snowboard Rep to Social Advisors

06:30 Socialware and Why Advisors Feared Social Media

09:36 Marketing Content Built for Compliance, Not for the Advisor

13:34 AI, Authenticity, and Why Everyone Sounds the Same

16:18 The Fourth Least Trusted Industry

19:48 The Firm with Hundreds of Advisors and a 1988 Logo

21:54 Why Advisor Growth Has Stalled

23:07 Step One: Know Your Audience

24:51 Your Website, Your Email List, and LinkedIn as Rented Space

27:38 Nurturing: Stay in the Consideration Set

34:14 Creating Your Own Gravity with Events

36:41 Overwhelm and the Four-Step Process

40:08 Why Webinars with Guests Convert

42:53 The Corner Office Guy

49:34 Top Advocates and Small In-Person Events

50:39 Get Out of the House

53:16 Where to Find Charlie

54:12 Outro

Dean Rubino, Co-Founder and CEO of KPC Private Funds, joins Mike Langford to explain why the market is going direct to consumers and skipping advisors, what fiduciaries need before they can responsibly offer pre-IPO exposure, and how KPC lets advisors invest clients in hedge funds, private equity, pre-IPO stock, and co-investments with one set of documents, one signature, and one K-1.

In this episode:

• Why the real pre-IPO "mistake" is a market structure issue, not an advisor error
• What infrastructure fiduciaries need: custodial acceptance, ownership diligence, and clarity on share classes
• Why private companies are staying private longer
• How pooling capital can open funds with $10M minimums and QP-only vehicles
• Why the complexity in private markets is evaluating the investment, not understanding it

Chapters:

00:00 Cold Open: Advisors Aren't the Problem

01:05 Intro

02:17 Welcome Dean Rubino

04:02 From a Brooklyn Trading Floor to a Wrong Number at Merrill Lynch

08:03 Lessons for Young Advisors: Go Ping People

12:27 Where Advisors Go Wrong With Pre-IPO Investing

14:24 It's an Infrastructure Problem, Not an Advisor Problem

19:19 The Operational Friction of Private Investments

22:34 How KPC's Platform Works

28:00 Why Paperwork Kills the Client Conversation

30:29 Custom Allocations for Every Client

33:41 Client Demand and the Minimums Problem

35:11 Why Private Companies Are Staying Private Longer

40:50 The Advisor's Role in a Complex Market

42:12 The Complexity Isn't the Investment

43:56 Where KPC and Private Markets Are Headed

47:04 Banks Retreat, Private Funds Step In

47:45 Where to Find Dean

48:08 Outro

AI is already inside your firm, whether you planned for it or not — and John O'Connell has the data (and the horror stories) to prove it.

John O'Connell, Founder & CEO of The Oasis Group, joins Mike Langford for a wide-ranging conversation on where wealth management firms actually stand on AI adoption. John opens with a story that'll make every compliance officer sit up: a firm turned on Microsoft Copilot, connected it to SharePoint, and assumed their HR directory was safe because employees "couldn't see it." It wasn't. Employees were able to query Copilot directly for who was on a performance improvement plan — and it answered.

From there, John and Mike dig into his framework for sorting firms by how they're handling AI: the Vanguards and Roadrunners racing ahead, the Tasmanian Devils and Bison finding their footing, and the Ostriches hoping it all blows over. They cover why "vibe coding" your own AI tools without a professional developer reviewing the work can leave the door open to SQL injection attacks and runaway costs, why the best first AI use case is almost always the most boring task in your firm (not the flashiest), and how AI could help close the gap for new advisors — John points to a FINRA stat that 85% of advisors quit before their fifth year, right around the point most successful advisors say they finally felt it click.

What You'll Learn:

• John's five-camp AI adoption framework: Vanguards, Roadrunners, Tasmanian Devils, Bison, and Ostriches
• How a Microsoft Copilot + SharePoint misconfiguration exposed sensitive HR data
• The security risks of "vibe coding" AI tools without developer review
• Why the most boring use case in your firm is usually the best place to start with AI
• Using AI to help new advisors reach "escape velocity" faster
• Why "written by advisors for advisors" is a red flag, not a selling point

About John O'Connell: John is the Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, a consultancy helping wealth management and wealth technology firms with technology strategy, cybersecurity, and AI implementation. He publishes the Peaks Perspective newsletter to over 70,000 subscribers and has delivered 20+ keynotes this year, including as a standing AI speaker for Schwab.

