Tag: Podcast

Ep 96: Reaching and Retaining Next-Generation Investors – with Ryan George

Ep 96: Reaching and Retaining Next-Generation Investors – with Ryan George

The rapid expansion of social media and artificial intelligence within the financial services space holds undeniable implications for the advisor/client dynamic – particularly when it comes to young investors. 

Ryan George, Chief Marketing Officer at Docupace, shares insights from his firm’s recent white paper — Five Ways to Capitalize on the Changing Attitudes of American Investors. Laura Gregg talks with Ryan about the needs, approaches, and attitudes of younger investors in today’s environment, and how best to engage, serve, and retain them as clients.

Ryan discusses: 

  • Why digitization and one-to-one planning and advice must co-exist 
  • Mistaken assumptions about Millennial and GenZ investors 
  • 3 ways younger Investors think about money differently 
  • Using tech to elevate the advisor/client experience 
  • Key themes to drive acquisition and retention of next-gen clients 
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Ryan George:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

About Our Guest:

Ryan George is the Chief Marketing Officer at Docupace, a solutions provider focused on digitizing and automating operations in the financial advice and investment industry. He serves as the company’s “chief diplomat” evangelizing the company’s people, solutions and brand across the financial services and wealth management industry. As a member of the senior executive committee, Ryan collaborates with key stakeholders across Docupace to support the company’s growth, retention, and profitability objectives. Ryan has spent all of his career within the financial advice and investment space, previously serving many as Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications at 1st Global. 

Ep 94: When Children Are Not Part of the Plan – With Pamela Lucina

Ep 94: When Children Are Not Part of the Plan – With Pamela Lucina

The new generation of investors includes a growing and influential population: childless/child-free clients. They present a distinctly unique set of priorities, objectives, concerns, and expectations. 

In this episode, Pamela Lucina, President of the Northern Trust Institute and Head of Trust and Advisory Practice, talks with Laura Gregg and David Partain about this demographic, and why advisors should recognize and rethink some long-standing biases and assumptions.

Pamela discusses: 

  • How unconscious biases can undermine client conversations, particularly with women
  • Rephrasing discovery questions for more productive conversations
  • Key considerations when estate planning for clients without children
  • And more 

Resources: 

Connect With Pamela Lucina:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Pamela Lucina is the President of The Northern Trust Institute, Chief Fiduciary Officer and Trust & Advisory Practice Executive. She leads a national team of trust and estate professionals to help clients achieve their goals through the use of world-class tools and techniques, with an eye toward the human element of wealth and family dynamics. She is a recognized leader and speaker within the trust and estate legal community and a strong advocate for women in the industry.

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.

Ep 63: Empowering Women Through Difficult Transitions — With Stacy Francis

Ep 63: Empowering Women Through Difficult Transitions — With Stacy Francis

Many women experience major life transitions like divorce or widowhood. As an advisor, you can be a key support pillar for your clients by educating and empowering them to make informed financial decisions, even during difficult times.

In this episode, Stacy Francis, President and CEO of Francis Financial and Founder of Savvy Ladies, joins Laura Gregg and David Partain to share strategies that financial advisors can use to assist and support women as they navigate the financial implications of life transitions.

Stacy Francis discusses: 

  • Her ‘why’ for building a firm focused on helping women through transition
  • How being vulnerable as an advisor can help build trust with clients
  • The number one quality women going through a divorce look for in an advisor 
  • Unveiling the Unspoken Truth, her research on women, money and divorce 
  • Resources to serve women experiencing financial and emotional transitions

Resources: 

Connect With Stacy Francis:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest: 

Stacy Francis, CFP®, CDFA®, CES™

Stacy is the President and CEO of Francis Financial, a fee-only boutique wealth management, financial planning and divorce financial planning firm dedicated to providing ongoing comprehensive advice for successful individuals, couples, and women in transition such as divorce or widowhood. She is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®), and Certified Estate and Trust Specialist (CES™) with over 20 years of experience in the financial industry. She has mastered specialized training in the financial issues of divorce and is the Director of the Association of Divorce Financial Planners (ADFP) Greater New York Metro Chapter. Stacy is also the founder of Savvy Ladies™, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering women to take control of their finances. 

She is a nationally-recognized financial expert featured on CNBC’s Digital Financial Advisor Council, the Forbes Finance Council, Kiplinger, and The Wall Street Journal. Stacy is the host of Financially Ever After, a podcast focusing on women, money and divorce. She is also the author of the white paper, Unveiling the Unspoken Truth: The Financial Challenges Women Face During and After Divorce

Ep 62: Developing and Retaining Next Gen Talent — With Yonhee Gordon

Ep 62: Developing and Retaining Next Gen Talent — With Yonhee Gordon

While firms may be successful in hiring younger employees, they often struggle to keep them.

