Podcast | 01.25.23
In Case You Missed It: 2022 Podcasts We Loved
by: BISA Staff
In 2022, Industry Trendwatch and BISA Portfolio Podcast featured a lineup of fantastic experts on topics ranging from DEI to wealth management to managing exam priorities and so much more. Take a look back through some of our favorites — including key quotes that stuck with us. Find both podcasts wherever you get your podcasts — and be sure to rate and subscribe. Happy listening!
Industry Trendwatch: Being a Trusted Advisor: Part 1
In this episode, Industry Trendwatch hosts discussed what it means to be a trusted advisor within the evolving landscape of wealth management. Guests were Lyle Maurer, financial advisor, and Alex Sarafianos, SVP and program manager, from Regions Investment Services.
In addition to discussing how to become a trusted financial advisor, this podcast touches on the important aspects of gaining trust to attract and retain assets, differentiating your process and proper segmentation. Listen to part 1 here.
Lyle Maurer:
"We have to be able to solve all of our client's needs. We're there to answer the basic questions of what they need when it comes to their financial objectives that they're trying to reach. As an advisor you're often pulled in many different directions and wear many different hats, but the main thing to focus on is what the main needs of our clients are, and meet those to the best of our ability."
Portfolio Podcast: Circle of Excellence Awardees on Cultivating Growth
Ram Nagappan (BNY Mellon | Pershing) and Howard Hammond (Fifth Third), 2022 Circle of Excellence award winners, shared with guest host Jane-ellen Porter (Wilmington Advisors @M&T) their advice for cultivating growth on all stages of the career journey. Listen now.
Ram Nagappan:
“I put client trust on the top because this should be the starting point for all the things that we do. …Whatever we do is excellent, because we don't want to settle for anything less. And in our industry, integrity is very important. Do the right thing always. And certainly strength in diversity in terms of your teams. And in terms of your thoughts. We need diversity. And finally, I mean, I have to say, as a technologist, innovation. Be in front of the changing landscape. You’ve got to be on the forefront of everything. So these are some of the things that I look towards in my career to cultivate my growth.”
Howard Hammond:
“You hear the term now is 'your board of directors' to help coach, mentor, bounce ideas off of, and I was always fortunate … having a group of people throughout my career that I've been able to lean on, and that are very successful in the industry and [I can] bounce things off of and say, ‘Hey, what do you think about this? What about this idea?’ And I would encourage anyone who's looking to go to that next level… you want to have a career conversation [with someone], do it. What questions do you have? Where are you trying to go? What are you trying to do? And how are you taking control of your career and making sure that you're in the driver's seat?”
Industry Trendwatch: Being a Trusted Advisor: Part 2
This episode continued the concept of being a trusted advisor. How do you know when you’ve accomplished that? How do you know when you’ve “arrived”?
Panelists were Rob Cosentino and Dan Pellegrino from Webster Investments, and Matt Griffin from Steward Concepts.
The discussion touches on what you have to do to become a trusted advisor, as well as what it takes for clients to give you 100% of their assets to manage. Listen to part 2 here.
Matt Griffin
“One of the major benefits of being affiliated with a bank institution is because the bank and credit union channel has a larger share of transactional practices, it gives us the opportunity to consult with other banks and credit unions and discuss other opportunities.”
Portfolio Podcast: DE&I Rising Stars Part 1
Guest host Piera Valle, member of BISA’s DE&I Committee, interviewed two Rising Star awardees, Jenny Kaskel (InspereX) and Michael Lollman (Frost Investment Services) on their experience and advice after a year in the program. Listen to part 1.
Jenny Kaskel
“I think it is very important to have perspectives from all age groups, especially in our industry, because someone that is older than me might have lived through…market scenarios or crashes that I did not experience…And through that experience in the long term outlook and wisdom that they bring to the table, we can relate to a larger demographic, and see different approaches that are being taken, especially to investing and wealth management. That's why I think not only cultural but also generational diversity is crucial for any organization.”
