Category: Mental Health

FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: The Loss of a Loved One and a Passion for Suicide Prevention With Larry Sprung

The Healthy Advisor: The Loss of a Loved One and a Passion for Suicide Prevention With Larry Sprung

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On average, there are 130 suicides per day, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and individuals who work in financial services are 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide than the national average, according to the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance. 

Right before advisor Larry Sprung was set to break away and launch his own firm, his brother-in-law Keith Milano, who had suffered from bipolar disorder, died by suicide. Now Larry’s dedicated much of his time and energy to bringing awareness to mental health and suicide prevention, including serving on the board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and raising in excess of $1.7 million for that organization.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Larry Sprung, founder and wealth advisor at Mitlin Financial in Hauppauge, N.Y. Larry shares the story of his brother-in-law’s suicide and recounts what lead up to the loss, how it has changed his personal and professional values, and the importance of increasing knowledge and understanding around mental health every day.

Larry discusses: 

  • The events leading up to his brother-in-law’s suicide and how he coped with it
  • How Larry and his wife have brought awareness to mental health issues
  • How the industry deals with issues of mental health
  • How advisors can incorporate mental health into their practices
  • The need for destigmatizing mental health disorders
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Larry Sprung:

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 About Our Guest:

Larry Sprung founded Mitlin Financial, Inc., in 2004 with a focus on prioritizing clients first. He and his team consistently help clients make healthy financial decisions and offer a tremendous client experience that leverages today’s top tools and technology.

Today, he leads the planning and asset management services at Mitlin, in addition to focusing on business development. Larry is also committed to offering educational workshops where he shares his knowledge and insights on a diverse set of financial topics. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and regularly films the firm’s “Mitlin Minute” videos that provide important information on relevant financial topics. Larry also hosts the Mitlin Money Mindset podcast.



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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor Podcast: The Silver Lining With Danika Waddell

The Healthy Advisor Podcast: The Silver Lining With Danika Waddell

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In 2020, Danika Waddell’s prior firm was audited by the State of Washington, and the state found that her U4 was never filed properly, after four years of working with clients. The whole ordeal was traumatic for her. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Danika Waddell, president and founder of Xena Financial Planning in Seattle. Danika shares how the filing error caused her to lose over half her income, created stress over her future as a financial advisor, and disrupted communication with close clients during the start of the pandemic. Despite it all, she persevered and found a silver lining—the ordeal ultimately led her to leave that RIA and start her own independent firm. She’s never looked back.

Danika discusses: 

  •   What those couple months were like for her during the investigation
  •   What compelled her to start her own firm
  •   What the experience taught her about the regulatory framework of this industry
  •   How this changed her approach to compliance
  •   The benefits of therapy
  •   Lessons she learned about being a business owner

Connect With Danika Waddell:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

In 2020, Danika Waddell founded Xena Financial Planning. While she enjoyed the role at her prior firm, Danika felt called to be bold and create something from the ground up. Starting her own practice allows her to be more nimble and innovative, while specializing in a particular niche. Women are so often left out of the conversation when it comes to their finances and investing. Danika has many years of experience with equity compensation: going back to her husband’s years of working at Amazon.com in the early 2000s, when she first learned about RSUs and had to figure out what the heck to do with them. Since becoming a CFP, she has worked with clients at many of the big tech companies and knows her way around ISOs, NQSOs and ESPP.



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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: Closure at the Grave With Vance Barse

The Healthy Advisor: Closure at the Grave With Vance Barse

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The loss of a loved one can lead to a tidal wave of emotions before reaching acceptance and continuing on in life without them.

Before starting his own practice, advisor Vance Barse experienced profound grief after losing five family members, including his biological father who he had never met. However, this darker time in his life was followed by a period of life-changing introspection, which forced him to rethink his personal and professional life.

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Vance Barse, wealth strategist and founder of Your Dedicated Fiduciary, who shares his journey through grief toward acceptance. Vance reveals the emotional struggle he faced and what led to the completion of the journey his father never took.

Vance discusses: 

  • The “18-month window” that changed his life forever
  • The moment when the emotional baggage related to his father was lifted off his shoulders
  • How to overcome the struggles of acceptance and closure
  • The biggest realizations he had on his motorcycle journey across the country
  • How mindfulness and meditation helped him overcome the challenges
  • How his experiences shaped the work he’s doing now

Connect With Vance Barse:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Vance Barse, is a wealth strategist and founder of Your Dedicated Fiduciary. He began his career in the financial services industry at Altegris Investments, where he served as an investment consultant to leading private wealth and retail financial advisers throughout the U.S. He saw firsthand that many advisers are constrained in their approach to planning, often leaving clients underserved. After nearly a decade in this role, Vance became a financial planner and founded Your Dedicated Fiduciary with a simple mission: to be authentic, transparent, and have a positive impact on the lives of his clients.