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain talk about successful retention strategies with Yonhee Gordon, a Principal of JMG Financial Group and the RIA’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. They discuss how a methodical hiring process and a willingness to truly get to know prospective candidates can help lead to fewer surprises and better retention. Yonhee also provides practical advice for young professionals on preparing for a successful career in the financial industry.

Yonhee Gordon discusses: 

  • What’s powering JMG’S fast growth of assets and staff
  • The need to create more awareness of the profession
  • Her passion for connecting people both inside and outside of the industry
  • Steps to help find the right fit when hiring
  • The evolution of career paths in the advisory industry
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Yonhee Gordon:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Yonhee Gordon is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at JMG Financial Group, an RIA with more than $4 billion in AUM located in suburbs of Chicago. Yonhee is also a principal owner of the firm, a member of its Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and spearheads JMG’s involvement in community service. She focuses her efforts on organizational development to ensure the sustainability of JMG’s long-term operations. Yonhee is a certified financial planner and prior to her current role, she served as a financial advisor to clients at JMG by providing tax and wealth management services. 

Yonhee is a sought-after speaker throughout the industry and is a board member for many organizations including Dominican University, The Foundation for Financial Planning, Charles Schwab’s inaugural DEI Advocacy Board and Almost Home Kids (affiliated with the Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Outside of business, Yonhee enjoys travelling with her husband and two sons and volunteering for nonprofit organizations that benefit special-needs children. 

Ep 60: Savvy Ladies – Help a Woman in Just One Hour a Month – With Judy Herbst

Ep 60: Savvy Ladies – Help a Woman in Just One Hour a Month – With Judy Herbst

Savvy Ladies strives to empower women by providing free financial literacy education to all women, regardless of age or income level. The nonprofit has helped more than 20,000 women of varied-backgrounds through their volunteer network of financial planners that answer key questions during times of transition which has helped put women on the path to financial literacy and security. 

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain speak with Judy Herbst, Executive Director of Savvy Ladies to learn about the organization and how financial professionals from across the country are helping women create better financial outcomes for themselves and their families. 

Judy Herbst discusses: 

  • The history of Savvy Ladies 
  • Who Savvy Ladies serves and how its mission has grown
  • How advisors are making an impact in women’s lives
  • The new community of financial professionals growing from this work
  • Virtual engagements makes volunteering less time consuming 
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Judy Herbst: 

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Judy Herbst is the executive director of Savvy Ladies. She has over 20 years of relationship-building experience working with iconic brands such as Tiffany & Co, American Girl, and Worthy.com. Judy develops astounding programs and initiatives that educate and raise awareness about important issues affecting women, parents, and families.

She comes to Savvy Ladies with great knowledge and experience working with women throughout her career and brings her business acumen and creative, marketing & client relationship savviness along with her proven success record in developing, driving and executing business growth initiatives. 

Ep 59: DE&I as a Strategic Imperative — With Connie Lindsey

Ep 59: DE&I as a Strategic Imperative — With Connie Lindsey

Diversity isn’t the end game in DE&I. To create powerful outcomes, leaders need to understand how to create Equity and Inclusion within their firms, which takes strategy, commitment and accountability.  

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain welcome back Connie Lindsey, long-recognized for her outstanding work and former Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for, who has since retired. Connie discusses why she views DE&I as a strategic imperative. She also shares some misunderstood aspects of DE&I and how leaders can sidestep common pitfalls in order to create powerful outcomes.

Connie Lindsey discusses: 

  • What diversity really means
  • How to apply Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a strategic imperative
  • Understanding equity and how it differs from equality 
  • The Future of Work and its impact on our industry
  • Building an intentional culture of inclusivity
  • Consumers’ growing demand for DE&I
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Connie Lindsey:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Connie L. Lindsey, now retired after years of service, is the former Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) at Northern Trust. She was responsible for the design and implementation of the global Corporate Social Responsibility, Community Development and Investments, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy at Northern Trust. In addition to strategic oversight, she provided leadership in the firm’s response to environmental matters and social issues: within the marketplace, workplace, and community.

Prior to becoming the Head of CSR and Global DE&I, Ms. Lindsey led client servicing teams in the Corporate & Institutional Services business, serving public fund and not-for-profit clients.  Over the course of her Northern Trust career, she held a number of leadership roles, including Deputy Business Head in Operations and Technology, Group Head in Wealth Management, Director of Enterprise Relationship Management, and Manager in Treasury Management Consulting and Product Management and holds the Certified Treasury Professional designation.

Ms. Lindsey is a former National Board President of Girl Scouts of the USA, the highest-ranking volunteer of this 2.5 million-member organization. In this role she provided guidance in three vital areas—policy, fund-raising, and leadership.  She was an integral part of the Girl Scout transformation, committed to building and sustaining membership growth and ensuring girls receive a premier leadership development experience.

Ms. Lindsey serves on several civic and charitable boards to include Leadership Greater Chicago (Board President, 2001 Fellow); McCormick Theological Seminary (Chair of the Board of Trustees); Obama Foundation Inclusion Council (Co-Chair); Chicago Urban League; Executives’ Club of Chicago; and YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.