Michael Lollman
“I've met a lot of colleagues...that I've been able to just keep in contact with and bounce different scenarios and questions off of… [I’ve developed a] vast network of people that I can lean on. I definitely have to give a shout-out to my mentor for BISA, Jim Fujinaga, at Hancock Whitney. He's just been a tremendous resource for me. And it's not even just work, just being able to talk and have a discussion about just life in general. I’m forever grateful for the opportunities that this has opened up.”
Portfolio Podcast: DE&I Rising Stars Part 2
Piera Valle once again hosted a podcast highlighting two Rising Star awardees. This time, she was joined by Amy Busch (The Huntington Investment Company) and Mary Tuggle (iCapital), both from the program's 2022 cohort. Listen to part 2.
Amy Busch
“One of the things we do with our internship program is strive to recruit those diverse voices…develop and hone that interest, let them learn about the industry, get a feel for our company, culture, their culture, give them an opportunity to do meaningful work. And then once they graduate, we hire them. And it doesn't stop there. Once we have someone that comes into the organization [we ensure they] have a support system that will keep them and retain them, whether it's ensuring that they have supportive managers, or creating a company culture where there's internal resources like… internal groups that are aligned to DEI.”
Mary Tuggle
“[The Rising Stars program] has allowed me to create relationships with people and even organizations that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to otherwise. I've learned so much from a formal mentor, but I've also gained a ton of informal mentors through the relationships and the connectivity that I've had through the organization. They've all helped guide me and coach me in a professional and a personal capacity. Candidly, whether it be guidance on the best places to buy a great affordable work wardrobe or guidance on how to address our discussions and advocating for myself on promotion cycles or compensation. The female mentorship and friendships I've gained are invaluable through the program.”
Industry Trendwatch Podcast: What Is Wealth Management
This episode covered the definition of wealth management, as well as the best practices during market volatility from their professional perspective. Guests were Joe Skarda from Keybank and Jeremy Hudson from Ameriprise.
In addition to discussing how to thrive in a volatile market, the conversation covered the channel’s transition from investment services to wealth management. Is it real or window dressing? What are the emerging best practices? Take a listen here.
Joe Skarda
"How do we create other doors within this silo that we've made so that other people have accessibility to it? Admittedly, you have to be very careful and respectful in how you do that in a regulatory environment. You want to do these things in a way that a regulator understands what you're doing and it's in alignment with what they would want, and quite frankly, expect. We've been very careful about that, but we've also been very overt about telling them that we have an opportunity to make our people better, that are going to provide better service, better clients, and create some conduits through some of our advice apparatuses directly to our advisors and clients where they had not existed"
Portfolio Podcast: Diverse Leadership Journeys Parts 1 & 2
This series highlighted Kevin Beard, chief growth officer at Atria Wealth Solutions, and Jim Nickens, president of InSource, Inc. and executive vice president of USAnnuity Partners — both members of BISA's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. They shared their leadership journeys, what DE&I means to them and how to keep the conversation going about DEI within organizations — including getting executive buy-in and commitment to DEI — in this two-part podcast series. Check it out here and here.
Portfolio Podcast: Managing Exam Priorities
Managing SEC and FINRA exam priorities isn't always a walk in the park, but guest host Carol Goulding (M&T Securities) and guest Serina Shores (Huntington Financial Advisors) broke down how they do so effectively — and have fun along the way. Listen now.
Serina Shores
“The beauty about being a member of BISA [is we can] consult with members…We will call or even send a quick email or get on these either monthly or quarterly meetings and pose those questions about ‘hey, how do you do XYZ?’ And our member friends are very, very willing to share their best practices and some of the issues they have encountered. …We learned a lot from those conversations. And we may sometimes have to consult with in-house counsel, outside counsel, but I can tell you the best practices that you're gonna get is usually from somebody or a company that is doing the day-to-day or has encountered an issue similar to what you were talking about, not just the theoretical aspect of the rule, but the practical application of the rule. You gain from speaking with somebody who's done it or been there.”