Today I have Brian Williams of Northshire Consulting and we’re going to be talking about how financial advisors can help improve 401k plan access to the American people who are working at small businesses who currently do not offer them. Let’s talk about fixing the 401k coverage gap, people! What if the local baker had a 401k plan? The neighborhood laundry? The local trucking company? Small business retirement plans are the way to save the American middle class from retirement failure!

Why are small business owners not offering 401k plans?

According to Brian, about 40% of workers don’t have access to one to begin with.

Why?

• It’s not a priority. The local bakery has 10 people working there, has turnover, has part time employees, and managing the day to day is the priority. The 401k plan is low down on the list.

If the 401k system was set up to accommodate the American middle class, it could make a major difference in people’s lives. It’s important to society that these mechanisms are in place.

• What about the people who aren’t financially that literate, who wouldn’t go to Charles Schwab and open a brokerage account?

What about those people???? Should we just throw them off to Social Security and hope for the best?

A 401(k) is the only mechanism where many Americans can get some financial literacy. According to Brian, half the country doesn’t even have more than $2,000 in their savings account. The idea they are going to go out and hire a $10,000 a year planner is ludicrous.

The workplace offers the one to many model and is the best way to get financial wellness and literacy to these people.

After you inspire the business owner, then comes the typical conversation about fees, funds, and fiduciary – not before. Instead of trying to pitch lower fund fees or compliance, strike them in the heart.

“Business owner, do you care about your employees?”

Yes.

“Do you want them to stay with you a long time?”

Yes.

“Do you think it would be the best thing for your business if Sheila who answers the phone of the trucking company, and who all your clients know by name, if she were still there in five months from now?”

Yes.

“Does Sheila have a family?”

Yes, she’s got two young kids.

“Does she know about 529 plans?”

Huh? I dunno.

“Does she know about 401k?”

I dunno, I’ve never had a conversation with her.

This is about motivating the employer to want to participate in the financial wellness of their employees. That would be the conversation not the typical financial advisor pitch about fund expense ratios. That’s not it. Show them ways they aren’t caring as much about their people as they possible could. This is how Brian approaches the conversation about small business retirement plans.

• How do you think lethargic or non-motivated employees affect your bottom line?

Especially at a small business, it’s a lot harder for people to put in half-effort, to look for another job, and to leave if they feel that the small business owner cares about them.

Bring the spirit of entrepreneurship back to the conversation. If you want to be a financial advisor for 401k plans, do it for the right reasons; not just to get at the business owner’s assets. You have to have a passion for working with all the employees because if you are just laser-focused on the CEO and have no concern for Tony the secretary who is out front putting away $20k a year, that is not going to be a win for anybody. It’s just not a good scenario; you really should have a passion to help everyone in that company’s workforce.

Brian says that what many advisors miss though is the automation. You don’t want to have the employer have to manually download payroll data every week; use technology to streamline the process and make it easier.

American middle class needs more 401k plans

Financial advisors have an amazing opportunity to help America.

• Not have as stressful a Christmas

Brian wonders:

What if ever advisors took every Friday afternoon and went to visit a small business in a 10 mile radius of their business? 

Instead of writing a check to your local charity, donate some time. Even if your goal is to break even, maybe that is your contribution to your community instead of just writing a check. If you give a business owner five good things to do for their business, you never know how they could reciprocate back. Moreover you never know what you can learn from sitting down with somebody, especially a business owner who has been through some stuff. If anything you could make a new friend.

And that’s it for the show!

Thanks for reading my blog about how to tell if a life insurance pitch is bad.

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

The Transparent Advisor Movement’s mission is to promote ideals of clarity, modesty, integrity, dignity, and client advocacy in all aspects of financial advice, with a special focus on Advice Only, Flat Fee, and Hourly service models. There is a special emphasis on clear disclosure of services and their related fees.

The Transparency Movement is the future of the industry – we welcome anyone who believes in our values to join us.

Join our next Transparent Advisor virtual meetup.

These meetups are free and the goal is to learn from each other about how to grow and manage a transparent practice for the benefit of clients.

Even if you can not make the meetup, or even attend in its entirety, please register for the replay and to be notified of the next one. We meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 1 PM ET.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained herein is accurate. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor.

Rates may vary as a function of geographic location due to exchange rate differences, fees, surcharges, and other factors. These offers are limited to the services advertised in the promotions contained on this page. Additional services may be provided at an additional cost at rates that are subject to negotiation.

The post Imagine if the local bakery had a 401k? Let’s solve the 401k Coverage Gap and save the American middle class! appeared first on Sara Grillo.

