Page 36 - Investment Advisor September 2021

ers and emerging technology companies to host co-branded and their clients in which she explained the multiple levels of
educational webinars that help advisors drive business success. grief, taught practical and implementable skills for communi-
cating through it, and offered scientifically validated strategies
Jacob Gold, chairman and chief investment officer, for coping with resultant stress and anxiety. Florian also
Jacob Gold & Associates, is also a finance professor taught generalized sessions to help advisors support clients in
at Arizona State University, where he teaches per- grief. Her efforts are intended to provide economic value to
sonal financial management and hosts a variety of financial professionals while fostering meaningful personal
student workshops at the Barrett Honors College. growth for both advisors and their clients.
He also created a new business degree with a concentration in
financial planning. Students are eligible to take the CFP examina- Doug Fritz, of F2 Strategy, a wealth technology
tion upon graduation. He also consults with companies to teach consulting firm, has emerged as an industry
their executives how to responsibly manage their financial affairs. influencer in the areas of wealth technology,
In addition, Gold has written two books — “Financial Intelligence: innovation and digital transformation. In the
Getting Back to Basics After an Economic Meltdown” and “Money past year, he founded F2 Strategy’s proprietary
Mindset: Formulating a Wealth Strategy in the 21st Century.” research arm, which takes best practices and lessons from some
70 of the top wealth management C-suite technology decision-
Jeffrey Rotman, of Rotman and Associates, is a makers. They also formed a quick response format around
wealth management advisor who has provided work-from-home. Recently, he has hosted the podcast, “Wealth
financial education in the workplace and uni- Tech Gets Vocal: On the Road With the Man in the Van,” which
versities for 30 years. He developed a practice tells what wealthy investors, advisors and leaders think about
management program to facilitate young physi- the industry, where it is headed and its effect on society.
cians’ transition from academia into practice, and has become
part of the curriculum in many teaching hospitals in Florida. He Marie Swift is president and CEO of Impact
teaches an adult education course called Retirement Planning Communications, which is a full-service mar-
Today at Florida International University and Nova Southeastern keting communications firm. In August 2020,
University. He is a sponsor and donor to the Osher Lifelong she and her colleagues initiated “Conversations
Learning Institute at Florida International University, which That Matter” with strategic support from
provides noncredit educational experiences for people 50 and Allianz Life, entailing original research, content creation and
older. He also is launching an initiative to educate parents on promotional efforts. Its primary goals were to help advisors
the college funding and application process. understand where they may have missed opportunities to gal-
vanize client relationships during the pandemic; attract new
business and remain resilient under duress; provide the means
INDIVIDUALS – PARTNERSHIPS to help them weather the next storm; and show how — and
AND CONSULTING why — many advisors thrived during the 2020 chaos.

Gretchen Halpin is co-founder of Beyond AUM, Michael Kitces, chief financial planning nerd of
a marketing agency for advisors. Her main Kitces.com, hosts the Financial Advisor Success
focus is to accelerate and guide their growth in podcast, which after 228 episodes has had nearly
a positive, sustainable way with a focus on the 5 million downloads. It also has featured 114
communities they serve. She believes in work- industry women whose stories have been heard
ing directly with advisors and their teams to cultivate a deep nearly 2.5 million times. From its founding in January 2017, the
understanding of the importance and impact of their service podcast has committed to maintain a 50/50 ratio of men and
and how to support client relationships. She also introduced an women among its guests. Kitces has been involved in numerous
internship program to help foster the next generation of col- volunteer capacities in the industry, from the Financial Planning
lege students in the industry and beyond. Halpin and her team Association to the American Institute of CPA’s Personal Financial
have developed a personal finance blog, and she has been a Planning section and the Investments & Wealth Institute. He has
featured speaker at numerous industry conferences. chaired multiple national conferences and co-founded NexGen.

Amy Florian is CEO of Corgenius, which is Sheryl J. Moore, president and CEO of Wink
dedicated to teaching financial professionals Inc., is an entrepreneur and a leader in the life
and their clients about handling death, loss, insurance and annuity industry. Her goal is to
grief, aging and transition. In the past 18 provide education on product lines, increase
months, she created webinars for both advisors awareness of value-added life insurance prod-

34 INVESTMENT ADVISOR SEPTEMBER 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com