Only Fee-Only
This podcast interviews fee-only financial planners to learn about how they are helping their clients and serving their specific niches.
Only Fee-Only
#130 - Unlocking Growth with WealthTender and Online Reviews - Brian Thorp
The way financial advisors market themselves is evolving—and testimonials are leading the charge. Brian Thorp, founder of WealthTender, joins us to break down how SEC rule changes have opened the door for compliant client reviews.
WealthTender, the first SEC-compliant review platform, helps over 500 advisors use testimonials effectively. For just $49/month, advisors gain visibility without referral fees or commissions—making it accessible and authentic for both advisors and the 500,000+ annual site visitors.
Brian outlines the three key disclosures for compliance and shares WealthTender’s recent partnership with AGC, building community and connection for 150+ advisors.
We also explore tools on the horizon to promote reviews across digital channels. If you’re ready to modernize your marketing and stand out, this episode is your roadmap.
Brian's Social and Website:
https://wealthtender.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briancthorp/
Music in this episode was obtained from Bensound.
How's it going everyone? Welcome back to the OnlyFeeOnly podcast and, as always, thanks for being here. We appreciate you. In this episode, we have Brian Thorpe coming back on to the podcast to talk to us. He is the founder and CEO and editor in chief at WealthTender. More than 50,000 people visit that website each month to find and hire financial advisors, read online reviews and browse articles with tips to enjoy life with less money stress. He is absolutely awesome. We've had the opportunity to know Brian for years and I mentioned in the episode. Check out Brian's first episode if you haven't listened to it, so make sure you check that out and enjoy this podcast with Brian Thorpe on the Only Fee Only podcast.
Speaker 2:What's up, everyone Welcome to another episode of the Only Fee Only podcast. I'm Peter Travlo. I'm here with my co-host, Brock Buckles. How's it going today, Brock?
Speaker 1:It's going well, man. I am very excited about our guest today, so I'm pumped man.
Speaker 2:Yes, very excited as well to have Brian Thorp on CEO and founder of WealthTender. He's got his fingers in a lot of different pots, so really excited to have him on the show. He was on a previous episode, so if you haven't listened to that one, please go back and listen to it. But today is the update and the sequel. So, brian, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2:I love it. So, for those who don't know who you are, you want to give a quick overview of who you are and a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:Sure, so I live in Austin, texas, so anytime anybody's visiting, come down and we'll hook you up with some barbecue a good margarita. I founded WealthTender in 2019, and we are the industry's first SEC-compliant online reviews platform. So I've always been a big believer when there's regulatory change, it creates opportunities and, importantly, opportunities for growth, and so we saw the opportunity that the SEC was going to be coming off their prohibition of advisor testimonials, launched WealthTender as the first compliant online review platform and, importantly, even beyond that, really helping advisors with their digital marketing we have over 500 advisors and wealth management firms in the community today and helping with search engine optimization, so SEO, helping advisors get quoted in the media. So there's quite a bit to it, and I know there's going to be another topic that you're going to ask me about, peter, with a little bit of a combination that we did recently, so I'm happy to talk about that here in a little bit as well.
Speaker 2:Love it. So let's talk a little bit about WealthTender. What is WealthTender and what makes you guys different?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so a few things. First and foremost, if you go to WealthTendercom, we are a consumer-facing website, so everything there is really oriented to helping consumers find financial advisors, and one of the things that we really did, differently from other find an advisor sites that have historically operated is that so many of them start by saying, hey, consumer, put in your zip code and we'll find the three best advisors for you, and in reality, we know that that's just not going to be the case, that it's going to be the nearest advisors that happen to be paying a lot of money to participate on that platform, and so we wanted to take a fresh approach. And we still are a subscription-based service for advisors that choose to participate. And we still are a subscription-based service for advisors that choose to participate, but the price point is nominal. Most advisors that join the platform are paying around $49 a month and that's it, so there's no success fee if they find a new client through the platform, and, again, that really allows us to have a great diversity of advisors. And then the advisors have that opportunity to really shine and share who they are, whether they have the opportunity to collect and promote testimonials and letting others hear what their clients have to say, which, again, is something new and different. That's never been done before in our space because the SEC had prohibited it. But when you look at that consumer experience in every other profession or industry, we know that as consumers, whether we're looking to hire doctors, lawyers or even a plumber, we're looking for reviews and so we don't necessarily care or look to see where that plumber even went to school or where that doctor or even lawyer went to school or what their experience is all about.
