Ep 469: Specializing In (Sound) Income Sources For Retirees To Differentiate A $4B Advisor Enterprise with David Scranton
Release Date: 12/23/2025
Ep 481: Leveraging Technology To Rapidly Scale Growth Delivering Financial Planning To Next Generation Clients with Adam Dell
Financial Advisor Success
Reaching next-generation clients at scale often requires rethinking how financial planning is built, priced, and delivered. This episode explores how a tech-forward, flat-fee model can expand access to planning, create a consistent client experience, and unlock new growth channels both through direct-to-consumer marketing and partnerships with other advisory firms. Adam Dell is the founder of Domain Money, an RIA that operates virtually nationwide, serving 1,400 clients and expecting to generate approximately $10 million in revenue this year. Listen in as Adam shares how his firm built a...
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Ep 480: Growing To $660M Of AUM By Leveraging SEO (And Now AEO) To Build A Durable Pipeline Of Good-Fit Prospects with Helen Stephens
Financial Advisor Success
Search has changed—and so has the way advisory firms can earn visibility online. This episode explores how early investments in SEO can compound over time, how today’s “findability” now includes AI tools like ChatGPT, and what it takes to build a marketing engine that not only attracts the right prospects, but also supports sustainable firm growth for the long haul. Helen Stephens is the founder of Aspen Wealth Management, an RIA based in Fort Worth, Texas, that oversees $670 million in assets under management for 342 client households. Listen in as Helen shares how her SEO strategy...
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Ep 479: Maintaining Good Work/Life Balance While Adding Advisors And 4Xing The Firm To $315M with Andy Panko
Financial Advisor Success
Scaling an advisory firm is often framed as a tradeoff - more clients and complexity in exchange for less time and flexibility. This episode explores how advisors can grow in a way that protects the lifestyle they want. Andy Panko is the owner of Tenon Financial, an RIA based in Metuchen, New Jersey, that oversees $323 million in assets under management for 105 client households. He joins the show today to share why he chose to hire two additional advisors (even though his solo practice already met his lifestyle goals), as well as why he prioritized hiring mid-career professionals who could...
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Ep 478: Fixing Advisory Firm Marketing Funnels So The Phone Actually Rings With Prospects with Kendra Wright
Financial Advisor Success
Most advisory marketing doesn’t fail because advisors aren’t trying—it fails because the funnel breaks in predictable places, leaving great content and good intentions without a clear path to consistent leads. This episode explores the most common “break points” in advisor marketing funnels, as well as what it takes to build a strategy that attracts the right prospects, communicates value quickly, and makes it easy for prospects to take the next step towards becoming a client. Kendra Wright is the owner of Rebel Media Agency, a marketing firm based in Austin, Texas, that helps RIAs...
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Ep 477: Finding Real Uses For AI Tools Not Just To Gain Efficiency But Create More (Customized) Value For Clients with Christopher Haigh
Financial Advisor Success
While Artificial intelligence (AI) tools offer financial advisors the prospect of greater operational efficiency, the real opportunity goes beyond saving time. This episode explores practical ways advisors can use AI not only to streamline workflows, but also to elevate the client experience with clearer insights, stronger storytelling, and deliverables that make a firm’s value instantly tangible to prospects and clients. Christopher Haigh is the CEO of Iconoclastic Capital, an RIA based in Rochester, New York, that oversees approximately $60 million in assets under management for 120 client...
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Ep 476: Making The Decision To Add A Partner (After Leaving A Partnership Yourself) While Approaching $500M AUM with Kathy Longo
Financial Advisor Success
Building an advisory firm that can outlast its founder often requires challenging decisions, especially for entrepreneurs who intentionally left prior partnerships to lead a firm on their own. This episode explores what it looks like to design succession on your own terms, balance growth with cultural clarity, and make partnership, hiring, and operating-system choices that can lead to sustainable growth. Kathy Longo is the founder of Flourish Wealth Management, an RIA based in Edina, Minnesota, that oversees $455 million in assets under management for 163 client households. Listen in as Kathy...
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Ep 475: Adding Deeper Tax Planning Capabilities (And Generating More Google Reviews In The Process) To Grow To $600M Of AUM with Erik Brenner
Financial Advisor Success
Tax planning has become an integral part of a comprehensive financial planning service offering and a way for advisors to offer hard-dollar value for their clients. In this episode, we explore how integrating tax preparation, proactive tax planning, and outside tax expertise can deepen client value, diversify revenue, and accelerate firm growth. Erik Brenner is the CEO of Hilltop Wealth and Tax Solutions, an RIA based in Mishawaka, Indiana, overseeing approximately $600 million in AUM for 830 client households. Listen in as Erik shares how he doubled his firm’s AUM in three years in part by...
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Ep 474: Gaining The Skills, Experience, And Team Needed To Serve UHNW Clients Effectively with Blair duQuesnay
Financial Advisor Success
Serving ultra-high-net-worth families requires more than technical expertise. It demands deep attention to detail, a strong supporting team, and a planning approach capable of navigating complex tax, estate, and investment structures. This episode explores what it really takes for advisors to successfully move 'upmarket' and support clients whose financial lives involve high stakes, fast-moving parts, and opportunities measured in millions. Blair duQuesnay is a Lead Advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management, an RIA based in New York City that oversees $6.5 billion in AUM for 3,900 households....
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Ep 473: Defending Against AI By Focusing On The Uniquely Human Aspects Of (Fiduciary) Life Planning with George Kinder
Financial Advisor Success
Amidst speculation that Artificial Intelligence-powered software could take business from human advisors, some of the most meaningful work advisors do involves something software can’t replicate: deep human-to-human connection. This episode explores how life planning, active listening, and values-based discovery can help clients articulate what truly matters and achieve a sense of freedom that goes beyond financial outcomes. George Kinder is the founder of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, which trains financial advisors globally in fiduciary, client-centered planning. Listen in as...
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Ep 472: Going Deep Into Multigenerational Planning To Better Serve HNW Clients (Not Just Retain Their Assets) with Carli Smith
Financial Advisor Success
Multigenerational planning isn’t just about retaining assets after a wealth transfer. When done well, it becomes a powerful way to elevate service, improve family communication, and drive meaningful growth today. Carli Smith, founder of Signal Wealth Advisors, has built her practice in part by engaging entire family units—not just individual clients. In this episode, she explains how she navigates the tax and estate implications of inherited IRAs and taxable accounts, invites aging parents and adult children into collaborative planning conversations, and combines family assets to serve...
info_outlineIncome-focused investing may seem old-school in a world dominated by total-return portfolios and model ETF allocations—but for some retirees, predictable cash flow is the key to peace of mind. This episode explores how a differentiated investment philosophy, rooted in individual income-producing securities, can become a powerful engine for both client trust and firm growth.
David Scranton is the CEO of Sound Income Strategies, an RIA based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, overseeing $4 billion for 10,000 client households. Listen in as David shares how he constructs income-focused portfolios using combinations of what he calls "insured options" and "contractual securities", as well as high-dividend equity instruments with a focus on individual securities rather than mutual funds or ETFs. You'll learn how steady cash flow has led to greater client retention in down markets, David's “four keys” to attracting clients, and why narrowing his investment focus (and creating systems to implement it) has ultimately allowed him to serve more families.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/469
Investment advisory services are offered by Sound Income Strategies, LLC, an SEC-Registered Investment Advisory firm. Sound Income Group and Sound Income Strategies, LLC are associated entities.