Winning High-Net-Worth Clients in Silicon Valley: Strategies for Financial Advisors

Matt Enyedi [0:02] Hello and welcome to yet another episode of If You Could with Matt and Taryn. I am Matt Enyedi as per usual, and today we're taking a bit of a pivot, folks, because my fearless co-host Taryn is out of town, but the show must go on. And so I'm excited to introduce a very special guest co-host for this episode, the one and only Mr. Ken Hullings. Kenny, welcome to the pod as our first official guest co-host.

Ken Hullings [0:27] So excited to be here, Matt, and excited to co-host.

Matt Enyedi [0:30] Look, you've got big shoes to fill, I have no idea if you'll be able to pull it off, but I'm hoping you'll be at least half as good as Taryn.

Ken Hullings [0:36] Well, that works out because that's my goal, so we're very aligned.

Matt Enyedi [0:38] Amen. It's always a good way to go. Hey, look, folks, Kenny and I have been able to work together for the past 20 years at LPL, and it's been an awesome partnership, but our backstory actually goes a little further than that. It was more than 25 years ago when I was a fledgling and soon to be failing financial advisor with PaineWebber. Kenny was actually an internal wholesaler with Lord Abbett in New Jersey, I in downtown San Diego, and it just so happened that Kenny called on me.

Ken Hullings [1:05] Who would have thought that would have been the start of our relationship?

Matt Enyedi [1:08] Hey, look, we're gonna have a pretty cool conversation today and we're gonna dig into an area that we haven't covered yet so much, which is our institutional channel. And the conversation we're having is one of the best and fastest-growing advisors in Silicon Valley with a primary focus on high net worth clients. Think tech startup, think entrepreneur, think business owner, and before we bring him on, Kenny, maybe we can take a step back and tell the listeners a little bit about our institutional model, because while LPL is known as one of the leading wealth management firms in the industry, it is typically around our independent advisor channel and much less so around our institutional channel. But when you look at our business, over 1100 institutional clients serving 7500 advisors and more than half a trillion in assets,

Ken Hullings [1:51] It's really interesting, Matt, and I have the privilege of leading the institution channel, and as you know, I've worked on both the advisor channel as well as the institution channel, and this space is fascinating. Wealth management is more and more becoming important to financial institutions for a few reasons. It's obviously not tied to interest rates or credit cycles. It is also deepening the relationships they have with their clients. Wealth management relationships, as your listeners know, is where trust really comes to life, and so they're really sticky. And then finally, it enhances the client experience. People don't wanna think about their financial life in silos anymore. And so what's great about our business here at LPL is that if you think about the big four banks, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, BofA, Citibank, the clients we serve, the banks and credit unions, are actually very different. Similar capabilities, similar infrastructure, but a very different approach as it relates to how they view the communities they serve and exist in. Even though some of the institutions we support are large, they all start. Focused on the community and the impact they can make there, and then they put their special sauce on top of our wealth management platform, and they're able to compete and win against these big banks.

Matt Enyedi [3:04] Yeah, it's a perfect fit in partnership with LPL. It's an incredibly dynamic part of the industry and a dynamic part of LPL and it's serving some of the most sophisticated and fastest-growing advisors in the space. And that sets up our conversation for today. That's right.

Ken Hullings [3:18] And our guest today, Matt Weaver from Fremont Bank, he fits that perfectly. The guy lives and works in the epicenter of technology and high net worth investors in Silicon Valley. And he's one of our top-level summit advisors, growing faster than many advisors nationwide. He and his team manage over half a billion in assets, and last year they had organic growth of more than 20%. They're one of the leading teams in the industry, and they're doing it in one of the most competitive markets in the world.

Matt Enyedi [3:46] Sounds like a fantastic guest to have one if you could. Let's get this started. Hey, Matt, welcome to the pod. We are so glad to have you on.

Matt Weaver [3:58] Glad to be here. Thank you for having me.

