Welcome to Part 2 of episode #46 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.   My guest today is Liz Davidson from Financial Finesse and this is her second time on the show.On this episode, we discuss her new book, Money Strong: Your Guide to a Life Free of Financial Worries, her "START" framework which outlines a universal process that can be applied to anyone's financial life regardless of where they are, her writing process, why Financial Finesse focuses on "coaching" vs. "advice" to employees, their "Powered By" division which provides a combination of technology and coaching infrastructure to partners, how AI and mass personalization can help reach more people and drive transformational change, the behavioral and psychological aspects to financial stress, and much more.

The Fiduciary U™ Podcast

Ep #46, Part 2: Helping People Become "Money Strong" with Liz Davidson

Welcome to Part 1 of episode #46 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.   My guest today is Liz Davidson from Financial Finesse and this is her second time on the show.On this episode, we discuss her new book, Money Strong: Your Guide to a Life Free of Financial Worries, her "START" framework which outlines a universal process that can be applied to anyone's financial life regardless of where they are, her writing process, why Financial Finesse focuses on "coaching" vs. "advice" to employees, their "Powered By" division which provides a combination of technology and coaching infrastructure to partners, how AI and mass personalization can help reach more people and drive transformational change, the behavioral and psychological aspects to financial stress, and much more.

Ep #46, Part 1: Helping People Become "Money Strong" with Liz Davidson

Welcome to Part 2 of episode #45 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.    My guest today is Bonnie Treichel from Endeavour Retirement.  I’ve been a fan of Bonnie’s for some time and she is seemingly everyone these days sharing her thought leadership as well as her practice management tools and resources for advisors.  She’s one of the voices in the retirement industry that I greatly admire, and listeners will glean a lot of wisdom from this episode. Bonnie has a unique background, as both an ERISA attorney and former advisors, and it shows in how she communicates her ideas philosophies, and methodologies.   On the show we do a deep dive into hot fiduciary topics like ESG, guaranteed income, an implementation framework for SECURE 2.0, the benefit of developing what she calls a “partnership wheel, the highs and lows of the startup journey, and more.

Ep #45, Part 2: Discussing the Latest Fiduciary Trends with Bonnie Treichel

Welcome to Part 1 of episode #45 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.    My guest today is Bonnie Treichel from Endeavour Retirement.  I’ve been a fan of Bonnie’s for some time and she is seemingly everyone these days sharing her thought leadership as well as her practice management tools and resources for advisors.  She’s one of the voices in the retirement industry that I greatly admire, and listeners will glean a lot of wisdom from this episode. Bonnie has a unique background, as both an ERISA attorney and former advisors, and it shows in how she communicates her ideas philosophies, and methodologies.   On the show we do a deep dive into hot fiduciary topics like ESG, guaranteed income, an implementation framework for SECURE 2.0, the benefit of developing what she calls a “partnership wheel, the highs and lows of the startup journey, and more.

Ep #45, Part 1: Discussing the Latest Fiduciary Trends with Bonnie Treichel

Welcome to Part 2 of episode #44 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.  My guest on this episode is John Faustino, who is the Head of FI360. John has become a good friend and incredible mentor of mine as I have pivoted into the fintech world, and we had a great conversation where we covered a lot of ground. John has a 30+ year career in the fintech industry, first at Morningstar, then moving Fi360 as Chief Product & Strategy Officer, and continuing as the organizational leader after its acquisition by Broadridge.On this episode, we discuss topics that range from how the technology landscape for advisors is evolving, the trend towards collaboration and partnership between fintech providers which is leading to a better experience for end users, the generational differences between advisors and how this impact technology adoption, how technology is empowering new solutions like guaranteed income and ESG, why the trend towards fiduciary practices and principles is going to accelerate and much more. Make sure to listen to Parts 1 & 2 with your favorite podcast app!

Ep #44, Part 2: How Fintech is Empowering Fiduciary-Focused Advisors with John Faustino

Welcome to Part 1 of episode #44 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.  I’ve broken this one into 2 parts so make sure to check both of them out. You won’t want to miss either one.My guest on this episode is John Faustino, who is the Head of FI360. John has become a good friend and incredible mentor of mine as I have pivoted into the fintech world, and we had a great conversation where we covered a lot of ground. John has a 30+ year career in the fintech industry, first at Morningstar, then moving Fi360 as Chief Product & Strategy Officer, and continuing as the organizational leader after its acquisition by Broadridge.On this episode, we discuss topics that range from how the technology landscape for advisors is evolving, the trend towards collaboration and partnership between fintech providers which is leading to a better experience for end users, the generational differences between advisors and how this impact technology adoption, how technology is empowering new solutions like guaranteed income and ESG, why the trend towards fiduciary practices and principles is going to accelerate and much more. Make sure to listen to Parts 1 & 2 with your favorite podcast app!

