Category: Business Planning

Ep 27: Cultivating Meaningful Client-Advisor Relationships — With Adam Boyer

Ep 27: Cultivating Meaningful Client-Advisor Relationships — With Adam Boyer

Advisors, have you checked in with your clients recently? 

Adam Boyer, Head of Business Development for Emotomy at Northern Trust joins Laura Gregg and David Partain to discuss the importance of advisor-client relationships and what it takes to build client trust. 

Together, they explore the role technology plays in communication and the need for maintaining communication with clients — especially during challenging times like these – and how the right mix can help you grow your business.

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • The value of quality over quantity when communicating with clients
  • How to balance technology with personal attention
  • Ways to think outside of the box when engaging clients
  • How client-advisor relationships impact advisors’ revenue and referrals
  • And more!

Join Laura, David, and Adam now to explore the value of meaningful communication with your clients!

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain  | Emotomy | Northern Trust

Ep 26: Why Now is the Right Time to Hire — With Fran Skinner

Ep 26: Why Now is the Right Time to Hire — With Fran Skinner

While COVID-19 has sidelined hiring plans for many firms, many leaders are using this time to find top talent. Explore today’s hiring trends as Laura Gregg and David Partain welcome Fran Skinner to the podcast. As the co-founder of AUM Partners, a leadership and talent assessment consulting firm for the financial services industry, Fran shares insight into how firms are recruiting during the pandemic and how leaders are deepening relationships with existing employees.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • Why leaders pursue top talent during times of uncertainty
  • The benefits of flexible work schedules
  • What managers can do to help employees who are feeling burdened during this crisis
  • Fran’s advice for managers who are not quite ready to hire
  • And more!

Tune in now to discover Fran’s strategies for maintaining and growing your practice with the right talent!

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain  | AUM Partners | Now Is The Time To Pursue Top Talent

Ep 25: Podcasting to Reach and Retain Clients in the Digital Age – With Matt Halloran

Ep 25: Podcasting to Reach and Retain Clients in the Digital Age – With Matt Halloran

As the world becomes increasingly technology- and convenience-based, podcasting has risen as a new medium to showcase your voice and connect with your ideal audience.

For advisors, podcasting has become a great way to build relationships with ideal and existing clients, all the while maximizing the advisor-client relationships and ROI alike. 

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain chat with podcasting professional Matt Halloran of Top Advisor Marketing. Matt shares his expertise in podcasting and how his company is helping advisors find their voice using this medium — and how you can do the same.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How advisors can leverage podcasting to attract and retain clients
  • Steps for starting your own podcast 
  • What you need to know about podcasting and compliance
  • And more!

Tune in now to learn about the power of podcasting and how you can harness it to rise above the noise!

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain  | Top Advisor Marketing | A Complete Guide To Starting A Podcast

Ep 24: Leadership and Diversity – With Shundrawn Thomas

Ep 24: Leadership and Diversity – With Shundrawn Thomas

There are specific actions that leaders must take if they’re serious about driving diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organization.

Shundrawn Thomas, former President of Northern Trust Asset Management recently spoke with Laura Gregg and David Partain about the role of leaders in DE&I. He also talked about his recent open letter – Breaking the Silence – in which he shares some of the experiences he has encountered as an African-American man in the hopes of giving a voice to the silent pain that many of our collective colleagues, friends and neighbors are currently experiencing.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The importance of leading with compassion and authentic words
  • Ideas for finding diverse talent for your advisory firm
  • The significance of understanding unconscious bias
  • How equity is often far different than equality
  • And more!

Tune in now for actionable ways to support diversity, equity and inclusion in your organization.

Resources: 

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Advisor Teams and Diversity Research | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | Shundrawn Thomas on LinkedIn | Northern Trust Asset Management

Ep 23: Connecting People to Advisors of Color – With Dana Wilson

Ep 23: Connecting People to Advisors of Color – With Dana Wilson

 Investors prefer to work with financial professionals who they feel will understand them, according to a recent FlexShares study on diversity. 

How can we draw more people of color into the financial industry? And how can we help investors find those who are already out there?

Today, Laura Gregg and David Partain welcome Dana Wilson, the CEO and founder of CHIP Professionals (Changing How Investors and Advisors Prosper). Dana explains what’s behind this new tool and how it is different from anything currently in the financial advisory industry.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • Challenges of being a person of color in the primarily white financial advisory industry
  • Which missing pieces Dana is working to solve for investors and advisors
  • Financial misconceptions around underrepresented communities
  • How CHIP bridges the gap between investors and advisors of color
  • And more!

Listen now to learn how CHIP is championing communities of color within the financial advisory industry!

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain  | CHIP Professionals

Ep 22: Partnering with Community Foundations to Strengthen Client Relationships in Uncertain Times – With Elena Pullen-Venema

Ep 22: Partnering with Community Foundations to Strengthen Client Relationships in Uncertain Times – With Elena Pullen-Venema

Charitable giving is on the minds of many people, now more than ever.

