Dan Prendergast, Author at Nitrogen Wealth

CEO POV: Challenges and Opportunities In Wealth Management Webinar Recap

About this session:

This webcast was about the challenges and opportunities in wealth management. It was sponsored by Advisor Engine in partnership with Nitrogen. The discussion covered growth strategies, operational efficiency, and improving client experience in wealth management firms. The speakers shared insights from recent research and their own experiences in leading successful companies.

Insights Surfaced:

Hypergrowth firms (growing over 21% in the last year) invest more time and money in growth activities and technology.
The most effective tactic for building client relationships is timely communication.
There is a significant gap in marketing spend between hypergrowth and slow growth firms.
Firms need to invest in technology to drive operational efficiency and support growth.
There is a need for wealth management firms to improve their digital experience to match their in-person experience.

Meet the Speakers

Aaron Klein, CEO, Nitrogen

Aaron co-founded Nitrogen in 2011, growing the company to serve tens of thousands of financial advisors, and twice being named as one of the world’s top 10 most innovative companies in finance by Fast Company Magazine. He also co-founded Hope Takes Root, an initiative to serve orphans and vulnerable kids in Ethiopia, and serves on the board of Invest in Others, an organization that supports financial advisors who give back to their communities. InvestmentNews has honored him as one of the industry’s top 40 under 40 executives.

Rich Cancro, Founder & CEO, AdvisorEngine

Rich brings over 25 years of experience building wealth management technology. Prior to founding AdvisorEngine, Rich served as a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was Head of the RIA custody business and responsible for developing their Global Wealth and Investment Management financial planning and reporting tools. Before that, Rich created industry-leading solutions for J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns and DLJDirect. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Firms that prioritize client experience, operational efficiency, and organic growth are more likely to succeed

The webinar emphasized the importance of prioritizing client experience, operational efficiency, and organic growth in wealth management firms. The panelists agreed that these factors are critical for success in the industry.

“The people who are coming here and investing their time into thinking about this problem are the ones who are largely in this space. They have the great potential of becoming a hypergrowth firm,” said Aaron Klein. “They’ve just got to figure out the few things that they need to change to kind of get to hypergrowth status.”

Rich Cancro echoed Klein’s sentiments, highlighting the importance of client experience in wealth management. “The good news, the really good news is 89% of the advisors (that we did the research on) said they think providing a really good digital experience is important. The challenge is, though, only 34% of them are actually working on it.”

Takeaway 2: The importance of timely communication for building client relationships

The webinar highlighted the importance of timely communication in building and maintaining client relationships. The panelists agreed that being able to effectively and promptly communicate with clients is a key factor in driving growth in the wealth management industry.

“Timely communication is a big deal and that’s the one way that we’ve created where technology can actually help you read the client’s mind and help you put yourself into a good position to be able to drive that timely communication,” said Aaron Klein.

Rich Cancro also emphasized the role of technology in facilitating timely communication: “The good news is that the technology that’s out there today will help you [with timely communication and] scale those small balance accounts. And by the way, we’re talking about 20-30 year olds, right? So they’re in their growth period.”

Takeaway 3: The necessity of change and transformation for success

The dialogue also touched upon the necessity of change and transformation for firms to succeed in the evolving business landscape. Both CEOs shared their experiences of overseeing transformations in their respective firms and emphasized that the status quo is insufficient in the current market environment.

Klein recounted the transformation from Riskalyze to Nitrogen and how it enhanced the firm’s brand identity. He noted, “It was a great journey for us, and we’re glad we made the change.” Cancro shared the transformation journey from Juncture to Advisor Engine, emphasizing how it elevated their brand identity and helped to better align their physical presence, marketing, and client experience. He concluded, “I’d say for advisors and why I’m talking about this, it’s the same thing. You have a physical presence that typically advisors have curated over years… and your client experience, all three of those have to come together.”

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Capitalizing on Artificial Intelligence: Opportunities to Grow Your Firm Webinar Recap

About this session:

This webinar focused on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wealth management and investment strategies, with a particular focus on the potential opportunities and challenges it presents. It also discussed the role of Opto Investments in providing access to private market investment opportunities, and how AI can be used to enhance these investment strategies.

Insights Surfaced:

AI presents a significant opportunity in wealth management and investment strategies, particularly in the private market space.
There is a lot of hype around AI, but it is not a bubble. Instead, it is a real opportunity with intrinsic value and realistic growth expectations.
AI can be used to enhance existing investment strategies, particularly in the areas of profiling and communication, compliance and reporting, and data management.
It is still early in the AI lifecycle and more development is needed before it can be fully integrated into wealth management systems.
The regulatory environment is also a consideration, with the SEC emphasizing the need for a human in the loop and the ultimate responsibility of the human for AI actions.

Meet the Speakers

Jacob Miller, Co-Founder, Opto Investments

Jacob is a co-founder at Opto, and runs its Advisory practice. He works directly with our clients, is actively engaged in our investment committee, and drives the development of investment frameworks.

Jacob was previously at Bridgewater Associates, but has been managing money for family and friends since he was 16. While he has a background in macroeconomics and high-yield debt, he finds the challenges and opportunities in the private markets space far more interesting and important for investors.

Matt Malone, Head of Investment Management, Opto Investments

Matt is Opto’s Head of Investment Management, overseeing all its investment activities, fund structuring, and product development.

