Financial Planner Search

Gregory Wilnau
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Finding a financial advisor is easy. Finding the right one is hard. Most advisors look the same on paper — credentials, services, a polished website. But what you actually need to know is how they think, how they treat people, and whether you'd even enjoy working with them. That's what Financial Planner Search is for. Each episode, we sit down with an independent financial advisor for an honest, in-depth conversation. No sales pitch. No jargon. Just a real look at who they are, how they work, and who they're best suited to help. By the end, you'll know what they’re all about. Whether you're approaching retirement and looking for a fiduciary for the first time, thinking about leaving your current advisor, or simply want to make a smarter hiring decision — this show gives you the inside access you need.

  1. 2d ago

    Life Beyond the Retirement Number with Andy Schelitzche | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Andy Schelitzche, financial advisor at Manifest Planning, discusses his comprehensive, relationship-first approach to financial planning. Based in the Minneapolis metro with a second office in the Chicagoland area, Andy and his team act as the "quarterback" for around 450 households, coordinating with CPAs and estate attorneys to solve holistic problems for their clients. Andy explains why most people delay finding an advisor until a life event forces the conversation, and why nearly every client tells him they wish they'd started five years earlier. He pushes past the obsession with "the number" to the question he really asks clients approaching retirement: what are you going to do at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays? Along the way he covers his onboarding process, the role client events play in building referrals, and his vision for growing the next generation of advisors at Manifest Planning. Takeaways * Retirement readiness is about lifestyle, not just a savings number * A financial plan is a lifelong relationship, not a transaction * Investments are one piece — real value is coordinating every part of your financial life * Life events are what finally move people to seek advice — don't wait * Prioritize competing goals by understanding what each truly requires Chapters * 00:00 Meet Andy Schelitzche & Manifest Planning * 03:25 Who Andy Works With & Why People Seek an Advisor * 08:27 What Keeps Clients Up at Night * 11:58 Building Lifelong Client Relationships * 18:45 Where New Clients Come From * 21:36 Vision for Growth & the Next Generation of Advisors * 25:57 The Onboarding Process & Annual Reviews * 32:46 How to Connect with Andy You can find them at: www.manifestplanning.com If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #retirementplanning #wealthmanagement #Minneapolis

  2. 6d ago

    Why Business and Personal Money Can't Stay Separate with Ryan Staton | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Ryan Staton, managing partner and co-founder of Staton Walsh, explains why the old advice to keep work and home life separate falls apart the moment you own the company. For a business owner, the two are already tangled, the succession plan is a family conversation, the balance sheet is a retirement plan, and nobody is treating them as one thing. Ryan's firm exists to put them back together. Most of his work lives in construction: trades contractors and government contractors, largely between Philadelphia and Northern Virginia. He walks through the prevailing wage math that decides whether a contractor can afford to offer benefits at all, the fringe dollars on a public contract, the 20 to 35 cents of payroll burden riding on every dollar paid in cash, and what a company can do with that money instead. It's a technical strategy with a very human reason behind it. Ryan grew up in a blue collar household, and the line he keeps coming back to is the one he hears from guys on the job site: "I'm going to do this as long as I physically can." He also shares how the firm measures itself. Not assets under management. The ten year goal is 20,000 people in their retirement plans, 500 families served, and 50 successful business exits. Big enough to serve the clients they have, small enough to still care. Takeaways * Building the bridge between business life and personal life * Prevailing wage strategy that funds benefits instead of payroll tax * Measuring a practice by impact, not assets under management * A behavioral questionnaire that tailors the process to each client * Intentional, boutique growth including a waiting list. Chapters * 00:00 Building the bridge between business and personal * 02:59 An accidental origin story in wealth management * 05:35 Why they left to start Staton Walsh * 07:31 Staying small on purpose * 09:44 The construction niche: trades and government contractors * 13:53 Prevailing wage, fringe dollars, and the 25-cent problem * 18:07 Retiring with dignity in a physically demanding trade * 19:15 Reputation, referrals, and the ABC partnership * 21:45 Ten year goals measured in people, not assets * 25:10 The real bottleneck: finding advisors who share the mission * 29:53 Discovery, strategy, implementation and the behavioral questionnaire * 35:18 What the first 90 days and the years after look like * 39:11 Where to find Staton Walsh You can find them at: www.statonwalsh.com If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #constructionindustry #businessexit #401k

