Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby Dr. Daniel Crosby

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Matt Ackermann, Chief Content Officer at Integrated Partners. Matt supports Integrated Partners’ growth by creating content that enlightens, informs and entertains. He loves shining a spotlight on the incredible advisors and leaders at Integrated. He really enjoys leveraging blogs, podcasts and multimedia to highlight the incredible talent at Integrated Partners. He has spent his career coloring inside — and at times outside - the lines with amazing content. Through incredible storytelling, Integrated shares the amazing work that their advisors are doing from coast to coast. He has spent the past 20 years working for various wealth management media outlets to create content that really stands apart. Before joining Integrated in 2020, he was director of multimedia at InvestmentNews, where he was honored with 15 ASPBE awards for digital content creation, including Practice Makeover, a reality series about helping financial advisors jumpstart their business, and a documentary on impact investing that debuted at the United Nations in 2019. Before working at InvestmentNews, Matt worked at Financial Planning, American Banker and the New Jersey Law Journal, where he was honored with the New Jersey Press Association’s “Rookie of the Year'' Award in 1997. Most people would be surprised to discover that Matt has coached semi-pro baseball for the past 25 years, accumulating over 600 wins, three New Jersey state titles, and the 2019 Metropolitan Baseball League Title. When he’s not coaching baseball, he is spending time with his wife Marisa, who is a counseling director at Verona High School, and their two sons, CJ and Ryan.

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Phil Bray, Founder and Director of The Yardstick Agency, a firm that stands at the forefront of marketing for Financial Planners. Now in his third decade in financial services, Phil’s experience spans advising, compliance and marketing. Phil brings this unique mix of knowledge and experience to all Yardstick clients. He’s long held a dream of providing truly high-quality marketing options to financial advisers and planners, brokers and providers. When he’s not at work, Phil loves playing cricket with Will, his 18-year-old, cricket loving son.

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Andy Baxley, Senior Financial Planner at The Planning Center. Andy works with clients from a variety of professional backgrounds, but he is uniquely positioned to serve those who work in higher education and other large non-profit institutions. Utilizing his background as a former educator and his experience as a Wealth Management Advisor at TIAA, Andy takes pride in approaching his work with the heart of a teacher and insights gained from years of relevant experience.

Andy’s approach to financial planning goes beyond the numbers; it’s about helping the individuals and families I serve achieve clarity, confidence and a sense of purpose around their money. Ultimately, he doesn’t just want his clients to feel financially secure; he wants them to feel empowered to plan with a sense of optimism and possibility.

As a Colorado native, he cherishes moments in nature with his wife, Yi, and their son, Bo. While a piece of his heart will always be in the Rocky Mountains, Andy has found much to love in Hyde Park, Chicago. On any given Saturday, you’re likely to find them riding their bikes along Chicago’s beautiful Lakefront Trail, spending lazy afternoons with friends at Promontory Point, or taking a stroll to get pastries and coffee at Plein Air, their favorite neighborhood cafe. Like the clients he serves, Andy takes pride in being a lifelong learner and can often be found working his way through new degrees, designations and courses. In 2021, he was proud to complete Kansas State University’s master’s in personal financial planning with an emphasis on advanced financial planning and financial therapy. Recently, his focus has turned to mentoring young planners and helping them build rewarding, purposeful careers.

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Nuala Wash. Nuala Walsh is a non-executive director, behavioral scientist, visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and author of TUNE IN: How to Make Smarter Decisions In a Noisy World. Her global career spans three decades in investment management, banking and consulting with Blackrock, Merrill Lynch, PA and Standard Life Aberdeen as Chief Marketing Officer.

Today, as MindEquity founder and CEO, she advises leading institutions on reputation, culture and human rights matters. Her board appointments in business, sport and not-for-profits include Non-Executive Director at British & Irish Lions; Chair of Innocence Project London; President of Harvard Club of Ireland; Council Member at The Football Association; Advisor at World Athletics; Founding Director of the Association of Behavioral Scientists; and former Vice-Chair at UN Women (UK). A TEDx speaker, Walsh publishes in leading publications and has been featured in the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Fox Business.

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Shawn Sparks. Shawn Sparks has worked with hundreds of advisors throughout his career, showing them how to be better business owners and to achieve the growth in business and life that they deserve. His company, Triad Partners, coined the phrase “Do Business, Do Life” (#DBDL) as a testimony to the possibility of achieving balance as a high achieving advisor.

Shawn’s mission is to show advisors strategies for scaling their business that truly supports the lifestyle they desire – while avoiding burnout and improving all aspects of their lives.

Shawn puts what he teaches into practice. As the co-owner of one of the fastest growing FMOs of all time, husband and father of 4 kids, he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a business while raising a young family.

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby is joined by Robert Sofia. Robert Sofia is the CEO of Snappy Kraken, a marketing technology company exclusively serving the financial industry. During the past decade, Robert has supported thousands of companies across the spectrum of financial services including RIAs, broker dealers, custodians, investment companies, insurance companies and more.

Robert has received countless accolades for his work by winning fintech competitions, Wealth Management Industry Awards, and being honored on the INC 500, INC 5,000, Agency 100 and Best Places to Work In Financial Technology lists. He has authored two best-selling books and been published hundreds of times in publications including Forbes, INC Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, FOX Business, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Investment News, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, the Journal of Financial Planning, ThinkAdvisor and many more.

Robert is an award-winning public speaker who has spoken at dozens of leading conferences including FinCon, MarketCounsel Summit, T3, TD’s National LINC, and on behalf of world-renowned companies including Ford Motor, Adobe, Prudential and many others.