Tag: Financial Services
RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Full-Service Financial Firm with Marty Bicknell

RIA Edge Podcast: Building a Full-Service Financial Firm with Marty Bicknell

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In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong sits down with Marty Bicknell, president and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, to discuss how the firm has grown into one of the biggest RIAs in the country.

Marty shares how Mariner approaches acquisitions with a strong focus on culture, builds in-house capabilities across tax, trust and insurance services, and structures business development to support advisor growth. He also explains how artificial intelligence and operational systems may reshape advisor capacity, scalability and the future direction of wealth management firms.

Key takeaways:

  • What’s driving Mariner’s current acquisition strategy
  • How Bicknell thinks about bringing client services like tax, trust, insurance and estate planning into the Mariner ecosystem
  • Why Mariner bought a small boutique M&A firm
  • Why niche markets like dentists, athletes and first responders are a key part of Mariner’s future growth focus
  • How he sees AI tools impacting advisor capacity and the firm’s operations

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Marty Bicknell:

About Our Guest:

As the CEO and president of Mariner, Marty drives the strategic direction for the firm. As a recognized leader in wealth management, he devises innovative solutions to help meet the needs of our clients. He has extensive personal and professional experience with closely held family businesses and their unique complexities. He often mentors other successful entrepreneurs.

Marty, along with seven others, founded Mariner in 2006 with a goal of keeping the client at the center of all we do. He wanted to build a firm that could simplify our clients’ lives by having all the resources they need under one roof. The day the doors opened, Marty made the promise to put the clients’ interests before anything else…a promise he still holds dear to this day.

Marty has a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kan

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RIA Edge Podcast: Schwab’s Jalina Kerr on How Resilient RIAs Can Turn Market Volatility Into Growth Engines

RIA Edge Podcast: Schwab’s Jalina Kerr on How Resilient RIAs Can Turn Market Volatility Into Growth Engines

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Economic uncertainty, heightened volatility and on-again, off-again trade policies are challenging for investors. But similar to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, fiduciary advisors can use this opportunity to assert their value and give clients confidence that their broader financial plans aren’t as negatively impacted as they may think, given the daily doom-and-gloom market headlines. Some RIAs can turn volatility into a growth engine.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, Jalina Kerr of Charles Schwab shares how the most adaptive firms are expanding beyond portfolio management, into areas like estate and tax planning, which have far more profound impacts on client outcomes than marginal tweaks to an allocation model or changes in asset managers and investment funds. Top-tier RIAs are also using technology to scale more personalized client experiences, communicating to clients that their personal plans remain resilient, despite the daily ups and downs in the markets.

Kerr discusses:

  • The resilience of RIAs during down markets and how bear markets can be an opportunity for growth
  • The increasing demand for comprehensive wealth management beyond portfolio construction, including estate and tax planning
  • Integration of technology to deliver personalization at scale and the benefits of all-in-one platforms
  • The rising interest in alternative investments and how they’re being integrated into many RIAs practices
  • If the wealth management industry is any closer to solving the talent shortage, and how RIAs are doing in forging career development tracks within firms.

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Jalina Kerr:

About Our Guest:

Jalina Kerr is the Managing Director, Head of Advisor Experience for Schwab Advisor Services. Kerr’s team shapes the constantly evolving client experience with progressive technical and human resources designed to support the custody needs of a diverse advisor base.

Kerr began her career at Schwab in 1994 on the Advisor Services trading desk. During her tenure at Schwab, Kerr has held roles in client service delivery, operations, advisors in transition, strategy, and technology.

In 2016, AZ Business Magazine recognized Kerr as one of Arizona’s Most Influential Women. Kerr also serves on the Board of the Arizona Women’s Leadership Forum. Kerr holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and her Series 7, 9, 10, 24, and 63 registrations.

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From Practice to Platform: Strategic RIA Growth With Stan Gregor

From Practice to Platform: Strategic RIA Growth With Stan Gregor

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With more investors seeking out financial advice than ever before, RIAs are in a position to capitalize on an evolving mix of investing, planning and technology developments that can create long-term business growth.  

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, managing director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Stan Gregor, CEO of Summit Financial. Stan shares details on Summit’s growth trajectory in recent years – while offering advice on how other firms can create scalable, repeatable growth strategies and transform their practices into truly unique advice platforms. 

Specifically, Mark and Stan discuss:

  • Balancing organic and inorganic growth strategies
  • How to identify the right types of acquisition, recruiting, and partnership opportunities
  • The difference between growth and “good growth”
  • The most valuable technology and communication lessons learned in the past 18 months

Connect With Mark Bruno:

Connect With Stan Gregor: 

About Stan Gregor:

As a senior executive with over 30 years of experience, I’ve operated in banking, private wealth management, investment management, fiduciary trust services, fixed income trading, investment banking, retirement services, insurance, financial planning and public finance. I’ve been involved in acquiring and integrating some of the largest and most complicated banking, wealth management, insurance, and capital markets businesses and cultures with a demonstrated track record of increasing productivity, profitability and shareholder value.

At Summit Financial, I apply these decades of financial services experience every day to ensure our firm continues to fully align client and advisor needs. Through SummitVantage, our fully integrated suite of advisor resources, we create legacy partnerships with leading advisors looking for full support–and full flexibility–to thrive in a crowded market.

 

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