A supportive work environment can improve performance, job satisfaction, and even client experience. Sometimes a little thing –– a better desk set-up, stepping away from the screen, or a confidential conversation — can make a surprisingly big difference.
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Amy Dittman, a Health Promotion Specialist working with Stifel, to discuss workplace adjustments that can have a deep impact on our day, our bodies, and our state of mind
Amy discusses:
Small adjustments that can make a big difference
Physical and emotional considerations as we return to the post-pandemic office
Why is Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing moving from marginal to mainstream? Aligning investments with values is just the beginning.
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Jeffrey Gitterman, Co-Founding Partner and Creator of Sustainable, Impact, and ESG Investing Services at Gitterman Wealth Management, LLC. They discuss his passion as an ESG advocate, why he believes it belongs in every client conversation and how advisors can make it a standard practice.
Jeffrey discusses:
The difference between ESG and impact investing
Using ESG as a GPS device for investment decisions
Why, and how, he made ESG investing the sole focus of his business
Critical social changes that are driving the demand for ESG
The message he wants to provide in his book — Beyond Success: Redefining the Meaning of Prosperity
Jeff is a widely recognized leader in the ESG and sustainable investing field. He has over 30 years of experience as a financial advisor, with a primary focus on high net worth individuals and higher education professionals. Jeff began realigning Gitterman Wealth Management towards ESG and sustainable investing in 2015. Jeff is also the co-host of The IMPACT TV show, which airs on fintech.tv and Bloomberg TV, and the author of Beyond Success: Redefining the Meaning of Prosperity. Noted as an “ESG expert” by Financial Advisor magazine, he has been featured in Barron’s, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Morningstar Magazine, Financial Advisor Magazine, Money Magazine, and CNN, among many others. In 2018, he was named RIA “Thought Leader of the Year” by WealthManagement.com
Trying to accommodate a wide range of client needs may actually limit your practice’s growth, your effectiveness, and your satisfaction. Targeting a niche that fits your specific experience and expertise can make a meaningful difference for you AND your clients.
Kristen Luke is the president of Kaleido Creative Studio, a marketing agency specializing in helping RIAs promote their businesses through a niche approach. In this episode, Kristen joins Laura Gregg and David Partain to discuss the process of shifting financial advisors businesses from a generalist model to a niche model to improve the client experience and business efficiency.
Kristen Luke discusses:
Identifying your business niche based on market size and potential value of the niche
How to ensure that a transition from a generalist to a niche focus makes sense for you
Making the transition while maintaining your current book of business
Kristen Luke is the President of Kaleido Creative Studio, a marketing agency that helps Registered Investment Advisors market themselves to a niche, making it easier for them to stand out from the competition and attract ideal clients. For more than 15 years, Kristen has consulted with hundreds of financial advisory firms and shared her marketing expertise via industry conferences and publications nationwide. Most recently, she has contributed her advice to FPA NorCal, Kitces.com, Top Advisor Podcast, Kitces Office Hours, and Advisor Perspectives.
The right questions elevate good service to actual engagement. They build trust, confirm your credibility and, most important, provide valuable information you won’t capture on a client questionnaire.
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain speak to Julie Littlechild, Founder and CEO of Absolute Engagement. They discuss the importance of going beyond “How are you?”, “I’m fine.” to elicit more meaningful responses, and how a leadership approach can help steer client conversations for optimal results.
Julie Littlechild discusses:
How to engage to understand what clients really need from you
Questions that can lead to more productive conversations and feedback
Being a leader for your clients, and its impact on your business
Julie Littlechild is the Founder and CEO of Absolute Engagement, an advisor coaching firm that guides advisors through a discovery process that connects the feedback directly from the client to the advisor to help identify and develop an action plan to help those firms achieve their most important goals. Julie has worked with and studied successful financial advisors and their clients for more than 25 years prior to founding Absolute Engagement, she launched and ran one of the industry’s leading client engagement, focused research firms.
