Ep 7 - From Transactions to Transformation: A Pioneer’s Journey in Financial Advisor Recruiting with Mindy Diamond

Disclaimer: [: 00:00:00

A copy of Fusion's current written disclosure brochure discussing our advisory [00:00:15] services and fees is available upon request or at www.fusionfamilywealth.com.

're just starting out or are [: 00:00:30

And more to share fresh perspectives on making sound decisions that maximize your wealth. And now here's your host.[00:01:00]

well. Mindy Diamond, CEO of [: 00:01:15

Mindy Diamond: I. Good morning.

you been a, uh, a long and, [: 00:01:30

So thank you.

ve said a decade, but you're [: 00:01:45

Jonathan Blau: we just celebrated our anniversary at the firm, so it was easy for me to figure it out.

Mindy Diamond: Yeah, so exciting.

as one of our first episodes [: 00:02:00

Uh, over the last 50 years or so, uh, I don't know how long, how long have you guys as Diamond Consultants been around?

years now. [: 00:02:15

Jonathan Blau: So you started when you were like 15?

Mindy Diamond: Yeah. Thank you very much.

Jonathan Blau: So, so in the [: 00:02:30

And then it went to separately managed accounts because mutual funds were not [00:03:00] tax efficient as they were created to serve the pension industry. That didn't have to worry about a lot of buying and selling and capital gains and the, the trouble with separately managed accounts. Was that the promise of the managers was they'll consistently outperform some random benchmark, [00:03:15] like the standard imports 500, which people learned quickly couldn't be done consistently by anybody.

ou didn't behave with them in: 2000

Ones, which is why we went into behavior. So what I'd love to talk about today is in that kind of a context, how you, uh, managed to, uh, be, [00:03:45] stay a leader in your space through what were some, from my perspective as an advisor now for almost 35 years, very, uh, very impactful changes that really took the industry, I think in many cases, in different directions.

[: 00:04:00

Mindy Diamond: got it. Yeah, you've got it. Bring it on.

me, when you started in the [: 00:04:15

Mindy Diamond: Yeah, so I appreciate that question because, so I was an accountant by background and I hated it, [00:04:30] and I went to work for an accounting search firm, an executive search firm that placed accountants and loved that and was very successful with it, but it was a very transactional sale. It was recruiting, um, an accountant at any [00:04:45] level from the lowest level accounts receivable clerk to A CFO, and it was transactional.

why. It's great, right? But. [: 00:05:00

And so I instinctively sort of. Pioneered an approach that, um, took the recruiting field from transactional. [00:05:30] Jonathan, I don't know anything about you, but let me sell you on this hot opportunity anyway to Jonathan. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Tell me what's most important to you. Tell me what's working for you, what you love about for UUBS.

Tell me about, um, [: 00:05:45

Was just refreshing at best and like mind blowing to so many of the [00:06:15] advisors we were talking to. And it's being consistent with that approach, that consultative, um, meeting you where you are, um, treating you the way I would want to be treated. And consistency no matter what [00:06:30] kind of a market it is. No matter whether an advisor sells stocks and bonds or index funds or manages money himself.

ou started off as Harvey did [: 00:06:45

Right. [00:07:00] So, so in, in our, in our space when we, um, the way I practice is similar to what you just described and how you evolve that I recognize that, um, whatever anybody was investing in, [00:07:15] whatever was going on inside their portfolio, uh, it couldn't be changed in a way that would help them deal with, for example, today's environment.

ir ability to succeed or not [: 00:07:30

Same kind of consultative approach, uh, in, in this sense as you watch now, the, um, the transition in the industry, the migration. [00:08:00] From, uh, it's been going on now for some time, but, but I think is, is accelerating from, uh, the, the brokerage industry into the RIA, uh, registered investment advisory space. What do you, what do you see, uh, as, as, [00:08:15] um, one was, was one of the biggest causal factors leading to this, this, this migration that we're seeing and, um, how do you view it in terms of how it might impact what you've been spending more time in your business doing?

Mindy Diamond: Yeah, [: 00:08:30

UBS. Doesn't allow you to compensate your team the way you may want to. UBS requires that your team spend a whole lot [00:09:15] of time dialed into meetings or filling out certain forms, so there's a level of bureaucracy and the more. Advisors feel that incongruence between the freedom and control. They want to run their business their way and the [00:09:30] mandates that the firm puts on them, the more advisors began to say or wonder, is there a better way?

lly making that move because [: 00:09:45

So the amount of incongruence that an advisor feels. Has to be pretty great, but it's not enough as I tell people just to feel pain, just to feel incongruence or feel frustrated. They also have to want it. [00:10:15] And there has to be an equal amount of a pull, if you will, towards something else. So using you or the countless advisors, we've moved from the traditional space to independence.

