Modern Financial Advisor

In this episode of the Modern Financial Advisor podcast, Mike Langford interviews Pete Krull, CEO of Earth Equity Advisors, about sustainable investing. They discuss the importance of sustainable investing for financial advisors and their clients, debunk common myths about sustainable investing, and explore the growth opportunities in the field.

Pete and Mike also touch on the role of ESG metrics, the future of the insurance industry in the face of climate change, and the increasing demand for sustainable investing among different generations.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Earth Equity Advisors
• Pete Krull on LinkedIn
• Cross Country Race in EV Pickup Trucks - Out of Spec YouTube and Out of Spec Podcast
• Green Sage Sustainability Portfolio
• Morgan Stanley Sustainable Signals Report
• Dollars and Change Podcast and YouTube Channel
• Book - Cradle to Cradle
• DEI Episode of The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast with Laura Gregg

Chapters

00:00 The Role of Sustainable Investing for Financial Advisors

03:47 Debunking Myths About Sustainable Investing

12:23 The Future of the Insurance Industry in the Face of Climate Change

25:01 The Increasing Demand for Sustainable Investing Among Different Generations

29:16 Engaging with Clients and Prospects on Sustainable Investing

30:10 Meeting the Needs of Next Gen Investors

32:07 The Growth of Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure

35:19 The Role of Real Estate in Sustainable Investing

43:30 Considering Climate Readiness in Retirement Planning

51:18 Connecting with Influencers in Sustainable Investing

Reese Harper, CEO of Elements, joins Mike Langford to discuss how financial advisors can use vital signs to improve client conversations and increase their comfort level around financial advice.

Reese explains that vital signs are objective scores that measure various aspects of a client's financial health, such as liquidity, debt-to-income ratio, and savings rate. By using vital signs, advisors can provide personalized advice and help clients make informed decisions about their finances.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Elementality Podcast - With Reese Harper and Carl Richards
• Dentist Advisors - This is Reese's RIA which influenced his founding of Elements

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

02:56 The Concept of Vital Signs

10:05 Improving Financial Behaviors with Vital Signs

28:31 Using Vital Signs in a Niche Market

35:23 The Birth of Elements and the Importance of Vital Signs

41:06 Accelerating Client Onboarding with Elements

What if you could expand your client roster by 300% without having to spend a fortune on marketing? This week's guest Beatriz Acevedo and her team at SUMA Wealth discovered a hidden growth gem by serving the Latinx community.

It turns out, people in the community tend to bring other clients with them. And as you'll hear Beatriz discuss with Mike Langford, this growth concept is present in many communities.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• How I Built This - Beatriz was a guest on HIBT Lab! with Guy Raz in which she shared more about her journey that led her to starting SUMA Wealth.
• Is Your Credit Guacaready? - This is a great example of the culturally relevant marketing that the SUMA Wealth team is using to build a community of over a million people.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:23 Summa Wealth's Community-First Approach

06:09 The Aha Moment for Summa Wealth

10:18 Understanding the Target Audience

13:40 Learning from Mistakes and Adjusting

22:01 Adapting to Changing Consumer Behavior

25:22 Learning from Younger Generations

26:10 The Value of Different Perspectives

27:06 The Importance of Embracing Change and Learning from Younger Generations

29:03 Transition from TV Producer to FinTech Founder

31:16 Recognizing the Lack of Financial Education in Latino Communities

33:01 The Role of Culture and Community in Fintech

36:00 The Power of Life Experience in Decision-Making

37:26 The Opportunity of Connecting with Younger Generations

43:25 Attracting Non-Latinx Users to Summa Wealth

48:39 Future Plans for Summa Wealth

The lack of robust organic growth for financial advisors' businesses has been a key concern for industry leaders for years. On this episode of the podcast Tom Rieman, CEO and Founding Partner of PracticeI ntel shares what he believes is the key to cracking the code on organic growth for financial advisors.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Bridging The Gap Podcast - Tom joined Matt Reiner on this podcast recently and we hit on one of the points from that episode to tip off our conversation.
• Data from PriceMetrix by McKinsey - Mike mentioned the study and an MFA Podcast episode with Kieran Bol.
• The Augmented Advisor Podcast - James Lee, the former President of the FPA discussed his conviction that "Financial Planner" is the 4th Great Profession.
• Fidelity Investments 2023 RIA Benchmarking Study
• SkyView Partners - Their focus on organic growth as a key driver for business valuation.

