Financial Planner Search

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.

Financial Planner Search is a business podcast hosted by Gregory Wilnau, with 42 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Gregory Wilnau hosts Financial Planner Search, a business show with 42 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Financial Planner Search

  Garden-Glove Service for Family Offices with Jack Dwyer | Financial Planner Search

  Aug 18, 202632 min

  In this episode of Financial Planner Search, Jack Dwyer, President of Sunpointe Investments, talks about why he left a giant consulting firm to build a practice that shines a bright light on fees and conflicts and why he thinks of advising as garden-glove work, not white-glove waiting. Jack came to this as an Army engineer who commanded a bridge company in Iraq. He still uses that same instinct: take the fog of war, markets, taxes, family dynamics, a job change and boil it down to what actually matters for this family. He and his partner grew Sunpointe out of family-office work at Hammond Associates and Mercer, serving established offices alongside tech entrepreneurs and even other finance professionals. One moment that meant a lot to him: a fellow CFA charterholder hired them, first for his aging parents, then for himself. The through-line is what money is supposed to carry. Jack sits with kids as young as sixth grade to talk about how markets actually work. He helps grandparents put a family mission and five core values in writing. As he puts it, pass along personal values at the same time you’re passing along account values. Takeaways Garden-glove service: digging in beside families instead of waiting on them Pass personal values with account values Next-gen education as early as sixth grade A family playbook so you can adjust when life happens Even people who “could do it themselves” still hire a coach Chapters 00:00 From Army engineer to family-office advisor 03:03 Why they built Sunpointe for transparency 07:17 Family offices, entrepreneurs, and the CFA who hired them 10:18 Preparing kids and grandkids for wealth 15:27 Family playbooks when the plan meets real life 21:29 Garden-glove service, not white glove 22:29 Building out family governance, education, and giving 26:52 How working together actually looks 30:18 Where to start a conversation You can find them at: https://sunpointeinvestments.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 #nextgenwealth

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  Financial Planner Search

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

  Aug 14, 202634 min

  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

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  Financial Planner Search

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

  Aug 11, 202640 min

  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

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  Financial Planner Search

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

  Aug 6, 202632 min

  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

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  Financial Planner Search

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

  Aug 4, 202629 min

  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

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