Welcome to What Works: Over 2500+ Years Experience in Financial Planning, the podcast that taps into the collective wisdom of Integrated Financial Group advisors. With thousands of years of combined experience, we’re here to lift the hood on what truly makes a difference in business and life. Your host, Don Patrick, founder of IFG, guides conversations with industry veterans to share actionable advice for independent financial advisors.
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In the following article, we recap Episode #08 with Mike Tarrant, IFG member and founder of Tarrant Financial Advisors. Mike is a respected voice within the IFG consortium, a community of advisors that provides support, networking, and a shared platform for growth. His journey, which includes his eventual move to Integrated Financial Group in 2015, offers valuable lessons on building a successful, client-focused practice.
Navigating the Advisor Journey: A Conversation with Mike Tarrant
Mike’s path to becoming a financial planner was both organic and purposeful. Driven by the early observation of how financial stress can damage relationships, he sought a career where he could help people with their finances. He recognized the profound impact of money on quality of life.
Starting in 1992 as an administrative assistant, he worked his way up, gaining a deep understanding of financial planning and investments before becoming an advisor himself. This seven-year apprenticeship, though long, provided a solid foundation, especially in navigating the complex language and acronyms of the profession.
From Paraplanner to Practice Owner: Launching an Independent Financial Advisor Business
Mike’s transition from salaried employee to independent advisor in 1999 was a calculated leap of faith. His experience underscores a critical lesson for new and aspiring firm owners: the value of mentorship and internal client acquisition.
How to Acquire Clients as a New Financial Advisor: Leveraging Relationships
Instead of cold outreach, Mike was initially able to build a client base by asking for introductions from the clients he already served as a paraplanner. This strategy succeeded because the client relationship and trust were already established. He found that clients who liked his work were eager to help him grow his practice.
A key takeaway for advisors feeling uncomfortable asking for direct referrals is to frame it simply: “We’re expanding our business. If you like what we’re doing, could you introduce us to someone?” This removes the pressure of asking for a specific number of names and focuses on the satisfaction of the existing relationship.
Mike also used what he called “wine and cheesers“—casual social gatherings hosted at key clients’ homes where he could give a brief commercial about his practice. This organic approach to financial advisor client acquisition strategies allowed for social interaction and brought in several new households.
Best Practice for Client Retention During Broker-Dealer Transition
Mike’s move to Integrated Financial Group in 2015 highlighted the strength of deep client relationships in wealth management. His decision was driven by the desire to be part of a larger, self-clearing firm where he could learn from successful peers and have more robust support for independent financial planners —a key aspect of choosing the right broker-dealer or RIA.
Despite the pressure, his transition was highly successful, retaining nearly all of his clients. His experience confirms a truth often doubted during the pre-transition phase: when an advisor engages in real financial planning and has deep relationships with clients, clients typically trust the advisor’s decision to find the best vendors and platforms. Mike effectively marketed the move as an upgrade to the practice, emphasizing the benefits of moving to a larger practice with a strong support network like the IFG Brain Trust.
Optimizing Financial Advisory Firm Operations: Streamlining Workflow and Staffing
As a true business owner, Mike’s challenges shifted to operational efficiency. He identifies time management, administration, staying current with financial trends, and even building client relationships as ongoing hurdles for independent advisors.
Leveraging Technology and Staffing for Independent Financial Advisors
Mike’s solution to these operational challenges is a hybrid staffing and RIA technology focused model, centered around delegation and specialization:
- Delegation for Workflow Management: Mike has structured his business into “front stage” (client-facing) and “backstage” (administrative) functions. His only direct employee, Charlie, acts as a paraplanner, duplicating Mike’s client-facing capabilities and handling preparation for meetings and portfolio oversight.
- Outsourcing Key Functions: He has successfully outsourced the “backstage” administrative work to a virtual team, as well as marketing and accounting. This strategy allows him to free up advisor time for client work and focus on what he and Charlie do best.
- Investment Solutions: The majority of his advisory business is standardized using the models provided by Alpha Capital, which is available through IFG, with some custom holdings added. This approach of “standardize then customize” helps to manage workflow while still providing tailored client solutions.
Essential Tech Stack for Modern Financial Planning Practices
Mike utilizes a focused suite of tools to streamline financial advisor tech stack processes and client communication:
- Financial Planning Software: eMoney Advisor (used for over 15 years), which Mike views as a tool for “telling stories” rather than just calculating projections.