Ep #44, Part 1: How Fintech is Empowering Fiduciary-Focused Advisors with John Faustino

Welcome to Part 2 of episode #43 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast. My guest on this episode is Aaron Schumm, Founder & CEO of Vestwell.  This is Aaron’s second time on the podcast since first appearing in 2020 as my second guest on the show.  A lot has changed since then and Vestwell’s success has gone nuclear, making them a dominant force in the small plan recordkeeping market.  On this episode, we discuss topics that range from developing systems and workflows that scale, service models that succeed, how Vestwell is empowering the next generation of retirement savers by making advisors and TPA more efficient, crypto, and more.  And so with that introduction I hope you enjoy this episode with Aaron Schumm. Make sure to listen to Parts 1 & 2 with your favorite podcast app!

Ep #43, Part 2: Building A Systematic Approach To Scaling Retirement Plans With Aaron Schumm

Welcome to Part 1 of episode #43 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast. It’s been a few months since I released a podcast – the end of the year was pretty crazy launching a lot of new features and functionality in my FiduciaryRx platform which required a lot of my focus and attention.  But now I’m back and have some really exciting guests scheduled over the new couple of months.  Like my more recent episodes, I’ve broken this one into 2 parts and releasing both so make sure to check each of them out. You won’t want to miss either one. My guest on this episode is Aaron Schumm, Founder & CEO of Vestwell.  This is Aaron’s second time on the podcast since first appearing in 2020 as my second guest on the show.  A lot has changed since then and Vestwell’s success has gone nuclear, making them a dominant force in the small plan recordkeeping market.  On this episode, we discuss topics that range from developing systems and workflows that scale, service models that succeed, how Vestwell is empowering the next generation of retirement savers by making advisors and TPA more efficient, crypto, and more.  And so with that introduction I hope you enjoy this episode with Aaron Schumm. Make sure to listen to Parts 1 & 2 with your favorite podcast app!

Ep #43, Part 1: Building A Systematic Approach To Scaling Retirement Plans With Aaron Schumm

In Part 2 of episode #42 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast, Michael Doshier of T. Rowe Price and I continue our discussion on large market consulting and product trends.

Ep #42, Part 2: Analyzing Large Market Consulting and Product Trends with Michael Doshier

Welcome to episode #42 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast.  Like last episode, I broke this one into 2 parts and I’m releasing both at the same time so make sure to check out both.  You won’t want to miss either one.   My guest on this episode is Michael Doshier, who is a Senior Defined Contribution Advisor Strategist for T. Rowe Price where he is primarily responsible for driving the increased visibility of T Rowe Price’s investment brand, furthering the firm’s position as a thought leader in the retirement arena.  He’s been in the retirement industry for 30 years and previously held executive positions at Fidelity, MassMutual and Franklin Templeton Investments. This is Michael’s second time on the podcast.  During his first appearance, he shared his insights from T. Rowe Price’s inaugural 2020 Defined Contribution Consultant Study.  On today’s episode, he’ll be sharing his insights from T. Rowe Price’s 2021 Defined Contribution Consultant Study which included survey responses from 32 consulting firms that work with over 33,000 plan sponsor clients and more than $7 trillion in assets under advisement. It also incorporated over 450 plan sponsors survey directly by T. Rowe Price and nearly 6,500 plan participants from T. Rowe Price recordkeeping clients.  We discuss topics like price competition and margin compression faced by consultants and advisors, how the competitive lines are blurring between the two, how to improve firm profitability, which services and capabilities provide differentiation opportunities as well as plan sponsor and participant attitudes towards things like retirement decumulation, financial wellness, student debt, and HSAs, among other things.  And make sure to listen to the end of Part 2 where Michael shares his best piece of practice management advice for consultants and advisors.  And so, with that introduction, I hope you enjoy part 1 of this episode with Michael Dozier from T. Rowe Price.

Ep #42, Part 1: Analyzing Large Market Consulting and Product Trends with Michael Doshier

In Part 2 of episode #41 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast, Chad Johansen of Plan Design Consultants and I continue our discussion on how advisors can win big in the small retirement plan market.