Speaker 3:The first thing we're really doing is looking at testimonials. But again, even for advisors that aren't able yet, if they're state registered and states that we're going to continue to rattle some cages in states like California and Washington, they continue to prohibit advisor testimonials. We're providing advisors with a lot of ways to really build that connection with prospects through helping consumers understand what they're all about. Maybe they have a dedicated niche or area of specialization types of clients that they're all about. Maybe they have a dedicated niche or area of specialization types of clients that they're looking to work with, and through the various publishing and articles that we publish on our site, we create lots of great opportunities for advisors to get visibility in the areas that are important to them, and so there's a number of things that we're really focused on to help advisors get found on WealthTender.
Speaker 3:We had about half a million consumers visit WealthTendercom in the last year and then, as I mentioned earlier, opportunities for advisors to get found off WealthTender as well. In the last couple of weeks we've seen writers and reporters coming in looking for quotes from advisors in various publications like AARP, their magazine, us News, world Report and a number of other trade publications, as well as associated press outlets and elsewhere. So I know that's a lot, but importantly, we're really trying to deliver a ton of great value at a nominal cost, not only for the advisor but ultimately for the consumers that are coming in pretty good numbers to our website each day as well yeah.
Speaker 1:So I mean that. All great points there and I think that anybody that's listening, that's that kind of has an idea, is definitely gonna understand what you're talking about and you know the the rules around the sec. But let's pin that down a little bit more because a lot of the advisors that know about well tender they've seen some of your stuff on stuff on linkedin. But some of those people that have started maybe in the last year or haven't listened to the podcast up to this point might not not understand those rules and regulations or how the SEC kind of relaxed a little bit. But you still have to stay compliant in ways. Can you go into that, brian?
Speaker 3:Sure Happy to do so. And so, first, for those advisors that are just starting out, there's a very good chance that they're state registered and it's therefore important to look to see if, as your state regulator, if they have approved your ability to get started with testimonials or not. And what we've seen since about a year ago, when we were last together on your podcast, is that more states are beginning to synchronize up to the SEC marketing rule. That does provide those permissions. So, in other words, for advisors in states that are syncing up to the SEC marketing rule, they're essentially saying as long as you follow the SEC guidance, you're going to be in good shape. And a great example of that is actually where I am, in Texas. It's taken a little bit of time, but the head of the state regulator has been reaching out to me, I think, feeling a little guilty that it's taken this long for a very business-friendly state to actually sync up and help level the playing field for small advisors that are registered in the state of Texas with those SEC-registered firms that have historically had the ability to take advantage of the opportunity. So, using Texas as an example, it's probably going to be February when Texas-registered advisors will be able to officially get started. But even then, the head of the State securities board has said that advisors that choose to get started now, as long as they follow the SEC guidelines, the state will not be pursuing enforcement actions. So that's really great to see.
Speaker 3:I would love to see more states moving in that direction. If there are advisors listening who are in states that are still facing that headwind, feel free to reach out to me. I'm always happy to jump on calls. I've done that with other advisors in Arizona as an example where, working with their financial planning association chapter, we were able to get on with the state regulator and make some inroads there. So chipping away at those conversations for advisors in states that are still prohibiting would also encourage you to reach out to your state representatives, start to rattle some cages at local chambers of commerce and really encourage them to recognize that A the SEC really put forth this new rule to benefit consumers, helping them make a more informed and educated hiring decision, and that essentially, the states that continue to prohibit advisors from being able to ask their clients for reviews are really disadvantaging consumers that don't know the difference between a state and a federally registered advisor and therefore can't understand why one advisor on one side of the street could have positive reviews and then the other advisor can't have any reviews.