- CRM: Redtail for managing client relationships and workflows.
- Risk Assessment: Nitrogen, which was particularly valuable during the C-share conversion process to visually compare and set expectations for current versus new portfolios.
- Tax Planning and Valuation: Alitis Plan for tax planning and BizEquity for business valuation.
Mike’s top tech tip is to save what you showed on screen after a client meeting (e.g., as a PDF) to refer back to it later. This helps frame subsequent conversations, especially when market fluctuations change projections, ensuring continuity and trust. He’s moved away from printing out large financial planning books, favoring on-screen presentations that are visual and concise.
Designing the Ideal Client Journey: Onboarding and Planning Cadence
Mike Tarrant’s new client onboarding process is intentionally deliberate, focusing on client comfort and building confidence. He breaks down the comprehensive financial planning process into manageable, bite-sized “90-day mileposts” to prevent the client from feeling overwhelmed.
Walkthrough of New Client Onboarding Process: Milestones and Meetings
The meticulous design of this onboarding process is critical to establishing trust and setting clear expectations. The initial flow involves a clear, staged cadence of the Tarrant’s specialized process for meetings:
- Introductory Call/Zoom: A quick, informal check-in to establish mutual interest.
- Concept Meeting: The core “get to know you” session. The advisor listens to the client’s concerns, outlines the firm’s operations, and gauges the client’s readiness to formally engage.
- Onboarding Meeting: If the client engages, the team, led by paraplanner Charlie, takes over. This is the heavy lifting of information collection via a checklist, uploading documents to the eMoney Vault, and setting up the client portal. This critical check-in ensures all data is accounted for and helps to redefine client priorities, reinforcing that the plan is client-driven.
- Financial Overview: The “state of the family” meeting. This is the foundation of the plan, covering progress toward major goals like retirement and education, providing a big-picture view before drilling down into specifics.
- Investment Planning Meeting: Recommendations are made for investments, tying them directly into the overall financial plan. This includes specific advice for assets under management and externally held accounts like 401(k)s.
- Safety Review: The final stage addresses risk management, estate planning, and insurance reviews (including property and casualty). This can be broken into multiple meetings due to complexity.
By breaking the comprehensive plan into these stages, Mike manages the process over 6 to 12 months, focusing on only two or three topics at a time. This methodical approach ensures clients are not overwhelmed and maintains forward momentum.
The Value of Advice: Financial Planning Fee Structure and Collection
Mike emphasizes the need to charge for the financial planning work up front, ensuring the advisor is compensated for the intellectual capital of the plan, independent of any asset movement. He’s found that leading with a retainer ensures he gets paid for the comprehensive advice provided.
How to Determine and Collect Financial Planning Fees: Value-Based Models
For independent financial advisors, clearly communicating and justifying the cost of their service is paramount. Mike’s experience highlights a transparent and value-based approach to financial planning fee models:
- Fee Determination: The process involves setting a published fee schedule that is flexible and adjusted based on the complexity of the client’s financial situation, such as individual vs. couples, or the added layers of complexity for business owners. This ensures the fee is commensurate with the estimated time and scope of the engagement.
- The Waiver Conversation: A key part of the value proposition is maintaining the integrity of the planning fee. Mike maintains that the planning fee is separate from investment management, reasoning that a portfolio cannot be appropriately invested until the comprehensive plan is developed. This logic clearly establishes the value of the advice itself.
- Fee Collection: Leveraging modern tools like AdvicePay, the initial planning fee is often broken into installments, collected quarterly throughout the first year to align with the progressive planning milestones.
Ongoing Financial Planning Fee Structure: Segmentation and Incentives
For established clients, the service level and fee structure are determined by client segmentation (often based on assets and/or complexity) to ensure efficient service delivery:
- Service Cadence: Clients are segmented into tiers (e.g., A, B, C) that dictate the frequency and depth of review meetings, ranging from multiple check-ins per year to an annual deep-dive, or even light, as-needed reviews.
- Ongoing Fees: The firm may utilize a smaller ongoing planning fee for clients with assets below certain advisory thresholds. This fee is clearly defined at engagement and is designed to drop once the client consolidates assets or reaches a predetermined level. This structure effectively segments clients in terms of service and pricing while encouraging asset consolidation.
The Power of the Niching Down
Mike’s most significant growth strategy was the deliberate development of a niche market. His focus on financial planning for pharmacists was born out of desperation and a specific revenue goal following the dot-com bubble burst.
