The Exceptional Advisor Podcast

About The Exceptional Advisor Podcast

The Exceptional Advisor Podcast, produced by the Investments & Wealth Institute, is a conversation series for financial advisors who serve high-net-worth clients and want to sharpen how they practice. Each episode features a working practitioner, researcher, or industry leader on the topics shaping the profession: market outlooks, retirement income, investor behavior, building and leading advisory teams, earning client trust, and the role of AI in advice. Past guests include Michael Kitces, Liz Ann Sonders, Mark Casady, John Bowen, and behavioral finance researcher Herman Brodie. The show is built for advisors who already have the fundamentals and want the next layer of expertise — the kind that separates a competent advisor from an exceptional one. Expect practical conversations about serving clients with complex needs, standing out in a crowded market, and communicating your value in terms clients understand. The podcast comes from the Institute that administers the CIMA®, CPWA®, and RMA® certifications, and it reflects the same standard: advanced, practitioner-focused, and grounded in the decisions advisors make with clients every day. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Publisher

Investments & Wealth Institute

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

4 Apr 2019

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

114 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   What Your Clients Really Think About Your Credentials

   Julie Littlechild, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Absolute Engagement, has spent 25 years asking clients what they think of their advisor relationships.  Her annual survey of 1,000 high-net-worth (HNW) investors, conducted by Absolute Engagement on behalf of the Investments & Wealth Institute, finds that 87% say it is somewhat or very important for their advisor to hold advanced professional credentials, rising to 91% among investors with $5 million or more. Yet more than half say they don't understand what their advisor's letters mean. Julie joins host Sean Walters, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute, to talk through what the 2026 High-Net-Worth Investor Research shows about client confidence, advisor expertise, and practice growth, and how advisors can explain their certifications in terms of what clients care about. The conversation covers: How to explain your certifications to clients: Tie each certification to a specific client need, such as preparing heirs for a wealth transfer, and cover the education, exam, and ethics standards as supporting detail. In the research, clients who understood their advisor's credentials were more likely to feel confident about their financial future. Why clients refer a financial advisor: Credentials and good service make an advisor worth referring. The referral itself happens when a friend raises a problem, such as family dynamics around money, that the advisor has already solved for the client. Do advisor credentials still matter to clients years later? Yes, and more to clients than to advisors. In Absolute Engagement's research, about a third of advisors said their credentials matter as much or more now than when they earned them, compared with 64% of clients.

2. 

   14 Sept 2026

   How to Talk to Clients About Politics with Jeff Bush

   Host [Host Name] interviews Jeff Bush, Principal of The Washington Update, on navigating client conversations about politics and understanding the impact of future elections on financial planning.

3. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Where Asset Allocation Meets Client Psychology

   Christopher Geczy, Academic Director at Wharton, discusses how client psychology disrupts disciplined asset allocation and offers strategies for advisors to navigate market volatility.

Who has been a guest on The Exceptional Advisor Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jeff Bush
• Christopher Geczy
• K Dane Snowden
• Mark Casady
• Michael Kitces

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

119,314

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

15 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 72 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

88

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

51

Contact The Exceptional Advisor Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about The Exceptional Advisor Podcast