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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: Reducing Employee Burnout With Gabriela Mauch

The Healthy Advisor: Reducing Employee Burnout With Gabriela Mauch

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Managing employee burnout is key to creating a healthy workplace environment. But what steps should advisory and financial services firms be taking to reduce stress and burnout in the workplace?

In 2022, ActivTrak released a benchmark study on productivity and wellbeing within the financial services industry, revealing that this space is, in fact, better at managing burnout risk than other industries. For instance, compared to a cross-industry sample, 19% more employees have a healthy workload, and 23% fewer employees are overutilized. 

In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Gabriela Mauch, vice president of ActivTrak’s Productivity Lab, who says the positive statistics may belie the issues financial services firms need to work on. Gabriela provides a deeper dive into ActivTrak’s research and looks beyond the data to help us understand the real drivers of employee burnout and happiness. 

Gabriela discusses: 

  • How financial planning firms today are managing burnout risk
  • Other indicators of burnout, beyond hours worked
  • What other dials companies can move to improve their employees’ wellbeing
  • How to efficiently manage meetings among other routine tasks
  • The importance of quality conversations over quantity
  • Leveraging team resources to increase productivity
  • The power of distraction
  • How companies can reward the work and the outcomes of that work
  • And more

Resources:

Connect With Gabriela Mauch:

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About Our Guest:

Gabriela Mauch joined workforce productivity software provider ActivTrak as head of Productivity Lab following a career in organizational effectiveness, leadership and design at management consulting firms including McKinsey & Co. and KPMG LLC. Gabriela helped stand up McDonald’s first Organizational Effectiveness & Leadership Center of Excellence where she worked across the McDonald’s system to improve its business performance and maintain relevance in the digital age. She earned a bachelor of science in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University and is an expert in helping teams understand how productivity extends beyond business performance and is deeply rooted in employee well-being and engagement.

Gabriela, originally from Boston, resides in Denver, Colorado where she spends her free time enjoying all the mountains have to offer. She is involved in mentoring college-bound high school youth, career counseling at the Bean Project, a non-profit women’s social enterprise, and volunteering at the Latin0 Cultural Arts Center.



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The Healthy Advisor: Getting Financially Sober With Matthew Grishman

The Healthy Advisor: Getting Financially Sober With Matthew Grishman

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Early in his career in financial services, Matthew Grishman was working as a wholesaler, making a lot of money, and on the outside, he looked as though he was living his best life, with the Rolex watch, the shiny Allen Edmonds shoes, the Hickey Freeman suits. But on the inside, he was empty and trying to fill a hole with money, alcohol and other things. 

But one day his money addiction got so out of control that he was broke. He had hit rock bottom and was faced with a critical decision: make massive changes to how he was living his life, or die broke and alone. He chose change. 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Matthew Grishman, principal and wealth advisor at Gebhardt Group in Roseville, Calif. Matthew opens up about how his money addiction—and later on, an alcohol addiction—almost cost him everything. He shares his journey getting to a place of financial sobriety,  including the pivotal role a financial advisor (and now business partner) played in his healing. 

Today, through his book, “Financial Sobriety: Rebuilding Your Relationship With Money One Step at a Time,” and podcast, Matthew is dedicated to helping others become more intentional with three complex and interconnected relationships: money, people, and self.

Matthew discusses: 

  •   The events that led to his out-of-control money addiction
  •   How he responded initially when he hit that first critical bottom
  •   The realization he had after meeting with an advisor for support
  •   What happened to him when he reached a second critical bottom in life, and how overcame an alcohol addiction
  •   What prompted him to start sharing his deeply personal experiences with others

Resources:

Connect With Matthew Grishman:

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About Our Guest:

Matthew Grishman began his career in financial services in 1995 with A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. and became fully licensed as an Investment Broker in 1996. He spent 17 years as a national spokesperson for large mutual fund and insurance companies (Lord, Abbett & Co, Putnam, and MetLife). 

Matthew left corporate America in 2011 to devote his time and experience in financial services to his family, friends, and neighbors. 

In 2014, Matthew joined Gebhardt Group, Inc., an independent Registered Investment Advisor. He became an owner of the firm in 2015. 

As a Principal and Wealth Advisor of Gebhardt Group, Inc., Matthew provides wealth management services for families experiencing major life transitions (inheritance, sale of a business, death or divorce of a spouse, planning for retirement, career change, or sudden loss of a job).

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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: Finding Healing in the Gym With Deadlifter Jess Bost

The Healthy Advisor: Finding Healing in the Gym With Deadlifter Jess Bost

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Jess Bost found CrossFit during a traumatic time in her life. About her workouts, she says, “I went to the darkest place I could, and I fought my demons in that place.” 

