PracticeLab

In an industry where everyone is looking for a client niche, Ray Evans of Pegasus Capital Management in Kansas City, Kansas, may have found one where others weren’t looking. He and his team of six associates manage just over $470 million, working with clients in the construction industry.

Evans has much to say, so we broke this interview into two parts. In this episode, he talks about his niche focus in construction, which happened almost by accident but has led to a large clientele of small-business owners.

We'll also dig into Evans’ advisory board, a group of fellow business leaders who meet quarterly to counsel Evans and each other. He’ll explain how he set it up, and how you can gain the benefits of an advisory board in your own practice. For more, visit PracticeLab.

As a veteran who spent 16 years serving in the Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) Forces, Jonathan Wilson knows a thing or two about making decisions in uncertain conditions. At Capital Group, where he now consults with advisors on how to grow their retirement plan business, Jonathan helps financial professionals apply the lessons he learned as a Navy SEAL to help them grow in today's fast-paced industry.

In this episode, you'll hear Jonathan share his three keys to success: mission, systems and culture. In his discussion of systems, Jonathan digs into what he calls the four P's — problem, plan, perform and probe — and how to implement them in your team. And he shares insights about culture and what it takes to lead a high-performing team. For more, visit PracticeLab.

Many advisors take a holistic approach to financial planning, but David and Evan Coles of WMBC Financial in Irvine, California, have gone a step further. Working alongside their father, Scott Coles, who founded WMBC in 2003, the two brothers have developed a proprietary “human wealth” planning strategy, aiming to understand not just clients’ financial needs, but also their emotional relationships to money as well as their sense of overall well-being.

In this episode, you will hear David and Evan share how they worked with a think tank on this so-called human wealth approach, and how they implement it in their practice. We will also discuss how this family firm has found success working with other family-owned businesses. Visit PracticeLab to read more.

What does it take to build a top team? Capital Group’s Michael Schweitzer, a former financial advisor with decades of experience in the industry, believes it’s all about thinking like an enterprise. “The best teams in the industry have figured out how to operate as an enterprise by building systems that allow them to operate much like some of America's most successful corporations today,” he says.  

In this episode, you will hear Schweitzer detail the 10 things he thinks top teams should focus on to build an enterprise around their business and create lasting value. Much of this work involves process, but it takes the right mindset, too. “You have to believe in the opportunity for growth, and you have to commit to it,” Schweitzer says. For more, visit PracticeLab.

With more than $2 billion* in assets under management and a 95% retention rate, Ira Rapaport and his team from New England Private Wealth Advisors must be doing something right. The fee-only registered investment advisor firm based in the Boston area credits their remarkable organic growth to next-level client experience as well as a focus on the softer side of planning, developing deep, long-term relationships with client families.

It takes a long-term team approach to pull it off. Hear several members of the team join the conversation to share how they work together to provide a holistic planning experience, along with examples of the types of client services that have helped them become a multibillion-dollar firm. To learn more, visit PracticeLab.

*As of Nov. 2020.

Many financial professionals these days are trying to reach women. Elisabeth Cullington and Janet Acheatel may have built the success model with Women and Wealth, a specialty practice that has helped grow HoyleCohen Wealth Management, their San Diego-based registered investment advisor firm, to more than $2 billion* in assets under management.

Host Leslie Geller leads the conversation as Acheatel and Cullington describe their “for women, by women” approach to helping clients tackle life transitions, such as selling a business, going through a divorce, retiring or being recently widowed. They share their “clone the client” process for acquiring new business, along with steps you can take to acquire and work more effectively with women clients. To learn more, visit PracticeLab.

Sometimes doing things differently can pay off. That’s been the case for Abby Spaulding of Continuum Planner Partners in Nashville, Tennessee. A financial advisor since 2008, the rising star founded the firm in 2015 and won the Nashville Business Journal's Power Leaders in Finance award in 2017.

One thing that makes Spaulding’s practice different is employing a retainer fee model rather than an asset management fee model. With a focus on businessowners with high net worth but few investable assets, she recognized a need in the marketplace. 

Hear about Spaulding’s business model, the epiphany that changed everything and why phantom referrals are not at all scary. To learn more, visit PracticeLab.

How do you grow a practice to 160 people in nine offices managing around $4.5 billion* in less than 20 years? For Jeff Dobyns, founder of the Southwestern Investment Group in Franklin, Tennessee, it boils down to advice he heard years ago from success guru Tom Gau: “You make money by being in front of clients.”

While he admits this is easier said than done, it drove Dobyns to do the difficult work of client segmentation and tenacious team building. He’s turned his formula into a mentorship program designed to support young talent while providing top advisors more face time with clients. To learn more, visit PracticeLab. 

 *As of October 2020.

If you are a financial professional looking to grow your business, improve your practice and save valuable time, then the PracticeLab podcast is a program for and about you. 

In this series, we go coast-to-coast talking to financial professionals who are doing unique and powerful things in their businesses, and who are ready to share their best practices with you. If you're interested in ways to help acquire more clients, attract high net worth prospects, turbocharge your marketing, enhance your client experience, scale your practice and more, then you’ll want to tune in to these episodes and hear some of the best ideas in the business. 

PracticeLab is brought to you by Capital Group, home of American Funds. You can find all our episodes and more at practicelab.com. We hope you enjoy what you hear and — more importantly, what you learn — on the PracticeLab podcast.

American Funds Distributors, Inc., member FINRA