Connect with John: LinkedIn | The Oasis Group

Episode Chapters:

• 0:00 — Cold Open: The AI "Chainsaw" Warning
• 1:02 — Welcome & Episode Preview
• 2:30 — John O'Connell's Origin Story: From "Brain on a Stick" to Founder
• 4:20 — A Brief History of AI: The Two AI Winters
• 7:50 — How AI Learned to Predict (Deep Blue, GPS, and Autocomplete)
• 14:50 — The Five Camps: Vanguards, Roadrunners, Tasmanian Devils, Bison & Ostriches
• 20:00 — How Microsoft Copilot Exposed a Firm's HR Data
• 24:45 — Why "No AI" Compliance Policies Don't Work
• 26:50 — Start With the Use Case Nobody Wants to Do
• 31:25 — AI for Investment Research & Portfolio Concentration Risk
• 35:45 — The Vibe-Coding Security Trap (SQL Injection & the MOVEit Hack)
• 43:30 — Practical First Steps: Weekly Briefings & RFP Automation
• 49:00 — Helping Advisors Reach "Escape Velocity" Faster
• 52:25 — Where to Find John O'Connell & Closing

Subscribe to The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, or wherever you like to get your podcast fix. Have a guest or topic suggestion? Email [email protected] or find Mike at @MikeLangford everywhere online.

Frank Burke, Chief Investment Officer at PPB Capital Partners, joins Mike Langford to unpack why private markets are having such a moment for financial advisors right now. Frank has been at PPB since 2017, helping RIAs across the country build custom private fund structures and get curated access to alternative investment strategies — and he brings a rare vantage point on what's actually driving client demand for alts today.

The conversation starts with the "SpaceX effect" — how high-profile IPOs like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are pulling client attention toward private markets, often years after the real opportunity has already played out. From there, Frank and Mike dig into his framework of "curation over accumulation," why building a proprietary, white-labeled fund structure has become one of the clearest ways advisors can differentiate in a commoditized business, and the liquidity education gap that's catching more advisors off guard than most would admit.

Frank also shares a genuinely overlooked alt asset class — legal settlement finance, where investors provide capital against law firm cases that have already settled and are sitting in escrow — along with how AI's exploding energy demand is quietly creating new private credit opportunities in power infrastructure. They close with Frank's 10-year outlook on where private markets access is headed for retail and IRA investors.

And yes, there's a little Sixers-Celtics trash talk to open things up, because Frank's a Sixers fan and Mike can't help himself.

🔗 Connect with Frank Burke on LinkedIn or visit PPB Capital Partners

🔗 Connect with Mike Langford on LinkedIn

Chapters:

00:00 — Cold Open

00:19 — Intro & Welcome

01:31 — Sixers-Celtics Trash Talk

04:08 — Frank's Elevator Pitch: What PPB Capital Partners Does

06:43 — Pull vs. Push: What's Driving Advisor Interest in Private Markets

10:00 — The SpaceX Effect and the End of "Free Money" Growth

13:20 — Legal Settlement Finance: Lending to Law Firms

16:55 — The Newsweek Indicator: Getting In Before Everyone Else

18:19 — Manager Selection and the Power of Independent Due Diligence

23:19 — Curation Over Accumulation: Building Your Own Differentiator

27:24 — Local and Direct Investing as a Client Engagement Tool

30:11 — Closing the Advisor Education Gap on Alts

34:34 — You Don't Have to Be a Hero: Trusting the Manager

38:41 — AI, Energy Infrastructure, and the Picks-and-Shovels Play

40:07 — Frank's 10-Year Crystal Ball for Private Markets

42:39 — Wrap-Up & Where to Find Frank

Ben Lewis, Chief Communications and Development Officer at the Financial Planning Association (FPA), joins Mike Langford to make the case that the age of AI is actually the best moment in years for financial advisors to stand out and get noticed — if they know how to show up as humans.

Ben shares the framework behind his whitepaper "The Human Edge: Why Relationship-Driven PR Still Wins in the Age of AI," including the critical difference between being a source and being a resource, how to use client questions as a pitch pipeline, and why FPA MediaSource has a 64.5% repeat journalist rate.

If you've ever wanted to get quoted in a major publication or build a media profile that drives real business, this episode is your roadmap.

Connect with Ben Lewis at the Financial Planning Association and get access to The Human Edge whitepaper at FPA MediaSource.