CrossFit, which stands for cross-discipline fitness, became her bridge to healing. 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Jess Bost, the vice president of brand partnerships at Alpha Architect and part-time CrossFit Coach. Here, she opens up about how her experience with intense workouts and a supportive community gave her the outlet she needed during a time of profound grief. She also shares how exercise and community have shaped how she views the role of financial advisors.

Jess discusses: 

  • How she applied the concepts she learned from psychology and working with children with autism to CrossFit and also financial services 
  • How she got into CrossFit and how it keeps her healthy from a physical/spiritual/emotional standpoint
  • How CrossFit helped her heal from trauma
  • Why and how she’s become an advocate for fitness in the financial services industry
  • Where she sees the intersection of fitness and finance 

Connect With Jess Bost:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Jess Bost is the vice president of brand partnerships at Alpha Architect, and she also runs her own financial planning practice under the firm’s ADV. She’s also host of “The Breakthrough Factor” Podcast. 

Jess has been in the wealth management industry for about four years. Prior to that, she was a CrossFit coach and a personal trainer. Jess still coaches CrossFit part-time and plans to take the CrossFit Level 3 Certification in the near future. In 2017, she won a national title in Olympic weightlifting and qualified for the 2018 Pan Am Masters Weightlifting Championships. 



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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: Barred But Not Broken

The Healthy Advisor: Barred But Not Broken

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In 2011, Jeff Martinovich was barred by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority from any role in selling securities or associating with FINRA members, and he’s currently serving a 16-year prison sentence, with about 2.5 years more on home confinement in Norfolk, Va. An ankle monitor on his left ankle keeps tabs on his movements. 

But Martinovich has few regrets with the decisions he made, including rejecting three government plea deals. He hasn’t let his experiences defeat him, as many barred brokers have; rather, he believes it’s all part of a larger purpose in life and that what you take away from those moments shapes who you become in the future.

“I don’t think we come down on the planet to lead this life of luxury, retire and go fishing every day,” he says. “I think it’s all a journey, and it’s about overcoming fear and all of us are faced with these incredible challenges at different times.”

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Jeff Martinovich, First Gulf War veteran, CEO of JAM Accelerator, a business consulting and incubation firm, former founder and CEO of MICG Investment Management and author of “Just One More: The Wisdom of Bob Vukovich.” Jeff shares his experience growing his first business and how he found himself in legal trouble, eventually going to trial against the U.S. Government and ultimately prison.

Diana and Jeff discuss: 

  • How Jeff’s legal troubles began, his experience with trial and in prison
  • What made him reject three government plea deals
  • What kept him from falling victim to despair
  • How Jeff was able to grow from his experience and build a new company
  • Whether he has any regrets with regards to how he handled the ordeal
  • The love story that was going on during this whole experience, and the good things that came out of it

Connect With Jeff Martinovich:

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About Our Guest:

Jeff Martinovich has thirty-years of experience building startups and executing mergers and acquisitions. He has enjoyed extraordinary success in business and life, as well as overcome great failure, all which provide JAM Accelerator clients and partners a rare library of wisdom for not only building significant shareholder value, but also protecting it. Jeff’s commitment to stand up for what’s right following the 2008 Financial Crisis, and the resulting legal challenges, are the topics of multiple books and national articles.

Jeff is generous with his expertise in leadership and management, financial statements and strategies, sales and growth outperformance, and operational efficiencies to increase gross and net margins. On top of everything, Jeff’s engaging personality and commitment to joint success create an enjoyable experience with advisor and client. Many great successes and failures bring wisdom, experience and the ability to now see around corners.

 

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The Healthy Advisor: Healing From Physical and Mental Abuse of the Past

The Healthy Advisor: Healing From Physical and Mental Abuse of the Past

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Our experiences throughout childhood can have a major impact on the way we live our lives into adulthood. But after meeting Marc Nichols, you might never have guessed the trauma that he experienced growing up, one he describes as “inconsistent.” 

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Nichols, product director at Arbor Digital, who opens up about being the victim of sexual and mental abuse by people he was supposed to look up to and trust. During much of his childhood, he lived in an all-female household, so he has struggled with traditional definitions of masculinity in an industry that is still male dominated. 

Yet he came out of those experiences a stronger person, and has even become somewhat of an advocate for mental health and healing in the financial services industry. 

Marc discusses: 

  • What it was like growing up with divorced parents who had little money
  • The physical and emotional trauma he endured
  • How his connection with his twin sister shaped him
  • The gender expectations in financial services
  • His path to healing 
  • The importance of therapy 
  • And more

Connect With Marc Nichols:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Marc brings his experience as a Certified Investment Management Analyst CIMA® and Wealth Management Certified Professional WMCP® to serve as Product Director for Arbor Digital’s suite of SMA offerings. Marc also holds a Certificate in Blockchain and Digital Assets® and serves as an asset analyst and portfolio manager. You will also find Marc sharing responsibilities as manager of Investor Relations.