In this podcast I talk with Broc Buckles of BC Brokerage about how to avoid falling for a bad life insurance pitch.

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

If you are a financial advisor, your clients have probably been pitched bad life insurance. Learn:

• What to look for in the illustration to know if it’s a bad pitch

Enjoy the show!

Thanks for reading my blog about how to tell if a life insurance pitch is bad.

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

The Transparent Advisor Movement’s mission is to promote ideals of clarity, modesty, integrity, dignity, and client advocacy in all aspects of financial advice, with a special focus on Advice Only, Flat Fee, and Hourly service models. There is a special emphasis on clear disclosure of services and their related fees.

The Transparency Movement is the future of the industry – we welcome anyone who believes in our values to join us.

Join our next Transparent Advisor virtual meetup.

These meetups are free and the goal is to learn from each other about how to grow and manage a transparent practice for the benefit of clients.

Even if you can not make the meetup, or even attend in its entirety, please register for the replay and to be notified of the next one. We meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 1 PM ET.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained herein is accurate. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor.

Rates may vary as a function of geographic location due to exchange rate differences, fees, surcharges, and other factors. These offers are limited to the services advertised in the promotions contained on this page. Additional services may be provided at an additional cost at rates that are subject to negotiation.

The post How to tell a bad life insurance pitch appeared first on Sara Grillo.

In this first episode of “Does my Marketing STINK?”, we’ll interview Chase Dapello of Westlake Private Wealth Management and answer the question of whether or not his marketing stinks.

If you’d like to be a guest on “Does my marketing STINK” and have you or your company’s marketing analyzed for free, send me a note below.

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

And now – onto the show!

If they like you and you have the skills they need, they will actually hire you no matter what your niche is.

If you are going to niche, you should go gung ho. That is the only way to do it. Otherwise you are going to exclude the people who don’t fit into that niche, but you wont have the magnetism to attract the people who do fall into it. If you are going to niche, then burrow yourself so far down into that niche that you are at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. Where the earthquakes come from. So far down that you don’t even care, that it doesn’t even cross your mind that you might be losing business. That is the only way I have seen niches really work. See Avier Advisors for an example.  They know Microsoft benefits as well as if not better than the HR people who work at the company.

Or you can specialize. Devin Carroll is a social security specialist. Andy Panko started a taxes in retirement Facebook group.

When you go through your client base and your immediate circle and hit the point of not having anyone else to go to, that is when you really have to get creative. These events where you ask clients to bring friends are awkward and everyone is worried about not being able to meet your expectations for becoming their client. This is a hard, hard, hard way to go because clients are going to guard their relationship with their friends, and their friends are going to be guarded. It’s a masked sales call.

We have to get what I call “the second wave.” How can I use my relationship with this client to open doors for me that might not directly lead to another person on the other side of the door, but will create a land of opportunity for me?  

I’d suggest trying to build a community with these folks that would be more natural and focus on needs or interests they might have. If you work with film script writers, for example, find a way to help them with the inconsistencies of income they tend to face. I would get to know these writers and interview them. Instead of coming to them with a sales pitch, come to them as an advocate.

Take a longer term view. Incubate and advocate. Write up the interviews. “How did you get your first writing job? “Are you part of the writer’s guild? What are the benefits of that?” “What website has been most helpful for you getting gigs?” If you could be the conduit, be the person the writers come to for these answers, it takes away the cudgel of stiff-faced dinner seminars. Show them you will walk alongside them. It should be more like this. They may be focused on the three steps ahead of them, but you are focused on the broader view including 30 years from now when you are going to retire, and that is because I talk to script writers all day and for that reason I can see a broader picture that you can not.

“Oh well that’s too much work and I have a quota.”

If you need leads right away, you are simply going to just have to cold call and get rejected or buy leads (insert link). People are going to see that you are not into developing a relationship with them unless you sincerely can keep the long term in mind a build something – a system, a community. If you can not do that, just resort to transactional marketing means and that is going to be a hard way to go.

Marketing and blogs are nice, but you need a list. And if there aren’t enough people on the list, you need to get out there and knock on doors. Yeah I know. People hate it when I say that.

If you cold call a business, don’t treat the receptionist like they work for you. They are probably pretty close with the business owner, especially if it is a small business. If you make a good enough case with the admin, they may want to actually help you. Treat everyone with respect anyway. Treat everyone associated with the prospect as a valuable source of information.

Just say, “ I was researching this company and I know that taxes have just onge up in the local area. I just wanted to come in and do a seminar about how to do tax planning in XYZ County. Have you ever had anybody come in here and talk about something like that? As someone who knows the company really well, is there anything you think would have a higher success rate?”

