Listen as industry thought leaders take part in a thought-provoking discussion on the best strategies to tackle the complexities of long-term care, disability, and caregiving. Gain actionable insights on how to integrate the latest research and policy developments into your practice.

In this episode of our Shares podcast, recorded on the floor of AICPA Engage 2024, Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® engages thought leaders and financial professionals in attendance to discuss the impact of The College’s upcoming Tax Planning Certified Professional™ (TPCP™) Program. He talks specifics about the content of the program and dives deeper into the value of specialized tax planning knowledge for advisors in all areas of financial services.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
 

InvestmentNews | “Women Are Built For This Business”
June 18, 2024

Lindsey Lewis, MBA, CFP®, ChFC®, executive director of The College’s Center for Women in Financial Services, spreads the word about The College’s annual Women Working in Wealth Award recognizing women in financial services who mentor, support, and advocate for women in the profession.

Kiplinger | Tax-Smart Strategies for Account Withdrawals
June 19, 2024

Professor of practice Wade Pfau, PhD, CFA, RICP® discusses ideal strategies for drawdown of assets in retirement – and why waiting until clients are forced to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) could be costly in the long run.

Financial Advisor | Helping Clients Choose The Right Time To Retire
June 21, 2024

Professor of practice Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP® takes a look at why some clients may not need to retire as early as planned due to differing lifestyles and work situations.

In this episode of our NextGen in 10 podcast, host Clarisa Hernandez, CFP®, ChFC® speaks with Jeff Landt, CFA, CFP® about practical ways advisors can better communicate their value to clients to strengthen the relationship and help them avoid costly pitfalls.

Jeff Landt, CFA, CFP® is a senior vice president and the chief investment officer for North Star Resource Group. His primary area of expertise is the investment management process. He assists the firm’s associates with portfolio strategies, portfolio construction and the best practices of portfolio management. In addition to acting as the chief investment officer, he is also a practicing associate with North Star Resource Group, specializing in retirement distribution strategies and wealth management.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
 

In this episode of our NextGen in 10 podcast, host Clarisa Hernandez, CFP®, ChFC® speaks with  Jeff Landt, CFA, CFP® about how an advisor's value to a client is sometimes difficult to quantify, yet those who get professional advice have more clearly defined life goals and better investing outcomes.

Jeff Landt, CFA, CFP® is a senior vice president and the chief investment officer for North Star Resource Group. His primary area of expertise is the investment management process. He assists the firm’s associates with portfolio strategies, portfolio construction and the best practices of portfolio management. In addition to acting as the chief investment officer, he is also a practicing associate with North Star Resource Group, specializing in retirement distribution strategies and wealth management.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
 

In this episode of our NextGen in 10 podcast, host Matt Aaron, CFP®, RICP® speaks with Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP® about her unique career path into financial services and how people from non-financial backgrounds are finding great success and satisfaction in the industry.

Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP®, co-founder and co-CEO of 2050 Wealth Partners, focuses on empowering entrepreneurs and first-generation wealth builders to own their money story and pursue their biggest dreams. As a financial planner and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dorsainvil believes that first-generation wealth-builders are a community that has been underserved by the financial planning profession for too long – and she’s here to help change the tides. She serves as a member of CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council and CFP Board’s Diversity Advisory Group, is a Forbes Personal Finance contributor, and has been recognized for her accomplishments and leadership within the industry by leading publications and organizations, such as InvestmentNews’ inaugural 2017 Women to Watch Rising Star award and Wealth Management’s Ten to Watch in 2018. She has been published in PBS NewsHour, Forbes, USA Today, Black Enterprise, CNBC, Women’s Health, and more.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.

In this episode of our NextGen in 10 podcast, host Matt Aaron, CFP®, RICP® speaks with Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP® about the need for more women in financial services, how an advisor can learn about a client's diverse cultural background, and why an advisor must be knowledgeable about taxes.

Rianka Dorsainvil, CFP®, co-founder and co-CEO of 2050 Wealth Partners, focuses on empowering entrepreneurs and first-generation wealth builders to own their money story and pursue their biggest dreams. As a financial planner and an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dorsainvil believes that first-generation wealth-builders are a community that has been underserved by the financial planning profession for too long – and she’s here to help change the tides. She serves as a member of CNBC's Digital Financial Advisor Council and CFP Board’s Diversity Advisory Group, is a Forbes Personal Finance contributor, and has been recognized for her accomplishments and leadership within the industry by leading publications and organizations, such as InvestmentNews’ inaugural 2017 Women to Watch Rising Star award and Wealth Management’s Ten to Watch in 2018. She has been published in PBS NewsHour, Forbes, USA Today, Black Enterprise, CNBC, Women’s Health, and more.

Any views or opinions expressed in this podcast are the hosts’ and guests' own and do not necessarily represent those of The American College of Financial Services.
 

Tudor says he entered the financial services profession via banking in 2008 during a volatile and chaotic time for the industry. Despite this, he says he found great satisfaction in his work in leadership roles – running several bank branches around Cincinnati, Ohio – and especially in areas involving lending. That was where he first started to sense the industry might have blind spots and think about how he wanted to address them.

