Month: August 2022

Ep 82: Back to School — With Steve Schiestel, Director of Financial Planning at MSU

Ep 82: Back to School — With Steve Schiestel, Director of Financial Planning at MSU

Is your firm seeking new talent? Are you a student seeking a career in wealth management? Consider introducing yourself to the growing number of Financial Planning directors at universities in your area (and beyond). 

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain speak with Steve Schiestel, CFA, the Head of the Financial Planning and Wealth Management Program at Michigan State University. 

Steve talks about what he did to start and grow the University’s CFP program, and how firms can reach out to him for help with finding the right talent for what they need — for both Internships and permanent employees.

Steve discusses: 

  • Why and how he built the MSU Financial Planning program
  • How he promotes the program internally 
  • His approach to job placements
  • The most sought-after skills for financial planning 
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Stephen Schiestel:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Stephen Schiestel is a passionate educator and financial advisor dedicated to improving personal financial education and financial decision making. He has worked in three distinct careers: commercial lending, wealth management, and college teaching. Stephen started his career in commercial banking as a commercial credit analyst and commercial lender. In wealth management, he was an equity analyst, portfolio manager, financial planner, investment research director, chief investment officer all at a regional bank and now an owner of Grand Capital Advisors – a fee-only fiduciary financial planning and wealth management firm. In addition to helping clients at the firm, he also teaches finance full time at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business.



Ep 81: Women are Smart, Savvy, and Speaking with Their Money — With Dr. Barbara Provost

Ep 81: Women are Smart, Savvy, and Speaking with Their Money — With Dr. Barbara Provost

Is this too much to ask?

Women just want advisors who recognize their concerns, appreciate their perspective, and respect their ability to make smart choices.

Join Laura Gregg and David Partain as they talk with Dr. Barbara Provost, Founder of Purse Strings, LLC and an accomplished educational consultant to the banking and insurance industries. They discuss the often overlooked opportunity that exists with women and why faulty assumptions about women continue to be made by advisors.

Barbara explains why she founded Purse Strings and its mission to connect women
with top-tier professionals.

Barbara discusses:

  • How her work with the World Bank further ignited her passion to help women get
    the wealth management experience they deserve
  • Why she created Purse Strings
  • The resources available to both investors and advisors at Purse Strings
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Barbara Provost:

Connect With Laura Gregg: 

Connect With David Partain: 

About Our Guest:
Dr. Barbara Provost has 20+ years’ experience as an educational consultant to the banking and insurance industries. Over the years, she watched these male-dominated sectors consistently shape their sales messaging and resource development solely for target audiences of men, blatantly ignoring the $20 + Trillion in annual spending that women alone are responsible for. Barb took action in 2015
by launching Purse Strings, a company for and by women boasting a unique dual business model.   Purse Strings features a new business development service introducing women who seek financial advice to service providers who understand their unique needs. They simultaneously offer a breadth of free educational resources designed to help every woman, whether they have a little money or a lot,
get smart and protect their financial future. Barb’s life motto is: be financially fearless.