In The News

Latest Press Releases

May 11, 2021

Journey Strategic Wealth Adds Damian Lo Basso As Partner

Damian Lo Basso, the former founder and CEO of Compass CFO Solutions, has joined Journey Strategic Wealth, the new registered investment advisor/partnership launched earlier this year, as managing partner. Lo Basso joins three other managing partners at the firm, which include former Dynasty Financial Partners executives Michael Brown and Brian Flynn, as well as practice management...
May 11, 2021

Journey Strategic Wealth Appoints M&A Expert Damian Lo Basso as Managing Partner

Summit, N.J., May 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Journey Strategic Wealth (“Journey”), a registered investment advisor and practice management partner, today announced the addition of Damian Lo Basso as managing partner. In this role, Lo Basso will head finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions for Journey as the firm continues to expand its industry-disruptive approach...
May 11, 2021

Ex-Compass CFO head joins $2.7bn RIA

Damian Lo Basso is moving on from the outsourced CFO services firm he founded to join an upstart RIA. Lo Basso (pictured), formerly the chief executive of Compass CFO Solutions, has joined Journey Strategic Wealth, a Summit, N.J.-based firm with roughly $2.7bn in client assets under management.
April 13, 2021

Ex-Northwestern Mutual practice folds into new RIA aggregator

An RIA aggregator that launched into the crowded sector earlier this year has made its first M&A deal and opened its first location on the West Coast. Financial advisor Kristin Bartlow joined Journey Strategic Wealth after nearly a dozen years with Northwestern Mutual, where she had grown the ensemble practice to a team of four...
April 13, 2021

Journey Strategic Wealth Expands, Opens San Francisco Office

summit, New Jersey-based Journey Strategic Wealth has expanded with the opening of a new San Francisco office that is home to the first advisor team under the new RIA partnership business model that Journey launched in January, it said Tuesday. The San Francisco advisor team is led by Kristin Bartlow, previously of Bartlow Wealth Management,...
April 13, 2021

Journey Strategic Wealth Adds First Tuck-In Team

Journey Strategic Wealth, the new registered investment advisor/partnership launched earlier this year, has recruited its first tuck-in, adding financial advisor Kristin Bartlow and her team, who bring $180 million in client assets, from Northwestern Mutual. Journey was founded in January by financial advisors and former Dynasty Financial Partners executives Michael Brown and Brian Flynn, along with...
April 13, 2021

Journey Strategic Wealth Opens San Francisco Office, Brings on $180M Advisory Team Led by Kristin Bartlow

Summit, N.J., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Journey Strategic Wealth (“Journey”), a registered investment advisor and practice management partner, today announced the launch of their San Francisco office led by award-winning advisor Kristin Bartlow, CFP®, CLU®, RICP, ChFC®, WMCP®, previously of Bartlow Wealth Management, a Northwestern Mutual firm. The team brings $180M in assets...
January 20, 2021

Former Magnus Team Creates New RIA Model Leading With Practice Management

Financial advisors and former Dynasty Financial Partners executives Michael Brown and Brian Flynn have left Magnus Financial Group, a New York registered investment advisor backed by Merchant, to launch Journey Strategic Wealth, an RIA/partnership, with practice management coach Penny Phillips, founder of Thrivos Consulting. The firm, based in Summit, N.J., will start with just over...

Podcasts, Panels & Presentations

April 27, 2021

What Advisors Need to Be Successful

Guest host (and FMG Suite Chief Evangelist) Samantha Russell is joined by Penny Phillips, President and Co-Founder of Journey Strategic Wealth and Founder of Thrivos Consulting. Samantha and Penny discuss the number one thing advisors need coaching on, how to make video and social media work for you, and what practice management and marketing tactics...
March 17, 2021

Stark & Stark: A Discussion on RIA Fee Practices

March 1, 2021

The Big Things to Think About Before Going Independen‪t

In this episode, we sit down with Penny Phillips, co-Founder and President of Journey Strategic Wealth, a new RIA that’s reimagining the independent advisor model. This episode does not disappoint – Penny covers everything an advisors should be thinking about before you make the jump to RIA.

Articles

August 4, 2021

Meeting the Evolving Needs of Female HNW Investors

Women are a growing economic force in the world, controlling one-third of all wealth. Yet many wealth management firms and the industry as a whole continue to misunderstand the needs of women investors leaving them underserved.
July 27, 2021

Finding the Cure For Fragmented Data in Legacy Wealth Management Systems

According to a 2019 study, small businesses use an average of 40 different apps. This number grows  to over 200 for enterprise-sized companies and can include many with overlapping and duplicative functionality due to merger and acquisitions that pile layer upon layer of tech debt.
April 30, 2021

Inside Wealth’s Guide to M&A Options

Principals of advisory firms know that if they want to monetize their practices, there may be no better time than right now. The reason? An 11-year bull market has driven valuations for firms into record, and possibly unsustainable, territory; a coming increase in taxation on capital gains makes holding off on a sale risky; and...
April 22, 2021

Dispelling the myths about independence: A Q&A with RIA coach and entrepreneur Penny Phillips

Financial advisors considering an independent move should cast aside any delusions that it’s easy, according to RIA coach and entrepreneur Penny Phillips. Phillips and advisors Michael Brown and Brian Flynn launched a new practice management-focused RIA aggregator called Journey Strategic Wealth at the beginning of the year. Entering a crowded sector that Cerulli Associates pegs...
April 8, 2021

Upgrade your client experience and create an attractive referral experience

On this week’s episode we speak with Penny Phillips, President and Co-Founder of Journey Strategic Wealth. She has extensive experience coaching and consulting financial advisors, business owners and wealth management institutions on assembling the resources and tools they need to powerfully serve clients. The pandemic has altered the way advisors interact with clients. Phillips observes...
March 19, 2021

AUM, Hourly or Retainer Fees: Which Model Is Best for Advisors?

A lot has been said in recent years about fee compression and new fee models for investment advisors, but not every fee model works for every RIA firm and every client, according to the founders of three RIA firms who spoke Wednesday in an online “Discussion on RIA Fee Practices and Trends.” “I’ve always been...
March 19, 2021

Delegate the Jobs You Hate, Execs Tell Advisors

Advisors should try to focus on those parts of the business that they like the most and are the most skilled at, turning to other team members or outsourcing the parts of the job that they don’t like or know much about, industry executives said Friday during an online Riskalyze RIA Roundtable event. “Don’t be...
January 28, 2021

Why Advisors Should Care About GameStop

When I ask advisors how recent headlines are impacting their communications with clients, the typical response is, “My clients don’t care about Tesla or Bitcoin. They’re not focused on what people say on the Internet. They know we have a sound, long-term plan in place.” I asked that question in March, when most of us...