Prior to joining Arbor Digital, Marc started his career as a professional tennis player and coach before transitioning to financial services as an associate advisor with Merrill Lynch in Princeton, N.J. Seeking to further develop himself through serving others, Marc started an advisory business to meet the wealth management needs of clients in the New York and New Jersey market with Charles Schwab.

This episode has referenced mental abuse, physical abuse and sexual assult.  If you or someone you know is experiencing a similar situation, please contact your local resources or click the link below for more informational resources.  https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/tools-resources/individuals/index.htm



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FEATURE
The Healthy Advisor: Finding Balance With Dr. Travis Parry

The Healthy Advisor: Finding Balance With Dr. Travis Parry

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Dr. Travis Parry started his career as a financial advisor. But when Parry was just  26 years old, his father died of a sudden heart attack while mountain biking, and he had to clean up the financial mess left in his wake. That included processing his father’s death claim, paying off his mother’s house, helping her relocate and covering the funeral expenses. That changed the course of his career.

He fell into a workaholic trap, as many advisors do. Parry realized that while many advisors mean well and have great ambitions to help their clients, they are sacrificing their own health and life balance in the wake and putting themselves at undue risk. So he decided to become a balance coach to help financial advisors deal with their stress.

In this episode, Diana Britton is joined by Dr. Travis Parry, a balance coach for financial advisors, founder of the Make Time Institute and author of Achieving Balance: The Make Time Method To Help Advisors Reach Business AND Personal Goals in an Overworked World. Dr. Parry reveals the struggle many advisors face when starting a new business, focusing on the mental and physical strain it places on business owners at the beginning of their career. He shares the information he has gained through interviewing many advisors, discussing the traps many fall into and shares how to balance productivity with a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Dr. Parry discusses:

  • The trap many financial advisors fall into while building their business
  • What he learned from interviewing more than 350 advisors
  • Ways advisors can overcome workaholism
  • The three myths of balance
  • What he’s learned about personal development and human motivations
  • The importance of couples development in achieving balance

Connect With Dr. Travis Parry:

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About Our Guest:

Dr. Travis Parry’s professional journey started in 2002 as a new financial advisor. He found a natural market with business owners and young married professionals. As his practice was building, Dr. Parry noticed that many of his clients needed more than financial advice, they needed advice about life in general. There were many clients who were unhappy in their careers, relationships, and overall health. He was unable as a financial advisor to give much more than financial planning advice.

Couple Development turned from a theory into a practice. This helped him introduce the concept of Couple Development to UVU students and for whom he wrote and published a manual for in 2011, called “Couple Development: How Couples who Build Thriving Marriages are Healthier, Wealthier, and Happier.”

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The Healthy Advisor: Treating Your Health As an Asset with Stevyn Guinnip

The Healthy Advisor: Treating Your Health As an Asset with Stevyn Guinnip

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Stevyn Guinnip has seen secondhand the toll this industry can take on a person’s health and wellbeing; her father, after all, was a financial advisor with Edward Jones for several decades. Advisors, she says, come into this industry and are told they have to hustle for the first five to 10 years and then will be able to coast. But that’s a lie. Instead, she says, many advisors work themselves ragged, and end their careers in burnout. Take the fact that stress for this industry is currently 31% higher than it was in 2008, when we were in a global financial crisis. 

In this episode, Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com managing editor, is joined by Guinnip, CEO and Wellthy Advisor at Grow Wellthy, a health coaching company, who shares about her own struggles dealing with physical health and wellness, and how that has shaped the work she does today with advisors. 

Today, she’s dedicated to preparing advisors for a better life now and a better retirement in the future. She does so by speaking to advisors in their language, coaching them to think of their health as the most important asset to building wealth. 

Diana and Stevyn discuss: 

  • How Stevyn’s father’s career impacted her professional and personal goals
  • Her own health crisis and how it impacted her perspective on health and wellness 
  • Her approach to health and fitness with financial advisors
  • How she helps advisors overcome the emotional barriers to getting healthy
  • What she has learned from interviewing hundreds of advisors

Resources:

Connect With Stevyn Guinnip:

Connect With Wealth Management & NREI:

About Our Guest:

Stevyn Guinnip, is the founder and CEO of Grow Wellthy and the creator of the Wellth Academy. She grew up a financial advisor’s daughter and enjoyed 20 years as an exercise physiologist and certified wellness coach in the U.S. and Australia. Now Stevyn has blended the world of finance and fitness, helping financial professionals and their clients earn back their health so they can retire ‘wellthy.’

 

 

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