Treating the gatekeeper cold will cause you to lose sales. And guess what – people do it to reporters, conference organizers, lots of people.

When a reporter contacts me, I act like I work for that person. I don’t act like they act for me and I deserve for them to pick me, or that I deserve their respect. I work to earn their respect. Don’t act like you expect them to turn over their beat, or their conference, to you. Put your motives aside and be humble. Treat them like your client and you are trying to increase their business success, no matter what their title or rank is.

If you are not getting leads from the mailers, stop doing it. They are expensive and you don’t have any way to track who is actually reading them. I would create a community and serve them with a digitized newsletter that you can track.

• Boring banner photo with company name, which means nothing to them

See these blogs for LinkedIn tips for financial advisors.

There is also this LinkedIn message ebook and social media training program.

Thanks for watching, “Does my marketing stink”. If you’d like to be a guest on the show and find out if your marketing stinks, send me a note.

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

Immersion2025 will be the second advice-only and flat fee financial advisor conference in our industry’s history.

When: Wednesday, March 12th – Thursday, March 13th, 2025

Where: Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Airport, 11832 NW Plaza Circle, Kansas City, Missouri, 64153

Join the Immersion here!

I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” I hope you’ll join it!

The post “Worried I’ll exclude qualified clients if I niche down.” [Does my marketing STINK? Ep One] appeared first on Sara Grillo.

In this podcast we interview Jamie Menges of PDS Planning, a multi-advisor flat fee RIA firm with $1.7BB in assets under management. You’ll hear the story of why they converted from AUM to flat fee, how it has bolstered the growth trajectory of the practice, how to convert your firm from AUM and achieve similar results, and more!

Flat fee firms are not all solo lifestyle practices! We’re about to refute this myth!!!

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

We’ll discuss:

• What was the trajectory in terms of being an AUM firm and making the switch to flat fees

PDS Planning had 10 employees and everyone at the organization was excited to be a part of this disruptive business model. Flat fees are not just for lifestyle solo financial advisor practices.

The original impetus was the brand value (flat fees being more transparent and logic) and also to gain clarity about how much revenue exactly they would be earning. They believed in it and felt that it would be a true differentiator. They love the transparency of the flat fee. They love being able to talk to their clients about the fee they are being charged in dollars and cents.

“When someone asks you ‘What are you paying your advisor,’ we don’t want you to answer like everyone else and go, ‘I don’t know. I think it’s about the industry standard. I think it’s maybe 1% or something.” – Jamie Menges

They learned they had to be very careful about how they price things in order to provide the best possible counsel to their clients while also allowing for career opportunities for the team. They went from having 10 people to 16 people today -and growing.

After they decided they were converting from AUM to flat fee, they had to define what the variables were that were going to drive the pricing model.

• Is this client going to be serviced mostly by a lead or an associate advisor?

If unforeseen things such as divorce or death happens, they manage through them. Their first thought is, how do we get a solution for client? In the longer term, there is a contract adjustment for change in scope that come up. To keep up with the cost of doing business, there is an annual adjustment to the client’s contract as a matter of course. They use the meeting with the client to right size the contract to the relationship for both expected and unexpected changes that happen.

Although it seems like an intimidating conversation, it gets easier over time.

They had 400 clients when they started their flat fee conversion in 2016. They now have 600 clients. Their average growth per year in terms of top line revenue growth (organic, no acquisitions) is 11-12% per year. They want to grow in a controlled manner and work-life balance for their team is important. They turn away alot of clients who don’t fit their profile.

It’s not as easy to scale as an AUM firm. But at the end of the day, PDS Planning is a profitable business that employs 16 people and provides a high quality service to its clients. They have grown. Scaling can be done; it may be challenging to maintain a 35% profit margin as a flat fee firm. It can be done with acceptable profit margins.

Alot of advisors who balk at the flat fee model are looking at themselves relative to other firms. He says they should worry about taking care of what they need to take care of in their own entity. If it’s all about dollars and cents for the advisor, they should think about trying to marry their clients’ interests with their own.

Having their employees buy in and be excited about being a part of this disruptive business is a key thing. Mindset wise, they have figured out what they need to charge in order to serve the clients they like serving. They are now working with clients who have $2MM or above and are providing an incredible cost savings versus what the client would be paying an AUM advisor. They have gotten to the point of clearly recognizing what it takes for them to be successful for their clients while being able to provide employees with a fruitful place to work.