  3. Aug 6

    The Tax Problem Retirees Can't Name with Michael Mezheritskiy | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Michael Mezheritskiy, President of Milestone Asset Management Group, discusses why his ideal clients often know they have a tax problem but can't put it into words. Michael left a long career at Fidelity to build a fee-only practice that lives in projections, estimated payments, Roth conversions, and Medicare IRMAA management not product sales. He works with people who are retired or close to it, typically with enough assets that the real risk isn't running out of money. It's the tax bill waiting for them at RMD age, the widow's penalty, and the ten-year rule their kids will inherit. Michael also shares how monthly tax seminars fill his pipeline, how his team set a "road to a billion" goal, and why he uses an internship program to hire for attitude before credentials. Takeaways * Why many near-retirees feel a tax problem before they can explain it * Roth conversions as a way to manage RMDs, IRMAA, and family outcomes * Front-loading the "go-go" years instead of waiting to enjoy the money * Discovery and assessment before asking someone to commit * Building culture with internships while aiming for a billion under management Chapters * 00:00 Complex tax planning as the specialty * 01:43 The accidental start and the leap from Fidelity * 04:39 How tax planning became the differentiator * 08:31 Ideal clients: go-go, slow-go, and no-go * 11:28 The questions people ask (and the RMD conversation they avoid) * 13:50 Seminar marketing and the Roth conversion bucket * 16:39 The team's "road to a billion" vision * 20:44 Hiring for attitude and the internship filter * 25:13 Discovery, assessment, onboarding, and quarterly cadence * 31:33 How to connect with Milestone You can find them at: https://milestoneamg.com/ If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #taxplanning #rothconversions #retirement

  4. Aug 4

    Put Consumers in Charge of Finding Advisors with Brian Thorp | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Brian Thorp, founder of WealthTender, discusses why most people who never work with a financial advisor still distrust the profession and how online reviews and consumer-controlled search can change that. After 22+ years in corporate wealth management, Brian built WealthTender as one of the first platforms where Americans can read advisor reviews the way they already do for doctors and attorneys, once SEC rules finally allowed client testimonials. Brian walks through the perception gap that still defines the industry: people who work with advisors are overwhelmingly happy, while people who don’t often rate the profession lower than auto mechanics—because for decades the loudest stories were the bad actors on the nightly news. He explains why reviews almost never talk about investment performance, why consumers should stay in control instead of filling out forms that get sold to multiple advisors, and why searching for an advisor “for me” (special needs, large-employer transitions, business owners) often beats “near me.” He also shares how WealthTender is building advisor profiles and Voice of the Client awards so the right matches show up not only on wealthtender.com, but inside ChatGPT, Gemini, and AI search answers. Takeaways * Why advisor perception lags the lived experience of people who actually work with one * Putting consumers in charge instead of selling their contact info to the highest bidders * Searching “for me” before filtering down to “near me” * What client reviews actually say (confidence, catalysts, and how an advisor makes them feel) * Positioning advisors for AI discovery and recognizing best-in-class with Voice of the Client awards Chapters * 00:00 Meet Brian Thorp and the origin of WealthTender * 03:01 Why advisors get ranked below auto mechanics * 05:04 Reviews are about experience, not performance * 07:27 The Dallas advisor brought to tears by client reviews * 09:11 Consumer control vs. lead-selling “find an advisor” sites * 11:24 Find an advisor for you, not just near you * 15:12 What shoppers care about—and how AI changes discovery * 20:14 Building profiles that actually reflect the advisor * 27:28 Vision: AI search and Voice of the Client awards You can find them at: https://www.wealthtender.com/ If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #advisorreviews #findanadvisor