She is the author of a popular blog and the author of the book, “The Pursuit of Absolute Engagement.” Julie sits on an Investment and Wealth Institute Advisory board and was identified twice as one of the 25 most influential people in financial planning, and she won an Industry Influencer Award in Practice Management.
Wow. That digital platform sure looks good. Sleek and sophisticated. Smart and fast. So intuitive, it anticipates your every need – some you didn’t even know you have.
But will it help to enhance the client experience?
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Adam Boyer, Head of Business Development at Emotomy. They discuss the challenges of choosing digital tools in a crowded marketplace, key considerations when assessing tools and the one thing any solution should deliver but can never replace: More time to give to your clients and the personal attention that sets you apart from the crowd.
Adam Boyer discusses:
What to ask when upgrading your technology strategy
Hurdles small businesses face when integrating new technology
How a thorough business evaluation will help improve long-term operations
Why a digital advice platform may be of interest to you and your business
Adam Boyer is the Head of Business Development at Emontomy, the digital investment advice platform owned by Northern Trust Investments. He is responsible for defining and executing the sales strategy to accelerate the adoption and utilization of Emotomy by financial institutions. With over two decades of financial services industry experience, Adam has held a number of leadership positions, including his most recent roles at Charles Schwab as Head of Sales for Compliance Solutions and Chief of Staff to the Head of Bank Operations and Technology. Adam also spent many years at Bank of America where he helped build out the bank’s Chicago footprint. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree in Economics from Florida State University.
Investors can build, manage and monitor their portfolios without ever talking to another human. So why do they choose an advisor? Personal connection. What makes them stay? A satisfying personal connection.
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Barbara Healy, Partner and Senior Financial Planner at Allworth Financial, about creating personal relationships with clients to build long-term advising partnerships.
Barbara discusses:
Why knowing your clients makes such a difference
Simple steps to make clients feel seen, heard and appreciated
When money is the last thing to discuss
Diversifying the workplace to serve a diverse client base
Barbara Healy is a Certified Financial Planner and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) with more than 25 years of experience in the financial planning sector. She holds a Business degree from the University of San Diego, and her adjunct education includes advanced courses in Economics and International Business at Oxford, England. An outdoor enthusiast, Barbara lives with her husband in Rocklin, California.
For many, the pandemic has triggered varying degrees of stress, anxiety and depression. Addressing it in the context of an advisor/client relationship can be uncomfortable. What can you do when emotional health becomes part of the conversation?
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with Dr. Chloe Carmichael, a clinical psychologist whose focus is stress management, relationship issues, self-esteem and coaching. Dr. Chloe shares some simple and supportive ways to recognize, acknowledge and talk about emotional health issues with a client.
Dr. Chloe discusses:
When does anxiety move from normal to a problem?
Talking about it is a sign of health: Acknowledging, supporting, normalizing
Social anxiety: Tips on re-acclimating to in-person events
How to use social media to get a copy of her most recent book
Dr. Chloe Carmichael holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University. Her private practice focuses on stress management, relationship issues, self-esteem, and coaching. She is the author of Nervous Energy: Harness the Power of Your Anxiety(St Martins Press, 2021).
They are misunderstood, neglected and in a precarious situation. Why are so many financial planners not actively engaging with Gen X?
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk with a champion of the Gen X investor. What issues are challenging this generation and why should advisors pay attention? Michael Labos CFP®, CCFS®, and Principal at Gen X Wealth Partners, shares his passion for understanding the values, goals and behaviors of Gen X, and what they urgently need from you.
Michael Labos is the principal at Gen X Wealth Partners and has more than 15 years of experience in the financial service industry. He understands that investing is more than just focusing on risks and return – it’s about your values, goals, beliefs, and a voice wanting to be heard. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional, Michael helps analyze every aspect of his clients’ financial lives. This includes assets, liabilities and cash flow budgeting, current insurance coverages, and investments.
To have a beginning, we must also have an ending. Sometimes the ending is our choice, and sometimes it is thrust upon us.