Speaker 3:So, in terms of the regulation itself, the SEC essentially says again hey, we recognize that consumers benefit from being able to read reviews if they're thinking about hiring an advisor. We do want to ensure, though, that they are essentially able to learn three things with every review that they read online. So those three things are whether or not the individual that wrote the review is a current client of the firm or not, if they were compensated in any form to write the review, and then if there are any material conflicts of interest, and that latter would be anything from, you know, maybe it's a family member, which is not a big deal. Again, the SEC is simply looking for a disclosure. Or a more material conflict of interest might be if there's an accountant that an advisor works with.
Speaker 3:They send business back and forth to each other, and so, naturally, the accountant has a vested interest in saying something positive about the advisor, hoping that they're going to send more business their way Again. Totally fine, simply needs to be disclosed. And so, with that disclosure orientation and importantly also at the outset, not cherry picking the SEC doesn't want advisors to just invite their friends and family or favorite clients to write a review. They really want to see an invitation go out to all of an advisor's current clients. So we provide all the tools, the resources to help collect those reviews.
Speaker 3:They come into a platform like WealthTender Design for compliance. So every single review you see on our platform includes those three clear and prominent disclosures required by the SEC. And then, importantly, we're also seen as an official review platform by search engines like Google. So now if somebody Googles the name of the advisor, they're going to see those gold stars showing up in search results. And then we also provide the tools so that advisors can compliantly display the reviews on their website as well, with all of those required disclosures. So short story, long answer to your particular question. But importantly, it's essentially a green light from the SEC and even though it was a 400-page rule with a lot of particulars which again will walk everybody through, I think the SEC did a really good job of making it fairly straightforward in terms of what you can do, how you can do it and, ultimately, that this doesn't need to be a compliance headwind. In fact, it can be a really significant driver of growth for those firms that begin to get started with online reviews and incorporating those testimonials into their marketing activities.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very important. Well, you know, just like you said, where there's regulatory change, you know there's opportunity. So you're the founder and CEO. When you started, it was just you. You want to talk a little bit about the growth and maybe bring Diane on and then eventually joining forces and growing along and morphing the AGC Sure.
Speaker 3:Sure Happy to talk a little bit about the evolution there. So, as you mentioned started out, of course, on my own, was very fortunate to very quickly find a tremendous developer that we've been great partners now for a number of years. He's just done a phenomenal job with our website and been a great strategic partner and really understanding more about our business and the ways that we could apply it to advisors as well understanding more about our business and the ways that we could apply it to advisors as well. And then, more recently, but still a little over a year ago, diana Cabrisas, who many may have known previously worked with Snappy Kraken and has her own consulting firm and has come aboard as the chief evangelist for WealthTender. And again, you put her on a stage, she just lights up the room. You put her on a Zoom call and the same thing, and she's passionate about our industry. She loves what she does and, importantly, being the marketing guru that she is, she just brings tremendous energy and passion to the table and helping educate advisors that are thinking about getting started, and then those, once they have, really understand the benefits of whether it's online reviews and testimonials or just how to really strengthen their digital presence and the ways that, through SEO and other means, can really become that much more recognizable online and ultimately convert more prospects into clients. So that's the team. We have additional individuals who contribute as well. From an administrative perspective, we've got great writers that have contributed to the effort for several years now and again. As an online publisher, a big part of what's driving the traffic to WealthTender the 40,000 plus visitors each month is really that content that we're putting out around the types of topics that consumers are searching for when they're looking for an advisor, and so really proud of the team that we've assembled there.
Speaker 3:And then you asked about AGC. So, for those who don't know, agc stands for Advisors Growing as a Community, and if you are an advisor and you've been around a little bit, you may know the names Taylor Schulte, justin Costelli, both practicing advisors, who in 2019, launched the AGC as a community for advisors to really come together online, but also together offline. And a little over a year ago, taylor approached me and, as we really developed a great rapport and working relationship and we're both passionate about marketing and helping advisors grow, he and Justin had done a tremendous job growing the AGC to about 150 advisors and, you know, really approached me to say, hey, you know, we love what we're doing with the community and he and Justin are just as excited today as ever in terms of their contribution and involvement within the community. But they had really reached capacity when it comes to the oversight and more of the administration of a community that's grown as large as it has. And so today we have Haley Marks, our community manager within the AGC, who has joined.
