Author: trtnetwork

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with John Connors, the Founder and CEO of Boathouse Inc.Before building his firm in 2001, John worked for corporations such as Hill Holiday and McCann Worldgroup. John’s vision of success and high performance as a marketer was greatly influenced by these industry pioneers and set him on the path to building his own firm.John talks about why maintaining clients over the long-term is essential to success. High client retention is a matter of having a connection strategy, leveraging data, and building a narrative around the business.John and Jack discuss the concept of narrative economics,…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Heather Kelly, the Senior Vice President of Advisory and Strategic Accounts at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America.Heather has been in the industry for over 25 years. However, if she was asked at the beginning of her career what wealth tech means, and what it would mean after decades, she would brush it off and continue doing what the mentors before her told her to do.Heather has been in different roles in different big insurance companies, including United Capital and Allianz. Throughout those years, she offered her expertise and led the conversations…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Len Reinhart, a pioneer in the UMH industry and founder of several successful advisory firms. Len began discussing the subject of separately managed accounts, managed money, an advisory approach, and, of course, UMH, nearly 20 years ago. As a baby boomer himself, Len witnessed firsthand the diminishing benefits for boomers as retirement suddenly became their primary responsibility. Simultaneously, he began his career working with managed money where the goal was listening to clients first, unlike the aggressively cold-calling brokers he sat beside. He listened to clients’ goals, their risk requirements, and built strategies to…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with LifeYield colleagues Harry Bartle and Steve Zuschin. Harry is the EVP of Enterprise Sales while Steve is the EVP of Enterprise Technology Adoption. What should I do with my rollover? When should I take social security? As money in motion is underway, these questions become a high priority for retiring clientele. Leading the innovation arms at LifeYield, Harry and Steve unpack the solutions they’ve helped develop that allow advisors to better serve their retiring clients. Steve, Harry, and Jack discuss why firms want to control the client and advisor experience, the importance of showing clients…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Yaqub Ahmed and Harshendu Bindal of Franklin Templeton. Yaqub is Head of the U.S. Investment-Only Division while Harshendu leads  Digital Strategy and Wealth Management.While his parents wanted Yaqub to pursue medicine, Yaqub fell in love with financial services and began his career as a record keeper in an asset management organization. Having spent the last 11 years at Franklin Templeton, today Yaqub focuses on the U.S. retirement insurance sub-advisory and Franklin Templeton’s 529 businesses. For Harshendu, his journey in financial services began 27 years ago. He studied engineering in college and stumbled into the…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Andrew Salesky. Andrew leads Digital Advisor Solutions at Charles Schwab, overseeing a suite of tech platforms used by more than 7,500 independent advisory firms working with Schwab. Having worked at Schwab for more than 20 years, Andrew has held jobs big and small under the Schwab umbrella – from branch leadership to running schwab.com and driving the growth of “Schwab startups” like Schwab Private Client. Andrew even worked as their first Global Data Officer before transitioning into his current role supporting digital platforms. Andrew spearheads integration across the company, viewing integration as the top…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Rose Palazzo and Eric Lordi from Morgan Stanley. Rose heads financial planning while Eric leads efforts across WealthDesk, a place for advisors to manage household portfolios. At Morgan Stanley, Rose and Eric have been instrumental in building the industry’s most comprehensive wealth management platform. Creating a comprehensive ecosystem and saying goodbye to the more siloed industry standard is no easy feat. Eric and Rose have leaned on their prospective specialties to build a system that scales rather than a system where one person wears 10 hats and inevitably drops a few along the way.Jack,…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with John Thiel, former Head of Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch and longtime advocate for comprehensive advising.John began his career in public accounting where he realized the impact of tax law on financial planning and decision-making. He was eventually recruited into the insurance business and, while it wasn’t popular at the time, John became an advocate for financial advising as he rose through the ranks at Merrill Lynch. While the industry has made and continues to make great progress, advisors still have a ways to go when it comes to implementing a goals-based approach and…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG Suite, and Matt Nollman, VP of Marketing at LifeYield. The two share their expertise on all things digital communication. Six years ago, Samantha’s husband stumbled upon a problem with seemingly no solution. Every advisor at a firm had an identical web presence. So he created Twenty Over Ten, an easy-to-use website platform for financial advisors. Sam hopped on board to lead sales and marketing and when Twenty Over Ten sold to FMG Suite, Sam shifted to Chief Evangelist, or, as she likes to think of it, Chief Educator.Matt…

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Eric Clarke, CEO of Orion Advisors. Eric is committed to improving client outcomes through strategic acquisitions and smart technology.Straight out of grad school, Eric began his career as an asset management wholesaler. The company he worked for was experiencing operational challenges and, eventually, Eric realized the fiduciary IRA business needed stronger technology. At the time, available tech was only built for the brokerage business rather than advisory firms. Seeing an opportunity from necessity, Eric developed a business plan and founded Orion. As Eric puts it, what’s current today is incredibly dated tomorrow. Orion provides…