ese are folks that felt that [: 00:10:30

Jonathan Blau: So Mindy, what I'm gonna ask you about is, is, uh, if you're comfortable talking about it as ai. [00:11:00] So my, my, what I always wonder about now is there's a lot of talk about AI displacing, uh, people in any industry, not just our industry, uh, from law to, to accounting and, and, and, and every industry in between. How do you see [00:11:15] AI in terms of.

e in providing advice? Yeah, [: 00:11:30

Mindy Diamond: so as I see it, there's no substitute for human interaction, for human counsel, human connection, personal relationships, and sound advice.

g the need for top advisors. [: 00:11:45

So I think it'll make people better and smarter. But I make practices more efficient and [00:12:15] effective, but I definitely don't think it's going to replace quality advisors.

nasty Financial Partners and [: 00:12:30

What I think is a story that's, that's interesting to everybody, both from the perspective of the industry and its personal story. And I thought it'd be good to have to have a follow up, uh, with him after, after we, [00:12:45] you and I had an opportunity to talk. What, what, um, when you are looking at a firm like Dynasty that helps people like me to develop a, what he called the chatsy.

r own, uh, independent firm. [: 00:13:00

Someone like Cheryl or his firm.

that are the ultimate do it [: 00:13:30

They like to mm-hmm. Figure things out for themselves. People that will look to build a house and won't use a contractor, they GC it themselves. Nothing wrong with that. Mm-hmm. But the [00:13:45] vast majority of advisors are focused on being good advisors. They wanna spend their time counseling their clients and growing their businesses and doing what they love and doing what they do best.

out how to build a firm. So [: 00:14:00

We already know the mistakes that are made. We will avoid them. For them, they can be very costly mistakes. And so, um, as a result. [00:14:30] Dynasty has empowered a whole generation of advisors like you that want independence and wanna build a quality firm, but don't want to go it alone. They need a [00:14:45] solid partner and they're the best in the industry for sure.

ould, you would recommend to [: 00:15:00

Uh, from your perspective [00:15:15] or likely heading over the next 10 years that might, might be, uh, different than what we've seen over the last time.

I do a weekly podcast called [: 00:15:30

And in the next couple of weeks I'm gonna be interviewing Dave Mullen, who is the author of the Million Dollar Financial Advisor and a bunch of the other books like it. And one of the questions I'm gonna ask him is, what do you think is the best [00:15:45] training ground for young advisors? Because the big firms always struggle how to get it right.

an independent firm. It can [: 00:16:00

Under their wing. And the most commonplace we see it is with a family member or, um, [00:16:15] someone who's long been part of a team, taking a supports person and moving them into an FA role. Um, but having a mentor matters and. In the absence of a really formal, solid training [00:16:30] program that gives you all the best practices to tap into that mentor matters more than anything.

where it was easier and more [: 00:16:45

A top advisor has more choice in terms of how they practice, where they practice, what they [00:17:15] access, how they access than ever before when I started the business. If you were a million dollar producer, which in those days was, you know, top of the food chain, um, you, you know, if you were at UBS, you went to Morgan Stanley [00:17:30] or you stayed put.

at Morgan Stanley, Maryland, [: 00:17:45

Jonathan Blau: Which, which I see as, as a practitioner. And, and what's interesting is what you said about, uh, having a mentor. So I'll share a [00:18:15] personal story quickly and I'm sure the person I'm gonna mention will be very happy I'm sharing it on the podcast. But about two months ago, we hired, uh, for the first time in a while, uh, a young man who, um, maybe is a couple years outta college, and, um, I viewed him.

Uh, [: 00:18:30

Things that you can't teach, like, uh, looking in the eyes and shaking the hands and making sure when you follow up. Uh, to confirm a meeting with me that, uh, you, you're, you're following up professionally and [00:19:00] there were no mistakes in, in the, uh, in the, the written follow up and things you don't see a lot today in, in, in, in young people.

m on and, and, and invest my [: 00:19:15

So, so I'm actually practicing what you just, uh. What you just described is, is, is the most important thing for the young people to do with a new young person, uh, coming into the industry. And we're excited about that.

