25 Feb 2026
Building a Financial Planning Practice Centered on Leadership with Craig Clements, CLF® (Ep. 36)
What transforms a chance meeting into a partnership that reshapes your professional future?
How do you build a financial planning practice that truly puts clients at the center of everything you do?
In this episode, Brett Ramsey interviews Craig Clements, CLF®, LPL Financial Advisor, about his journey from aspiring medical student to financial planning leader. Craig shares how a mentor’s focus on leadership over numbers shaped his career philosophy, his experience training over a thousand advisors, and the comprehensive seasonal service model he developed. They discuss the importance of building a team approach to financial planning and how chance meetings can transform your path.
Craig discusses:
His transition from pre-med to financial services and how a mentor taught him planning is about leadership
Training over a thousand advisors and observing what makes financial planning practices deliver great value
The seasonal client service model addressing planning, portfolio management, tax strategies, and protection
Building a team-based approach where relationship managers coordinate subject matter experts for clients
Creating ongoing accountability relationships that help clients avoid emotional financial decisions
And more!
Connect with Brett Ramsey:
(317) 660-2855
LinkedIn: Brett Ramsey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-ramsey-78bb0614/)
Website: Artisan Wealth Strategies (https://www.artisanwealthstrategies.com/)
Facebook: Brett Ramsey (https://www.facebook.com/artisanwealthstrategies)
Connect with Craig Clements:
LinkedIn: Craig Clements (https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-clements-clf%C2%AE-402b22a)
About Our Guest:
Craig Clements is a Financial Advisor at Artisan Wealth Strategies with over two decades of experience in comprehensive financial planning and leadership development. Originally from Tupelo, Mississippi, Craig attended Ole Miss on a baseball and academic scholarship before transitioning from pre-med studies to financial services. He began his career in Portland, Oregon at age 22, where a mentor taught him that financial planning is fundamentally about leadership, defining client goals and dreams, creating roadmaps to achieve them, and maintaining ongoing relationships to keep people on track.
Throughout his career, Craig has held multiple leadership positions across several major financial services firms, including serving as Regional Managing Director overseeing advisors across Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky. He has trained and mentored over a thousand financial advisors, developing comprehensive planning models and the seasonal client service approach that addresses all aspects of financial life throughout the year. Craig is known for his team-based philosophy, believing that the best outcomes come from relationship managers coordinating subject matter experts across portfolio management, insurance, cash flow, estate planning, and tax strategies.
Craig lives in Noblesville, Indiana, with his wife Carrie, who runs a volunteer lost dog recovery service for Hamilton County. His approach to financial planning emphasizes putting clients first, creating ongoing accountability relationships, and helping people avoid emotional financial decisions through proactive planning.
Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA & SIPC. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
