Financial Advisor Success

Latest Episodes:

Ep 430: Navigating The Fast-Growth Hiring Challenges Of Scaling From Scratch To $5M Of Revenue In Just 7 Years with AJ Ayers Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

AJ Ayers is the co-founder of Brooklyn Fi, an RIA based in Brooklyn—but operating as a fully remote business—that oversees $370 million in assets under management for more than 400 client households. What's unique about AJ is how she and her business partner successfully tackled the hiring, training, and operational challenges of rapidly scaling their advisory firm from the ground up to $5 million in revenue in just seven years. Their strategic approach to systems and processes allowed them to sustain growth while maintaining efficiency and service quality.

Listen in as AJ shares how she and her firm rapidly scaled their advisory business, growing to 14 new clients per month while building a structured training program to onboard advisors in their specialized equity compensation niche. She explains how they leveraged LinkedIn's Recruiter platform for proactive hiring, developed Gemifi software to streamline equity compensation planning, and implemented a three-part fee model to align revenue with client needs. AJ also reflects on delegating firm operations to reduce her own work schedule, hiring an HR professional to strengthen company culture in a remote environment, and overcoming impostor syndrome by earning niche-relevant certifications and gaining hands-on client experience.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/430

Ep 429: What It Takes To Really Help (HNW) Business Owners Navigate Their Wealth With Purpose with Ali Nasser Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Ali Nasser is the Founder of the Wealth Integration System for Entrepreneurs (WISE), an education and coaching company based out of Houston that works with entrepreneurs facing a liquidity event and trying to figure out what's next—as well as the financial advisors who serve them. Having built a successful advisory business by helping high-net-worth entrepreneurs align their financial goals with their entrepreneurial mindset, even when it conflicted with traditional financial planning advice, Ali's approach was so effective that he eventually sold his advisory firm to focus exclusively on coaching and consulting services for entrepreneurs.

Listen in as he explains how he helps entrepreneurs manage concentration risk, overcome reluctance to invest outside their business, and address lingering financial scarcity mindsets despite their significant wealth. You'll hear about his journey from advisory firm owner to full-time coach, the challenges of ensuring a team delivers a consistent, high-level client experience, and why he ultimately decided to focus on empowering business owners and the advisors who serve them.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/429

Ep 428: Leveraging (Salesforce) CRM To Really Systematize A Mid-Sized Advisory Firm with Lorie Jones Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Lorie Jones is the Wealth Manager at Fearless Financial Advisors, a DBA of hybrid advisory firm Fidelis Wealth Advisors based out of Colorado, where she oversees $30 million in assets under management for 88 households. What sets Lorie apart is how she maximized the capabilities of Salesforce CRM—typically used by larger firms due to its advanced features and higher cost—to streamline processes and workflows while working at a mid-sized advisory firm without the need for costly Salesforce developers, demonstrating how a well-optimized CRM can enhance efficiency across the firm.

Listen in as Lorie shares how she leverages Salesforce's "clicks not code" functionality to create custom automations—such as her innovative "magic buttons"—that streamline firm operations, from client onboarding to money movements. She also discusses her journey from an administrative role to firm partner, her transition into full-time advising to focus on serving high-net-worth women, and how she overcame the challenges of launching her own practice. Lorie also reflects on balancing earning her CFP and MBA while raising five children, how starting a podcast helped her gain confidence in prospecting, and why learning from mentors empowered her to take bold career risks.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/428

Ep 427: Finding The Director Of Operations That Can Rebuild Your Team To Get To The Next Level with Sten Morgan Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

Sten Morgan is the owner of Legacy Investment Planning, a hybrid advisory firm based in Franklin, Tennessee, that oversees $220 million in assets under management for 90 client households. Today Sten joins the show to share how he made the difficult decision to turn over his entire original team and rebuild with a new director of operations to create a stronger foundation for future growth. He explains how he identified cultural and operational misalignments, navigated tough conversations with employees, and structured his hiring process to ensure the right people joined his firm.

Listen in as Sten walks us through his firm's five-step hiring process, why he insists on interviewing at least 4-6 candidates before making an offer, and the strategies he uses to work effectively with recruiting firms. He also shares why he's focusing on operational efficiency before engaging in a period of growth, how he proactively hires for roles before the need becomes urgent, and his structured approach to iterating on business ideas. If you're looking for insights on building the right team for long-term success, this episode is for you.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/427

Ep 426: Rolling Out An Equity Compensation Plan To Align The Entire Team On Client Service And Profitable Growth with Jennifer des Groseilliers Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

Jennifer des Groseilliers is the CEO of The Mather Group, an RIA based in Chicago, Illinois, that oversees $15 billion in combined assets under management and advisement for approximately 4,400 client households. Today Jennifer shares how her firm has designed an program of broad-based equity awards across the firm to align the interests of employees with the firm's long-term client service and growth goals.

In this episode, Jennifer breaks down how her firm sets performance targets and ensures that employee incentives are tied to the firm's enterprise value. We also discuss how The Mather Group streamlines operations through goal-setting systems like SMART goals and HR tracking tools, separates sales and advisory roles to optimize client acquisition and service, and fosters leadership development through emotional intelligence. Listen in to learn how strategic equity grants can drive business success while empowering employees.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/426

Ep 425: Implementing A Financial Planning Quality Control System To Improve Both Client Outcomes And Referrals with Sebastian Guerra Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Sebastian Guerra is the President of Guerra Wealth Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based in Miami with nearly $15M of revenue and almost 60 team members, supporting over 1,700 client households. What's unique about Sebastian is how his firm has implemented a quality control system where a team member follows up with clients right after their advisor meetings to gather feedback and ensure high service standards. This approach not only improves the client experience, but also encourages referrals, online reviews, and social media engagement by prompting clients to act immediately after providing positive feedback.

Listen in as Sebastian discusses how the firm attracts and consolidates assets from new and existing clients—onboarding nearly 480 households in a single year—with educational events and a streamlined process enabling advisors to handle up to 35 weekly meetings. He also highlights how his firm has benefited from using the Entrepreneurial Operating System amidst its rapid growth, how his firm leverages an in-house recruiter to find top talent, and how he balances his business commitments with his evolving priorities as a new husband and father.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/425

Ep 424: Executing A Successful Internal Succession Plan In The Private Equity Era Of Advisor M&A with David Grau Jr. Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

David Grau Jr. is the president of Succession Resource Group, an advisory consulting and valuation business based out of Oregon that serves independent financial advisors with RIAs and broker-dealers. What sets David apart is his two decades of experience supporting financial advisory firms, which has allowed him to identify best practices for founders and successors navigating increasingly complex internal succession plans. This is especially valuable as founders face growing challenges due to frequent, high-valuation offers from private equity-backed acquirers.

Listen in as David shares best practices for preparing firms for internal succession, including establishing defined career tracks, organizing business metrics, and breaking ownership transitions into manageable tranches to ease financial commitments for successors. He discusses why internal successions remain viable—despite the allure of high valuations from private equity-backed buyers—highlighting how these deals often include challenging growth targets and less favorable terms hidden in the fine print. David also explains how preparing for internal succession can actually boost external valuation and why founders may find greater satisfaction in leaving a lasting legacy through their firm by transitioning it to internal successors.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/424

Ep 423: Expanding Across The Household By Helping (Affluent) Sandwich Generation Kids With Their Parents' Financial Needs with Cristina Livadary Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Cristina Livadary is the CEO of Mana Financial Life Design, an RIA based in Los Angeles (that works virtually with clients nationwide) overseeing approximately $70 million in assets under management for 119 client households. Cristina's firm helps "sandwich generation" clients by crafting financial plans that address their personal needs and goals while also offering optional add-on planning engagements to tackle the financial challenges of their aging parents, who may require support in the future. This dual-focus approach ensures comprehensive support for clients navigating intergenerational financial responsibilities.

Listen in as Cristina shares how her personal experience navigating the challenges of caring for aging parents and young children inspired her to focus on serving this niche. She also discusses how she transitioned her firm to a complexity-based fee structure, how she conducts 20-minute "fit" meetings to determine whether prospective clients will be a good fit for her firm's services and fee model, and the lessons she's learned about creating defined roles for new hires in order to build a cohesive team.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/423

Ep 422: Developing Your Leadership Skillset On The Path From Intern To President Of A $13B AUM Enterprise with Kay Lynn Mayhue Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Kay Lynn Mayhue is the President of Merit Financial Advisors, a hybrid advisory firm based out of Georgia that oversees approximately $13 billion in assets under management for 26,000 households. What's unique about Kay Lynn is how she cultivated her advisory, management, and leadership skills to progress to become president of a national RIA enterprise. In her role, she now spearheads the firm's proactive mergers and acquisitions strategy.

Listen in as Kay Lynn shares her journey from client-facing advisor to firm leader, including the pivotal lessons she learned about leadership after her team once threatened to quit due to her early management style. She also discusses her approach to mergers and acquisitions, how her firm uses personality assessments to strengthen hiring and client relationships, and her firm's "organic growth tracks" for advisors.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/422

Ep 421: Integrating Tax Preparation Without Hiring In-House CPAs To Bring More Tax-Focused Value with Daniel Friedman Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Daniel Friedman is the CEO of WMGNA, a hybrid advisory firm based out of Connecticut that oversees approximately $270 million in assets under management for 200 client households. What's unique about Daniel is how his firm offers "in-house" tax return preparation as part of its one-stop-shop service, while outsourcing the actual preparation work to trusted CPAs paid from his firm's revenue. This allows Daniel's team to focus on delivering tax planning analyses and strategies, which are central to the firm's value proposition for clients.

Listen in as Daniel discusses how his firm combines a subscription-based planning fee with an AUM charge on investments it manages and how it has implemented a money-back guarantee with very few clients taking them up on the offer. Daniel also explains how his firm embraces the concept of "Restylement" to help clients redefine their next life chapter, the key role of a "director of first impressions" in fostering client relationships, and how persistence and exceptional service have fueled his firm's long-term growth and success.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/421

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