



16 episodes
by Michael Kitces · English
The Financial Advisor Success podcast brings you real success stories and insights from the most successful financial advisors, and leading industry consultants, about how to take your advisory business to the next level. Get a glimpse of what it's like behind the scenes building a successful advisory business, and how entrepreneurial advisors navigate the inevitable highs, and lows, of growing a firm. Whether you're a new financial advisor trying to get started on the right foot, or an experienced advisor who's hit a wall, we're here to give you the insights and inspiration you need to break through and reach the level of success you want to achieve. Subscribe to the show, and get even more at the leading industry blog Nerd's Eye View at www.Kitces.com.









Sarah Baker (Mason Investment Advisory Services) explains how she builds deeper client relationships to drive loyalty, referrals, and career flexibility—by meeting clients where they are, identifying…
10 Nov 2026 · 1h 29m · 36 chapters
Nick Ibello explains how he intentionally caps his solo virtual advisory practice at about 100 client households (roughly $160M AUM) to maximize “depth over activity” and client impact, using a…
3 Nov 2026 · 1h 30m · 33 chapters
Neela Hummel’s career journey at Abacus Wealth Partners—from unpaid intern to CEO—plus how she built client-facing trust, advanced into leadership, and helped professionalize the firm.
27 Oct 2026 · 1h 39m · 44 chapters
How financial advisors can win higher-dollar, more complex “upmarket” clients by redesigning the discovery and sales process—especially leadership in discovery, listening/synthesizing, assertive…
20 Oct 2026 · 1h 41m · 36 chapters
How Ashlee deSteiger, co-owner of Gunder Wealth Management (a two-founder, ~$150M RIA), stays lean while scaling by outsourcing back-office and paraplanning support, then managing client headcount…
13 Oct 2026 · 1h 31m · 37 chapters
How Michael Yoder’s structured discovery-meeting system converts 100% of high-value prospects into clients, and how his firm redesigned itself from a generalist practice into a focused “lifestyle…
6 Oct 2026 · 1h 38m · 43 chapters
Dana Anspach (Sensible Money) explains how she systematizes “true” retirement expertise while scaling her RIA to $850M AUM.
29 Sep 2026 · 1h 38m · 38 chapters
Nate Hoskin explains how to use video marketing to generate qualified leads and revenue for financial advisors, contrasting “performative” marketing (posting activity) with “performance” marketing…
22 Sep 2026 · 1h 42m · 43 chapters
Carolyn McClanahan (Life Planning Partners) explains how she grew her Jacksonville RIA to 100+ clients, then intentionally downsized to 65 clients to execute succession and regain work-life balance,…
15 Sep 2026 · 1h 25m · 33 chapters
Jenna Biancavilla, founder of Pearl Capital Management (Phoenix, AZ), explains how she uses an EOS-style weekly scorecard and quarterly “rocks” to manage growth toward about $275M AUM, track leading…
8 Sep 2026 · 1h 31m · 43 chapters
Andrew Rosen explains his “pillow test” decision framework for building and scaling an RIA—evaluating not only what happens if a choice goes wrong, but also the downstream effects if it goes right.
1 Sep 2026 · 1h 31m · 30 chapters
Building an authentic personal brand for financial advisors to stand out with “fit” clients, align with values, and grow referrals—especially as trust shifts from institutions to individuals.
25 Aug 2026 · 1h 29m · 25 chapters
David Brooks, founder of Retire Smart (Omaha, NE), explains how he grew the RIA to about $800M AUM in under a decade using educational marketing funnels, heavy marketing spend, and tight tracking of…
18 Aug 2026 · 1h 31m · 39 chapters
How Wendy Sahansky and her husband Chris run a 3-person wealth practice (RIA Composition Wealth) managing about $240M AUM and 156 households using a highly structured client review meeting…
11 Aug 2026 · 1h 30m · 37 chapters
Rick Kahler (Kaler Financial Group, Rapid City, SD) recounts a 10+ year succession planning effort that repeatedly failed despite “doing everything right,” culminating in an external sale to a local…
4 Aug 2026 · 1h 30m · 34 chapters
Michael Kitces (interviewed by Adam Van Dusen of Kitsis.com) explains how he manages time to maximize “highest-and-best use,” using time-tracking, delegation, and business scaling decisions across…
28 Jul 2026 · 1h 40m · 40 chapters