Freedom to create yields referrals and growth

For Jeremy Keil, founder and owner of Keil Financial Partners, one of the biggest benefits of being an independent financial advisor is the flexibility to create and try new approaches to manage, market and grow his business.

After spending nearly 20 years building a successful commission-based financial advisory practice, Jeremy jumped at the chance to transition to an independent model with Thrivent Advisor Network. “I had a method and a message that fit better with an independent channel, so it was a natural move for me,” he says. “Being part of Thrivent Advisor Network also means I get to focus more on the client service side of my business instead of compliance, technology, and all the other stuff I’d need to worry about if I owned my own RIA. That means I get to spend more time doing what I want – working with clients.”

Jeremy devotes significant attention to promoting his Wisconsin-based business and closely tracks the impact of his marketing efforts. He says being independent gives him the freedom to try new marketing approaches, like the “Retirement Revealed” blog and podcast he launched shortly after establishing his hybrid RIA business. He blogs frequently and posts a new podcast episode every week. The podcast has a large following of 4,500 listeners every month and has helped to triple referrals, which currently account for half of the firm's growth.

Not only does the podcast allow clients and prospects to hear directly from Jeremy and his guests on a range of topics, it also provides a ready resource to answer frequently asked questions. “When clients come to me with questions, I can send them a link to a podcast on that topic. I don’t have to recreate answers to the same questions all the time,” he says.

Jeremy’s efforts to grow his business appear to be paying off. Within two years of joining Thrivent Advisor Network, Keil Financial Partners had doubled its client assets under management (from $50 million to $100 million) and annual revenue (from $575,000 to $1.1 million), while adding 75 new clients. The firm is looking to add another advisor, which would bring the staff to three advisors, one full-time client service person, a part-time executive assistant and a part-time sales person.

At first, Jeremy thought that doubling the size of his business in two years was something extraordinary – until he talked to other Thrivent Advisor Network advisors and discovered that several of them had achieved similar growth. “I thought I had the secret sauce, but I guess they have their own secret sauce.”

Jeremy plans to keep trying new approaches to manage his business and serve his clients better, and he values being part of a collaborative network of like-minded entrepreneurs. “Being part of Thrivent Advisor Network means you’re not on your own, trying to do everything alone. We can talk to other advisors, share what we’re doing and learn from each other,” he says, adding that he finds it energizing to collaborate with other purpose-driven advisors to yield greater impact for their respective clients.