Ken Hullings [4:00] Absolutely. Let's dive right in. We have a ton to cover. What I was hoping we could start with, Matt, was your origin story. What led you to this industry and this role at Fremont?

Matt Weaver [4:09] Yeah, well, it really started 20 years ago. I thought it was gonna be on the institutional side. Really, I got, I got the CFA designation early on and I thought that was the path to go down, but over time, I realized really what was rewarding is helping individuals and families with wealth management needs and so the career kind of progressed over time. I wish I would have realized this was the place for me sooner.

Ken Hullings [4:29] So what was stop one? 

Matt Weaver [4:30] Yeah, it was with a bank in Mississippi and then, um, you know, really the transition to California was about entrepreneurialship, wealth creation. Being in California is exciting. The weather is great. Yeah,

Ken Hullings [4:42] Yeah, and what I love about your story is you were in a role where you were helping advisors with the investments for their clients, and I guess you got to a point where you just said, hey, that's something I think I could do.

Matt Weaver [4:53] Yeah, it was a really unique position and I was witnessing advisors give advice to clients and I was managing the investments. My role is to sit to the side and be the smart one constructing portfolios, and I realized, you know, really, I wanted to be in the shoes of the advisor. I wanted to own the relationship and build those relationships, and so that's when the realization hit me.

Matt Enyedi [5:12] You mentioned coming to California, the entrepreneurship, that idea of how do we create something that folks want that's never been solved for before. For you are swimming in it. You are at the epicenter of activity, and it is a combination of unbelievable wealth creation, but I also have to think, incredible competition to serve those folks. So what, what's going on in the Bay Area that folks should know about?

Matt Weaver [5:34] Yeah, it's an exciting place. It's part of the reason I wanted to be there. Things move fast, competition is high, wealth is created quickly, and so it is, it is a unique environment to operate in, very challenging. It does require some specialization in certain areas of knowledge, but just like anywhere in the country, and a lot of it has to do with, uh, being really good at forming relationships and going deeper with clients and building rapport. But there are definitely some unique aspects to serving clients in Silicon Valley.

Ken Hullings [6:03] Well, tell the listeners about that a little bit more. Like, what does it take to not just win clients in that area, but also serve them? What is actually needed to win?

Matt Weaver [6:12] So I, I think a couple of things. One is, you know, a relentless desire to, you know, be competitive and to put yourself out there and to be in the right networks and circles and to really partner well with the bank that you're part of because those that work in Silicon Valley, they bank somewhere. A lot of them bank with Fremont Bank and we, we just want to get exposed to those individuals. But when you get the opportunity to sit down in front of a tech executive or a business owner, a high net worth individual, you have a short amount of time to really keep their attention and to prove yourself. And so the specialization and knowledge, whether that's some Tax planning, tax strategies, dealing with concentrated stock positions, hedging those concentrated positions, business transitions, selling a business, exit strategies, whatever it is that the business owner or that tech executive needs, we have to be fast and quick in order to keep their attention and to be compelling enough for them to work with us.

Matt Enyedi [7:04] So let's dig into that a little bit. We actually, our last podcast was with Tara Popernik, who actually walked through these different high net worth personas, whether that be the tech exec. The business owner, the next generation, the inheritor, surviving spouse, there's all these different personas and each has their own unique needs. How do you quickly assess what are the things that are going to resonate with this person and make sure you do use that time wisely?

Matt Weaver [7:28] Yeah, so we want to know as much upfront as we can before the meeting, but when we're sitting down face to face, we're asking the right questions. We're listening. We're not giving advice. We don't know what the answers are. We are listening and asking the right questions, and I think clients pick up on that. When you ask the right question, they realize that this team can help. And so, learning as much as we can upfront. And then what we tend to do is, uh, be good about giving nuggets of information as they're talking to us and sharing about their story or their concerns or the risks they're, they're exposed to. We're giving them nuggets of information that, that clue them into that we, we might be the, the team that can help them solve those problems.