Menges says this can be done on a smaller scale for flat fee firms who want to work with smaller clients. There is no one RIA firm size that flat fees work for. You can start out as a flat fee firm, you can change over from AUM to flat fees, or you can find a way to somehow make it work if you are abiding by another business model. It’s possible if you are able to understand what you do for clients, what you need to charge them, and whether or not that is a true value for the client.

You have to:

• Have a vision for what you want

When have people ever been punished for doing the right thing? If you do the right thing for your clients and employees, good things will happen.

Thanks for reading my blog about how one RIA converted to flat fee from AUM.

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

The Transparent Advisor Movement’s mission is to promote ideals of clarity, modesty, integrity, dignity, and client advocacy in all aspects of financial advice, with a special focus on Advice Only, Flat Fee, and Hourly service models. There is a special emphasis on clear disclosure of services and their related fees.

The Transparency Movement is the future of the industry – we welcome anyone who believes in our values to join us.

Join our next Transparent Advisor virtual meetup.

These meetups are free and the goal is to learn from each other about how to grow and manage a transparent practice for the benefit of clients.

Even if you can not make the meetup, or even attend in its entirety, please register for the replay and to be notified of the next one. We meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 1 PM ET.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained herein is accurate. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor.

Rates may vary as a function of geographic location due to exchange rate differences, fees, surcharges, and other factors. These offers are limited to the services advertised in the promotions contained on this page. Additional services may be provided at an additional cost at rates that are subject to negotiation.

The post This $1.7BB RIA firm converted from AUM to flat fee and never looked back! appeared first on Sara Grillo.

Fire your therapist and do this instead.

The post How to overcome any fear appeared first on Sara Grillo.

We do a crypto debate podcast every year. Here’s this year’s joust which got a leeetle bit rowdy as these financial advisors hash it out. Enjoy!

For those of you who are new to my blog/podcast, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and I used to be a financial advisor. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” So please subscribe!

Thanks for listening to this crypto debate. If you are finding this newsletter valuable, please feel free to support its production by making a $20 contribution via this PayPal link or via Zelle to [email protected].

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

Just letting ya know, in case you need me at some point.

-Sara G

Scott Salaske

Scott Salaske is the founder and CEO of Firstmetric, a flat fee financial advisor firm in Troy, Michigan. Ever since the beginning of his 20+ year long career, Scott has pursued his mission of delivering high quality financial advice in a low cost and unbiased way.

Early on in his entrepreneurial journey, Scott saw firsthand the inherent flaws and conflicts of interest in the traditional sales and product driven approach, as several family members had lost a significant portion of their hard-earned life savings to high-cost, commission-based investment products and inappropriate advice.

It was at that point Scott thought there had to be a better way for investors to obtain unbiased advice and low-cost access to the financial markets. That lead him to start Quest Asset Management, with the novel idea of putting investor interests first as a fiduciary, which was practically unheard of at the time. The idea centered on the concepts of simplicity, keeping total investment costs and taxes extremely low and developing a custom investment plan for each client using low-cost asset class and index funds.

A few years later Scott merged Quest with another local investment advisory firm, Portfolio Solutions, that shared the same investment principles at that time. Several years after the combined merger, Scott went on to grow the combined firm from advising approximately $60 million in client investment assets under management to more than $1.4 billion. In early 2015, Scott sold his ownership interest in the firm. He started Firstmetric a few years later.

At Firstmetric, Scott continues his mission of delivering low cost, unbiased advice to clients. Along his journey he has been quoted in the following publications: The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report, TheStreet.com, Cheddar.TV, Crain’s Detroit Business and MarketWatch.com; among others.

James Giles

James Giles works as a Product Manager specializing in the Fintech and Crypto space. Most recently James worked with several seed and pre-seed startups at Nerd United, a venture studio, specializing in working with Crypto Startups to identify their early product market fit and work to get them into a functioning BETA. His focus was to identify real-world applications and utility to the crypto space in areas such as payments, health care, eCommerce, charitable giving, and sales.

James completed both his Undergraduate and Master of Science Degrees at the University of Utah in Business Management and Information Systems specializing in Product Management. Prior to moving into Product Management James spent over 6 years with Fidelity Investments in various wealth management and technical roles where he held his FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses and Utah Resident Life and Health Insurance License.

In addition to his professional endeavors, he volunteers his time mentoring those who want to break into the field of Product Management and works with a number of student blockchain organizations to educate as many as possible about the future crypto will have as a technology.

James is the father of three energetic boys and 1 Bernadoodle: Oliver, Henry, William, and Louie; and husband to Anya Giles since 2017. They love to travel, bake, and swim.

Robert Wright

Robert Wright, CFP® serves as a Financial Planning Professional at Advocacy Wealth Management with over 10 years of experience in the financial planning and services industry. Robert works families who are victims of wrongful death or personal injury to provide comprehensive settlement plans.

Robert completed His Undergraduate Degree at The University of Utah in Economics and his Master of Science in Advanced Personal Financial Planning and a graduate Certificate in Financial Therapy at Kansas State University.

In addition to his formal Education Robert Wright holds his FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional and holds Georgia Resident Life and Health Insurance License.

Robert is also an Instructor of CFP® Coursework for the College of Financial Planning Online and on Campus at Kennesaw State University.

Robert is the father of three amazing children: Macie, Liam, and Charlotte; and husband to Priscila Moraes-Wright since 2012. He and his family love to travel,  play baseball, swim and play at the Georgia lakes and Beaches.

Dr. Steven Lee

Dr. Steven Lee is a lecturer in the Finance, Real Estate, and Law department at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Previously, he worked as an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University, and an instructor at the University of California Riverside Extension. Lee holds a Ph.D. in Financial and Retirement Income Planning from The American College of Financial Services, where he was named the Sievert-Sternberg Doctoral Research Fellow, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Criminal Justice degree from Northcentral University.  He has presented papers at conferences on topics such as investment fraud, risk management, and retirement planning. Additionally, Lee has received numerous awards, including the Outstanding Instructor Award and Excellence in Online Teaching Award from the University of California Riverside Extension, Best Paper Award in Risk Management & Insurance at the CFP Board Academic Research Colloquium, and is a member and fellow of the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society in Business. Dr. Lee’s current research agenda includes investigating the impact of insurance licensing on financial advisor misconduct, analyzing the effect of external vs. internal work commitments on college student performance in hybrid and online learning environments, and examining risk profiles of U.S. transgender male and female investors.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program. Nothing in these materials may be construed as an investment, insurance, or financial recommendation.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor.

Podcast transcription and summary may differ from original recording and Grillo Investment Management, LLC may not be held liable for such differences.

The post This year’s Wild Crypto Debate appeared first on Sara Grillo.

Wow, this was a powerful interview with Dave Welty, a financial advisor who founded and developed what I would consider a well-managed RIA firm. Avier Advisors, based out of Bellevue, Washington, has nearly $800MM in AUM and almost 20 employees. Here are five things they’ve done differently at Avier, and why it’s helped them kick the competition’s butt.

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

When I say the words, “wealth management firm”, here’s what you probably picture, right?

• A suffocating, top-heavy firm structure, in which the principal is in command of all goings-on at the company and is the primary contact for all client relationships.

Am I crazy or am I right? Now let’s look at a different picture.

As you will hear in the podcast, Avier Advisors has been strategically formed by Dave Welty to be a totally different type of wealth management company.

Here are the five ways Dave has managed his RIA firm differently and it’s kicked butt.

The teams page says it all.

It says, “We are proud to have fostered a culture that values teamwork, collaboration, and integrity.” That is not just a tagline.

You don’t see Dave Welty’s picture and bio at the top as if he presides over all. In fact, he is positioned in the bottom of several rows. The bios are randomly placed on the page in a non-hierarchical way. This says it all – that everyone’s contribution is valued and like a true team everyone plays a part in the client’s success.

Wouldn’t you be excited about working somewhere like that? To be a client of a firm like that?

You can tell from their body language. People here look happy. Genuinely happy.

It shows a stark contrast to the top-heavy hierarchical way that most RIA firms are run, even the larger ones, where the founder or president is in control of everything. Nobody else seems to have any authority or say in anything meaningful that happens to the client. It squeezes the life out of the employees. This is not an ideal structure for employee satisfaction and the lack of motivation eventually will be known to clients.

It sounds counterintuitive but this has worked incredibly well for Avier.

• Dave Welty met Lars Phillips, a partner and Lead Advisor, when he was selling t-shirts at a baseball game.

To quote Welty (12:53), “I guess my points is, you’ve got to keep an open mind. You’ve always got to be engaging with people, talking to people, networking with people.”

That’s right.

The job boards are a meat market where candidates are going to grind you down for salary and haggle you over the terms in the non-compete, then when they leave to start their own RIA firm, they’ll swipe half your clients anyways. The best way to attract wealth management talent in an intensely competitive job market?

(Frame 13:05)

“We created an environment at Avier where people want to be.”

Awesome.

Welty’ s suggestion? That other RIA firms should raise their game so that people want to be there. Word will get around.  

If you want employees to stick around, they have to feel like they belong to something, like they can take ownership of some aspect of their work. That is how you set employees up to stay committed to your clients.

Frame 6:24

“We’ve made a tremendous commitment to who we are and who we wanted to become. That’s on the marketing side. We’ve made that same commitment on the operational side of the business as well.”

Good for you, Avier.

This commitment has enabled the firm to grow, and it’s also allowed Welty to create an effective succession plan so that his firm can live on after one day were to decide to exit.

Succession is an epidemic problem for financial advisors. A lot of them wind up selling to awful RIA aggregator firms that are going to treat their clients badly. Welty knew he needed to be able to pass the torch. He treats his employees like owners. If they ask him a question about a client, he asks them back, “Well what would you do if you owned the firm?”

This way you get people to make decisions. Empower them, and then sit back and watch.

The result?

(Frame 10:01)

Welty is 63 with four young partners. He owns 50% of the RIA firm and they own the other 50%. They are transitioning over time. They are 31 to 37 years of age. He nurtured the succession process for about seven years.

BOOM there you go.

Any advisor can say they serve a particular niche. A lot of times this statement is made with no real substance or skill to back it up. The reality is that doing it right takes a ton of time and effort.

Avier Wealth focuses on tech employees – Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, etc. Check out their YouTube channel. There are in-depth videos going into granular levels of detail, and some has garnered tens of thousands of views. This has served them well, leading to a steady flow of new clients on a monthly basis.

Why the appeal?

Here is an example of the Microsoft page.

(4:48)

“It comes down to being an expert in people’s lives…I tell people all the time. I truly believe we know Microsoft benefits better than most any HR person at Microsoft. And that’s powerful to be able to say that.”

To get paid well you need to deliver well. Microsoft deferred compensation is complicated. Some people may downplay it, but it’s not simple when you dive down into the nuances and details of deferring and setting up the distribution strategy. They have done the work – they know the ins and outs and the nitty gritty. Unfortunately most advisors will not put in the effort to go this far, and that is why many financial advisors fail to market themselves effectively.

Many of you advisors complain about not being able to get clients from marketing and the reality is you deserve it. Look at what you have to say in terms of material, factual knowledge. Is it that valuable to the client or is what the next advisor saying even better? You have to compete and nobody is going to give you handouts. This is $10k a year. Stop whining and learn some things and be the best, know more about a particular topic than anyone else, and then you’ll see how people respond differently once you do that.

(Frame 13:20)

Avier’s team is described by Welty as:

• Average age of 35

That’s not by accident.

And here’s why it matters.

When people are looking around for a job at an RIA firm, they look at the Teams page and ask, can I see myself there? Create a team of people at your RIA firm that looks like how the world is. See employees as humans and as a part of the world around them – the world your clients live in. They aren’t just droids with a price tag attached. Actively make an effort to support diversity and a positive growth trajectory for the people at your company.

Thanks for reading my blog about the RIA firm of the future. If you are finding this newsletter valuable, please feel free to support its production by making a $20 contribution via this PayPal link or via Zelle to [email protected].

• I am an outsourced CMO for companies who need regular, full service marketing – blogging, social media posts, newsletters, etc.

Just letting ya know, in case you need me at some point.

-Sara G

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. There is no guarantee that the information contained herein is accurate. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor.

Rates may vary as a function of geographic location due to exchange rate differences, fees, surcharges, and other factors. These offers are limited to the services advertised in the promotions contained on this page. Additional services may be provided at an additional cost at rates that are subject to negotiation.

Avier Wealth Advisors is not currently a client of Sara Grillo in any way at the time of publishing of this material. However, the past, the firm and some of its members have been clients of Sara Grillo.

The post 5 reasons this RIA firm is kicking your butt appeared first on Sara Grillo.

The math behind Universal Life Insurance Interest Rates is a twisted web and most consumers are deceived. Know how the math works so you can see the potential risks that may exist with your policy.

But before we get into it…

Look, there are alot of schmucks out there hawking crap products disguised as financial advice.

Don’t be fooled!

Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates that raise awareness of consumer financial issues. It will teach you how to avoid shenanigans, crap products, and other scummy practices that are unfortunately common in financial advice.

I wrote a bunch of consumer advocacy blogs here to protect people from all the BS.

Blunt, unfiltered truth about Universal Life

Get an in-force illustration when you buy UL

Hidden costs in an insurance illustration – how to crack the code

According to our podcast guest Elan Moas, the investment assumption of the three primary cash value universal life insurance policies (UL, VUL, IUL) displays a hypothetical illustration of what MIGHT occur with the policy. It is based on zero ($0.00) cash value guarantees.