Matt has over 15 years of experience across all aspects of alternative investments. He has served as Chair of the CFA Society of Washington DC and President of the Alternative and Direct Investment Securities Association, and is a CFA charterholder and licensed attorney.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: The relevance of AI in the investment landscape

Artificial Intelligence has been creating a buzz in various industries, including investment, with its potential to revolutionize processes and create efficiency. The speakers explored the significant role of AI in the investment landscape, focusing on its potential in augmenting human capabilities, rather than replacing them entirely.

Matt Malone emphasized that AI is not about replacing human roles but about enhancing them. “We think there are many opportunities where these tools can help scale the human element by really augmenting existing capabilities versus a wholesale replacement.”

Jacob Miller further echoed this viewpoint, shedding light on how AI could potentially speed up processes and tasks that would typically be time-consuming. “We’re seeing more and more models come out that are more specific and can run more. There’s going to be a lot more compute needed to run them. So the demands are going to continue to expand for infrastructure and there are ways to try to play that through infrastructure and real estate strategies.”

Takeaway 2: The potential for major growth in AI investment

Artificial Intelligence is seen as an area with significant potential for growth and a great opportunity for investors. The panelists noted that the introduction of AI in various sectors, from biotech to defense, creates opportunities for significant returns on investment.

“There are opportunities that exist today that certainly did not exist five years ago, which is what we look for on the cutting edge of innovation, with real world use cases and value they can add to the world,” said Matt Malone.

Jacob Miller added, “So I think. We’re seeing things move in that direction. I think that it’s also an interesting time for investing because that means there’s a lot of opportunities for people to create specialized tools to create this infrastructure to build sort of the next wave of innovation.”

Takeaway 3: The regulatory implications of AI in wealth management

While AI presents promising opportunities, the speakers discussed the importance of regulatory considerations in wealth management. They highlighted that despite the advanced capabilities of AI, the human element still plays a crucial role in maintaining the fiduciary duty towards clients.

Matt Malone touched on the importance of human oversight in utilizing AI tools, stating that “the human is still necessary.” He mentioned an incident where a lawyer used AI to generate precedent cases, but failed to verify the AI’s output, leading to the citation of non-existent cases.

Jacob Miller emphasized the regulatory perspective, stating that regardless of AI’s capabilities, there is always a need for human intervention. “I think what the regulators are basically saying is no matter how good AI gets, there needs to be a human in the loop, and the human is ultimately responsible for what that AI is doing with regards to client interactions.”

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A Client Experience that Builds Loyalty—and Referrals Webinar Recap

About this session:

This session involved a discussion about the importance of enhancing client referrals and building loyalty through exceptional client experience. The panelists also discussed the various tools and strategies that can be used to achieve these objectives, such as using technology to streamline operations, empowering teams, and focusing on customer experience and growth. The session also featured technology demos and shared resources for reference and sharing among colleagues.

Insights Surfaced:

The importance of understanding your client base, their needs, and their experiences to deliver better service.
The need for technology and automation in streamlining operations and improving client experience.
The role of team empowerment in improving operations and service delivery.
The significance of regular client engagement and follow-ups in building loyalty and referrals.
The value of using technology to personalize client experience and meet their unique needs.

Meet the Speakers

Bill Sullivan, VP – Relationship Management, Nitrogen

Meet Bill Sullivan, a 25-year veteran in financial services sales and relationship management. He’s led Nitrogen’s Mid-market and Enterprise teams for over three years, specializing in converting leads into client relationships and driving sustainable growth. Bill is here to share his expertise to benefit you and your clients.

Charesse Spiller, Founder of Level Best and Creator of FinOps Co-op™

Charesse Spiller, the founder and principal consultant at Level Best, specializes in helping financial planners streamline their operations for success. With a focus on reimagining systems and processes, Charesse and her team of consultants are dedicated to elevating your business from good to great.

Amber Krier, Head of Relationship Management, AdvisorEngine

Amber Krier is an experienced professional in the financial industry. They currently serve as the Head of Relationship Management at AdvisorEngine since January 2022, and previously held roles at Sowell Management and TD Ameritrade Institutional. Amber holds degrees from Navarro College and Fontbonne University, and they are certified with Series 63 and Series 7 by FINRA since May 2016.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: The importance of streamlining operations and utilizing technology to enhance client service in wealth management

The panelists discussed the importance of streamlining operations and using technology to enhance client experience in wealth management. They emphasized on conducting regular audits of current priorities, processes, and the types of clients being served, to understand the focus areas and the scope of improvement.

“Sometimes we need to look within and take stock of your current priorities, your current processes, as well as the clients that you’re serving today,” said Bill. He added that considering new capabilities and auditing one’s tech stack are crucial steps in improving the client experience.

Cherisse Spiller also highlighted the significance of technology in streamlining operations and empowering teams. She said, “Help your team have ownership and reinvent your tech stack. Audit your tech stack to see what new capabilities are available through integrations and automations as well.”

Takeaway 2: Developing a client experience vision and documenting it to measure results

Amber discussed the importance of creating a client experience vision, documenting it, and measuring the results. She noted that it’s essential to start small and define one thing that can be done at each step of the client journey to enhance the experience.

“Evaluating your current client experience – [is essential]. We [can show] the statistics on how often our advisors are touching their clients and what that check-in looks like,” said Amber. She emphasized the need to measure results and share them with the team to ensure everyone understands their role in the client experience.