Matt Enyedi [8:04] Are there a couple of areas where you guys have found genuine expertise or a certain type of client, whether that be tech exec or the entrepreneurial business owner where you find that you have unique skills and capabilities and experiences that resonate quickly? 

Matt Weaver [8:17] Yeah, and a lot of it has to do about tax planning and tax strategy. We do use some of uh LPL's resources for that, but we also have a network of CPAs and tax strategists that we refer clients out to. It's such a big deal whether it's RSUs, vested stock, dealing with AMT. We have ideas and strategies to address those things, but also for managing the risk of those stocks and unwinding them over time, strategies to collar, to hedge, to protect, and to unwind the strategy. And then the last thing is for just business owners, and we do serve a lot of business owners, high income earners. There are defined benefit plans, retirement plans, strategies that we can bring to the table that really impress upon them how much tax savings is out there that they just weren't aware of. Tax solutions are a big opportunity for us to really kind of stand out.

Matt Enyedi [9:05] Seems to resonate.

Ken Hullings [9:07] It's so interesting listening to you speak about it. You just deal with this day in and day out, and there's a lot of advisors that maybe run into these types of prospects once or twice a year. So, above and beyond the specialization, what are some things that are maybe misunderstood about these types of clients, just to level set with the advisors.

Matt Weaver [9:27] There's a perception that tech executives and these highly compensated business owners, they're seeking performance and results. And they just want the best results. And that be partially true, but what they really have is a conscientiousness for risk, an awareness of risk. And the risk may be the investment risk that needs to be managed, but it could also be their life. It could be their families, it could be some catastrophe type of an event that could occur that they need to protect from. It could be the entity structuring of the LLCs of the real estate, or it could be tax risk, right? There, there's risk of paying too much in taxes, so we see that all the time. Unnecessary taxes that are paid. And so, there is an awareness, a consciousness for a risk that individuals and clients in the Bay Area have and, and that's something that we really want to address and find solutions for.

Matt Enyedi [10:16] Anyone who knows me knows that I'm listening to Jensen Huang podcast and I'm learning about agents and me and Claude are hanging out and talking all the time. How deep geek do you have to get knowing the people you're serving? Like, certainly your expertise is planning and tax and bringing out outcomes for your clients, but do you have to speak the language or how well do you need to speak the language?

Matt Weaver [10:36] I don't think you need to speak the language all that much. I think that, uh, their lives are so complex and challenging and busy that when they sit down to talk with me, whether we're thinking of an engineer from Apple or a Palantir, they want simple. They, they just want to feel comfortable and they want to know that we have ideas and solutions that are going to meet their needs, then we're not going to overcomplicate things.

Ken Hullings [10:56] What I think is interesting is you're in this epicenter. You and your team have built some specialization. You have some expertise, but at the end of the day, you need to execute in order to get these growth numbers. As you take a step back, what do you think has driven that growth either that you do with your team or that you do with your broader team at the institution?

Matt Weaver [11:19] At the institutional level, we just have really good connection with the internal partners, whether it's commercial relationship officers, private bankers, mortgage lenders. branch managers, they know our team really well. We've built good internal partnerships with them. They know they can rely on us for complex situations, and so we've become kind of the default team to go to in, in these types of situations. So, lots of good referral activity, and that's really the real advantage to being part of a bank, that, that referral pipeline. When we're sitting down in front of a client or a prospect, it's leading with financial planning. I mean, we're going deeper with clients, we're getting a greater portion of their wallet share. We're able to, to help them better, give better advice because we're leading with financial planning.

Matt Enyedi [12:03] Maybe we can take a step back because you've been at Fremont for 10 years, half a billion dollars in assets. You're growing organically consistently 20% year over year versus a marketplace that grows at 2 to 3%. But you didn't start that way. We were actually talking yesterday. When you joined Fremont Bank 10 years ago, you had a book that was the size of zero, and you had to start from nothing. What were some of the things you did in the early days that set you up for the success that you're experiencing today?