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain are joined by Elena Pullen-Venema, the Director of Gift Planning at the Community Foundation of Snohomish County (Greater Seattle Area). Elena explains the foundation’s growing commitment to Racial Equity and how grants during the Coronavirus pandemic are being focused on supporting communities of color. She also describes how some foundations are partnering with advisors as they continue to manage clients’ charitable investments.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How foundations can help you connect your clients to charities supporting racial equity and Covid-19 relief.
  • Options for wealth managers to maintain management of charitable investments
  • How community foundations can help with complex charitable gift structures
  • Misconceptions about the people and families that create donor-advised funds
  • And more!

Discover why building relationships with your local community foundations can help you better serve your clients!

Resources:

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | The Community Foundation of Snohomish County | Elena Pullen-Venema on LinkedIn | Association of African American Financial Advisors | FlexShares Diversity Research

Ep 21: Strategies for Advancing Racial Equity and Diversity – With Connie Lindsey

Ep 21: Strategies for Advancing Racial Equity and Diversity – With Connie Lindsey

The worldwide protests calling for racial justice and equity have been a wake-up call for us all and the lack of diversity in the wealth management space has been noted for years.

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain are joined by Connie Lindsey, formerly the Executive Vice President and head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Northern Trust, who has since retired. In this must-listen conversation, Connie talks about the importance of better educating people on the important difference between equality and equity and what leaders can do to provide support and drive change.

She comments on the statistics from a recent study on investor and advisor views on building diverse wealth management teams.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • Actions for leaders to support employees and clients
  • The critical difference between equality and equity
  • The importance of shared experiences between advisors and clients
  • How to be an ally to the Black community
  • And more!

Listen now to learn how you can promote inclusion, diversity, and equity in your daily life and firm.

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | Connie Lindsey on LinkedIn | Diversity Research

Ep 20: Coaching Clients in Volatile Times – With Morningstar’s Dr. Sarah Newcomb

Ep 20: Coaching Clients in Volatile Times – With Morningstar’s Dr. Sarah Newcomb

How should you advise clients who are going into a fight, flight, or freeze response to the market volatility?

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain are joined by Dr. Sarah Newcomb, director of behavioral science at Morningstar. Sarah discusses how financial advisors can have productive conversations with clients to keep them on track. She reveals different emotional reactions that come to light during a crisis and ways for advisors to support their clients.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • The emotional impact a crisis has on investment decisions
  • How fears can translate into fight, flight, or freeze responses 
  • The conversations advisors should have with clients to keep them on track
  • And more!

Listen now and learn how to help your clients stay focused on their long-term goals. 

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | Morningstar Behavioral Insights 

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Ep 19: Is the Video Call Here to Stay? Adapting as We Return to the Office – With Bev Flaxington

Ep 19: Is the Video Call Here to Stay? Adapting as We Return to the Office – With Bev Flaxington

The pandemic has altered our work style and the way we communicate. Many have come to rely on video conferencing and other digital tools to keep in touch. But what happens as we
begin to migrate back to the office?

In this episode of The Flexible Advisor podcast, Laura Gregg and David Partain are joined by Bev Flaxington, a personal and career coach and a business development expert. Bev talks
frankly about the good, bad and the ugly of our increased reliance on digital communication channels. She addresses what we need to consider when some – but not all of us – return to
the physical office.

In this episode, you will learn:
● The effects of the extensive use of technology during quarantine
● The blending of professional and home life
● Why communication styles need to evolve post-pandemic
● And more!

Tune in now as Laura Gregg, David Partain and Bev Flaxington discuss how our modes of communication will never be the same.

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | Bev Flaxington on LinkedIn

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Ep 18: Serving Medical Professionals During COVID-19 – With Lauren Oschman

Ep 18: Serving Medical Professionals During COVID-19 – With Lauren Oschman

Doctors are experiencing financial uncertainty right now just like everyone else, despite their increased workload on the frontlines.

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain are joined by Lauren Oschman of Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors. Lauren talks about how she is adding value to doctors on the front line of the COVID-19 crisis and helping surgeons as they are sidelined from elective surgeries.

In this episode, you will learn:

  • What impact COVID-19 has on different types of medical doctors
  • Compensation issues arising for doctors
  • The stark difference between the what’s happening in the markets vs. in hospitals
  • Why over-communication with clients is critial
  • And more!

Tune in now to learn how doctors are being impacted during COVID-19.

Information from our guest: Investment advisory services offered through Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors, Vestia Retirement Plan Consultants, and Vestia Advisors, LLC. Securities offered through Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., 5187 Utica Ridge Rd, Davenport, IA. 52807  (563)3262064. Member FINRA/SIPC. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors, Vestia Retirement Plan Consultants, Vestia Advisors, LLC and Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc. are independently owned and operated.

FlexShares Exchange Traded Funds | Contact Laura Gregg | Contact David Partain | Vestia Wealth Advisors