Speaker 3:We essentially have retained and will continue to retain the AGC as an autonomous brand, if you will, but the community does, from a corporate perspective, now come under the WealthTender umbrella, which means that advisors that join the AGC are getting all of the benefits of the community, both online, offline, various conferences, whether it's the FutureProof we just came and had 40 people getting together, which was really tremendous getting together online various guest speakers, mastermind groups, one-on-one opportunities, so just a tremendous group.
Speaker 3:And then Haley Marks, as I mentioned, the community manager that helps oversee that, along with Diana myself, justin and Taylor from a leadership perspective, and it's just been a lot of fun, a great way for me to continue to get to know so many wonderful advisors in the community and ultimately, it's been a lot of fun for the advisors that have continued to grow and thrive and continue to see a good number of advisors expressing interest in coming aboard. So if you're an advisor that feels like you're on an island whether you're a solo advisor or part of a big organization and just don't feel you've got that camaraderie, it's a really wonderful group for that type of an advisor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I love that you said that, brian, and one of the other things that I think that's really cool about them coming under the umbrella of WealthTender is that you already worked with a lot of advisors. Right, you already had a lot of people on the WealthTender platform, but now you literally have, at any given time, in front of you at these gatherings, you know 40 people, and when you guys meet online, you know over a hundred people that can literally give you ideas, bounce stuff off of you, ask you questions, give recommendations, and so that has to be really like a big asset for you, right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. I mean, one of the most rewarding perks of this role has been getting to know all the advisors in our community and you know, generally speaking, the vast majority of advisors who have joined WealthTender have had the opportunity to have a conversation one-on-one, get to know them, understand what makes them tick, understand their pain points and, to your point, with the AGC on an even more intimate basis. You know, having that opportunity to really develop that rapport and it's just been tremendous all around.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I mean, what's next for you guys? What is the? You guys have already done so much in the space. What is next for WealthTender?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So you know, one of the things I've mentioned with online reviews and testimonials, we've created all the tools to help advisors compliantly collect and then publish those reviews. One of the next things we're working on are tools that will help advisors compliantly promote the reviews online. So we've got some cool tricks that we're going to be rolling out here tricks and treats maybe, since we're in October, but you know it's going to be a lot of fun. So what you're going to see a little bit later into the fall and next year, I think, are a lot more examples of advisors who have begun collecting reviews on WealthTender, seeing those reviews or testimonials out in the wild, compliantly, whether it's on social media or incorporated into more of their marketing activities. Because, again, at a minimum, collecting those reviews, getting them online if you do nothing else, that can be hugely beneficial.
Speaker 3:But there's so much more that you can do to really incorporate those testimonials into your marketing activities and fortunately there's a compliant framework that we can help guide advisors in terms of how to do that. Beyond that, as I mentioned, we had the half a million consumers visit the site in the last year. We continue to grow the activity from a consumer perspective, looking at different ways we can partner with consumer organizations to drive more traffic and visitors to the site and, you know, continue to just be thrilled when we do see those connections being made with prospects that are finding advisors through WealthTenders. So learning from how they're finding them and more ways that we can help those types of consumers find the right advisors through our community is something that we're going to continue to be focused on as well.
Speaker 2:Love it, man. So before you came on here, were there any golden nuggets or something else that you wanted to make sure that the audience heard?
Speaker 3:I think we've covered all the fun stuff. I was excited to tease a little bit of what we're going to be doing on the promotional side with the online reviews, because I think that's going to be something that advisors will be really excited about, and, like you, I know we all attend a lot of these conferences. So the other thing I would just say is hey, again, love getting together with advisors online, but really, whether it's industry conferences or just out in the wild, it's a lot of fun getting together in person as well. And so you know, like you really hope that advisors, if you're going to be out and about, you know generally we're always out and about as well and always looking forward to getting that connection in person where we can.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So, brian, for those who want to follow along, what's the best way to follow along and keep track of WealthTender?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so just type it into any search engine and you're going to see our website pop up. You can find me on LinkedIn, brian at WealthTendercom. If you want to shoot me an email, just come knock on my door, otherwise, if you're in Austin, and look forward to keeping in touch.
Speaker 2:Love it. Thank you so much for coming on today, Brian.