She also pointed out the importance of segmenting clients and setting service expectations for each segment. “Are you calling them? Do your clients want calls quarterly or monthly, depending on the relationship you have with them,” Amber asked, underlining the need for clear communication lines according to the client’s preferences.

Takeaway 3: Using technology to deepen the client relationship and drive referrals

The panelists also highlighted the role of technology in deepening client relationships and driving referrals. They discussed how tools like Advisor Engine and Nitrogen can help in managing client relationships and streamlining processes.

Kathy demonstrated how Advisor Engine can help track client progress, manage touch points, and provide a comprehensive overview of client data. She emphasized the tool’s ability to provide a clear idea of how to track client engagement.

Jayden from Nitrogen showed how their platform can help in deepening client relationships by simplifying conversations around risk, reward, and long-term financial goals. He said, “The way that we see most firms utilizing our platform to deepen that client relationship is starting with this risk number.” He then showcased Nitrogen’s core features and how they assist with enhancing the client experience.

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Advisor Content Mastery: Steps to Creating the Right Content

About this session:

The discussion focused on how financial professionals can create effective and impactful content for their marketing efforts. It also focused on the importance of content marketing in financial advisory services, key content creation strategies, tracking and measuring success of content marketing initiatives, and leveraging social proof to establish trust with potential clients.

Insights Surfaced:

Content marketing is crucial in financial advisory services as it builds trust with the audience and is a cost-effective customer acquisition strategy.
The content should be engaging, relevant, and should address the needs and interests of the target audience.
Calls to action are crucial in identifying success and establishing conversions. They should be compelling and clearly state what the audience will gain.
Tracking and measuring the success of content marketing initiatives is essential. This can be done through SEO, analyzing open and conversion rates in emails, overall website traffic and a whole lot more!
Repurposing existing content can save time and effort, and it can be optimized for different channels.

Meet the Speakers

Will Steiner, Head of Content Marketing, Altruist

Will Steiner is the Head of Content at Altruist, leading the team responsible for producing Altruist’s podcasts, webinars, blog posts, case studies, downloadable guides, and social media. Prior to joining Altruist, he left a career at Salesforce to start a company called Big Later, which offers an email-based financial literacy product geared toward Millennials. He enjoys content marketing (a lot).

Grace Bryan, Corporate Marketing Manager, Nitrogen

Grace Bryan, orchestrates content for Nitrogen – across blogs, social media, website updates, white papers, video scripts, and PR efforts. Her heart lies in the financial advisory industry, where she’s leading Nitrogen’s pioneering Growth Survey. Grace holds a Masters in Communication Management from the University of Southern California and a BA in Journalism from Baylor University. A California native now based in Texas with her husband and two feline companions, she once harmonized in a barbershop quartet, showcasing her diverse talents.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Content Marketing is a crucial aspect of financial advisory services

Will and Grace emphasized the importance of content marketing in financial advisory services. They noted that it helps to build trust with audiences without resorting to hard sell tactics and is particularly effective for hyper growth firms that invest heavily in marketing tactics.

“Content marketing encompasses so many different kinds of thought leadership content from digital content, promotional content, white papers, ebooks, podcast, videos, etc. It really serves to build trust with your audience. It’s not really a hard sell tactic,” pointed out Grace Bryan. Will Steiner added, “Content marketing is a marketing tactic that skews educational with the objective of establishing credibility and trust without expectations.”

They agreed that the key to effective content marketing is understanding what the client is interested in and aligning it with the advisor’s expertise. According to Steiner, “If you have an idea for a screenplay, you want to organize a community volunteering effort, you want to start a meet up, all of those things will contribute to your ability to think creatively and to build something from scratch.”

Takeaway 2: The Importance of Calls to Action in Content Marketing

Will and Grace discussed the importance of establishing strong calls to action (CTAs) in content marketing initiatives. They suggested that the most effective CTAs are ones that are compelling for the viewer and clearly outline what is in it for them.

“The main thing you have to ask yourself is – whatever I want this person to do – am I making it compelling for them to do it? Which is basically just answering the question, what’s in it for me?” said Will Steiner. Grace Bryan expanded on this, suggesting that advisors look at creating different CTAs depending on where the viewer is in the marketing funnel. “How do you optimize for the channel that you’re going to repurpose it for and then what’s the next step?” she asked.

They also discussed the idea of using softer CTAs to capture leads, such as downloadable pieces of content or risk questionnaires that capture viewer information while providing them with valuable content.

Takeaway 3: Measuring Success in Content Marketing

During the webinar, Grace and Will discussed how financial advisors can track and measure the success of their content marketing initiatives. They suggested that while there are many metrics that can be tracked, the ultimate measure of success should be revenue.

“Every channel has different measurements and also different goals associated. Will brought up the funnel, so how you’re going to measure the effectiveness of your social media will be different than the effectiveness of email, than your website,” noted Grace Bryan. Meanwhile, Will Steiner advised focusing on one thing at a time and optimizing each piece of the marketing funnel before moving on to measuring success on other channels.

They agreed that understanding search engine optimization (SEO) is a valuable skill for advisors looking to increase the effectiveness of their content marketing efforts. “Doing some cursory keyword research is helpful. To know what is being searched for most often in my area, in my region, in this demographic, I think is helpful,” Bryan said.

