Tag: Referral

RIA Edge Podcast: Wescott’s Commitment to Community, Client Retention with Grant Rawdin

RIA Edge Podcast: Wescott’s Commitment to Community, Client Retention with Grant Rawdin

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong interviews Grant Rawdin, founder and CEO of Wescott Financial Advisory Group, which manages $4 billion in AUM. Grant shares the story of founding his firm in 1987 as an offshoot of a law firm, his passion for client advocacy, and how the firm grew through strategic networking and a commitment to professional management. He emphasizes Wescott’s unique culture, including its B-Corp certification and involvement in the Net Positive Consortium for Wealth Management, as essential elements of its identity, and most important, talent retention.

Key takeaways from this episode include:

  • Rawdin’s belief that net organic growth starts with client retention, and how the firm achieves its high numbers with multi-generational clients.
  • Beyond retention, the other activities that help the firm create “rivers of referrals,” the core of Wescott’s growth engine.
  • The firm’s commitment to social justice and positive community involvement, including what its coveted “B-Corp” designation means, and why it became a founding member of the Net Positive Coalition for Wealth Management, a growing group of RIAs committed to sustainability.
  • The mindful approach he takes to acquisitions, and the importance of integrating the right talented professionals into the firm culture to the benefit of employees and clients.
  • What data Rawdin follows to make growth-oriented business decisions and track ROI
  • The firm’s unique inclusion of an organizational psychologist to support clients and staff through transitions

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Grant Rawdin:

About Our Guest:

Grant Rawdin is the founder and CEO of Wescott.  Wescott grew from the tax, business and estate services he provided to clients at Duane Morris LLP, a venerable AMLaw 100 law firm; Wescott was founded in 1987.  Grant is an attorney, an accountant and a Certified Financial Planner® professional and has served as advisor to many businesses and families.  He is admitted to both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bars.

Grant is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and Temple University, where he received his B.A. in English Literature.  He is the very proud father of four children and resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife, Laura Rawdin.

RIA Edge Podcast: Plancorp’s Chris Kerckhoff on Reinventing the Client Experience

RIA Edge Podcast: Plancorp’s Chris Kerckhoff on Reinventing the Client Experience

Plancorp, a $5.1 billion RIA, has been one of the fastest-growing – and most focused – firms in the industry. Plancorp’s growth has been fueled by an unrelenting emphasis on the client experience, and a commitment to enrolling its expanding team in the company strategy and success. 

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, managing director of Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Chris Kerckhoff, CEO of Plancorp, about the drivers of the company’s growth and its overall evolution into one of the largest and most influential RIAs in the industry. 

Specifically, Mark and Chris discuss:

  • Plancorp’s organic and inorganic growth strategy – and how the two should complement each other
  • The benefits of expanding the company’s equity ownership to more than 20 team members 
  • Where Chris sees the most significant opportunities for PlanCorp to continue to grow over the next several years
  • How Chris has seen the advisor-client dynamic change in recent years and how will it continue to evolve

Resources:

Connect With Mark Bruno:

Connect With Chris Kerckhoff:

About Our Guest:

Chris joined Plancorp fresh out of Indiana University in 1997. At the time, he was one of only five employees. As the company grew, so did his passion and responsibilities. In 2010, as the company began to implement its succession plan, Chris became an owner and was named President of the firm. He became CEO in 2018.

Chris sits on the boards of both Plancorp and Prumentum Group, which owns BrightPlan. He is active in a number of St. Louis charities and serves on the Board of Directors and Chairs the Investment Committee for St. Louis Variety. When not serving the community or spending time with his wife and three children, Chris enjoys following St. Louis sports and studying geopolitical issues.