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Articles
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 a fiercely competitive market for more valuable, high-net-worth clients is prompting growth-minded firms to broaden their offerings with in-house estate planning, tax preparation and trust services.

Podcasts, Panels and Presentations
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 the most successful advisors use. These two industry thought leaders cover all the tips financial advisors need to hear right now.

Articles
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 at an estimated $2.8 trillion worth of RIA assets available for purchase over the next decade, Journey unveiled its first deal earlier this month. Despite an influx of private equity capital that’s fueling record consolidation in wealth management, advisors often need more education about the options available to them and the realities of making the transition to independence, according to Phillips.

Insights
Wealth Management
How to Successfully Integrate an Associate Advisor Into Your Practice

If I ranked all the questions I get from advisors by order of popularity, “Why can’t I find the right person to be my associate advisor?” would place in the top five. Perhaps even top three. I have found that the answer to this question has much more to do with the way advisors structure the role, rather than being an issue of the talent pool they are selecting from. Think about it this way: Our industry is obsessed with “rainmakers;” those who have a superior ability to sell and/or gather assets. We have taught advisors that if you cannot “produce,” you cannot be an advisor. As a result, advisor-leaders tend to have tunnel vision as it relates to what they want an associate advisor to look, think and act like. In fact, advisor-leaders are almost always looking for an associate advisor … who is exactly like them.

In The Press
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 managing $195 million in client assets, Bartlow said in an interview. Journey announced the new outpost of the RIA on April 13, four months after advisor coach Penny Phillips and planners Michael Brown and Brian Flynn launched the firm. The parties didn’t disclose terms of the deal. Journey aims to stand out from the field of wealth managers serving RIAs with a strong foundation in practice management and a focus on “solo-preneur” practices with between $100 million and $1 billion in client assets, according to Phillips. The firm's newest advisor picked Journey out of nearly 20 firms in a due diligence process beginning almost two years ago.

In The Press
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, a Northwestern Mutual (NWM) firm. Bartlow was registered with NWM since 2010, according to her report on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website.

In The Press
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 practice management coach Penny Phillips, founder of Thrivos Consulting. The addition of Bartlow’s team brings its assets under management to about $2.7 billion.

In The Press
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 under management to Journey. Bartlow’s team includes Brett Agnew, CFP®, Kevin D. Rinow, CFP®, CLU®, RICP®, ChFC®, and Adrienne Braccia Conrad. They are the first advisors to join Journey’s practice management-centric RIA model and will primarily serve institutional and other pre-retirement clients, including high-net-worth technology executives and their families. Bartlow has been recognized by Forbes as a “Top Women Wealth Advisor of 2020” and by Working Mother & Shook Research as a “2020 Top Wealth Advisor Moms” recipient.

Articles
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 that “everything is changed and nothing has changed” for advisors. She characterizes the developments of the past year as more of an evolution in the client journey.