Matt Weaver [12:27] Yeah. That's a, it's a really good question and uh it's something I'm really proud of. I mean, starting from zero, and launching from there, it's harder, it would be harder to do in the independent space, but in the bank, it's a little bit more possible because of the, the advantage that you have with all the internal referrals. But one of the first things that, that I did early on was the bank associates, those are my clients, first of all, you know, building relationships with the branch managers, the private bankers, the commercial loan officers is, they're my clients first. They needed to know what I did, who I was, how, how I operated, and when they became. Comfortable, then the referrals begun. In the early couple of years, you know, starting with, you know, clients, it was important to operate with a focus that was really towards those internal partners of ours to make sure that they were comfortable working with us.

Matt Enyedi [13:11] I also know, like you said, you start everything with planning, but you started this business advisory first, advisor focused, and today it's 98% of your business. You started as an investment analyst. I'm curious about how much of your effort goes into that actual investment management and. Investment analysis side of things versus the more holistic planning and relationship side of it.

Matt Weaver [13:32] You know, I do have a background as an analyst. I was an investment strategist. I was an educator. I have the CFA, so I do have this tendency to be analytical and data-oriented, but, uh, that's not really where I thrive or where I get my satisfaction from. But it does have influence. And so we do manage all the investments in-house. We have an investment strategist, a PhD in economics, and he does the research and the portfolio construction and does a good job of doing that in-house, and that frees me up to do. More advising and more time in front of clients and um something that, that I thrive in. But the investment management, balancing investment management with financial planning, those are, you know, two of the core essential services that we provide to clients.

Ken Hullings [14:09] It's actually really incredible. We just came out last year with the advisor Growth Index, advisor growth study, and we have one for the programs like Fremont Bank that we work with. We're sitting here talking about this crazy growth rate that you and your team have. Two of the components are a focus on advisory. So, folks that have over 60% advisory are growing at really amazing rates. You have well over that. And then the fastest growing advisors are leading with planning. And as you said, that's how you start every new relationship, really being curious and humble and asking those questions. And so it's no surprise that we're here talking to you about this growth.

Matt Enyedi [14:46] Look, we look across the index and we look at where you guys stand versus the, you know, the comparative advisor or comparative institution that you guys stand out across the. Board from age to mix to segmentation. I guess one of the questions I have for you is, given how you've, you know, segmented how you guys do investment management with someone who that is their sole role at the growth rate that you guys have in order to stay on top of it, what types of systems or processes have you put in place to make sure that everyone's doing their job and not getting spread too thin?

Matt Weaver [15:17] Yeah, I like that question a lot because I, I, a process is so important to us, and we have a team of 6, and there's so much going on and there's so many clients. So, the processes around everything, whether it's segmentation to investment management, to planning to business development and just client outreach and every aspect is, is about having a process. Some of the tools and technology that we use are good CRMs that have process and workflows built into them.

Matt Enyedi [15:42] 6 people across a half a billion dollars in assets growing at a 20% clip. That's pretty lean and mean.

Matt Weaver [15:46] The workflows within our CRM are built pretty robust and everybody on the team is expected to use them and use them well, and that does help keep us on track and Everybody on the team, everyone has a specialization to the role that they're in. And so around one client, there's 6 of us, and we're touching the client from different angles with different specialties. But how does the team know who's doing what? Processes and the procedures that we have built in place allow us all to kind of stay informed who's done what, when, and with whom, and the processes and procedures are just essential to that and, uh, to keep us efficient, but everybody is part of that on the team, and it, it does make for a better experience for the client.

Ken Hullings [16:24] It sounds like there's a lot of benefits that you've seen working at Fremont Bank and building these deep partnerships with the other stakeholders at the firm. When you get into a competitive situation, how do you think about like, hey, I feel really good because I work at a bank, compared to maybe if you're competing against an RIA or an independent advisor, what do you think are the strengths of the model you're in? And then what are some opportunities and strengths you see from these other models.

