Tag: Strategic Planning
RIA Edge Podcast: Cresset’s Susie Cranston on How an ‘Industrial Scale’ RIA Benefits Clients, the Firm

RIA Edge Podcast: Cresset’s Susie Cranston on How an ‘Industrial Scale’ RIA Benefits Clients, the Firm

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In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, join host David Armstrong for an insightful conversation with Susie Cranston, president and COO of Cresset, as they explore how the firm rapidly scaled to $65 billion. 

David and Susie discuss:

  • How Cresset grew out of a family office for the founders, and how the firm defines “family office” services. 
  • How the firm made the decision to source and offer clients private market investments via affiliate Cresset Capital Partners.
  • How Cranston views the tension between growth via acquisitions and maintaining the integrity of the service model. “When you have to integrate multiple systems, when you have to be the one building those integrations, it really, really slows down your ability to grow and scale.”
  • How crossing the $40B mark in AUM brings benefits to the firm and the clients by opening up “industrial scale” options for tech and service: “That is a real advantage when you can cross there because then you don’t have to change out your infrastructure, you can just scale on what you have.”
  • Insights on evolving advisory models and the future of the RIA. 

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Susie Cranston:

About Our Guest:

Susie Cranston is President and Chief Operating Officer of Cresset, an award-winning multi-family office and private investment firm. In this role, Susie oversees Cresset’s Wealth Advisors, Client Service, Operations, and Compliance.

Susie most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at First Republic Bank, where she was responsible for the sales, client service, operations, strategic planning, and administrative management of the First Republic Investment Management business. After the firm’s acquisition by JP Morgan Chase, Susie served as the COO and Head of Integration.

Susie originally joined First Republic in 2013 as EVP of Private Wealth Management, moving on to build one of the most successful wealth management businesses in the industry. She started her career at McKinsey & Company, where she spent 12 years consulting in various roles of increasing seniority and focused on strategy, risk management, and transformational change for financial services companies.

Active in the San Francisco business community, Susie is a “Forever Influential” honoree and three-time recipient of the San Francisco Business Times “Most Influential Women in Business” designation and a member of C200. Susie is also a board member of the Commonwealth Club. She has authored several published articles and a book on women and leadership, “How Remarkable Women Lead.”

Susie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and an MBA in business from Stanford University.

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RIA Edge Podcast: Turning Clients into Fans, and Designing Sustainable Growth, with Wealthstream Advisors’ Michael Goodman

RIA Edge Podcast: Turning Clients into Fans, and Designing Sustainable Growth, with Wealthstream Advisors’ Michael Goodman

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Recorded live at the Schwab Impact Conference in San Francisco, David Armstrong, editorial director at Informa Connect’s Wealth Management Group, sits down with Michael Goodman, founder, and leader of RIA Wealthstream Advisors, an RIA Edge 100 firm, to explore how he thinks about sustainable growth and client service in wealth management. 

They delve into Goodman’s philosophy and approach behind managing a successful wealth advisory firm and serving clients with meaningful wealth and complex financial needs. Goodman emphasizes the importance of tailored support, from working with full delegators to knowledgeable individuals within financial services.

They discuss:

  • What Goodman saw was missing from his accounting client relationships, which prompted him to take the leap and launch his own RIA.
  • The process Wealthstream Advisors uses to decide to take on certain clients that may not always meet their minimum AUM requirement.
  • How a deep understanding of certain corporate compensation plans helps Wealthstream turn executive clients at those companies into fans of the firm, fueling their referrals.
  • Why Goodman encourages his advisors to dump the jargon around the sophisticated planning strategies the firm employs and simply ask the client one pertinent question. 
  • How the 100% employee-owned firm approaches M&A
  • Why Goodman believes that it’s important to sacrifice maximized firm profitability in order to keep some excess capacity in the organization—to accommodate future growth or cushion the inevitable sustained market downturn. 
  • The key KPIs Goodman tracks to help make decisions on staffing and resources.  

Resources:

 Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Michael Goodman:

About Our Guest:

Michael Goodman, founder of Wealthstream Advisors, is dedicated to fostering lifelong partnerships and helping clients achieve greater financial clarity and peace of mind. Wealthstream Advisors, an independent boutique wealth management firm in New York City, operates as a Registered Investment Advisory firm, providing objective and personalized financial planning and evidence-based investment management while adhering to a fiduciary standard.

Michael emphasizes the importance of tailored financial plans and investment strategies. Through collaboration with Wealthstream Advisors, clients gain enhanced financial knowledge and confidence, empowering them to make informed decisions about managing and growing their wealth.

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