  5. Jul 29

    Putting Your Neck Out for Clients with John Llodra | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, John Llodra, CFP®, co-founder of New Harbor Financial Group in Worcester, Massachusetts, explains why he refuses to hand his clients' money off to a third-party manager. He spent the first decade of his career in the energy industry the last stretch of it at Enron. He watched good, ethical coworkers lose their life savings to somebody else's fraud, then took a severance, read a book called Do What You Are, and walked away from several hundred thousand dollars a year of guaranteed income to start over at essentially zero. That experience shows up in how he runs the firm today. John and his founding partner Mike Preston are both engineers by training, and they bring what John calls "healthy skepticism" to markets — show me the data, where are we in the cycle, what does market history actually say. They'll tell a prospective client that US stock valuations look richer today than at any point in history, including 1929, and that the honest read on the next decade isn't a comfortable one. John's line for people who have already built the nest egg: your biggest risk is screwing it up, not missing out on late-stage gains. He also talks about what he never expected to enjoy most — teaching. His dad was a teacher and the math never worked out for John to become one, so instead he built a YouTube channel approaching 10,000 subscribers, with monthly unscripted live Q&As where clients can put him on the spot. He and Mike stay personally reachable for investment conversations, because "the buck stops with us." Takeaways * Healthy Skepticism, Backed by Data * Defense Before Offense for People Who Already Won * Teaching as the Growth Engine * Direct Access to the People Making the Decisions * No-Pressure Conversations, No Arm-Twisting Chapters * 00:00 New Harbor Financial Group and hands-on money management * 01:41 Engineering, Cornell, and the road to Enron * 03:19 What Enron actually felt like from the inside * 05:15 Founding New Harbor in 2005 with Mike Preston * 06:29 Why engineers keep becoming advisors * 07:52 Clients nationwide and why they leave their last advisor * 09:21 Valuations, market history, and your real risk * 12:20 Conversations with no pressure to close * 13:38 The YouTube channel and monthly live Q&As * 16:43 The questions people actually ask * 17:42 "Your job is to gather assets" — and why he rejected it * 18:50 Vision: $830 million today, and hiring humans over AI bots * 22:39 Onboarding, fiduciary duty, and Schwab as custodian * 24:54 Transferring in kind and protecting clients from tax surprises * 26:50 Accessibility, quarterly reviews, and open-door access * 30:01 How to get in touch You can find them at: https://www.newharborfinancial.com If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #riskmanagement #retirement

  6. Jul 28

    Family Office for the Rest of Us with Mikey Manghum | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Mikey Manghum, Vice President and Financial Advisor at Regent Private Wealth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, discusses bringing a family-office style of planning to households that aren't yet worth $30 million. Born in the UK to a professional basketball player father, Mikey stumbled into financial planning as a college freshman and built a practice around the conviction that the people who most need a coordinated team of advisors are the ones who haven't yet "arrived." Regent Private Wealth launched less than two years ago as a spin-off from a fast-growing community bank, and Mikey walks through the three client avatars his team serves best: HENRYs (high earners, not rich yet) juggling a business and a young family, empty-nesters preparing to pass on wealth without ruining the next generation, and nonprofits needing professional stewardship of donated funds. His team plays the role of "personal CFO" — pulling tax, estate, investment, and insurance voices around one table, then reverse-engineering the financial plan from the life the client says they want to live, not from a retirement "number" on a pedestal. Takeaways * A family office shouldn't be reserved for $30M+ households — the people who need it most haven't gotten there yet * The plan starts with the life you want, not the number you're chasing * Three clear client avatars: HENRYs, transitioning empty nesters, and mission-driven nonprofits * A "personal CFO" model brings tax, estate, investment, and insurance voices into one aligned conversation * Quarterly meetings, value-add webinars, and a manageable book let advisors go deep instead of wide Chapters * 00:00 Introduction to Regent Private Wealth * 00:50 From Basketball to Financial Planning * 02:02 How Regent Private Wealth Came to Be * 03:48 Three Client Avatars: HENRYs, Empty Nesters, Nonprofits * 07:07 What Keeps Clients Up at Night * 11:43 How Clients Find the Practice * 13:53 Vision: Advisory Teams in New Markets * 17:23 The Family Office Approach and Process * 21:02 Beyond the Number: Casting Vision Across Life * 24:30 Working Together Through the Year * 26:58 Where to Find Mikey You can find them at: https://RegentPrivateWealth.com If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #familyoffice #HENRYs #legacyplanning