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Operational Effectiveness: Tighten Up Your Team’s Execution Webinar Recap

About this session:

This event was a discussion around operational excellence for wealth management firms. The conversation covered various aspects of operations, from client onboarding to technology integration, with a focus on how to improve execution and drive growth. The session also included demonstrations of two technology platforms, Advisor Engine and Nitrogen and how they relate to the overall topic.

Insights Surfaced:

Firms need to define their operations categories and have a clear understanding of what operational excellence looks like.
The client journey needs to be mapped out to expose areas of strength and gaps in the service delivery.
Firms should focus on two to three relevant areas and gather inputs to drive operational excellence.
It’s important to have a defined owner for each operational task to ensure accountability and consistent results.
Firms should use tools like a Moscow list (Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won’t have list) to prioritize their operational goals.

Meet the Speakers

Craig Ramsey, COO, AdvisorEngine

Craig, a versatile business leader, drives company-wide alignment and operational excellence. With a background in corporate strategy, investment banking, and consulting, he joined AdvisorEngine from WisdomTree, where he led strategy and expanded into technology solutions. Craig also brings experience from firms like BofA Merrill Lynch, Accenture, Croft & Bender, and UBS. He holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and actively supports Back on My Feet, a nonprofit combating homelessness.

Nick Harding, SVP Advisor Care and Success, Nitrogen

Nick Harding is SVP of Advisor Care and Success and has been an integral part of the Nitrogen team since joining in 2015. He frequently represents Nitogen at conferences and events across the country, providing financial advisors with tools and ideas to align the world’s investments with each investor’s Risk Number. Nick lives in the Sacramento Valley area and enjoys spending time with family and building LEGO with his son.

John O’Connell, CEO, The Oasis Group

John O’Connell, with over 30 years of leadership experience, started his career at Merrill Lynch and KPMG Peat Marwick. He held top roles at Oracle for 8+ years, led a FinTech company, and held C-level positions at two global firms. He’s now CEO of The Oasis Group, specializing in aiding wealth management and tech firms with complex challenges like tech selection, sales strategies, and client processes. Author of “Rise of The Activist Investor,” he holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science & Mathematics (College of Staten Island) and an MBA in Finance (Rider University).

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Leveraging technology and implementing effective operational strategies can significantly improve a firm’s productivity and client satisfaction

In the webinar, it was discussed how operational excellence can enhance a firm’s growth and client satisfaction. The speakers emphasized the importance of defining the firm’s operational categories, streamlining the client journey, and utilizing technology to optimize various operational processes.

John O’Connell of the Oasis Group suggested that the first step towards operational excellence is to identify what needs to be measured in the company. “The first thing you need to ask yourself is what do you want to measure in the company and why?” he stated. He also highlighted the importance of assigning individual owners to each operation to ensure accountability and drive results.

Nick Harding of Nitrogen also emphasized the importance of identifying quick wins to drive momentum. He introduced the concept of MVP or minimum viable product and encouraged firms to test their assumptions and move forward iteratively. “A minimum viable product is the back of the napkin idea that you use sometimes in your analysis,” he said.

Takeaway 2: Effective communication and regular evaluation of operations are crucial for maintaining operational excellence

The webinar highlighted the importance of regular communication and evaluation in maintaining operational excellence. The panelists shared various tools and strategies to enhance communication within the team and ensure regular evaluation of operational processes.

John O’Connell recommended the use of a Moscow list, a tool for prioritizing tasks and projects based on their importance and urgency. “A Moscow list is a must have, should have, could have, and won’t have list,” he explained. He also emphasized the importance of regular project meetings for effective communication and problem-solving.

Craig Ramsey of Advisor Engine stressed the significance of company culture in operational excellence. He pointed out that operational excellence should not just be the responsibility of the operations team, but rather a collective effort of the entire company. “I don’t think you can have operational excellence unless you really weave it into your company culture and enlist your full company in that push,” he stated.

Takeaway 3: Digital tools can significantly enhance operational efficiency and client experience

The webinar also discussed how digital tools can significantly enhance operational efficiency and improve client experience. Both Advisor Engine and Nitrogen showcased their respective digital platforms designed to aid firms in managing their operations more efficiently.

Alex Wiens of Nitrogen demonstrated how the Nitrogen platform can help firms quantify the best interest of clients and prospects through their risk number feature. “The best one-liner I have for this product is that it is a sales tool hidden in plain sight behind the practice of great advice,” he said.

Kathy Crowley of Advisor Engine showed how their platform could provide firms with comprehensive business intelligence, client portal, and billing engine. “We have an amazing connection between the CRM and portfolio management,” she said. These digital tools, according to Crowley, can help firms track their growth, manage their client onboarding process, and ensure efficient billing operations.

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The Growth Code: Three Steps to Predictable Revenue

About this session:

This session aimed to target wealth management leaders interested in learning about growth strategies. The presentation featured speakers from Nitrogen and Advisor Engine. It focused on the three steps necessary in growing your firm (assessing, planning and executing).

Insights Surfaced:

The importance of having a clear growth plan and setting targets for achieving it.
The need for accountability and consistency in executing the growth plan.
The role of technology in enhancing client offerings and supporting client retention.
The value of storytelling in differentiating an advisory firm from others.
The significance of treating referrals as a specific marketing funnel to be targeted and built around.