In this episode we cover:

• Why the AI noise explosion is actually good news for advisors who show up as humans
• The source vs. resource distinction and how to move from one to the other
• How to use your client question notebook to generate a steady stream of story pitches
• How to recognize when a question becomes a trend — and why that changes everything
• How FPA MediaSource works and what advisors who use it well are actually doing
• Why compliance culture is training advisors to say nothing worth quoting
• The handwritten thank-you note that almost no one sends anymore

Chapters:

00:00 Cold Open — Shut Off Your Targeting System

00:52 Intro

01:58 Welcome Ben Lewis

04:15 From Political Campaigns to Financial Services PR

08:10 The Noise Has Never Been Louder — And That's Good News

11:01 The Finfluencer Problem and the Sea of Sameness

13:46 AI Search and Why Your Expertise Needs to Show Up There

16:31 How Financial Advisors Should Think About PR

18:29 Getting Started: Two Things Ben Tells Everyone

21:50 The Client Notebook — Your Pitch Pipeline

22:48 When a Question Becomes a Trend

24:03 Earned Media vs. Advertising

29:43 The Philadelphia Planner Story

32:45 Source vs. Resource: The Distinction That Changes Everything

40:19 FPA MediaSource — How It Works

45:47 The Member Who Got 50 Placements in Four Months

50:12 Say Something Worth Quoting

53:01 Don't Let AI Write Your Pitch

55:07 Nobody Hands You That Trust

56:02 Outro

What does curling have to do with your firm's data infrastructure? More than you'd think.

In this episode, Mike Langford sits down with Kristefor Lysne, President of Terrapin Technologies, for a conversation about the messy data problem quietly working against wealth management firms — and why getting your data house in order is the prerequisite for everything coming next with AI.

Kristefor has spent 30+ years helping wealth management firms aggregate, normalize, and automate the data behind advisor compensation, reporting, and compliance. He's also a competitive curler at the St. Paul Curling Club — and he has the perfect analogy for what bad data really looks like inside your firm.

In this episode:

• Why AI doesn't fix messy data — it amplifies it
• The brittle spreadsheet trap that breaks when key people leave the firm
• What "bad rocks" in curling taught us about hidden data problems
• Why clean, governed data is the prerequisite for AI adoption
• The difference between a SaaS product and a tech-enabled service
• AEO (Agent Engine Optimization) — what's replacing traditional SEO
• Who the right firm is for a solution like Terrapin

Resources & Links:

• Dan Zitting, CEO of Nitrogen Wealth — The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast
• Oliver Freigang, CEO of qashqade — The 6 x 6lock Podcast

Chapters:

0:00 Cold Open: The Curling Reveal

0:42 Intro

1:48 Kristefor's Curling Life

10:18 Terrapin Technologies: The 60-Second Pitch

12:57 Hidden Data Problems at Wealth Management Firms

16:54 The Brittle Spreadsheet Trap

20:42 AI, Vibe Coding & Why Governance Matters

26:26 Garbage In, Garbage Out: AI Doesn't Fix Messy Data

28:14 How Terrapin Normalizes & Cleans Your Data

31:38 Who Is the Right Firm for Terrapin?

35:00 The Promise: What Becomes Possible With Clean Data

37:31 Clean Data Is the Prerequisite for AI

40:26 MCP Servers & the Future of AI Interfaces

41:15 AEO: What's Replacing SEO

47:07 Where to Find Kristefor & Terrapin Technologies

48:17 Outro

This episode almost didn't happen — it was recorded on the fly after Domenick D'Andrea introduced himself between sessions at the Nitrogen Fearless Investing Summit in Denver. Domenick, co-founder of DanDarah Wealth Management, explains how saying yes to every podcast, webinar, and conference stage built him enough industry credibility that clients arrive presold, why AI search is already sending him new business, and how he makes sure every spouse in a couple feels like his client — not just one.

In this episode we cover:

• Why saying yes to podcasts, webinars, and conference stages builds instant credibility with prospects
• - Picking tech that integrates with what you already use, instead of chasing every new tool
• - How AI search results ("best financial advisor near me") are already sending him new clients, and the Google reviews strategy behind it
• - The personal posts (his daughter's dance competitions) that turn followers into clients
• - Why he treats every spouse in a couple as an equal client, and the divorce-rate data behind it
• - How clients now run his advice through ChatGPT before saying yes, including the $10M Roth conversion story that landed a skeptical prospect
• - His niche — pre-retirees and retirees — and the "sleep-at-night" factor that keeps them there

Connect with Domenick D'Andrea on LinkedIn.

Check out Domenick D'Andrea on YouTube.