How to Identify and Build a Financial Advisor Niche Market
Mike’s process for developing his niche follows a classic strategy:
- Analyze Existing Clients: Mike read The Millionaire Next Door and followed its advice to identify a common thread in his current clientele. He found only two clients who were pharmacists (a father and son).
- Gain Niche Authority: He started by solving a complex problem for them—business succession planning—working with their accountant and attorney to transition the pharmacy from father to son.
- Dig for Pain Points: He asked his clients how he could get deeper into the profession, which led to an introduction to the Georgia Pharmacy Association. Mike attended meetings and went to lunches, simply asking, “Tell me more about the profession and the pain points.” This approach was unique because he was focused on solving their problems, not selling a product.
- Persistence and Presence: It took two to three years before Mike saw real traction. He became a fixture at conventions and regional meetings, seeking speaking engagements and writing articles for the trade journal. He attributes his eventual success to persistence and consistency—advisors who came to sell often left, but Mike stuck around, establishing himself as the financial planner who understands pharmacists.
Common Challenges for Pharmacist Clients
Through years of working with this niche, Mike is familiar with their specific issues:
- Health: Due to long hours on their feet, they face osteo issues earlier than most, requiring earlier attention to long-term care planning.
- Time Constraints: Their long work hours make it challenging to find time to focus on their personal financial lives.
- Cost Compression (Independent Owners): Independent pharmacists face severe revenue constraints due to reimbursement rates dictated by insurance and government programs (Medicare/Medicaid).
- Business Succession: Similar to the advisory world, there are more older pharmacists looking to sell than younger ones ready to buy, making exit planning a major challenge.
Branding Beyond the Niche: The Power of Personal Identity
Mike’s latest evolution involves creating his own brand, Tarrant Financial Advisors, after years of branding under IFG. The new branding revolves around his personal hobby of model railroading and railroading history, symbolizing connection and infrastructure.
- The Branding Purpose: The rebrand was driven by the future direction of the practice—expanding the team and moving toward a diminished “sole rainmaker” role. Putting his name on the business was a major step toward succession planning and creating a unique market identity.
- Confidence and Clarity: The move, though surprising to some clients, provided Mike with a different level of confidence. It reinforced that they were building a successful, lasting business and gave him another “arrow in the quiver” for marketing.
Parting Advice: Persistence, Problem-Solving, and Delegation
Don concludes the conversation by asking Mike for three words to describe his strengths: persistence, problem-solving, and delegation.
Mike shares an emotional moment from his early career when he was told he couldn’t succeed because he was “too introverted” and “not sales-oriented.” He credits this challenge as his primary motivator, urging other advisors to keep being persistent if they feel called to the profession.
His final pieces of advice encapsulate his operational philosophy:
- Persistence: Don’t tell yourself you can’t do something. Your calling will motivate you to succeed.
- Surround Yourself with a Good Team: Delegation is crucial. Empowering people to do work they are uniquely talented for enhances the quality of service and is perceived better by clients.
- Know Your Story: Be able to communicate who you are, what you do, and why you do it in a way that relates to your designated audience and addresses their pain points. People are looking for sincerity and advice.
Persistence, Proficiency and the Power of the IFG Brain Trust
Mike Tarrant’s journey from administrative assistant to the founder of a thriving, niche-focused firm offers a powerful blueprint for the independent financial advisor community. His success is built on a foundation of deliberate strategy: establishing deep client relationships in wealth management early in his career, and, critically, leveraging the resources of the Integrated Financial Group.
His decision to join IFG in 2015 provided the self-clearing platform, robust RIA compliance, and collective Brain Trust necessary to elevate his practice. By designing a methodical client onboarding process with clear “90-day mileposts” and adopting hybrid staffing and technology solutions, Mike mastered the art of delegation to free up advisor time for client work. This efficiency allows him to focus his energy on his greatest strength: problem-solving for his specialized niche—financial planning for pharmacists.
Ultimately, Mike’s story confirms the immense value of being an active member of a collaborative group like Integrated Financial Group. As a contributor to and beneficiary of the IFG Brain Trust, his experience proves that persistence, coupled with the strategic support and guidance of a larger community, is the true formula for building a resilient practice that truly works.
To hear the full episode and more empowering conversations from IFG members, listen to the What Works Podcast with Don Patrick here.
