PLANADVISER - Fall 2023 - 29

to plug into the right roles
within the organization.
All of us were affected by
someone in our career who
brought us in and helped us
along the way. So if I were
[recommending the industry,]
I'd say, " If you have a choice of
going to firm A or firm B, which has the best mentorship
opportunity-someone who'll take ownership of the relationship
with you, show you all the tools and resources,
be 100% committed to your success? When you find that
person, you've found the right firm. " That's what we'd probably
say. We are very passionate about that piece. To improve
the success rate for new advisers, we think mentorship and
tying people together and not putting them out on an island
makes all the sense in the world.
" We're kind of famous for saying
there's no manual we're aware of that
articulates, line by line, what we need
to do and need to know. There's some
training, but there's nothing like realworld
experience. " DARRELL ELLISOR
into retirement plans. They don't even know what that is.
But if they've got that leader, that mentor, this can direct
them to a career they might have never thought of, solely
on the basis of the personality and passion of the person
they're working for. So we can't underestimate the importance
of leaders really influencing people's career paths,
especially in those first, early stages.
Ragatz: I used to say that I looked for three things in potential
advisers. I looked for coachability, curiosity and work
ethic. And you can find evidence of those in a number of
things [people do].
I was talking to a student who ran the rush for her sorority
over Zoom, and I asked her about that and the ability to
manage volunteers through influence, which is a really valuable
skill. I don't think she realized how impressive she was.
The ability to influence people when you don't have reporting
authority over them is something I'm always looking for.
But out of those three the important one for me is curiosity,
because curious people ask questions. When you ask
questions, you build empathy. And when you build empathy,
you can help meet people's needs; everything else besides
that can be taught or there's software.
But I'd add a fourth thing, and this is my favorite story
about this. Last summer, we had about 10 interns, and we
used to match them up to work on projects throughout the
organization. In the last week, I said, " You can all write in
whom you'd like to work for, and all but one wrote in this
one person's name. This taught me something important,
which is that what I'm really looking for is someone who'll
make everyone else better-because I don't need one superstar.
I need a group of people performing well, and there are
those amazing people who elevate everyone else.
Do you have the curiosity, and the generosity of spirit,
to encourage other people's success and understand that
we all rise together? I think, if you look for that, the rest
of it becomes just technical knowledge. We have a very
charismatic, caring leader who heads our retirement plan
business. And a wonderful group of leaders in general. But
I know people in my program who are more interested
in working in retirement plans because they want to be
around Matt, and that just goes to show, when kids graduate
from college, they don't know whether they want to go
Matlock: I think Julie really summed it up. We need people
who will help each other, be open, collaborate. That's really
the important message when you're looking for a firm. Look
for one that will help you and structure your compensation
to your daily activities in that manner, that will help you not
only survive but thrive as you move through your career.
Darrell Ellisor is senior vice president and retirement
practice leader of Hub Retirement and Wealth Management
(formerly Peak Financial Group) in Houston.
His team focuses on corporate retirement plans-
defined contribution, defined benefit and nonqualified
plans-executive compensation, business succession
and retirement planning. The group has
weekly scheduled checkpoints for junior advisers and
staff, for the purpose of coaching and development.
Sara Matlock is vice president of consulting at SWBC
retirement plan services in Dallas. In her role, she
works with all types of retirement plans from $25 million
to $500 million in assets. As manager of the adviser
team, she is responsible for bringing in and developing
new advisers. She serves as a voting member of
SWBC's investment committee and has over 25 years
experience in the financial services industry.
Julie Ragatz, vice president, next gen and adviser
development at Carson Group in Omaha, Nebraska,
hires recently graduated students-typically from certified
financial planner programs-and trains them in
the financial planning and financial advice business.
She is also executive director of the FinServ Foundation,
which works with schools across the U.S. to create
paths in the financial services industry through mentorship,
conference attendance and coaching.
Practice Management | Fall 2023 | planadviser.com 29
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PLANADVISER - Fall 2023

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