Here’s the danger of relying on illustrations based upon unrealistic Universal Life Insurance interest rate assumptions.

• Universal life (UL=money market investment) policies from the late 1980s to the early 2000s were illustrated using 8%+ CD-like rates of return forever. Money market rates crashed to zero (0%) in 2022 due to Covid-19.

The interest rate assumptions for Indexed Universal Life require extra explanation. Actuarial Guideline 49 of 2015, via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) sought to cap, or limit the highly unlikely, aggressive illustrations used in the sales software prior to 2015. This correction was updated in 2020 with AG 49A and again in May 2023 with AG49B. This means the policyholder was likely shown an illustrated rate of return regulators have now deemed to be wrong and/or incorrect.

All three policies likely heavily underperformed the original illustration. Lower future cash value means your internal costs are higher and the policy is more likely to “lapse” or cease to exist while you the policyholder is still alive. This defeats the notion that these are permanent policies.

Order yourself an “in force illustration” which is the current policy projection and one that your insurer is not required to send you, unless you request it. Most policyholders have no idea this report exists.

If it still looks ok, congrats, you are one of the lucky ones. But this might be less than 5% of policyholders. Being on the wrong side of compound interest rates in universal life policies is a problem for the policyholder.

• On UL and IUL use current rates, VUL use a 5% & 6% rate of return.

Let me leave you with this:

#1

If you have any questions, send me a note. I am sick of consumers getting a raw deal and would be happy to hear your questions.

#2

I have a newsletter entirely devoted to advocacy for the consumer. The goal is to educate people so they can steer clear of the traps the financial services industry sets for them. Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive these updates so you can avoid being taken advantage of by shenanigans.

These are topics I’ve written about in the past:

Blunt, unfiltered truth about Indexed Universal Life

How to CRACK the secret costs in an insurance illustration

Direct indexing sucks

Top advisor lists are bullcrap

How to read an ADV

#3

Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates that raise awareness of consumer financial issues. It will teach you how to avoid shenanigans, crap products, and other scummy practices that are unfortunately common in financial advice.

Be safe!

-Sara G

Elan Moas

Elan Moas, the owner of Moas Consulting, a firm specializing in life insurance strategies, is a 4X SEC whistleblower and author of the book, “Lapsed, The Universal Life Insurance Whistleblower.” This is an expose of the entire universal life insurance industry and his decade-long research project to save millions of consumers and their lapsing policies makes him one of our country’s most important and ethical whistleblowers.

Disclosures

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use or mention in any of its content, or the success of any program it may mention in any of its content. Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor. I want to be clear that nothing in this podcast or blog can be interpreted as an investment recommendation of any type, or an endorsement of any particular person or their services. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Sara Grillo or Grillo Investment Management, LLC. Also, nothing in this podcast or blog can be interpreted as legal or compliance advice. For advise on such matters, contact a legal or compliance advisor. Any similarities to persons deceased or alive are entirely coincidental.

The post Don’t be tricked by 8% eternal Universal Life Insurance Interest Rates! appeared first on Sara Grillo.

The regulators don’t force insurance companies to provide in-force illustrations to their Universal Life policy holders and it allows them to deceive consumers who aren’t prepared to do the math required to know the truth.

Insurance companies make Bernie Madoff look like a petty thief. Don’t fall for it!

But before we get into it…

Look, there are alot of schmucks out there hawking crap products disguised as financial advice.

Don’t be fooled!

Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates that raise awareness of consumer financial issues. It will teach you how to avoid shenanigans, crap products, and other scummy practices that are unfortunately common in financial advice.

I wrote a bunch of consumer advocacy blogs here to protect people from all the BS.

According to our podcast guest Elan Moas, higher future costs liquidate the cash value until zero and the policy ceases to exist. All your Premiums, Cash Value and Death benefit are kept by the insurer, despite making all your payments. That’s financial devastation.

It’s simple. The original investment ROR shown to the consumer was higher than a rational and/or ethical advisor would use. This high hypothetical ROR makes the policy looks good at the point of sale, lower actual investment returns could show a future lapse. There won’t be enough actual cash value to pay for massive rising internal costs.

The urgency is to know if your policy will lapse or crash in the future. You want to know about this ASAP, so you can address this problem immediately. This is your money and your problem is not going away.

Yes. The in-force illustration is the current forecast The annual statement only shows the current policy values on that day, not the forecast.