Elisa Spain is an Executive Life Coach and the creator of the You Pivot™ Program. She helps senior-level executives plan and create the next version of themselves whether in a new career or in retirement. Elisa talks with Laura Gregg and David Partain about the power of moving client conversations beyond retirement planning to understand when they may need a career pivot and how that can deepen your client relationships.
Elisa discusses:
How effectively C-level executives can be coached
The power of writing your tomorrow story
Building a successful retirement life portfolio
Planning so there’s no regret after selling a business
Elisa K Spain is an executive life coach. Building on her own professional and personal experience, her coaching approach has evolved from executive coaching to coaching executives in living their full lives. Her clients include CEOs and C-suite executives from Inc. 500 companies, Crain’s Fast 50, Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Workplaces, and Crain’s Largest Privately Held Companies.
Elisa created the YOU PIVOT™ Program to guide her clients through career and life transitions. Understanding that careers, like software, require updates to keep them fresh, this immersive program catalyzes leaders to embrace change and explore a better version of themselves.
Elisa’s experience as an executive at Northern Trust, 15-years as a Vistage Peer Advisory Board Master Chair, coupled with her successful pivot from the corporate world into entrepreneurship, has shaped her perspective. She holds an MBA from Kellogg GSM, Northwestern University; CFA, Level I; and a BS from Florida International University. She is a partner and investor with Social Venture Partners – Chicago, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Independence Equity I, LP Venture Fund.
Every Sunday, Elisa publishes stories about transitions, including sharing the life lessons from the storytellers she interviews. You can read and subscribe to these Sunday Stories here.
Life decisions made with urgency, short timeframes, and pressure will shape the next chapter of someone’s life. How can advisors help clients navigate thoughtfully through life’s changes?
In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk about the impact that life transitions can have on financial plans. Susan Bradley CFP® CeFT®, Founder of Sudden Money Institute, and Ross Marino CFP® CeFT®, Founder of Transitus Wealth Partners explain why there’s no such thing as a purely financial decision, and why the human element must always be considered when serving clients.
Ross and Susan discuss:
Why they wrote a book on transitions: Shaping Change: How To Respond When Life Disrupts Your Retirement Plan
How to become more comfortable, productive and successful in financial planning
The hidden benefits of beginning client conversations discussing life, not investments
The four-step process you can use to facilitate conversations with clients facing major life transitions
Critical questions to ask clients facing either trauma or euphoria
Susan Bradley, CFP®, CeFT® is the founder of the Sudden Money® Institute (www.suddenmoney.com), which began 20 years ago as a community of practice seeking to better serve their financial planning clients by developing process and tools for the personal side of money and for clients going through transitions. This think tank created the Certified Financial Transitionist® (CeFT®) designation, and a division for training and certification called the Financial Transitionist® Institute. Susan has served on the FPA’s National Board of Directors, she has served on the National Football League’s Players Association’s Financial Education Advisory Board, and she serves as the Dean of Transitions for the Council of Deans of the Purposeful Planning Institute. She is a founding member of the Nazrudin Project studying the psychology of money since 1994. She is seen and heard frequently in the national media, including NBC’s Nightly News, CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.TEDx Wilmington Women talk is called, “Change launches you into the next great chapter of your life, whether you like it or not.”
She is the recipient of the Insiders Forum Iconoclast Award 2017.
Ross Marino CFP® CeFT®, an advisor for 30+ years, fell in love with investments in the 9th grade when he received a copy of Money Magazine as a birthday gift. He is the founder of Transitus Wealth Partners, a fee-only financial planning firm that helps people make decisions when life happens and plans change. Ross is also the founder of Advisor2x, which has host more than 1,000 events and conferences for financial advisors since 2010. Currently, he hosts two bi-weekly podcasts for financial advisors and recently published his first book with co-author Susan Bradley: Shaping Change – How to respond when life disrupts your retirement plans.
Ross is married to his incredible wife of 31 years, has two nearly-perfect children, and shares his home with multiple pets that live to be served by humans.
