Powering Independence Podcast

Episode 23: Homemade Volcanoes, Zoom Calls, and Snap Filters: Managing Work-Life Integration in Today's Environment

One of the most obvious impacts of COVID-19 has been the need to integrate professional and family life in a much closer way.  With many schools beginning the academic year remotely, working parents are called upon to balance many new roles and responsibilities.  A silver lining in the pandemic is that families have had the opportunity to spend more time with each other than ever before.  In this episode of the podcast, I am joined by three parents, all who share their authentic journeys around navigating the new normal.  We have some laughs and some tears and some really great stories.

Guests:

Alex Hansen, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Dynasty Financial Partners

Jill Russo, Vice President, Compliance, Dynasty Financial Partners

Alyssa Kamangar, Associate, Finance, Dynasty Financial Partners

Episode 22: A Differentiated Business Model for Differentiated Clients: How Intellectus Built a Firm for Entrepreneurs

Guest: Dave La Placa, Founder and CEO of Intellectus Partners

Dave La Placa has an incredible background and many great experiences that fuel this conversation.  A founder of several companies, co-executive producer of a movie, board member for several technology companies, and CEO of Intellectus Partners, an RIA Focused on entrepreneurs.  Dave brings an tremendous amount of insight into the mindset required to build and grow businesses—especially businesses in the tech sector.  As a true operator in Silicon Valley, he shares valuable insight into how he is able to service these clients as a registered investment advisor.  Finally, as we built the Dynasty presence on the West Coast, we shared an office with Dave, which created a great foundation for our dialogue.

Episode 21: Operational Excellence: A Discussion on How to Effectively Translate Military Knowledge to Financial Services Organizations

On this episode of the podcast, Austin speaks to Jim Combs, Chief Executive Officer of National Advisors Trust.  Jim discusses his time at West Point, where he was a 4-time varsity lacrosse player.  The conversation hones in on leadership, service, and creating a sustainable culture through setting the right standards.

Episode 20: Into the Great Wide Open: Perspectives of the Advisor Transition Process from the Front Lines.

Into the Great Wide Open was the eight studio album recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in 1991.  The title track follows Eddie as he embarks upon a music career in Hollywood.  Although perhaps a reach, there are several similarities between the protagonist of the song and the protagonists of the independent advisor movement.  First and foremost, the future is wide open, the sky is the limit, and there is often a sense of rebellion.

On today’s episode, I am joined by Chuck Cooper, co-founder and Managing Partner of StrongBox Wealth in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and two of my colleagues, Jason Pinkham, co-founder and Managing Director at Dynasty Financial Partners and Caitlin Douglas, a Vice President and top transition specialist at Dynasty.  We will be discussing the transition process from a traditional financial institution into the independent space.  The perspective will be from the team responsible for all of the planning and execution of the move.

Episode 19: Hitting the Right High Note: A Conversation with one of the Founders of High Note Wealth

Michael Forrester received a degree in History from the University of Minnesota and an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu College.  He combined that experience with a career in real estate to begin a wealth management career.  Recently, Michael took the next step in his life by starting High Note Wealth Wealth in Deephaven, Minnesota.  Michael has both his CFA and CFP Designations and is the CIO of High Note Wealth.  Today’s discussion focuses on his career trajectory and lessons learned from starting an RIA.

Episode 18: Entering the Matrix: A View from Inside the Future of Wealth Management

Guests: Ben Weisshaut, Founder and CEO of Wishlife and Mang-Git Ng, Founder and CEO of Anvil Foundry

Fin-tech is a buzz word within the financial services and wealth management space. Thinking about the future intersections between technology and the delivery of financial advice is a really fun exercise. Silicon Valley has been a hub for innovation and design for many years. A tremendous amount of wealth has been created through “start-up” ventures. These ventures have created a whole new set of rules for the life-cycle of businesses.

Ben Weisshaut and Mang-Git Ng are both founders of companies looking to modify the wealth management landscape. In today’s episode we’ll investigate the future of technology in the advisory space and the role owners play in the culture creation at their companies.

Episode 17: How Does the Math Work?

Guest: Ben Bines, Senior Vice President, Network Development, Dynasty Financial Partners

Compensation matters…full stop…period.  Understanding the economics of running an independent registered investment advisor is incredibly important.  The benefit in this transition from an employee to an owner is the control.  As an owner, the principals now control the decisions—how much to spend on real estate, marketing, and employee salaries.

With all of the misinformation in the marketplace, it is challenging to know what is fact and what is fiction.  In today’s episode, we speak with the quantitative powerhouse Ben Bines.  Ben will walk us through the most important financial considerations when choosing the independent path and common mistakes advisors make during this process.  We’ll also spend some time dispelling myths around the cost of independence.

Episode 16: Providing Financial Advice In the Middle of the Corona Virus Outbreak and Market Volatility

These are unprecedented times both domestically and globally.  COVID-19 has had far-reaching impacts upon many areas of our lives.  Volatility has spiked in the global marketplace and has certainly increased the volume of communication necessary from our advisors to their clients.  The intensity of fear/uncertainty feels similar to the housing crisis in the late 2000s.  Thinking back to that time, it was the advisors who formulated a thoughtful plan, demonstrated confidence, and executed who won.  In this conversation, Matt Celenza joins me to discuss how he is guiding his clients through these challenging times.

Episode 15: Making Change Count

How to Positively Impact Diversity and Create Change in the Financial Services Industry, Guest: Meghan Philbin, Communications Consultant and Coach, Templar Advisors

Episode 14: The Story of Shirl Penney and Dynasty Financial Partners

From Bates College to New York City to Saint Petersburg, Florida we follow the journey of Shirl as he worked to create Dynasty Financial Partners.  We’ll talk about the financial services industry, the future, family, business, and the next stage of evolution for Dynasty.