Matt Weaver [16:55] One of the strengths with the bank is just the brand, first of all, right? The, the reason they're banking with us is that they like the community bank. They've chosen the bank because of the strength and the reputation of the bank. They credentialize you in some ways. And so, yeah, so by that, so they, so by the time I'm sitting in front of a client, there's already relationships that have been established. I, I have a, I have a real competitive advantage at that point. And so my job is to not ruin that, right? And that's what everyone's concern is, make sure that, you know, we continue to, to uphold that. So the opportunity is really just kind of a force multiplier with lots of access to referrals and, and that really drives growth. The advantage is being with the bank is that accelerated growth opportunity, but what the disadvantage might be is, as I look at it, it's lacking ownership in the, in the practice, not having equity in the practice, but the bank actually has a solution for that. There's something built in and banks can do this where they allow advisors to sell back their book when as they approach retirement. I'm fortunate that Fremont Bank has something like that in place and so that, uh, issue has, has been, um, has been resolved.

Matt Enyedi [17:59] And Kenny, this is something you work with our different bank clients and, and helping them understand, yes, you get this awesome trajectory of growth, but then what's next? Succession and sunsetting, and it's something you guys have been building with banks to make sure that they have got the right processes and, and protocols in place to make sure that these advisors want to stay with them for the long run

Ken Hullings [18:16] All the time. I mean, if you think about the support that Fremont Bank has wrapped around Matt and his team, and they've seen this growth. Well, they're now one of the top teams in the industry. And so Fremont now has to continue to support them so they keep growing, but also make sure that they care for them and make sure that that platform, that firm is where they want to finish their career. In many cases, it's a catch-22 for the institutions, but over the past, I would call it 3 to 5 years, most forward-looking institutions in Fremont Bank is at the lead of that pack have come up with the really elegant solution that Matt just described. We end every episode with an, if you could question. Like we've discussed, you've been doing this for 10 years, you started from scratch. We have many institutions who are bringing in new advisors to the industry, and we have many advisors who are bringing in the next gen. If you could go back and advise yourself from early in your career, what would you say to yourself to do differently and what would you say to maybe do the same.

Matt Weaver [19:22] Well, I wish somebody told me that this business is really built on trust and judgment, judgment meaning good decision making versus products and performance. It's all about that. Early on, success is not just about having the right answers, the best solutions. It's about providing clarity, consistency, being someone that can provide confident decision making and help our clients make good decisions under complex situations.

Matt Enyedi [19:50] Matt, you live and breathe it, and in the land of AI, trust and judgment are king. You quickly learned, say you're a pretty fast learner cause you built an incredible business and it continues to kind of reach new heights, and we are so excited that you joined the podcast, but more than that, that you continue to partner you and Fremont Bank with LPL. It's a, it's an awesome partnership and we look forward to what comes next.

Matt Weaver [20:10] Thank you. It was good to be here with you both.

Ken Hullings [20:13] That was fun. Thanks, Matt.

Matt Enyedi [20:14] Take care.

Disclosure [20:24] Fremont Bank, FB Investment Services, and LPL Financial are separate entities. Matt Weaver, FB Investment Services, and LPL Financial do not provide tax advice. Securities and advisory services are offered through LPL Financial, LPL, a registered investment advisor and broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC. Insurance products are offered through LPL or its licensed affiliates. Fremont Bank and FB Investment Services are not registered as a broker dealer or investment advisor. Registered Representatives of LPL offer products and services using FB Investment Services and may also be employees of Fremont Bank. These products and services are being offered through LPL or its affiliates, which are separate entities from and not affiliates of Fremont Bank or FB Investment Services. Securities and insurance offered through LPL or its affiliates are not insured by FDIC or any other government agency, not FDIC guaranteed, not bank deposits or obligations, may lose value.