Meet the Speakers

Kelly Waltrich, Co-Founder, Intention.ly

For over 15 years, Kelly Waltrich, Co-founder of Intention.ly, has been a pioneer in financial services marketing. As former CMO at eMoney Advisor and Orion Advisor Solutions, she demonstrated the pivotal role of marketing in driving growth. Waltrich constructed robust marketing teams, leading successful rebrands, acquisitions, and product launches. Her strategies elevated brand visibility, positioned executives as industry leaders, and generated strong inbound pipelines. Intention.ly embodies her accumulated insights, fueled by the conviction that effective marketing is the catalyst for transformative growth in financial firms.

Dan Bolton, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Nitrogen

Dan Bolton is the Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Nitrogen, the growth platform for wealth management firms. The company today serves tens of thousands of financial advisors across the United States and has twice been named one of the World’s 10 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Magazine. In his role, he oversees the company’s brand, product marketing, and digital efforts and often represents Nitrogen at national conferences and events. Outside of work, Dan is an avid runner and resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Priscilla, and daughter Goldie.

Ned Dane, Chief Growth Officer, AdvisorEngine

Ned Dane is an experienced financial services leader with extensive background in asset management, wealth management, high net worth solutions, sustainable investing, financial technology, and institutional retirement. Results driven professional with strong record of success in: innovation, driving sales and revenue, executing strategic plans, building. leading and inspiring high performing teams, and managing corporate relationships at the senior level. Accomplished public speaker and industry expert on high net worth, multi-generational wealth, generational insights and sustainable investing.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Growth strategies are essential for wealth management leaders

Wealth management leaders must have a growth strategy to ensure predictable revenue. The panelists in this discussion emphasized the importance of having a detailed plan that is regularly reviewed and updated. They also stressed the need for a technology-driven approach, using tools and platforms that automate and streamline processes, freeing up time and resources for more strategic initiatives.

Kelly Waltrich explored the topic of predictable revenue by looking at “exactly what type of activity, effort, money, resources you need to put in to get a certain output.” She emphasized the importance of consistency, stating that “growth doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a really solid plan followed by really solid execution.”

Ned Dane, the Chief Growth Officer for Advisor Engine, highlighted the importance of understanding the current state of your business before planning for growth. He suggested looking at “the major sort of buckets of activity” and analyzing the business to understand “who are your ideal clients, who are the clients you wish you could have, what’s your capacity for more?”

Takeaway 2: Leveraging technology can significantly enhance a firm’s growth plan

The panelists discussed the crucial role of technology in executing growth strategies. They highlighted various tools that can assist in managing client relations, tracking growth, and automating processes. These tools provide data and insights that can inform strategic decisions and improve efficiency.

Dan Bolton, the VP of Corporate Marketing at Nitrogen, stated that hyper-growth firms consistently utilize front office marketing tech. He said, “They use Risk Alignment, they use CRM, they use Proposal Generation and they use it across their firm. It’s not one advisor using one tool and then another advisor is using a different tool. It’s rolled out across the firm. It’s consistent and they understand how to use it.”

Kelly Waltrich added that technology can also help firms remain accountable. She suggested that firms should treat their growth strategy the same way they would any other significant aspect of their lives, holding themselves accountable to their plans and tracking their progress regularly.

Takeaway 3: Client engagement is key to business growth

The panelists underscored the importance of client engagement in driving business growth. They highlighted the need for a strong brand story that resonates with clients and prospects. Moreover, they discussed how technology can enhance client engagement, contributing to client retention and business growth.

Kelly Waltrich stated that, “If I bring on X amount new clients, I get to showcase Nitrogen and Advisor Engine which are going to ignite my ability to provide a better client experience.” This reflects the idea that technology can enhance client engagement and subsequently drive growth.

Mitch Dunn from Nitrogen also discussed how technology can turn good clients into excellent referral sources. He said that “leveraging technology to turn good clients into amazing referral sources” is a critical element of success for advisory firms. He suggested using tools to keep clients engaged and informed about their financial future, which can encourage them to refer the firm to others.

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Mastering Lead Generation and Conversion Insights from White Glove and Nitrogen: Webinar Recap

About this session:

This session featured a discussion between representatives from White Glove and Nitrogen. The topic focused on how financial advisors can effectively generate leads through webinars and seminars and engage with clients using various tools and techniques.

Insights Surfaced:

Seminars and webinars are effective tools for financial advisors to educate a large audience and generate leads.
It’s important to choose the right venues and topics for these workshops to attract the right audience.
Follow-up is crucial in lead generation. After the workshop, advisors should engage with the attendees and even those who registered but didn’t attend.
Technology can aid in simplifying complex financial concepts and engaging clients. Nitrogen, for example, offers a tool that quantifies risk tolerance, making it easier for clients to understand.
Regular check-ins and automated email campaigns can help advisors stay in touch with their clients and prospects.

Meet the Speakers

Lara Galloway – White Glove SVP of Channel Management

Education is central to Lara Galloway’s career. With 12 years of experience running her coaching and consulting business and her role as SVP of Financial Education at White Glove, Lara is dedicated to educating others to achieve their personal and professional goals. At White Glove, she spearheads the growth of Enlighten 567’s financial wellness program, bringing free financial education to families across the United States. Additionally, Lara is passionate about empowering advisors with valuable resources for continuous learning and growth.