Learn more about DanDarah Wealth Management.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:00 An impromptu conversation at the Nitrogen Fearless Investing Summit

04:00 Picking tech that integrates, not tech for tech's sake

08:00 How AI search is already sending him new clients

12:00 Why saying yes to every stage builds instant credibility

15:00 The personal posts that turn followers into clients

17:00 Treating both spouses as equal clients

21:00 Clients now vet advice with ChatGPT, and a $10M Roth story

24:00 His niche: pre-retirees, retirees, and the sleep-at-night factor

26:00 Where to find Domenick D'Andrea

What does it actually take to get your financial advisory business or fintech company featured in the media? According to Allie Zendrian — founder of AtoZ Communications and a former financial reporter at Forbes, Institutional Investor, and TheStreet — it comes down to one question most people never think to ask.

In this episode, recorded live at the Nitrogen Fearless Investing Summit in Denver, Colorado, Mike sits down with one of the most connected pros in the wealth management and fintech ecosystem. Allie brings a rare dual perspective: she spent years on the other side of the pitch email deciding what was worth covering, and now she helps advisors and fintech companies get their stories told.

Here's what you'll take away from this conversation:

• Why AI-generated press releases are quietly killing your credibility — and what reporters actually think the moment they land in their inbox.
• The single most important question to ask before you pitch any story, any reporter, or any media outlet. Hint: it has nothing to do with your product features or your latest announcement.
• Why advisors doing their own PR is "penny wise and pound foolish" — and what a more realistic, cost-effective approach actually looks like.
• How Allie built one of the most connected networks in the wealth management and fintech space in under two years, starting from her days at Forbes where she famously broke the ice with Steve Forbes himself by just treating him like a human being.
• The difference between a story that moves the needle and noise that nobody notices — and how to coach your clients to understand that difference.

Allie also opens up about building AtoZ Communications as a single mom, why she's choosing to grow deliberately rather than fast, and what she wants her kids to understand about the relationship between money, time, and work that matters to you.

Chapters:

00:00 — Cold Open: Why AI-Generated PR Is Killing Your Credibility

00:51 — Intro & Welcome

02:13 — From the Forbes Newsroom to the "Dark Side" of PR

05:31 — How Allie Built Her Network So Quickly

07:57 — What Advisors & Fintech Companies Get Wrong About Communications

11:23 — The One Question That Makes Something Newsworthy

17:03 — What's Next for AtoZ Communications

21:41 — Building a Business as a Single Mom — and the Lessons It's Teaching Her Kids

26:41 — How to Connect with Allie & Where to Find Her Work

27:47 — Mike's Closing Thoughts

Between 40 and 55% of millionaires in the United States are business owners. That's one of the biggest opportunities in wealth management right now... and most advisors are barely scratching the surface of it.

In this episode, recorded live and in person at the Fearless Investing Summit in Denver, Colorado, Mike Langford sat down with Cal Parker, Managing Director at BizEquity, to talk about why now is the perfect time for financial advisors to level up their game when it comes to serving business owner clients.

Cal drops some genuinely eye-opening stats and insights — including the fact that 60% of business owners have never even discussed their exit plans with their spouse. If you're not having the business valuation conversation with your clients, someone else eventually will.

What we cover in this episode:

• Why advisors struggle to advise business owner clients beyond investment strategies — and what to do about it
• How a single free business valuation can land a multi-million dollar client relationship
• The new Exit Valuation Module from BizEquity and how it helps advisors have more proactive, forward-looking planning conversations
• What "exit readiness" really means — and why it's about so much more than the numbers
• The first-ever Private Company Valuation Index — launched in partnership with the American City Business Journals — and how advisors can use it for smarter prospecting
• Cal's crystal ball take on where business owner planning is headed over the next 2–5 years

If you work with business owners — or you want to — this episode is for you. Connect with Cal on LinkedIn and learn more about what BizEquity is building at bizequity.com.

Chapters:

00:00 Teaser — Why advisors can't afford to ignore this conversation

01:19 Intro

02:42 Welcome & meeting in person at the Fearless Investing Summit

04:50 BizEquity's rebrand and what's new

06:45 Cal's new role leading BizEquity

07:40 The massive business owner opportunity advisors are missing

10:45 The Great Wealth Transfer — why the timing is now

12:05 The stat that should stop every advisor in their tracks

14:00 The risk of leaving this conversation on the table

17:00 The Exit Valuation Module — planning beyond today's number

18:45 What is exit readiness and why does it matter?

21:00 The Private Company Valuation Index explained

23:45 Using the index as a prospecting tool

26:00 Crystal ball — where is business owner planning headed?

27:45 The most surprisingly valuable businesses Cal has seen

30:00 Wrap up