Practical Wisdom from ACP Financial Advisors

A lot of the financial planning industry focuses on investments because of their “something-for-nothing” feeling. But how do you advise clients on the whole of their financial lives? Our guest, Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, founder of Padden Financial Planning and ACP Immediate Past President, discusses what it takes to deliver a complete financial plan and why it’s important to look beyond investments alone. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Sheila Padden, please visit www.PaddenFinancial.com

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held September 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Advisors were asked to provide their top tips, tools, and words of wisdom when it comes to running and managing an independent advisory firm. Ten members are featured here, offering thoughts on industry organizations, methodologies, visualization methods, profiles, niching, outsourcing, systemization, automation, fintech solutions and softwares, and more. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. ACP members featured in this episode: Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning Cordi Powell, CFP®, EA, Founder of Favored Financial Planning Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA, Founder of Sullivan Mermel, Inc. John Scherer, CFP®, Founder of Trinity Financial Planning Kelly Adams, CFP®, RLP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning Rorik Larson, MBA, CFP®, EA, Founder of Essential Financial Strategies Brian Leben, CFP®, PFS, CPA, MBA, CGMA, Owner of Midwest Wealth Solutions Wendy Marsden, CFP®, CPA, Founder of ProsperiTea Planning Zach Teutsch, Founder of Values Added Financial Hannah Basil Bryant, CFP®, Financial Advisor at Savant Wealth Management

As our financial planning practices grow, we sometimes find ourselves stuck on plateaus, facing problems that can’t be solved by working harder. How do we make progress when the tools we’ve used up til now won’t get us to our next professional goal? The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) could provide the answer. Our guests, Al Davis, CFP®, EA, founder of Davis Financial Planning, and Adrianne Gordon, CEO & Partner, discuss how they use EOS to navigate the continued growth of their firm. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Al Davis and Adrianne Gordon, please visit www.DavisFinancialPlanning.com

One of the challenges of fiduciary financial planning is how to best communicate with clients. You'd like your clients to tell you more about their financial lives, but they might be afraid of wasting your time if they think of you as just a professional specialist. You also want them to understand your own confidence and professional advice, but without their eyes glazing over from jargon. How can you talk with your clients in a way that helps you provide the greatest value? Our guest, Chip Simon, CFP®, Founder of Taconic Advisors, discusses how to talk with your clients so they, and you, will be confident that you’re heading in the right direction. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Chip Simon, please visit www.TaconicAdvisors.com

AUM model, commissions, hourly fee, flat fee, retainer model... there are so many ways that financial advisors charge for their services these days that it's sometimes very confusing for consumers and hard to know which will serve them best. The same can be said for advisors themselves - which model is going to allow your business to thrive and serve clients to the fullest? Our guest, Jake Kuebler, CFP®, EA, Owner and Managing Partner of Bluestem Financial Advisors, explains the benefits of the retainer model and why it's often the best choice for advisors and their clients. Jake is the co-author (along with host Ken Robinson) of the whitepaper 'The Financial Planners' Retainer: A Reflection of Real Value' (https://www.acplanners.org/consumer/media/retainer-model). To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Jake Kuebler, please visit www.BluestemFA.com

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held October 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Advisors were asked to discuss a challenge faced during the pandemic and how they successfully moved through and resolved the issue, or the top lesson they learned for running a successful advisory practice during the pandemic. Ten members are featured here, offering thoughts on virtual client communications, working remotely, volatile markets, mindfulness, self-care, industry organizations, helpful software and fintech solutions, recruiting solutions, and more. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. ACP members featured in this episode: Frankie Corrado, CFP®, RLP®, Managing Director, Principal at Robertson Stephens; Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning; Linda Leitz, CFP®, EA, President of Peace of Mind Financial Planning; Dani Parris-Exline, AFC®, Financial Advisor at Peace of Mind Financial Planning; Jane Young, CFP®, EA, President of More Than Your Money, Inc.; Kelly Adams, CFP®, RLP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning; Mike Stanton, CFP®, Principal of Stanton Financial Planning; Ross Schmidt, President of Aspen Wealth Planners; Anabel Diaz, CFP®, Financial Associate at Natural Bridges Financial Advisors; Bert Whitehead, MBA, JD, Founder of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners; Ken Robinson, CFP®, JD, Founder of Practical Financial Planning