For instance, take Universal Life policies (ULs) invested in money markets in 1980s. The early 2000s shows 8%+ROR, interest rates went to 0% in 2022. Underperformed the illustration by 4%. That’s trouble. IUL/VUL have the same investment hypothetical problem.

No. The insurer isn’t required to send one to you on annual basis, only if you ask for it. I think > 99% of policyholders don’t know this report exists. The regulators have failed the consumer. We need a law mandating each policyholder receive this report on an annual basis.

Let me leave you with this:

#1

If you have any questions, send me a note. I am sick of consumers getting a raw deal and would be happy to hear your questions.

#2

I have a newsletter entirely devoted to advocacy for the consumer. The goal is to educate people so they can steer clear of the traps the financial services industry sets for them. Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive these updates so you can avoid being taken advantage of by shenanigans.

These are topics I’ve written about in the past:

Blunt, unfiltered truth about Indexed Universal Life

How to CRACK the secret costs in an insurance illustration

Direct indexing sucks

Top advisor lists are bullcrap

How to read an ADV

#3

Please subscribe to my newsletter to receive updates that raise awareness of consumer financial issues. It will teach you how to avoid shenanigans, crap products, and other scummy practices that are unfortunately common in financial advice.

Be safe!

-Sara G

Elan Moas

Elan Moas, the owner of Moas Consulting, a firm specializing in life insurance strategies, is a 4X SEC whistleblower and author of the book, “Lapsed, The Universal Life Insurance Whistleblower.” This is an expose of the entire universal life insurance industry and his decade-long research project to save millions of consumers and their lapsing policies makes him one of our country’s most important and ethical whistleblowers.

Disclosures

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use or mention in any of its content, or the success of any program it may mention in any of its content. Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor. I want to be clear that nothing in this podcast or blog can be interpreted as an investment recommendation of any type, or an endorsement of any particular person or their services. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Sara Grillo or Grillo Investment Management, LLC. Also, nothing in this podcast or blog can be interpreted as legal or compliance advice. For advise on such matters, contact a legal or compliance advisor. Any similarities to persons deceased or alive are entirely coincidental.

The post Get an in-force illustration whenever you buy a Universal Life insurance policy! appeared first on Sara Grillo.

Everybody talks about getting referrals from clients, but nobody really talks about what to do when they go south. What if the client doesn’t actually make the referral? What if the referral doesn’t call you back? I’ve got Bill Cates here and he’s going to discuss all of this and more as covered in his book, “The Language of Referrals.”

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara. I am a CFA® charterholder and financial advisor marketing consultant. I have a newsletter in which I talk about financial advisor lead generation topics which is best described as “fun and irreverent.” 

There were some great takeaways here. We covered the main points from Bill’s book and there were some powerful takeaways about:

• The words to say when asking for a referral without begging or being pushy

Enjoy the show!

Are you ready to go leave the AUM fee model for hourly, flat, or advice only planning?

Learn what to say to prospects on social media messenger apps without sounding like a washing machine salesperson. This e-book contains 47 financial advisor LinkedIn messages, sequences, and scripts, and they are all two sentences or less.

You could also consider this LinkedIn training program which teaches financial advisors how to get new clients and leads from LinkedIn.

Thanks for reading. If you are a financial advisor reading this, I hope you’ll at least join my weekly newsletter about financial advisor lead generation.

See you in the next one!

-Sara G

Bill Cates is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts in the art and science of acquiring new clients
through referrals and personal introductions. Bill is president of Referral Coach International, founder of The Cates Academy for Relationship Marketing, and the host of the podcast TopAdvisorPodcast.com. Bill was recently rated as the #1 Financial Advisor Influencer by Indigo Marketing.
Bill is also a bestselling author. His books are, Get More Referrals Now, Don’t Keep Me a Secret, Beyond Referrals, Radical Relevance, and his latest book is The Language of Referrals.

Disclosures

Grillo Investment Management, LLC does not guarantee any specific level of performance, the success of any strategy that Grillo Investment Management, LLC may use, or the success of any program. Nothing in these materials may be construed as an investment, insurance, or financial recommendation. For such a recommendation, consult with a financial advisor.

Grillo Investment Management, LLC will strive to maintain current information however it may become out of date. Grillo Investment Management, LLC is under no obligation to advise users of subsequent changes to statements or information contained herein. This information is general in nature; for specific advice applicable to your current situation please contact a consultant or advisor. Opinions stated by third parties may not be correct and do not reflect the views of Grillo Investment Management, LLC. Grillo Investment Management, LLC may not be held accountable for any statements made by third parties.

The post Do this to avoid messing up a client referral appeared first on Sara Grillo.