Ep #41, Part 2: How Advisors Can Win Big in the Small Retirement Plan Market with Chad Johansen

Welcome to episode #41 of the Fiduciary U™ Podcast. I am going to try something a little different with this episode. I recently co-hosted Retireholics and a few people were giving me a hard time about how long the episodes are, even though they love the content. I conducted a poll on LinkedIn and 52% of people said they prefer breaking each episode into 2 parts. Not a huge majority but since this episode is a little longer than usual, I’m going to try it out and see what type of feedback I get. I am releasing Parts 1 and 2 at the same time so make sure to check out both episodes. You won’t want to miss either one. I can’t promise I stick with this format, but we’ll see how it goes.  My guest on this episode is Chad Johansen who is a Partner & Director of Retirement Plan Sales at Plan Design Consultants, a very successful TPA that focuses on the micro and small retirement plan market. He’s also ¼ of the Retireholics and self-proclaimed 401(k) nerd. The moniker works because, along with being one of my best friends in the business, he’s also one of the smartest guys I know in the industry. He's successfully serves advisors and plan sponsors by combining a technical mind, a savvy sales approach and an unparalleled work ethic. On the episode, we cover a lot of ground, discussing how advisors can win big by serving the small retirement plan market. We have a great conversation about which providers are doing a good job in that space. How small plan’s need a different level of service than large plans and how advisors can develop a skill set and service model that meets those needs in a profitable way. Chad also shares insights about how advisors can differentiate by focusing on tax efficient strategies and advantages for small businesses as well as the benefit of paying fees as a deductible business expense. We also cover topics like why fiduciary liability is oversold in small plans and why advisors should focus on helping plan sponsors avoid operational failures, winning analogies to explain complicated topics, and why advisors need to understand the value of their time and start looking at technology as an investment instead of as an expense to scale their business and drive operational efficiency.  I always love geeking out with Chad and had a great time on this episode. I hope you enjoy Part 1.  Don't forget to check out Part 2!

Ep #41, Part 1: How Advisors Can Win Big in the Small Retirement Plan Market with Chad Johansen

Welcome to episode #40 of the Fiduciary U Podcast.  My guest on this episode is Andy Hudson, the Managing Partner of 401k Champions and a well-known coach, consultant, and sales strategy expert to top 401k advisors, typically generating $1m+ in annual revenue.  He started his consulting practice over a decade ago after more than a decade in the retirement industry at companies like John Hancock and Manulife. On the episode, we have a great discussion about practice management for retirement plan advisors and how they can work on their business instead of just in the business.  We cover sales strategies like the importance of building a proprietary process to differentiate your practice, demonstrating deep expertise by diagnosing accurately so you can prescribe effectively, avoiding the urge to sell prospects on what services you offer instead of future outcomes you can achieve, and how to create a flexible narrative and messaging approach that can be applied to the unique needs of your prospects.  Finally, we also discuss Andy’s consulting philosophy which is built around 3 pillars: sales and lead generation, service model and growth map and how advisors can identify their biggest business driver so they can focus on that area.

Ep #40: Optimizing Your Retirement Practice By Mastering The Three Pillars of Growth with Andy Hudson

My guest on this episode is the one and only Sheri Fitts. When it comes to financial services sales and marketing, Sheri is a gifted speaker, consultant, and creator and I always enjoy learning from her. One of the things I love about Sheri is her ENERGY. Her passion for connecting emotional intelligence and digital influence, what she calls Digital EQ, really comes through in this episode. We focus a lot of our conversation on the human aspect of financial services and how we communicate with our clients and prospects. We chat about the power of storytelling, how and why advisors need to get super clear about their purposes and values, why vulnerability is a superpower but can’t be “hacked” for social media purposes, and why first impressions matter so much. Plus, much more.

Ep #39: Capturing Hearts and Minds Through Authenticity, Empathy and Storytelling With Sheri Fitts

My guest today is Ben Pitts from TIFIN Wealth.  Ben has a background as an advisor and is a Partner at TIFIN which is a venture backed fintech company that has raised nearly $200m and offers advisors a portfolio of solutions including a natural language investment research platform called Magnifi, a digital marketing platform called Clout, a risk assessment platform and a lightweight financial planning platform called TIFIN Plan.We focus a lot of our conversation on the need for fintech that allows advisors to enhance the participant experience, how advisors can deliver personalized financial wellness and advice to participants in profitably and efficiently, how to bring financial planning to the main street, and how TIFIN Plan empowers these planning-focused conversations with participants rather than just investment-focused discussions.

Ep #38: Delivering Efficient Financial Planning to Retirement Plan Participants With Ben Pitts

The Fiduciary U™ Podcast shares the latest information on corporate retirement plan trends, ideas, and best practices to assist decision-makers and others in this industry in being more effective at their jobs. The show features industry experts across multiple disciplines who share their unique perspectives and actionable insights about how to provide a great retirement plan for employees in a rapidly changing world. Your host, Josh Itzoe, is the Founder & CEO of FiduciaryWor(k)s and the author of The Fiduciary Formula and Fixing the 401(k). The goal of Fiduciary U™ is to build a community that helps all of us enhance our knowledge, sharpen our skills, and stay at the forefront of industry trends so we can do our jobs better and make a positive impact in the lives of real people whose financial futures depend on us.

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The Fiduciary U™ Podcast

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