  7. Jul 23

    The Least Boring CPA with Steven Jarvis | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Steven Jarvis CPA and founder of Retirement Tax Services makes a case most accountants would find heretical: the most valuable thing a CPA can do is say no. Steven jokes that he's "the least boring CPA you know," and he's got the race medals (and one hard-earned skull) on his office wall to prove it. But the real story is why he walked away from partner track at a big national firm. After a decade on giant corporate projects, he was tired of shipping a PDF and never knowing if he'd actually helped a single human being. So he started over with one narrow focus: sitting beside financial advisors and their clients to make sure the tax side of someone's life is handled right and nothing else. No international tax. No trying to be everything to everyone. He turns away business every year to protect the quality of the work. Greg and Steven get into why that discipline earns trust, how being blunt and consistent online lets the right clients pick themselves, and the small scheduling change that quietly ended the most stressful part of tax season. Takeaways * Why saying "no" wins better clients * Taxes handled with your advisor, not around them * The scheduling fix that ends the tax-season silence * Specialize in people, not just paperwork Chapters * 00:00 Meet the Least Boring CPA * 01:49 From Big Firm to Real Impact * 08:11 Who Steven Serves and the Right-Fit Client * 13:15 Why Being Blunt Attracts the Right People * 16:23 The Bigger Vision * 19:06 Peers, Partners, and Shout-Outs * 21:22 What It's Like to Work Together * 25:15 The Story Behind the Medals and the Skull You can find them at: retirementtaxservices.com If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #cpa #taxes

  8. Jul 21

    From Fighter Pilot to Flat-Fee Advisor with Steve Ankerstar | Financial Planner Search

    In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Steve Ankerstar, founder of Ankerstar Wealth and a retired Air Force fighter pilot, discusses how "getting angry" at the finance industry led him to build a flat-fee, fiduciary firm for the mass affluent. Frustrated by the "we're smart, you're dumb, just hand us your money" mentality and by mutual funds that quietly overexposed him to a single stock while charging nearly 1%, Steve set out to do it better. Today his eight-person team (six of whom are former military or teachers) serves over 300 clients with a service-first, "we're just like your neighbor" approach. Steve breaks down his core-and-satellite investment philosophy: a big-box-style core portfolio paired with a satellite sleeve built around themes clients actually get excited about cybersecurity, quantum computing, humanoids, space, and crypto. He also shares his contrarian service model (he rarely holds scheduled review meetings, opting instead for fast, on-demand answers via email and text), his efficient two-to-three-day digital onboarding, and how a partnership with Autopilot created a second, fully digital revenue stream for the next generation of investors. Takeaways * Flat-Fee, Fiduciary, and Proud of It * Core-and-Satellite Investing Built Around Client Interests * A Service Model That Respects Your Time * Building for the Next Generation of Investors Chapters * 00:00 Meet Steve Ankerstar & Ankerstar Wealth * 00:53 Why He Started: Getting "Angry" at the Industry * 03:29 Who He Serves: The Mass Affluent * 05:59 Common Client Situations (Inheritances) * 07:57 The Three Fee Questions Everyone Asks * 09:33 How Clients Find Him: Website, Word of Mouth & YouTube * 12:53 Vision & Growing Without Losing the Culture * 15:06 Crypto, Autopilot & a New Digital Offering * 18:56 The Onboarding Process: Core & Satellite * 22:21 What Working Together Looks Like Ongoing * 24:45 How to Get Started You can find them at: https://www.ankerstarwealth.com/ If you are a financial advisor looking to grow your business you can find out more about Wilnau Design at https://www.wilnaudesign.com/ #financialplanning #finance #financialplannersearch #flatfee #fiduciary #investing

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About

Finding a financial advisor is easy. Finding the right one is hard. Most advisors look the same on paper — credentials, services, a polished website. But what you actually need to know is how they think, how they treat people, and whether you'd even enjoy working with them. That's what Financial Planner Search is for. Each episode, we sit down with an independent financial advisor for an honest, in-depth conversation. No sales pitch. No jargon. Just a real look at who they are, how they work, and who they're best suited to help. By the end, you'll know what they’re all about. Whether you're approaching retirement and looking for a fiduciary for the first time, thinking about leaving your current advisor, or simply want to make a smarter hiring decision — this show gives you the inside access you need.

Information

  • Creator
    Gregory Wilnau
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Gregory Wilnau
  • Show Website
    Financial Planner Search