Category: Financial Services
5 Strategies to Boost Your Business Value with Brandon Helms (Ep.46)

5 Strategies to Boost Your Business Value with Brandon Helms (Ep.46)

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In this episode, we talk with Brandon Helms, MarshBerry Vice President on the five key strategies for financial advisors to build more value in their businesses. The conversation covers the importance of organic growth, differentiation strategies, succession planning, M&A opportunities, and understanding client demographics. Brandon emphasizes the need for advisors to think like stewards of their business, focusing on long-term success, and client relationships. 

Brandon discusses:

  • What is organic growth, why is it important, and how to propel it
  • Key differentiators for retirement plan advisors
  • Distinguishing the finer details of market appreciation versus actual growth
  • Strategies for effective succession planning
  • Services that firms are adding to evolve in the marketplace
  • Transforming from students to stewards of your business
  • And more

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

Connect With Brandon Helms:

About Our Guest:

As a Vice President on MarshBerry’s Financial Advisory team, Brandon’s background in building fast-growing financial advisor teams gives him a unique perspective on consulting with advisors on growth strategy and succession planning. His commitment to using clarity to make more informed decisions when working with clients helps drive retirement and wealth advisors to steward their businesses. Brandon’s core focus is providing financial advisors with ideas & insights specific to their business today that align with their vision for the future. Many times, this includes anticipating any potential challenges advisors face as they grow and ways to overcome them.

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Why Financial Wellness Programs Often Miss the Mark (Ep.45)

Why Financial Wellness Programs Often Miss the Mark (Ep.45)

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Rebecca Hourihan speaks with Blake Allison, founder and CEO of LifeCents, on the evolving concept of financial wellness, its challenges, and how it impacts both employers and employees. He emphasizes the need for personalized financial wellness programs and critiques overly complex, one-size-fits-all programs, advocating instead for tailored approaches that consider each employee’s unique financial situation, stressors, and goals. Blake highlights the importance of measuring success through behavioral changes rather than just numerical outcomes, advocating for a more holistic approach to financial health.

Gain insight from today’s conversation as Rebecca and Blake highlight:

  • People are more than numbers–what truly defines financial wellness
  • Serving diverse employee needs–the significance of financial access and inclusion
  • Beyond the bottom line–why every employer should invest in financial wellness 
  • How LifeCents is Redefining Financial Wellness Programs
  • The pitfalls of current financial wellness programs and how LifeCents innovates
  • And more

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

Connect With Blake Allison:

About Our Guest:

Blake founded LifeCents with a mission to empower individuals by making financial health accessible, personalized, and behaviorally driven. Since 2005, Blake has championed a holistic approach to financial wellness, pioneering LifeCents as an adaptive platform that responds to each user’s unique needs, values, and goals. Under his leadership, LifeCents has set a new standard in the industry by combining technology, behavioral insights, and inclusivity to transform the way people engage with their financial health—changing lives and redefining what it means to be financially well.

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Creating Compelling Video Content with Laura Garfield (Ep. 44)

Creating Compelling Video Content with Laura Garfield (Ep. 44)

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Rebecca Hourihan is joined by Laura Garfield, co-founder of Idea Decanter, to discuss the evolution and significance of short-form content and video marketing, particularly for financial advisors. Laura emphasizes the importance of adapting to your audience’s evolving preferences, leveraging video for effective communication, and utilizing AI tools to enhance video production.

Gain insight and actionable takeaways surrounding:

  • Short-form video content 
  • How to structure compelling video marketing strategies 
  • AI’s role in enhancing video creation and engagement
  • Maintaining consistency in content creation
  • And more

Connect With Laura Garfield:

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

About Our Guest:

Laura Garfield spent her teenage years idolizing Jane Pauley and Katie Couric. A thirst for learning and a love of writing had her hooked on broadcast journalism – where you didn’t have to know everything except how to ask the right questions. After graduation, Laura landed her first news gig at a tiny TV station in Hastings, Nebraska. Over the span of more than a decade, she worked her way up through stations in Omaha and New Orleans to a position at CBS News in New York and then CNN in Atlanta. 

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7 Practical Tips for Financial Advisors in 2024 (Ep.43)

7 Practical Tips for Financial Advisors in 2024 (Ep.43)

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Rebecca Hourihan shares seven practical suggestions designed to smooth out your prospecting pipeline and drive consistent growth for your business. Rebecca discusses innovative ways to enhance communication with AI tools, emphasizes the importance of high-quality design in your marketing materials, and offers invaluable tips for maintaining meaningful connections with prospects and clients.

Rebecca touches on:

  • Transitioning from audio to video to stay current in a Zoom-forward world
  • Utilizing AI tools to craft engaging and effective follow-up emails
  • Updating marketing materials to make a strong visual impression
  • Proactively setting meetings with detailed agendas to ensure efficiency
  • And more

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

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Retirement Income Solutions with Nevin Adams (Ep.42)

Retirement Income Solutions with Nevin Adams (Ep.42)

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In this episode, Rebecca is honored to welcome Nevin Adams, a legendary figure in the retirement planning industry. With a career spanning nearly five decades, Nevin has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of retirement plans. His wealth of experience and knowledge is undeniable as he shares his insights and future projections.

Dive into the transformative impact of target date funds, the advent of automatic enrollment, and the challenges with retirement income solutions as Rebecca and Nevin discuss:

  • How target date funds have simplified the investment process for 401(k) participants
  • Why automatic enrollment could change significantly increase participation rates
  • Challenges and missed opportunities regarding retirement income
  • Forecasted growth and changes in the 401(k) industry by 2030.
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Nevin Adams:

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

About Our Guest:

Now “retired” (whatever that means), Nevin is the former Chief Content Officer and Head of Retirement Research for the American Retirement Association.  One of the retirement industry’s most prolific writers, these days he’s “retired”, which means he writes less but continues to keep his eye on developments in, and threats to, the nation’s private retirement system.  In addition to helping guide the agenda development for the NAPA 401(k) Summit, he’s also the “Nevin” in the Nevin & Fred podcast (along with renowned ERISA attorney Fred Reish), offering irreverent, but relevant perspectives on the critical issues confronting plan sponsors, advisors, and retirement industry professionals. 

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10 Years of Insights: Advisor Retirement Plan Marketing (Ep. 41)

10 Years of Insights: Advisor Retirement Plan Marketing (Ep. 41)

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Rebecca Hourihan reflects on a decade of retirement plan marketing. She emphasizes the challenges of change, the evolution of marketing strategies from cold calling to leveraging social media, and the necessity of maintaining a visible and professional online presence. Rebecca also touches on the importance of creating tailored content, and discusses the critical role of effective communication, highlighting the need to provide relevant and timely information without overwhelming the audience. 

This episode is packed with insights and best practices for anyone looking to enhance their expertise and authority in the retirement plan community.

Key takeaways include:

  • The inception of 401(k) Marketing and the significance of tailored messaging for plan sponsors and participants
  • The role of clear and honest communication in building trust and avoiding surprises
  • The necessity of adapting to changing marketing trends and leveraging social media for greater visibility
  • Insights into the ongoing convergence of wealth management and retirement plans
  • And more

Connect With Rebecca Hourihan: 

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How to Elevate Your Prospecting and Client Retention with Eric Ryles (Ep. 40)

How to Elevate Your Prospecting and Client Retention with Eric Ryles (Ep. 40)

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Did you know that approximately 10-12% of plan sponsors actively shop their plan every year?

Tune in to Rebecca Hourihan’s conversation with Eric Ryles, Vice President, of Customer Solutions at ALM Media, LLC (parent company of Judy Diamond Associates). They explore ways to improve prospecting and enhance client retention, as well as telltale signs a plan sponsor might be at risk of leaving.

Eric and Rebecca discuss:

  • How advisors can utilize the Form 5500 data to gain actionable insights
  • Crucial metrics that may signal a plan’s performance
  • The importance of benchmarking (and the role of Judy Diamond Associates 2023 Annual 401(k) Benchmark Report)
  • Eric’s guidance to advisors looking to differentiate from their competitors
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Eric Ryles:

Connect with Rebecca Hourihan: 

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Revolutionizing Payroll Integration with Automation and APIs with Jeff Kayajanian (Ep. 39)

Revolutionizing Payroll Integration with Automation and APIs with Jeff Kayajanian (Ep. 39)

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Are you tired of manual payroll processes eating up your time and resources? What if there was an efficient way to streamline payroll integration with your 401(k) recordkeeping?

Learn how Payroll Integrations connects you to leading payroll systems and automates data transfer through APIs. Rebecca Hourihan and guest Jeff Kayajanian, principal and chief revenue officer at Payroll Integrations, have an insightful conversation about the revolution of retirement plan management.

Jeff and Rebecca discuss:

  • The importance of 360 integration in the retirement plan industry
  • Costs and benefits of API integration for employers in a fee-sensitive world
  • Payroll Integration’s partnerships with record keepers and TPAs
  • The future of integrated benefits solutions and simplified participant experiences
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Jeff Kayajanian:

Connect with Rebecca Hourihan: 

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What I Learned From 3,000 Podcast Interviews with Matt Halloran of ProudMouth (Ep. 38)

What I Learned From 3,000 Podcast Interviews with Matt Halloran of ProudMouth (Ep. 38)

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As advisors continue to seek innovative ways to connect with their audience and establish trust, the challenge of standing out in a crowded market is ever-present.

In this episode, Rebecca Hourihan speaks with Matt Halloran, co-founder of ProudMouth, about the power of podcasting to rise above the noise and establish yourself as the go-to expert. Whether it’s starting a new podcast or honing your interviewing skills as a host, they cover it all.

Matt and Rebecca discuss:

  • What Matt has learned from conducting nearly 3,000 podcast interviews
  • Five questions you can ask someone to earn trust and credibility almost immediately
  • Sneak peek into Matt’s upcoming book, “Shut the F Up and Listen: How to Solve All of the World’s Problems”
  • What separates the most successful advisors from the rest
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Matt Halloran:

Connect with Rebecca Hourihan: 

About Our Guest:

Matt Halloran is a co-founder of ProudMouth, the world’s leading influence accelerator for financial advisors. An in-demand speaker, he’s appeared on over 1,000 podcasts. As well, Matt is the host of ProudMouth’s Top Advisor Marketing Podcast, where he and industry leaders empower advisors to become trusted, recognized authorities. Matt is the author of “The Social Media Handbook for Financial Advisors,” the first social media book for financial services. 

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Fred Barstein Explores What If Plan Fees Go to Zero? (Ep. 37)

Fred Barstein Explores What If Plan Fees Go to Zero? (Ep. 37)

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Can the convergence of wealth, retirement, and workplace benefits pressurize 401(k) plan fees to fall to zero? And are you prepared if it does?

In this episode, Rebecca Hourihan speaks with Fred Barstein, the founder & CEO of The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU), The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU), and 401kTV and they discuss an alternative universe where 401(k) fees no longer exist. 

Fred and Rebecca discuss:

  • Major factors contributing to the convergence of wealth and retirement
  • Challenges and opportunities arising from such convergence
  • What happens when recordkeepers work directly with participants and, possibly, compete with advisors
  • The potential impact of blockchain technology in revolutionizing the industry
  • How fee compression may affect new entrants
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Fred Barstein:

Connect with Rebecca Hourihan: 

About Our Guest:

Fred Barstein is the Founder and CEO of The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU), a collaboration with UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education, and The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU).  Founded in 2010, TRAU has quickly become the industry’s leading training and designation program for focused Defined Contribution (DC) advisors and professionals dedicated to helping them build a sound and sustainable practice while improving plan outcomes for clients.  TPSU trains and certifies employers managing their retirement plans leveraging a standardized curriculum and highly qualified local advisors to deliver on-site programs. In addition, Fred is the Founder of NAPA Net, the Daily newsletter, and NAPA Net – The Magazine, all part of the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) for which he serves as an Industry Ambassador.

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