Page 33 - Investment Advisor - November 2021

and ‘M’ for marketing, which will tell the world what the firm ers high-intent, validated consumer prospects via a warm
believes and empower it to help more clients, advisors and phone transfer to RIAs and firms. Live Connections reduces
associates. Miles also emphasizes the importance of diversity advisors’ marketing burden by eliminating the time they
and inclusion in the workplace. spend prospecting, contacting and following up with con-
sumers, enabling them to grow their practices while maxi-
Mark Matson, founder and CEO of Matson mizing the time they spend with clients. This follows the
Money, in the past year launched the American firm’s 2015 launch of Captivate, an advertising network that
Dream Experience, a 2½-day group seminar allows publishers to algorithmically embed tools and data
hosted virtually and in person where investors visualizations into relevant content.
explore their family’s financial future and learn
about the empirical and behavioral dimensions of wealth cre- Haleh Moddasser is senior wealth advisor and
ation. It eliminates myths of stock-picking and market-timing managing partner of Stearns Financial Group.
from portfolio management and provides historical context on With a practice devoted primarily to women,
past market crashes and recoveries. This approach to learning Moddasser is on a mission to spread a message
about investing turns the one-on-one conversation into an that women have the power to do good for soci-
open forum in which participants relate to and learn from one ety while doing financially well for themselves. Her research
another’s experiences, and helps them identify a deeper pur- revealed that no matter their political affiliation, women want
pose for their lives and understanding how their investments their investment dollars to change the world, but a significant
support that purpose. knowledge gap exists on how to accomplish this. Her research
formed the basis for her 2020 book, “Women On Top: Women,
Edward Deutschlander, CEO of North Star Wealth & Social Change.” To close the knowledge gap,
Resource Group, has held many roles, from Moddasser launched an initiative focused on environmental,
advisor to recruiter. After becoming CEO of social and governance investing.
North Star in 2016, he set a goal of 152,000 cli-
ents and 252 financial professionals by 2022. Ken Van Leeuwen, founder & CEO of Van
He believes in investing in young people and teaches that those Leeuwen & Co., provides overall strategy for
who succeed will have the resources to become elite members the firm and serves as a personal financial
of the industry. His efforts won him Securian’s recruiter of the advisor for his high-net-worth clientele. He
year award every year he was eligible. His 2018 white paper also mentors younger advisors. Looking
published by LIMRA provides 10 conclusions for advisor ahead, he’s intent on attracting the next generation of tal-
teaming and adoption that could turn into action for compa- ent who will embody the firm’s values of compassion and
nies, firms and senior advisors looking to hire for success. always caring about clients. When the pandemic shut
down the economy, the firm regularly reached out to cli-
Stuart Katz, chief investment officer, Robertson ents through phone calls, email and virtual meetings to
Stephens, has created and shaped an invest- assure them that someone was looking out for their inter-
ment office and strategy that have been instru- ests. On occasion, they even have delivered groceries and
mental in honing the firm’s reputation as other essentials to older clients who were feeling most
innovative, nimble and fiduciary-minded, pois- vulnerable.
ing it to attract top talent and a diverse client base. The
Investment Office’s mission is to preserve and grow client Jeff Pierce, CEO, Wipfli Financial Advisors, at
wealth through a detailed financial plan focused on near-term the outset of the pandemic, kept his team on
objectives, long-term goals and client values. Three pillars of track through conversations with every indi-
service empower the firm’s client portfolio: grow assets, vidual, including over 20 virtual coffee chats
reduce expenses and mitigate risk. He and his team achieve and six monthly town halls. He also champi-
this through holistic solutions built with a rigorous investment oned an expansion of firm benefits, including maternity and
process and targeted data analytics support. paternity leave and a shift to flexible time off. He also helped
build and now leads a new industry and service offering that
Michael Carvin is CEO of SmartAsset, which combines expertise from Wipfli Financial and its affiliate
in April 2020 in response to increased demand Wipfli LLP, a top 20 accounting and business consulting firm,
for financial advice, launched Live moving the organizations closer through the Private Client
Connections on its platform. This is a client Group to align clients’ values and aspirations with innovative,
matchmaking program for advisors that deliv- holistic financial planning.

NOVEMBER 2021 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 31