There are financial advisors working today who are members of the first generation of people to ever call themselves financial advisors. Think about that!

On this episode of the show, Matt Reiner returns to nerd out with Mike Langford about some of the exciting innovations that are creating new opportunities for modern financial advisors.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• The Circle - Matt and his team have created a vibrant community to share actionable strategies, weekly, to enhance your life, elevate your business and enrich your client experience.
• "Your Future Self" by Hal Hershfield - Matt recommended this book in the context of understanding our decision making process.
• Harry Markowitz - The father of modern portfolio theory passed away in 2023. The guy who created the foundation for the models that financial advisors use for managing their clients' assets only recently passed away!
• When Ideas Have Sex - A TED Talk by Matt Ridley that inspired a fun conversation in this episode.

Andrew Crowell, Vice Chairman of Wealth Management at D.A. Davidson returns to the show to share some eye popping facts about the prevalence of financial fraud. Andrew and Mike Langford also explore what financial advisors can do to protect their clients for becoming victims of fraud and how to help clients recover if they are victimized.

Toward the end of the episode Andrew and Mike dive into the mechanisms financial advisors can use to protect their firm from fraudsters. Because like the famous bank robber Willie Sutton said when asked why he robs banks, financial advisors are "where the money is."

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Americans Are Not Adequately Prepared To Detect Or Prevent Financial Fraud - Scroll down about 3/4 of the way down on this page to see the results of the fraud study.
• Fraud Prevention: A Guide for Senior Investors - This is a helpful guide created by the team at D.A. Davidson
• Willy Sutton Rule - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/willie-sutton-rule.asp

Dr. Jean Oursler "The Results Queen" explains how our caveman brains often get in the way of our ability to develop our businesses to the fullest. However, simple changes to a financial advisor's approach to his or her business development process can lead to dramatic improvements in a short time.

Dr. Jean also shares some personal stories about her journey. She credits investing in herself early, even before her business was achieving real traction, as key lever for her success.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Caveman Brain - Dr. Jean's company specializes in helping financial advisors get better results in their business development.
• 6 Killer Questions - As Dr. Jean mentioned, this free resource outlines the key questions to ask a "potential client" through your funnel.
• EOS (The Entrepreneurial Operating System) - A framework for clarifying, simplifying, and achieving your vision.
• "Change Your Question, Change Your Life" by Marilee Adams - Dr. Jean recommended this book as a fantastic tool to learn how to ask better questions.

It may sound hyperbolic but the reality is the advisor who tries to do everything his or herself... is bound to let some important things fall off the table. And as Gina Cotner, CEO of Athena Executive Services explains... it's not just simple "To Do" list items that an advisor might miss.

It could be important client updates or opportunities that lead to business growth.

James Beam, President of TD Private Client Wealth breaks down a common challenge that clients of today's financial advisors face... information overload that often results in clients having a distorted picture of what is actually happening in the world.

Jim and Mike also explore the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the modern financial advisor's business and how the use of a goals based advice approach can serve as a foundation for advisors regardless of what future technologies may come their way.

Michael Lecours, CFP® says that the origin story of fpPathfinder, a company he co-founded with Michael Kitces, is a bit humbling. He found that he was routinely forgetting to ask the right questions or giving slightly incorrect answers or missing timely opportunities for recommendations when meeting with his clients.

It wasn't that Michael was incompetent or lacking in financial planning skills... he is a Certified Financial Planner with over a decade of experience. It's just that there is so many things that a client might need to know about or do or not do at any given time. And the landscape is constantly changing.

So, Michael came up with a simple idea. He made a series of checklists and flowcharts that he would use during client meeting to ensure he "checked all the boxes" and kept things on track. Suddenly, he felt like he was delivering higher quality advice to his clients and he realized he was onto something that other advisors could use with their clients.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

• Advice Engagement Strategies: 4 Core Areas To Motivate Clients To Be More Active In The Financial Planning Process - This is a comprehensive blog post written by Michael Lecours and offers some great insight to the thought processes driving the fpPathfinder solution.
• Roger Pine and his company Holistiplan were mentioned a few times on this episode. Below are links to two podcasts featuring Roger:
• How to Increase Post-Acquisition Business Value by Adding Tax Planning Services on The Advisor Financial Forum Podcast by SkyView Partners
• Roger Pine of Holistiplan on Speeding Up the Tax Planning Process for Financial Advisors on The SoFin Podcast.