Chris Quandt – Nitrogen Wealth Success Engagement Manager

Chris Quandt is a Success Engagement Manager at Riskalyze. Over the last 7 years he has served on both the Marketing and Advisor Success team. Chris delights in helping advisors understand how Riskalyze can help as growth platform and business development tool. Given the choice between Reese’s Pieces or M&M’s. Reese’s Pieces every time.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Improve client engagement by leveraging technology.

In this webinar, speakers discussed the importance of utilizing technology to simplify complex financial concepts for potential leads and existing clients. They stressed that technology should be used to facilitate conversations and make the advisor’s job easier, rather than overwhelming clients with complicated charts and graphs.

Lara stated, “Your job as an advisor is to make things not complicated, to make it simple and be that expert for your clients… Our job, Chris’s job and my job, is to make your job easy. That’s why we bring our expertise to bear for you.” She added, “Every single time I see a demo from you guys, I go, that is beautiful technology. But it’s simple. It’s so simple and just showing how you can use technology to further conversations.”

Both speakers emphasized the value of leveraging technology for automating certain tasks such as follow-up campaigns and sending out reminders. They also highlighted the importance of using technology to visually represent complex financial concepts, making them easier for clients to understand.

Takeaway 2: Advisors must build trust and rapport through consistent engagement with clients.

The webinar emphasized the importance of consistent client engagement for trust and rapport building. The speakers noted that advisors should not solely rely on automated tools for communication but rather use them as additional touch points to supplement their personal interactions with clients.

According to White Glove, “It takes that dripping, that consistent follow-up…And again, marketing automation tools like ones [offered by White Glove] and the ones that you get through the Nitrogen platform, this is how you stay abreast of those leads… it will work if you’re playing the long game and you keep yourself disciplined and you use the marketing automation tools.” Chris echoed this sentiment by exploring the use of Nitrogen’s client check-ins feature, “As we’re taking on new clients now we must ensure that we’re giving them the service, we’re serving them well and to do that consistently, we have a feature called check-ins.”

Check-ins were presented as a form of automated email that goes out in between client review meetings to evaluate how the clients are feeling about their financial future and the market. This was seen as a valuable tool in maintaining client relationships and staying ahead of any potential concerns.

Takeaway 3: Advisors need to focus on education to establish expertise and attract potential clients.

Chris and Lara explored the importance of advisors positioning themselves as educators in their approach to marketing and client engagement. By conducting workshops and seminars on complex financial topics, advisors can attract potential clients looking for guidance and present themselves as subject matter experts.

Lara said, “When you stand as an advisor in front of a group of people that has a lot of questions, and you are the warm, friendly educator, you’re the subject matter expert, right? And all [potential clients] need you to do is help them feel related to you, feel like they can like you and trust you, and they’ll come away feeling educated.”

She also emphasized that these educational events could focus on simplifying complex financial concepts and not be used as sales pitches. “You don’t need to buy dinners.” Lara explained, “you don’t need to bait and switch. You don’t need to scream about fear mongering, right? You just come up and you educate people on things that help make them empowered to make some of these big financial decisions and to answer some of these questions that they need to answer.”

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Measure and Manage the Growth of Your Firm with Nitrogen Ignite: Webinar Recap

About this session:

This webinar session covered the features and functionalities of Nitrogen Ignite, how it can be used to manage and grow a firm, along with its compliance and data management capabilities.

Insights Surfaced:

Nitrogen Ignite offers a firm-wide integration setup that allows the entire book of business to be pulled in at once. It allows easy user management, enabling firms to quickly add new users.
Nitrogen Ignite provides a wide range of tools for advisors, including proposal systems, portfolio analysis, retirement maps, risk questionnaires, dashboards, various insights tools and compliance monitoring.
Nitrogen Ignite offers enhanced capabilities such as a check-ins dashboard to track client sentiment and Nitrogen insights to provide data on the entire book of business.

Meet the Speaker

Mitch Dunn

Mitch Dunn is a managing director for Nitrogen and an industry expert with nearly a decade of experience. As Employee #17 at Nitrogen, he has been there from the very beginning, witnessing the evolution of financial solutions and passionately driving innovation forward. With his insights and expertise, he has guided numerous firms to excel in today’s dynamic market.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Nitrogen Ignite aims to help firms manage growth through data insights and compliance tools.

Mitch highlighted the challenges advisors face in managing growth, particularly in areas like compliance and data analysis. He discussed how Nitrogen Ignite aims to address these issues. “One of the insights that we heard…was compliance. It’s been soaking up so much time, soaking up so many resources for advisory firms that they can’t get back to their bread and butter meeting with clients, growing their book of business. So we’re going to address that with some of our tools today,” explained Mitch. He also emphasized the role of big data in growth strategies, stating, “We want to give firms insights and actionable intelligence into how they can grow their book of business, where there might be weak spots in their growth trajectory, and let’s help plug those gaps.”

Takeaway 2: Nitrogen Ignite provides insights on firm-wide data, aiming to aid decision-making processes.

Mitch showcased the role of Nitrogen Ignite in providing firms with an extensive range of data on their entire business. He underlined the system’s capacity to provide insights into aspects such as AUM, portfolio efficiency, the volatility of the business and more. “We just want to provide you with as much data and intelligence as possible, so that way you can make the right decisions for your firm to really drive growth across your entire book of business,” he stated. Furthermore, Mitch demonstrated how firms could analyze data at the individual advisor level, giving them a more detailed understanding of their operations.

