PracticeLab

While a lot of advisors may say they offer financial planning, not all manage to offer dynamic customized plans to clients. For advisors Bart Zandbergen and Letitia Berbaum with The Zandbergen group, a DBA* of Axxcess Wealth Management in Laguna Beach, California, making planning a priority not only helps them stand out, it makes them essential. They are often the first ones called when clients are facing an emergency.

In this episode, you’ll hear about their planning process, and how it’s enabled by technology and smart teaming. They also explain why they family wealth conversations early and often, and how to have that conversation with clients.

For more, visit PracticeLab.

*DBA stands for does business as another firm name.

Creating a memorable brand may not come easy to financial advisors, but it can be worth the effort. That’s according to Bart Zandbergen and Tish Berbaum, the team behind The Zandbergen Group, a DBA* of Axxcess Wealth Management in Laguna Beach, California. Over time, the firm built a specialty serving ultra high net worth clients, and their brand evolved to match. Combining notions of transparency, a philosophy about “true wealth” beyond investments, and a general love of food, wine and fashion, the Zandbergen Group delivers what can only be described as a luxury experience.

In this episode, you’ll hear about Bart and Tish’s journey and learn how the two demonstrate their brand at every client touchpoint — from the office space, to the digital space, to client conversations.

For more, visit PracticeLab.

*DBA stands for does business as another firm name.

Sometimes financial planning is about more than investing toward goals. For Lynne Knox, a private wealth manager at Capital Group Private Client Services, that often means helping people move from fragility to strength. This is particularly true for women age 65 and older going through “gray divorce” after spending decades in a traditional homemaker role.

These women may have high net worth but little experience making their own financial decisions. They need guidance, but they also want allies they can trust and lean on during a time of great uncertainty.

In this episode, Knox describes the financial advice she gives them, a technique for better client conversations, and how she nurtures these client relationships after the divorce is finalized. For more, visit PracticeLab.

To truly provide optimal service, Mary Beth Storjohann and her team at Abacus Wealth Partners aim to forge emotional connections with clients. “How do you speak to what’s on their hearts and minds?” she asks. “That’s how you get to know about where your clients spend their time and what they’re worried about.”

This more-emotional-than-financial approach is not new for Abacus, which was founded nearly 30 years ago by Buddhists seeking to incorporate religious principles into financial services. But the appeal is stronger than ever.

In this episode, Storjohann describes adapting client service to better connect with women and next-generation clients. She also shares how her firm seeks organic growth by expanding its network of entrepreneurial advisors to share skills and best practices for success.

For more, visit PracticeLab.

Where do you turn for help in managing your practice? One resource that should be near the top of your list: a study group. Advisor study groups are among the top five most effective practice management resources, according to Cerulli Associates’ 2023 US Advisor Metrics report. John Stadtmueller, Founder and CEO of advisor network Good Advisors Finish First, has spent over 20 years in the industry as an advisor, consultant and wholesaler at firms including LPL Financial and Charles Schwab. He dispels some common myths about study groups and details the steps to forming an effective one that can help all its members better manage their practices and serve their clients. For more, visit PracticeLab.com.