Ms. Lindsey received her BA in Finance at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, completed the Harvard Business School Executive Education Corporate Social Responsibility program, and is also a licensed Qualified Administrator of The Intercultural Development Inventory®.  She is a public and motivational speaker on topics of diversity and inclusion, corporate responsibility, leadership, and personal and professional empowerment.

Ep 58: Disrupting With Purpose — With Dana Wilson

Ep 58: Disrupting With Purpose — With Dana Wilson

Consumers want to work with advisors like them!  That’s according to FlexShares’ most recent DE&I research. But in an advisory industry that is primarily white and male, finding a Black or LatinX advisor can be difficult.  Dana Wilson, Founder and CEO of CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper) is working to change that! In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain welcome Dana back to the show to check in on the progress of her fintech firm that matches consumers and advisors of color and the new resources CHIP is providing to build a vibrant new community.

Dana Wilson discusses: 

  • Why building a community of black and brown advisors and consumers is necessary
  • How CHIP matches consumers to advisors who share key cultural characteristics
  • Why trust matters –  and how to build it in communities of color
  • Getting comfortable in sharing your money story
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Dana Wilson:

Connect With Laura Gregg: 

Connect With David Partain:

About Our Guest:

Dana L. Wilson is the CEO and founder of CHIP (Changing How Individuals Prosper). She has 15+ years of industry experience as a customer-focused financial professional and has received many awards and recognitions, including Inspiring Fintech Females 2020. She demonstrates the ability to build long-lasting client relationships, fosters successful collaborative partnerships, and drives social impact through emerging technologies. 

 

Ep 57: Guiding Women Through Divorce – With Steph Wagner

Ep 57: Guiding Women Through Divorce – With Steph Wagner

While divorce rates have decreased over the last 20 years according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rates of divorce among baby boomers are increasing. Because family wealth tends to be much higher at this age, these divorces may present complex problems for clients.

In this episode, Laura Gregg and David Partain speak with Steph Wagner, Director of Women and Wealth at Northern Trust. They explore the meaningful impact that advisors can make – both financially and emotionally — when guiding women through major life changes and steps,  advisors can take proactively to ensure couples are prepared for any unexpected transitions. 

Steph shares: 

  • Her own story of working through an unexpected transition
  • The risk of giving up your seat at the family financial table
  • The power story telling has on igniting conversations of hypothetical events
  • What to do if there appears to be financial infidelity in a relationship
  • Things to consider when a family business is involved
  • What to do – and not to do – when helping clients through a transition
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Steph Wagner:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Steph Wagner, director of Women and Wealth at Northern Trust Corporation, has long advocated for women who find themselves single due to divorce or the loss of their spouse. She leads the firm’s advisory practice for women who are facing unexpected transitions and oversees our women’s initiative by elevating women. Over the years, Steph has developed a specialized expertise in utilizing financial strategies and empowering women with the resources they need to become effective stewards of their own wealth. She has worked extensively with women across the country to help them address the financial impact of widowhood, to secure equitable settlements, and marriage disillusions. And she has helped them establish a solid foundation for their next chapter

Ep 56: Assess Before Building A Diversity & Inclusion Program – With Kemy Joseph, CEO of F.E.A.R.S Advantage

Ep 56: Assess Before Building A Diversity & Inclusion Program – With Kemy Joseph, CEO of F.E.A.R.S Advantage

Assess before you make a mess,” is what Kemy Joseph, CEO and DEI Strategist at F.E.A.R.S. Advantage tells Laura Gregg and David Partain in this episode of The Flexible Advisor.

Kemy talks about the stress that firm leaders face when it comes to the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and why it’s critical that firm leaders understand the current culture that exists within their firm before implementing DEI change. Once existing staff and leaders feel safe, trusted and included, then consider adding other diverse hires in an intentional way to strengthen your firm’s culture. The conversation covers data from FlexShares latest diversity study and how Kemy works with firm leaders identify appropriate goals for their firm’s DEI program that lead to measurable business benefits

Listen to learn: 

  • Why trust is a critical underpinning for building a successful DEI program.
  • Confusion that DEI is just about hiring people of different skin colors or genders
  • The difference between DEI committees and DEI clubs
  • Building a DE&I program based on specific outcomes firms desire
  • The four measures of safety within an organization 
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Kemy Joseph:

Connect With  Laura Gregg: 

Connect With  David Partain: 

About Our Guest:

Kemy Joseph is the CEO and DEI strategist at F.E.A.R.S. Advantage LLC. He works with firm owners and leaders within the financial services space to help them better understand how to create diversity, equity and inclusion programs that will yield results, both business and social. He’s on a mission to help around 5 million business leaders advance equity in their organizations by 2030 to create company culture where people of all backgrounds can work safely and thrive.