We are so honored and excited to welcome Megan Carpenter to In the Suite. She’s the CEO and Co-Founder of FiComm Partners. Recently honored in the InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 list, Meg’s expertise spans over 15 years of helping RIA firms and advisors connect, communicate, and engage effectively with their target audiences.
Megan explains that working was something that her parents instilled in her from a young age. When she graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business Administration and returned from her fellowship in Hong Kong, Megan started looking for internships. She explains how a sorority sister connected her to the role of a marketing assistant at John Hancock advisory agency and that she accepted the offer only because it was paid. She dove in headfirst and hasn’t looked back since! It wasn’t until she was hired full-time that she developed a passion for the financial industry.
“I’ve been doing this my entire career. And I love working with financial advisors and seeing the impact that we can have on their business.”
– Meg Carpenter, FiComm
As a result, at the age of 29, she launched her first business Caritative Wealth Consulting, and in 2014, she merged her consulting firm into her second business venture, FiComm Partners. Thanks to her hard work and spectacular leadership skills, the company has expanded its offering to include seven core specialties. These specialties include marketing and branding, public relations, video-first communication, virtual marketing workshops, digital outreach, crisis communications, and business consulting. FiComm today is a multi-million-dollar business.
Megan is one of the drivers behind the industry’s conversation around modernizing advisor communications. As she worked with wealth management, she recognized a gap. She discovered that marketing and PR in the financial world are old school as she found the approach to be jargon-heavy, top-down, buttoned-up, and overly professional.
As an attempt to modernize and humanize the financial industry and their marketing strategies, Megan successfully launched her podcast ‘New Skool’ and a series of virtual marketing workshops that give advisors the strategic framework they need to be more authentic and vulnerable to make the right marketing decisions for their own business.
She wants financial advisors to realize that they cannot progress with a cookie-cutter approach. They need to understand that every business is different and that not all strategies work the same way. Megan views her podcast and 1:1 coaching programs as valuable mechanisms that give advisors the tremendous opportunity to learn, create, and build relationships with clients using modern and innovative marketing tools in this virtual environment.
In addition, she writes columns in Wealthmanagement.com in which she demystifies marketing concepts and trends with black and white facts so that financial advisors can elevate their leadership skills. This is a subscription service, but it is absolutely worth the sign-up! You’ll find the link in the resources below.
Megan’s passion for promoting the industry is demonstrated through her involvement with the non-profit CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Workforce Development Advisory Group. The mission is to improve the health of the talent pipeline by attracting and developing the next generation of financial planners. They also tackle diversity and race issues.
Megan continues giving back to the industry by being a spokesperson in the media on communication and financial services marketing. She has spoken at a wide range of industry events, including Schwab IMPACT, Pershing INSITE, Bob Veres’ Insiders Forum, ECHELON Partners Deals, and Deal Makers Summit, Riskalyze Fearless Investing Summit, and more!
From our conversation with Megan, below are the top takeaways:
- Find your opportunities in crisis. While the past year has been turbulent, the pandemic was the kick that financial advisors needed to realize that they can use digital marketing tools to transform their client’s experience. Megan asserts that digital is here to stay and encourages advisors to stick with this hybrid communication model, even when we have an in-person component. She encourages everyone to look for innovation around them as you never know ‘what phoenixes may be hiding in the ashes!’
- Give new talent opportunities. As an entrepreneur, she loves to give new talent the opportunities to expand their skill set. And as a result, FiComm offers extraordinary internships and fellowship programs. Megan wants to express that opportunities in the financial industry are vast. Even if you are not wanting to be a financial advisor, there are many other paths one could take. Working in operations, marketing, research and client service are great career options too.
- Take time to self-reflect on your lifestyle and give yourself grace to be in the moment. The time during the peak of the pandemic allowed Megan to self-reflect on her lifestyle. Getting ready to be a mother of her third, she intends to be more intentional with her time. She has “forgiven herself and given the grace to be in the moment” and stresses that we should know our priorities and take actions that align with them. A lesson which many of us can relate to and should implement.
Show Notes
It is an absolute pleasure to welcome Megan Carpenter In The Suite!
Megan is the Co-Founder and CEO of FiComm Partners, the co-host of the podcast ‘New Skool,’ a blogger, a spokesperson, and an active member of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Workforce Development Advisory Group. She’s also a member of the Investment News 40 Under 40 list!
Megan’s route to a career in the financial advice business began with a paid marketing internship at John Hancock Financial Network. In no time, the industry turned into her passion, and in 2014, she co-found FiComm Partners, an integrated communications agency specializing in the financial services industry.
Megan explains that as she helped wealth management businesses engage with their target audience effectively, she realized that marketing and PR in the financial world was old school. She found the approach to be jargon-heavy, top-down, buttoned-up, and overly professional.
In today’s episode, listeners will learn how Megan transformed and modernized the financial marketing industry through her podcast ‘New Skool’ and series of virtual marketing workshops. Advisors can gain access to the strategic framework they need to be more authentic and vulnerable to make the right marketing decisions for their own business. Check out her podcast and educational material on the financial services industry.
In addition, Megan personally supports the industry by leading FiComm’s pro-bono effort for the Foundation for Financial Planning, the InvestmentNews Impact Forum and the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning Workforce Development Advisory Group.
Without a doubt, today’s episode is the key to success for many financial advisors. Join the conversation to learn and understand what it means to have a fierce personal leadership style and why perception and communication are the keys to everything.
Megan’s humble and positive approach to leadership combined with an intense passion for bettering the financial services industry inspires us all.
Join the conversation to here about:
- About Megan and her business (05:42)
- What attracted Megan to this industry (08.38)
- About the podcast (13:31)
- Why take the ‘Advisor Education’ course? (24:10)
- How the pandemic changed the industry? (28:30)
- About “news-jacking.” (31:43
- The ideal persona to seek for professional financial services (37:15)
- Her involvement in the CFP Board Center (44:20)
- How to get involved? (51:02)
- Meg’s takeaway from Covid (55:00)
- Book recommendation (01:02:50)
- The Best way to get in touch (01:02:50)
Resources:
