Advisor Freedom

Conner Young
  • 5.0 (16)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by Conner Young, this show shares real stories from advisors who are serving clients and sharing their best practices for growing and planning for their clients! Whether you're growing your practice or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

  1. 2d ago

    From Wine Imports to Wealth Management

    “I started out in tech, then we were running a winery. Not a typical roadmap into advising.” (00:33)“A retiring advisor came up to me after a meeting and said, ‘I want you to take over my practice.’” (09:11)“Almost said no, then realized you don’t ignore a door like that.” (09:25–10:20)“We started trying to hire and found it was frankly really, really difficult.” (18:54)“I liked the women in leadership at TMG and their commitment to fee‑only advice.” (20:46) Ann Garcia took a nontraditional path into wealth management. From tech to importing her husband’s family winery wine, then pivoting into financial planning. She was handed a retiring advisor’s firm almost out of the blue, kept nearly all the clients, and grew the practice by focusing on alignment, fiduciary values, and clear planning. Facing hiring and growth ceilings, she joined The Mather Group to gain infrastructure and scale while spending more time advising and doing the work she loves. This episode is about career pivots, making succession work, and choosing the right tradeoffs between independence and scale. Listen to her story here. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    34 min

  2. Jun 22

    Knocking on 4,000 Doors to ~$275M AUM

    “I raised $10M in my first two years doing it the hard way.” (03:28) “I basically got about $50 million in the door of new assets.” (08:14) “It just started to become this referral machine.” (09:11) “I referred people to a CPA I trusted. That CPA became our best referral partner.” (11:07) “Today we have clients in 30+ states, many I’ve never met face to face.” (12:06) “Referrals convert faster: first meeting to funding, not months of convincing.” (13:30) Griffin Kirsch started GK Wealth Management with nothing. No book, no clients just knocked on 4,000 doors to raise $10M in his first two years. He left and rebuilt twice, then turned COVID into an advantage by helping local business owners access PPP and tax credits (not selling, just helping). That work produced roughly $50M in new assets and created a referral engine that’s driven him to ~ $275M AUM and 600 clients, all without paid marketing. This episode is about persistence, showing value first, and converting trust into scalable growth. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    30 min

  3. Jun 15

    Building WISE: The System That Teaches Advisors to Serve Entrepreneurs

    “At 21 I asked to do fee‑based planning. They said no. I left and became the youngest to join their RIA arm.” (06:18)“I was delivering real value, spending hours, and getting paid nothing.” (04:24)“I decided I’m only engaging clients who will engage me for the planning process.” (10:41)“I chose business owners, the hardest market, but the most rewarding impact.” (12:08)“I built a system called WISE, the Wealth Integration System for Entrepreneurs.” (15:56)“WISE isn’t about teaching technical knowledge, it’s how to actually engage a business owner step‑by‑step.” (37:41) Ali Nasser fell into financial advice by accident, pushed to charge fees for real planning at 21, and built a boutique practice focused on business owners. He turned that practitioner playbook into WISE; a step‑by‑step system and training program that teaches advisors how to win, structure, and serve entrepreneurs. After selling his firm to scale impact, Ali now runs WISE to train advisors and coach entrepreneurs with the goal of multiplying outcomes across thousands of businesses. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    48 min

  4. Jun 8

    How Fiscal Is Making Bloomberg Sweat: Data + AI for Investors

    “You can pull full company histories, build investment memos, even generate portfolio strategies — all automatically.” (02:27)“You’re not spending hours building models. You’re reviewing them. In minutes.” (02:57)“With Fiscal + Claude you can export models into Excel or download statements to customize.” (04:24–04:50)“Having structured, audited data alleviates the trust concerns investors have with AI.” (03:27–05:20) We welcomed back Ryan Henderson for his second appearance to demo what Fiscal is building. A data+AI platform changing how investors research and manage portfolios. Fiscal pairs clean, auditable financial data with AI so you stop building models and start reviewing them: instant company histories, auto‑generated memos, clickable source‑level audit trails, and dynamic portfolio dashboards. Simple visuals (a logo pie chart) drove viral growth, while deeper tools surface opportunities from Uber to Southeast Asia plays and airport operators. If you want to move faster, trust your numbers, and make better decisions with AI‑backed data, this episode shows what investing looks like now. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    30 min

