Sophia Bera is a past guest of the podcast, and originally wrote a guest post for Nerd’s Eye View as far back as 2013. If you missed her before, she is the founder of Gen Y Planning, an independent RIA that serves just under 100 young professionals—and that was also one of the first location-independent firms in the financial planning industry.
Listen in as we catch up on how Gen Y Planning has shifted over the years, why net worth reporting is not at the heart of Gen Y’s planning process, and why their focus with clients is more on short-term goals versus long-term metrics. Sophia will also share how she created a work-life balance that allows her to spend more time doing what she loves, and how she was able to take four months away from the business on maternity leave without the business skipping a beat.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/217
Jason Zweig is a financial journalist who not only wrote one of the first books on behavioral finance neuroeconomics, but also writes “The Intelligent Investor” column for the Wall Street Journal. A senior writer for Money magazine and a guest columnist for Time magazine and CNN.com, Jason has a truly unique perspective on the financial services industry, having covered it for nearly 25 years.
Listen in as he shares his perspective on the financial services industry, including why the AUM model is outdated, how he views the evolution of the financial advice business, and why he sees the future of the industry as more curatorial. You’ll learn his take on where he believes new advisors should be focusing their energy for success and why it’s actually a good thing to admit when you don’t know the answer to a question.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/216
Shawn Tydlaska is the founder of Ballast Point Financial Planning, an independent RIA based in the San Francisco Bay Area that serves 117 high-income young professionals across the country, helping them turn income into wealth. Ballast Point is unique in that it uses a blended model of a minimum $5,000 retainer paid monthly, plus an additional fee of ten basis points above $2 million to adjust pricing upward for the most complex clients.
In this episode, we talk about how Shawn structures his services and the foundation that forms the basis of his planning process with clients. Listen in to hear about the tracking system he put in place to not only show his worth to clients, but also to increase his own confidence in what he offers. You'll learn how he was able to build his firm so quickly in the five years since he started, what he says was key to his firm’s growth in the early days, and more.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/215
Olivia Summerhill is the founder of Summerhill Wealth, an independent RIA based near Seattle that exclusively works with ultra-high net worth women who are adjusting to life during—and after—divorce. Olivia is a great example of how many of us navigate through the industry, having gone from a large national firm to launching her own firm focusing on this very specialized niche.
Not only does Olivia’s niche make her unique, but her fees and client base are also specialized: she charges $20,000 for an engagement and commits to working with no more than five active clients at a time. As a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, she provides financial advice and planning, and she holds the hands of clients as they navigate through many “firsts” after divorce, including buying a house and managing a budget.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/214