Takeaway 3: Nitrogen Ignite allows firms to manage compliance and client sentiment effectively.

Mitch highlighted the compliance management features of Nitrogen Ignite. Firms can set up a compliance monitoring tool that allows them to identify and manage risk alignment drift. “We want to give you the tools where everything is just a click or two away,” Mitch stated. Furthermore, he revealed Nitrogen Ignite’s “Check Ins” dashboard, a tool designed to track the sentiment amongst a firm’s client base. Mitch suggested this tool could serve as an “early warning radar” for firms, helping them identify clients who are fearful, anxious, confident, or happy, and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Key Quotes Regarding Nitrogen Ignite:

“[Nitrogen Ignite] gives firms insights and actionable intelligence into how they can grow their book of business, where there might be weak spots in their growth trajectory, and let’s us help plug those gaps.”
“Firms have consistently been challenged with the idea that, hey, we don’t know how to actively monitor hundreds, if not thousands of accounts in our system effectively.”
“[Nitrogen Ignite offers the capabilities to] see all of your data, clients with risk numbers, total accounts, total AUM. It helps to track your AUM for you and benchmark you against other firms.”
“We just want to provide you with as much data and intelligence as possible, so that way you can make the right decisions for your firm to really drive growth across your entire book of business.”

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Mastering Compliant-Friendly Tax Planning: Webinar Recap

About this session:

The session discussed mastering compliance-friendly tax planning strategies for advisors and firms, focusing on tax compliance and planning.

Insights Surfaced:

Advisors should be intentional about tax planning, as it impacts their clients’ taxes.
Proactively communicating with compliance departments and partnering with tax professionals can help in staying compliant and providing better service to clients.
Requesting and reviewing clients’ tax returns is essential for effective tax planning.

Meet the Speakers

Steven Jarvis

Steven aims to bridge the gap between tax professionals, financial advisors, and their mutual clients to help reduce most people’s largest expense in retirement: taxes! With over 10 years of experience from top accounting firms and by partnering with some of the most successful financial advisors in the industry, Steven is uniquely positioned to help financial advisors deliver massive value to their clients AND stay between the lines on compliance. With his valuable skill of distilling endless pages of IRS tax code and case law into easy to explain–easier to implement–actionable items that financial advisors can use with their clients today!

Chris Field:

Chris brings more than a decade of experience connecting good people to good products. He finds few things as satisfying as creating true win/wins for all parties. His primary role will be to ensure more advisors know how Holistiplan can help their business and their clients. In addition to his work at Holistiplan, Chris leads a global charity doing humanitarian work, speaks across the country, and teaches a business class at Texas A&M.

Max Rothely:

Max brings his expertise in the Nitrogen platform, which provides innovative tools and features to assist advisors growing their firm. He will give us an inside look into Nitrogen, with a particular focus on the new tax drag feature that can be used to win over more clients.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: The importance of being intentional and proactive about tax planning

In this webinar, the experts emphasized the need for financial advisors to be intentional and proactive when it comes to tax planning for their clients. Instead of just waiting for tax season and reacting to tax liabilities, advisors should be looking for ways to optimize tax strategies and planning opportunities throughout the year.

Steven Jarvis highlighted the importance of being proactive with compliance departments and communicating the value of tax planning to clients, while Chris Field discussed the utilization of fintech tools like Holistic plan to optimize tax strategies. Max Rothley also emphasized the importance of consistent practice and staying up-to-date with tax changes and regulations.

“Being proactive with the compliance is huge,” said Jarvis. “The next thing is to partner where you can. One of the best ways to make sure that you’re doing the best service for your clients as possible and watching yourself on the compliance side is that; when you are talking about taxes or you’re making recommendations that you always include some kind of caveat of – Hey, let’s discuss this with your tax preparer.”

Takeaway 2: Leveraging technology to improve tax planning strategies

The webinar also covered the importance of leveraging technology and fintech tools to help financial advisors optimize tax planning strategies for their clients. Chris Field explained how Holistic plan can assist advisors in staying proactive and efficient when it comes to tax planning.

“Instead of standing on the beach kind of waiting to see what happens, they’ll have the courage and the tools they need to grab a surfboard and to come ride that wave with us,” said Field. “Taxes touch every part of my clients finances. I really need to make sure I’m paying attention to this.”

Max Rothley also provided an overview of how the Nitrogen platform can be used to analyze tax drag and optimize tax-efficient investment strategies for clients. “We want to help you drive referral champions – Tax drag is another lever you can use to win-over clients.” said Rothley.

Takeaway 3: Building relationships with clients and tax professionals

Another key takeaway from the webinar was the importance of building relationships with both clients and tax professionals. Financial advisors should work closely with their clients’ tax preparers and ensure that they are collaborating effectively to provide the best possible tax planning services.

Steven Jarvis recommended that financial advisors communicate proactively with their clients’ CPAs and other tax professionals to ensure that their tax planning strategies are being executed and reported correctly. “By partnering together, we can make sure that the client gets the best outcome possible,” he said.

