Practical Wisdom from ACP Financial Advisors

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held November 2023 in Spokane, Washington, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Sharing best ideas from the last year and what they started doing in 2023 that they think would help other advisors in 2024, ACP advisors were asked to provide their top tips, tools, and words of wisdom when it comes to running and managing an independent advisory firm. Ten members are featured here (plus one ACP partner), offering thoughts on industry organizations, methodologies, niching, outsourcing, systemization, automation, fintech and software solutions, and more.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org.

Featured in this episode:

Michael Garber, CFP®, CRTP, MSEE, Founder of Michael Garber Financial Planning

Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning

Kelly Adams, CFP®, RLP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning

Tim Massie, CFP®, Founder of Timepiece Financial Planning

Steven Jarvis, CPA, MBA, Founder of Retirement Tax Services

Wesley Stien, CFP®, MBA, Principal at Lodestar Financial Management

Steve Martin, CFP®, CPA, JD, LLM, Owner of Oasis Wealth Planning Advisors

Ken Robinson, CFP®, JD, Founder of Practical Financial Planning

Elizabeth Buffardi, CFP®, CPA, Founder of Crescendo Financial Planners

Thomas Cook, CFP®, EA, Founder of Retire To Tellico

Laura Rotter, CFA, MBA, CFP®, Founder of True Abundance Advisors

A lot of the financial planning industry focuses on investments because of their “something-for-nothing” feeling. But how do you advise clients on the whole of their financial lives? Our guest, Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, founder of Padden Financial Planning and ACP Immediate Past President, discusses what it takes to deliver a complete financial plan and why it’s important to look beyond investments alone.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Sheila Padden, please visit www.PaddenFinancial.com

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held September 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Advisors were asked to provide their top tips, tools, and words of wisdom when it comes to running and managing an independent advisory firm. Ten members are featured here, offering thoughts on industry organizations, methodologies, visualization methods, profiles, niching, outsourcing, systemization, automation, fintech solutions and softwares, and more.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org.

ACP members featured in this episode:

Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning

Cordi Powell, CFP®, EA, Founder of Favored Financial Planning

Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA, Founder of Sullivan Mermel, Inc.

John Scherer, CFP®, Founder of Trinity Financial Planning

Kelly Adams, CFP®, RLP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning

Rorik Larson, MBA, CFP®, EA, Founder of Essential Financial Strategies

Brian Leben, CFP®, PFS, CPA, MBA, CGMA, Owner of Midwest Wealth Solutions

Wendy Marsden, CFP®, CPA, Founder of ProsperiTea Planning

Zach Teutsch, Founder of Values Added Financial

Hannah Basil Bryant, CFP®, Financial Advisor at Savant Wealth Management

As our financial planning practices grow, we sometimes find ourselves stuck on plateaus, facing problems that can’t be solved by working harder. How do we make progress when the tools we’ve used up til now won’t get us to our next professional goal? The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) could provide the answer. Our guests, Al Davis, CFP®, EA, founder of Davis Financial Planning, and Adrianne Gordon, CEO & Partner, discuss how they use EOS to navigate the continued growth of their firm.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Al Davis and Adrianne Gordon, please visit www.DavisFinancialPlanning.com

One of the challenges of fiduciary financial planning is how to best communicate with clients. You'd like your clients to tell you more about their financial lives, but they might be afraid of wasting your time if they think of you as just a professional specialist. You also want them to understand your own confidence and professional advice, but without their eyes glazing over from jargon. How can you talk with your clients in a way that helps you provide the greatest value? Our guest, Chip Simon, CFP®, Founder of Taconic Advisors, discusses how to talk with your clients so they, and you, will be confident that you’re heading in the right direction.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Chip Simon, please visit www.TaconicAdvisors.com

AUM model, commissions, hourly fee, flat fee, retainer model... there are so many ways that financial advisors charge for their services these days that it's sometimes very confusing for consumers and hard to know which will serve them best. The same can be said for advisors themselves - which model is going to allow your business to thrive and serve clients to the fullest? Our guest, Jake Kuebler, CFP®, EA, Owner and Managing Partner of Bluestem Financial Advisors, explains the benefits of the retainer model and why it's often the best choice for advisors and their clients.

Jake is the co-author (along with host Ken Robinson) of the whitepaper 'The Financial Planners' Retainer: A Reflection of Real Value' (https://www.acplanners.org/consumer/media/retainer-model).

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Jake Kuebler, please visit www.BluestemFA.com

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held October 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Advisors were asked to discuss a challenge faced during the pandemic and how they successfully moved through and resolved the issue, or the top lesson they learned for running a successful advisory practice during the pandemic. Ten members are featured here, offering thoughts on virtual client communications, working remotely, volatile markets, mindfulness, self-care, industry organizations, helpful software and fintech solutions, recruiting solutions, and more.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org.

ACP members featured in this episode:

Frankie Corrado, CFP®, RLP®, Managing Director, Principal at Robertson Stephens;

Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning;

Linda Leitz, CFP®, EA, President of Peace of Mind Financial Planning;

Dani Parris-Exline, AFC®, Financial Advisor at Peace of Mind Financial Planning;

Jane Young, CFP®, EA, President of More Than Your Money, Inc.;

Kelly Adams, CFP®, RLP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning;

Mike Stanton, CFP®, Principal of Stanton Financial Planning;

Ross Schmidt, President of Aspen Wealth Planners;

Anabel Diaz, CFP®, Financial Associate at Natural Bridges Financial Advisors;

Bert Whitehead, MBA, JD, Founder of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners;

Ken Robinson, CFP®, JD, Founder of Practical Financial Planning

Should you include tax planning in your offerings? Maybe even (gasp!) tax preparation? Join our guest, Timothy Caban, EA, CFP®, Founder of Copper Beech Advisors, as he tells us why he started out not wanting to provide tax planning, but now relishes it as one indispensable part of his firm and the value he provides for his clients.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Tim Caban, please visit www.CopperBeechAdvisors.com.

A career as a fee-only planner may begin with a job in an existing practice. What’s it like as the planner's role evolves from entry-level to owner? Join us and our guest Alicia Klein, CFP®, EA, Senior Planner and Partner at Cambridge Financial Group, as she takes us on her journey from her first steps in the profession to becoming the second of three partners in her firm.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Alicia Klein, please visit www.CambridgeFinancialGroup.com.

There are many paths financial planners can take on the way to their calling. What's it like to to make the change from serving large organizations with business goals, to working with individuals and all their concerns, anxieties, and ambitions? Join us as Financial Life Planner Laura Rotter, CFA, MBA, CFP®, founder of True Abundance Advisors, describes how she left a career of 30 years managing money for some of the country's largest institutions to help her clients focus on the things that matter most in their lives.

To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Laura Rotter, please visit www.TrueAbundanceAdvisors.com.