Should you include tax planning in your offerings? Maybe even (gasp!) tax preparation? Join our guest, Timothy Caban, EA, CFP®, Founder of Copper Beech Advisors, as he tells us why he started out not wanting to provide tax planning, but now relishes it as one indispensable part of his firm and the value he provides for his clients. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Tim Caban, please visit www.CopperBeechAdvisors.com.

A career as a fee-only planner may begin with a job in an existing practice. What’s it like as the planner's role evolves from entry-level to owner? Join us and our guest Alicia Klein, CFP®, EA, Senior Planner and Partner at Cambridge Financial Group, as she takes us on her journey from her first steps in the profession to becoming the second of three partners in her firm. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Alicia Klein, please visit www.CambridgeFinancialGroup.com.

There are many paths financial planners can take on the way to their calling. What's it like to to make the change from serving large organizations with business goals, to working with individuals and all their concerns, anxieties, and ambitions? Join us as Financial Life Planner Laura Rotter, CFA, MBA, CFP®, founder of True Abundance Advisors, describes how she left a career of 30 years managing money for some of the country's largest institutions to help her clients focus on the things that matter most in their lives. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Laura Rotter, please visit www.TrueAbundanceAdvisors.com.

Many fee-only planners build their own practices from scratch, or with client relationships developed at a prior employer. But what's it like to buy an established practice from someone else? Join us as Irfan Bhabhrawala, CFP®, Owner of Arbor Financial in Ann Arbor, Michigan, describes his experience seeking a firm to advise a family member. In time, he joined that same firm as an employee and then bought it from his family's advisor. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Irfan Bhabhrawala, please visit www.ArborFinancial.com.

Staffing and succession are significant challenges for small financial planning firms. Should an owner bring their adult child into the business, or does it make things even tougher? Join ACP Board Past President Lois Basil, CFP®, founder of Basil Financial Group, and Hannah Basil Bryant, CFP®, as they explain the process and unique challenges of working together as mother and daughter, and as fiduciary financial planning professionals. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Lois Basil and Hannah Basil Bryant, please visit www.BasilFinancialGroup.com.

What makes an exemplary financial planning business? How do you provide unbiased fiduciary advice and excellent client service while growing your client base, advancing the industry, and giving back to your community? Hear Kristen Moosmiller, EA, CFP®, founder and managing partner of NorthAvenue Financial Advocates, describe the journey that's led her and her business partner to the kind of financial planning practice that many professionals wish they had. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Kristen Moosmiller, please visit www.NorthAvenueFA.com.

Helping clients with their financial lives is a lot like helping them see the picture on the outside of the jigsaw puzzle box when they’re only looking at the individual pieces. Our guest, Cordi Powell, CFP®, EA, trained as a medical doctor before deciding she had more important goals in life. The founder of Favored Financial Planning, Cordi helps her clients see the big picture so they can confidently make important decisions in their financial lives. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Cordi Powell, please visit www.FavoredFP.com.

This episode is the third in our series, “Greater Together,” highlighting the experiences of ACP members who maintain other professional memberships as well. Registered Life Planner® Frankie Corrado, CFP®, Principal and Managing Director at Robertson Stephens in Holmdel, NJ, talks about his experience being a member of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning as well as the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Frankie Corrado, please visit www.RSCapital.com. Listen to the first episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring PJ Wallin, CPA/PFS, CFP®, discussing dual membership in XYPN and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode08 Listen to the second episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring Chris Wentzien, CFP®, CPA/PFS, discussing dual membership in AICPA and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode10

Many fiduciary planners began their careers in a different part of the financial world. But others come from careers in entirely different fields. Our guest, Bill Carlson, CFP®, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Fog City Advisors, started his professional life as an airport administrator. Hear how he turned his attention to financial planning and a holistic, retainer-based practice. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Bill Carlson, please visit www.FogCityAdvisors.com.