Chris Field also emphasized the importance of working together as a team with other professionals to provide value to clients when it comes to tax planning. He even shared a scenario where an advisor using Holistiplan was able to identify a discrepancy. “The CPA is like, my bad. I messed that up. That’s my mistake. And right there, they filed an amendment. The client saved several thousand dollars in taxes. They’re going to remember that,” said Field. “The advisor wasn’t trying to catch the CPA. It wasn’t a gotcha. It wasn’t a ‘throw them under the bus’ moment. It was, ‘Hey, we’re working together. We’re all trying to do the best thing for the client.'”

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Re igniting Your Organic Growth Strategy: Webinar Recap

About this session:

This session focused on reigniting organic growth strategies for advisors and discussed industry trends, research, and action steps for building an organic growth engine.

Insights Surfaced:

The rate of organic growth for advisors is declining, prompting a focus on marketing strategies.
Advisors should rediscover their marketing muscles and focus on building an organic growth engine.
It’s important to have a clear strategy and target market for marketing efforts.
Differentiated value propositions and content marketing are crucial to attract clients.
Digital marketing channels, such as social media and email campaigns, can help reach potential clients.

Meet the Speakers

Tim Welsh

Timothy D. Welsh, CFP®, is the President, CEO, and founder of Nexus Strategy, LLC, a leading consulting firm specializing in the wealth management industry. With a focus on marketing products, services, and technology to independent advisors, Nexus Strategy works closely with top organizations. Tim has a strong background in business consulting, practice management, and marketing, with experience at Schwab Advisor Services and Merrill Lynch. He is recognized as an industry expert, frequently quoted in media, and actively contributes as an author and speaker. Tim holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA in Finance, and he is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) who has served on the Financial Planning Association’s National Board of Directors.

Meg Carpenter:

Meg Carpenter is CEO and Co-Founder of FiComm Partners, an award-winning growth marketing and advisor coaching firm. For over 20 years, Meg has enjoyed working alongside advisory firms and wealth management businesses, helping their leadership teams identify meaningful growth opportunities. Meg and her team are widely recognized across the industry for their New Skool mindset, which is all about embracing vulnerability and authenticity to drive impact and change. Meg serves on multiple boards and is currently the Chair of the CFP Board’s Workforce Development Advisory Group. She is also a sought after industry speaker and contributor to the media, and is honored to have been the recipient of many industry awards including InvestmentNews 40 Under 40.

Gary Foodim:

Gary brings 20 years of marketing experience to the Mercer Advisors team. In his role as CMO, Gary leads new client acquisition efforts, helps drive client engagement, develops a prospect and client event strategy, and the evolution of the Mercer Advisors brand. Prior to joining Mercer Advisors, Gary was the CMO of Strategic Financial Solutions, a financial services firm focused on helping Americans in challenging financial situations. Before joining Strategic, Gary was the VP of Consumer Marketing at Conde Nast where he oversaw all consumer marketing efforts for many of their iconic brands. Gary earned an MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and an undergraduate degree from Binghamton University. Gary lives in New York City with his wife and children.

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Takeaways

Takeaway 1: Organic growth is crucial for financial advisors

Organic growth requires a combination of strategy, targeting specific audiences, and leveraging digital channels.

The panelists discussed the importance of organic growth in the financial advisory industry. Meg stated that “there are so many different lanes for every type of advisor that exists.” Gary emphasized the need for advisors to focus on their target market and differentiate their value proposition, as well as the importance of using digital channels like social media and search engine optimization. Meg also highlighted the need for a strong strategy, starting with understanding the “why” and the “who” of an advisor’s business.

Gary explained that to achieve organic growth, financial advisors must be willing to test and learn, using a balanced approach to marketing tactics. He mentioned paid search, social media, and content marketing as some channels to leverage. Meg also encouraged advisors to start small, be consistent, and only invest in marketing tools that make sense for their specific business. She said, “pick one thing that you believe will get you in front of more of the type of people that you want to serve and commit to doing it.”

Takeaway 2: Marketing should be viewed as a critical component of an advisor’s business

A successful marketing strategy should focus on providing a seamless prospect and client experience.

Meg explained that marketing needs to be integrated across all aspects of a financial advisor’s business, from the executive level down to the individual advisor. She suggested focusing on building a prospect experience that nurtures relationships before connecting with the potential client. This includes providing a seamless client experience, providing value-added resources, and delivering personalized, authentic messaging.

Gary agreed, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the middle and bottom of the marketing funnel to drive conversions and nurture leads effectively. He suggested that advisors should have a keen focus on landing pages, email campaigns, and the overall prospect experience. Meg added, “We’re seeing a lot of firms in the industry today who are like marketing firms who do wealth management, which gets me super excited because I think that there’s this subset of advisory firms who no one knows, who are really going to change the face of the industry in coming years.”

Takeaway 3: Leveraging AI and new marketing technologies can help financial advisors gain efficiencies and scale their businesses.

The panelists discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial advisory industry. Meg stated that there are many new tools and platforms available to help advisors take advantage of AI to improve their marketing efforts. She mentioned Catchlight as an example of an AI-driven tool that can help advisors target specific audiences and predict which prospects are more likely to convert.

Gary suggested that while it’s still early days for AI in the industry, advisors should stay up-to-date on the latest developments and be prepared to pivot their strategies as needed. He also emphasized that AI should be viewed as a way to drive efficiency and scale, rather than replacing traditional marketing tactics. Meg agreed, saying, “I think a lot of the custodial benchmarking studies lump business development and marketing together.”

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