“I really enjoyed helping people buy houses and start small businesses, but I saw gaps in knowledge and access, especially when it came to investment management,” he said. “The bank often had a minimum level of assets they would service, and I often saw more resources being afforded to affluent communities. I knew I wanted to focus on those who had been historically excluded.”

Tudor eventually transitioned into a role with Northwestern Mutual and spent several years at the company becoming a licensed advisor and directly working with clients. From those interactions, he continued to refine his sense of who he was as a professional and who he wanted to serve.

“Most people, especially those from historically excluded communities, need more education in and access to financial services and are looking for deeper advice than just receiving products,” he said. “I’ve always felt we should be building in systems to protect and educate these groups.”

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Tudor finally decided he wanted to start his own firm and launched Alchemist Wealth – with a focus on fee-only planning and serving women and other historically excluded communities – with his brother. Four years later, he merged the successful practice into Zenith Wealth Partners, where he continues to work as an advisor in a variety of planning fields, from investment portfolios to retirement and philanthropic planning. It’s all in service, he says, of his mission to help his clients align their money with their values.

The Role of Retirement Planning

While at Northwestern, Tudor availed himself of the company’s connection to The College to earn multiple designations and certifications: first through the CFP® Certification Education Program to get a strong financial planning foundation, and later through the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Program for the specialization he was seeking in retirement preparation and planning.

“The first time a client came to me and asked me questions about retirement I couldn’t answer, I knew I had to get more knowledge,” he said. “The RICP® is powerful because it impresses upon you that accumulation planning and retirement income planning are two very different things. When I was at Northwestern, we would answer questions about retirement planning with material from College thought leaders like Michael Finke, PhD, CFP® and Wade Pfau, PhD, CFA, RICP®. Their advice on using tools like annuities, home equity, and other income streams to stabilize retirement income may not be popular in some circles, but they’re mathematically proven to be better solutions.”

“[The RICP® Program]’s advice on using tools like annuities, home equity, and other income streams to stabilize retirement income may not be popular in some circles, but they’re mathematically proven to be better solutions.”

Tudor says thanks to the RICP®, he is now well-versed in retirement planning concepts and can simplify them enough for his clients to understand. He also says he sees a growing need for this specialized knowledge as America continues to age.

“The industry to me is still five to 10 years behind what’s necessary in retirement income planning, and it’s exciting to see The College continue to be out in front of the latest ideas and blaze the trail for doing things the right way,” he said.

Investing for Impact

In addition to his focus on retirement planning, Tudor says he’s always been interested in the technical side of planning and the potential of money in general to benefit society. Because of this, he enrolled in the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) Program at The College to gain more specific knowledge about how to use investment strategies to help his clients live their values.

“We often ask clients about their goals for impact: whether they’re broad or specific, for family, community, globally, or causes they support,” he said. “Clients constantly bring these subjects up, and I don’t know how I would be an advisor without being able to have those conversations. I believe eventually those kinds of conversations will be table stakes for the industry, and everyone will need to know how to talk about charitable giving with clients and organizations.”

While he loves working directly with clients, Tudor says it’s the institutional side of giving that he’s fallen in love with thanks to the CAP® Program.

“It’s about how you use money and make it work for what you believe in the real world, not just on your spreadsheet,” he said. “That kind of mission-aligned investing, where organizations use their capital to benefit society, is exactly where I want to be. The CAP® Program’s donor strategies were helpful, but its full course dedicated to working with nonprofits has allowed me to sit on board committees and lead conversations about aligning investment portfolios with an organization’s mission. I think that’s a serious gap in the market to be addressed.”

“[The CAP® Program] has allowed me to sit on board committees and lead conversations about aligning investment portfolios with an organization’s mission. I think that’s a serious gap in the market to be addressed.”

Finding Community and Purpose

After being inaugurated into The College community as a recipient of the NextGen Financial Services Professional Award, Tudor says he has been consistently impressed by what The College is able to do for financial professionals – especially in its events like the annual Conference of African American Financial Professionals (CAAFP).

“CAAFP feels like a homecoming every year for me,” he said. “It’s my one opportunity to see and reconnect with a lot of people I know from the industry, and the workshop and keynote sessions are consistently incredible. It’s a safe bet for me to invite a new advisor to CAAFP. There aren’t many places Black professionals in financial services can go and see mostly people who look like them, and the level of excellence in the execution of the event is always impressive.”

“It’s a safe bet for me to invite a new advisor to CAAFP. There aren’t many places Black professionals in financial services can go and see mostly people who look like them.”

Tudor says he’ll be present at this year’s CAAFP, to be held August 12-14 in Atlanta, Georgia. In the meantime, he advises young professionals in the field to be open to challenging themselves and thinking intentionally about their career path.

“Go to places that stretch you and be mindful of how you feel when you’re doing things,” he said. “This field affords you 40 years to build a career and have an impact, so thinking long-term is key. I love working with personal clients and enjoy financial planning in general, but I really live for doing organizational and institutional planning. Fill your day with things you enjoy doing, and success will come.”