Diamond: Yeah. And you know, [: 00:19:45

I'm sure he does. Thank

Jonathan Blau: you. I think he does.

ut it's also really good for [: 00:20:00

It's less just reliant on you. So it's good for the industry.

cessful family business, and [: 00:20:30

So just tell me briefly, um, how that evolved, uh, over the [00:20:45] years and, and how you were able to, uh. To, to make it succeed the way you guys have.

historian than I am, I wanna [: 00:21:00

He joined me as our chief legal counsel and chief operating officer running the business. And I didn't even realize how much I needed something like that until he came on board, um, about 11 years ago. Lewis, [00:21:15] my older son joined and about four or five years ago, my younger son, Jason joined. I never set out to build this family dynasty or legacy, whatever you wanna call it, but it's been the greatest gift for me and I hope that every one of my family members would say the same.[00:21:30]

d. At the end of the day, it [: 00:21:45

And you can agree and you [00:22:00] know, I as a, as millennials, my sons see the world very differently than my husband and I do. But at the end of the day, we agree on the most important things. We agree on shared values. We agree on how best to counsel advisors. We [00:22:15] agree on um, doing the right thing always, even if it means we sacrifice personal financial gain and that is indispensable.

the podcasts and I see the, [: 00:22:30

You're here.

Mindy Diamond: You bet.

Jonathan Blau: So, so [: 00:22:45

Mindy Diamond: Uh, and you know, you know, Jonathan, I'll close first of all, my pleasure, and I'll [00:23:00] close by saying that the way I think about every placement I've ever made, every.

l pride of ownership. I feel [: 00:23:15

Jonathan Blau: Thank you. Talk soon.

y Podcasts. Please follow or [: 00:23:30

Amy Blau: Hi Hun. [00:23:45] Hello, how are you? I'm good.

Did podcast today?

Jonathan Blau: Yes. We a nice conversation with. Mindy Diamond from Wow, that's

Amy Blau: a plan from the past.

Jonathan Blau: [: 00:24:00

Amy Blau: where's her business today?

Jonathan Blau: [: 00:24:15

Amy Blau: That's gotta be one of the hardest things is how to blend your family and the business together and how not to fight [00:24:45] at the Passover table.

sn't her passion, putting it [: 00:25:00

So she decided to go into recruiting and she was recruiting. For, for the accounting profession. And what she was telling me is how it was very transactional, much like the early days in the brokerage business, were transactional selling things for commissions [00:25:15] regardless of whether or not they made sense for people, uh, you know, 30, 40 years ago.

ful the opportunity was, and [: 00:25:30

And then she learned that that wasn't the right way and she actually pioneered in the wealth management industry, the consultative approach [00:25:45] to recruiting, where she would call up and say, Hey, tell me about your current position. What is it that you most like? What are the biggest challenges? And if you were to move, what are the things you'd be most, uh, looking to accomplish in a move?

them with opportunities. So [: 00:26:00

Amy Blau: So she really became almost like a psychologist to people also. 'cause she had to find out what fit their needs rather than trying to take a square. Square, um, peg and put it in a round [00:26:15] hole,

Jonathan Blau: right?

ependent operators, uh, what [: 00:26:30

Before you went independent and they might have asked you to sell a certain product and they might have said during downturns you can't keep the same staff, uh, and, [00:26:45] and hire people and so forth. And so that incongruence led people to, to really wanna be, um, doing, doing things independently without, without all of those, uh, restraints.

use that was definitely, uh, [: 00:27:00

Amy Blau: So on another note, do, do you remember when we ran into Mindy time at Mindy Diamond? Not long after she placed you?

We were in Hawaii and we met [: 00:27:15

Amy Blau: and I remember the conversation went like this.

We were sitting on a lounge chairs. You were probably yelling at one of our children. And she said, out of nowhere, I know that voice and there she was.

Jonathan Blau: No, it's [: 00:27:30

Human behavior and so forth and, and, and, uh, [00:27:45] so all in all, uh, I thought it was, it was a worthwhile podcast.

Amy Blau: That's great. That's great. So what, what's your next step? What's the next podcast gonna be about?

Dynasty Financial Advisors, [: 00:28:00

And so, uh, so we'll be, we'll be following up with Cheryl and, and his story and how he's helped, uh, in large part the, the move to independence, uh, as a thought leader in that space. [00:28:15]

Amy Blau: Sounds like it was a great day.

Jonathan Blau: It was a good day. All right. Thanks for calling in, honey. I'm glad, uh, I'm glad you are still interested in, uh, in learning about our podcast.

Of

Amy Blau: course, I'm always looking to learn something new every single day.

Jonathan Blau: All [: 00:28:30

Amy Blau: Have a great day, hun.

Jonathan Blau: You too. Bye bye.

insights, resources, and to [: 00:28:45

Disclaimer: The previous podcast by Fusion Family Wealth, LLC Fusion was [00:29:00] intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the podcast serves as the receipt of or is a substitute for personalized investment advice from Fusion or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content will be [00:29:15] profitable.

Be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation. Neither fusion's investment advisor registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if Fusion is engaged or continues to be engaged to provide investment advisory services.

ng advice. No portion of the [: 00:29:30

To provide investment advisory services. A copy of Fusion's current written disclosure brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request.