This episode is the second in our series, “Greater Together,” highlighting the experiences of ACP members who maintain other professional memberships as well. Chris Wentzien, CFP®, CPA/PFS, Founder of Natural Bridges Financial Advisors in Santa Cruz, California, talks about his experience being a member of the American Institute of CPAs as well as the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Chris Wentzien, please visit www.NaturalBridgesFA.com. Listen to the first episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring PJ Wallin, CPA/PFS, CFP®, discussing dual membership in XYPN and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode08 Listen to the third episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring Frankie Corrado, CFP®, RLP®, discussing dual membership in the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode12

Recorded on location at ACP's Annual Conference held November 2019 in San Diego, California, this special episode is a collage of ideas from a sampling of ACP financial planners. Advisors were asked to provide their top tips and words of wisdom. Eleven members are featured here, offering thoughts on fiduciary planning, firm succession, fees, business development, and more. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. ACP members featured in this episode: Dennis McNamara, CFP®, AIF®, Co-Founder of wHealth Advisors; David Klepeisz, CFP®, EA, Vice President of Accruent Wealth Advisors; Sheila Padden, CPA, CFP®, RLP®, Founder of Padden Financial Planning; Mary Alpers, CFP®, EA, President of Alpers Financial Planning; Wendy Marsden, CPA/PFS, CFP®, Founder of ProsperiTea Planning; Kelly Adams, CFP®, EA, Founder of Harbor Light Planning; Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA, Founder of Sullivan Mermel, Inc.; Rorik Larson, CFP®, EA, Founder of Essential Financial Strategies; Kevin Jacobs, CFP®, EA, Founder of Step By Step Financial; Carol Friedhoff, CFP®, EA, Founder of Savvy Outcomes; Ken Robinson, CFP®, JD, Founder of Practical Financial Planning

This episode is the first in a series, “Greater Together,” highlighting the experiences of ACP members who maintain other professional memberships as well. PJ Wallin, CPA/PFS, CFP®, Founder of Atlas Financial in Richmond, Virginia, talks about his experience as a founding member of the XY Planning Network and why he then joined ACP in 2016. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about PJ Wallin, please visit www.AtlasFG.com. Listen to the second episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring Chris Wentzien, CFP®, CPA/PFS, discussing dual membership in AICPA and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode10 Listen to the third episode in the “Greater Together" series, featuring Frankie Corrado, CFP®, RLP®, discussing dual membership in the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and ACP: https://soundcloud.com/PracticalWisdomPodcast/Episode12

Most of the financial planning industry is so focused on Assets Under Management, those words describe both the size of a firm and how much clients pay for advice. With the AUM model being so prevalent, why would you switch to a different way to charge—and, more importantly, a different way to practice? Our guest, Steve Swicegood, CFP®, shares his professional journey from the insurance business to comprehensive Financial Life Planning—a journey he took because his clients wanted more of his unbiased advice. To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Steve Swicegood, please visit https://www.ConsciousMoney.com.

Income tax is about far more than return preparation. Can you transform this annual filing chore into something else, helping your clients understand how their decisions throughout the year save them (or cost them) thousands of dollars? Our guest, Jonathan M. Heller, CFA, CFP®, EA, explains how tax planning integrates with the holistic financial plan and adds value for your clients, whether or not you prepare their returns. Jon is the co-author of the whitepaper 'Tax Alpha: How to Add Measurable Value with Tax-Focused Financial Planning' (https://www.acplanners.org/acpmainsite/consumer/media/tax-alpha). To learn more about the ACP, please visit www.ACPlanners.org. To learn more about Jonathan Heller, please visit www.KEJFinancial.com.