  5. Jun 1

    Writing A Book Helped Build $700M+ AUM

    “I didn’t want to inherit the client book… I wanted to build my own.” (05:36) “I love to write… long form content became my business development.” (07:05) “My book came out in 2020 and the timing was perfect with remote work.” (08:03) “It generated a few hundred right‑fit calls across the early 2020s.” (11:48) “Everybody starts with a financial plan — we charge a flat fee and then move to ongoing.” (16:05) “We prep our meetings a month in advance… we must be super intentional.” (27:36) “We want to hire young people and train them into lead advisors.” (30:28) “Growing 75–100 new clients a year creates opportunities for the whole team.” (31:27) Gideon Drucker refused to cold call his way into building book of clients and built his own firm by writing long‑form content and publishing a book in 2020, just as the world went remote. That content funnel attracted tech professionals and high‑income families, letting Drucker Wealth scale into a national, fully‑remote RIA focused on modern planning, advisor training, and client-first systems. We talk content as client acquisition, building repeatable planning processes, and scaling a virtual firm that trains the next generation of advisors. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    37 min

  6. May 25

    How He Used Facebook Ads to Build AUM

    “My parents went through a divorce and both of them really struggled financially.” (00:31) “I had 450 clients and a little over a billion dollars in assets I was responsible for.” (05:23) “We were getting about 120 prospects a month put on my calendar at one point.” (13:23) “We hit the holy grail with Facebook ads.” (13:53) “I created a sister company for divorce planning so there’s a clear line between services.” (12:56) “We have 200+ people on the waitlist and are adding about 100 a month.” (32:50) Jamie Lima founded SecureSplit after leaving large firms and launching an RIA in April 2020, two weeks into COVID. Drawing on childhood experience with his parents’ divorce, he niched into divorce financial planning, built a funnel that booked 100+ prospects a month via Facebook ads, then turned that demand into Allegiant and SecureSplit: an AI-enabled, case-management platform that modernizes divorce planning and court-ready outputs.  This episode is a blueprint for niche focus, productizing lived problems, and scaling with purpose. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    37 min

  7. May 18

    How His Systems Built Around the Right Clients

    “What is the worst that happens if I bet on myself?” (02:53) “I’m fee-only and pretty thoughtful about how I grow and who I build around.” (05:45) “Calendar. Cashflow. Balance sheet, that was the framework.” (10:05)  “I’ll show them everything upfront, I’m the worst poker player.” (09:10) “I don’t think I want to build an enterprise, I want to reduce complexity.” (17:53) “One of the best parts is having something that is a reflection of you.” (21:20) “The more we can build each other up, the better off everyone’s gonna be.” (26:05) Brett Koeppel, founder of Udaymonia Wealth, left a wirehouse at 30 to build a fee-only RIA focused on retirement transitions. By prioritizing alignment over returns, an anti‑sales intake process, and intentional, bounded growth, he's proving a firm can reflect who you are without chasing scale. ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    26 min

  8. May 11

    How He Turned LinkedIn Posts into 17 New Households This Year

    “I was promoted five times in eight years.” (2:27) “I joined Sunpointe with zero clients.” (08:10) “Calendar. Cash flow. Balance sheet. That was the framework.” (10:05) “We added 17 households and all of it primarily was from referrals.” (13:55) “I think that that comes with the work ethic of, you know, if you're dependable and you're trusted, you start to get different flexibilities.” (17:23) “I try to write 15 or 20 posts in an hour…do it every other week.” (21:37) Ben Tuscai, director of planning at Sunpointe, started in finance to pay student loans, stumbled into Vanguard, and climbed fast despite a rough resume and terrible test-taking. During COVID, his priorities reshaped. Transitioning from wholesaling to planning, and joined Sunpoint with zero clients to build a planning framework around calendar cashflow, and balance sheet.  Now, fully remote he balances fatherhood, content-driven prospecting, and deep planning work. Listen to how Ben adds households through consistency, referrals and showing up for his clients.  ------------------ Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Conner Young⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience. Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow. We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build. Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

    29 min
See All (53)

5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money. Hosted by Conner Young, this show shares real stories from advisors who are serving clients and sharing their best practices for growing and planning for their clients! Whether you're growing your practice or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

Information

  • Creator
    Conner Young
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    53
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Conner Young
  • Show Website
    Advisor Freedom

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