Maddy Roche Of Childfree Trust On 5 Things To Look For When Hiring a Financial Planner or Financial Adviser

As part of our series about what one should look for when hiring a financial planner or adviser, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maddy Roche.

Maddy Roche is the Chief Growth Officer of Childfree Trust, and has spent the past decade helping financial advisors around the country build their advisory practices. As an executive business coach, she specialized in mindset and burnout and repeatedly gave her clients permission to chase their dreams, not someone else’s. She’s convinced everyone deserves a relationship with a great financial advisor.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit more. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

When I was 24, I started a blog called Balling on a Budget. I was fascinated by personal finance and determined to pay off my $30k of student loans on a modest income, while making my life affordable and indulging in my thrifting hobby. What better way to address my stress than to write about it?

I blogged about all sorts of things: from the environmental impacts of buying new jeans to using credit card points. I interviewed friends about their finances and documented my experiences navigating HSAs and loan refinancing. My research for the blog led me to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and the financial planning space. I fell in love with the field and decided to enter it professionally — so I asked a friend for a personal loan of $3000, and enrolled in the CFP curriculum.

Can you share a story about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting in the industry? Can you tell us what lesson or takeaway you learned from that?

When I was first trying to break into the industry at 25, I sent out cold informational interview requests to advisors in the Seattle area. Only a few people responded. I knew almost nothing about the industry, but I needed to learn. I ended up speaking with two advisors who were clearly not impressed with my uninformed questions. One even said “you’ll never understand what kind of work I do.” I remember hanging up and collapsing onto my bed in shame. I had no idea what I was looking for.

A few years later, after successfully entering the financial planning industry through a (different) cold interview connection, I crossed paths with the same advisor who had dismissed me. They didn’t seem to recognize me, but by then I had found my footing. I was helping build a successful, disruptive network of financial advisors: XYPN. I wasn’t bitter about the early judgment; I was grateful for how much I had learned since.

Through my sheer persistence, I proved that not only could I understand the work advisors do — I could know it so deeply that within ten years, I became a sought after business coach for them.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Currently I’m working as the Chief Growth Office of Childfree Trust, a new project to support the Childfree and permanently childless population — which makes up nearly 25% of Americans.

Childfree Trust is a first of its kind estate solution that offers medical and financial POA, executor and trustee representation for people without traditional next of kin. Identifying who to list in these important roles can be challenging, and Childfree Trust enables people to draft their estate documents and provides a professional fiduciary to list in these roles. I accepted this role because it’s mission driven and keeps me at the front lines of disrupting an industry, while providing a unique solution to a community that I’m part of.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Is there a takeaway or lesson that others can learn from that?

My first role at XYPN was “Director of Getting Sh!t Done”. Really! It was printed on my business card. As the first employee at a rapidly growing startup, I wore many hats, but most of my time and energy went towards supporting our advisors and engaging with our members.

At a certain point, I became really interested in the advisory practices our members were building: how they were doing it from an operational perspective and how they were different from typical investment management firms. As I learned more and more about what makes fee-only advisors unique and independent RIAs successful, I naturally transitioned into a coaching role, sharing my knowledge and experience with the broader advisor network.

In short, once I started viewing my role as an opportunity to really understand the industry and its advisors, new opportunities opened up for me professionally.

What three pieces of advice would you give to your colleagues in the finance field to thrive and avoid burnout? Can you give a story or example?

I’ve coached hundreds of advisors over the years, and many have struggled with burnout. The common thread is not knowing what “enough” looks like for their practice — enough revenue, enough size, enough success.

Financial planning is a rewarding and often lucrative profession, and as a business gains momentum, it can be hard to pause and reflect on the purpose behind the work. Before long, advisors find themselves working more hours than they want, caught in an operational mess, and have little to no familiarity with what lights them up outside of their businesses.

Reversing this pattern can be difficult, which is why I encourage advisors to:

1. Hire a coach.

2. Hire a own financial planner (so they can really understand what the business needs to provide to their financial picture).

3. Define what is enough for them (in all the ways) so they can start to feel more spaciousness and freedom in their business and life.

Competition is hard to avoid as an advisor, but rest assured that the advisors who trade revenue for time, number of clients for their integrity, find satisfaction at a deeper level than others.

Ok. Thank you for all of that. Let’s now move to the core focus of our interview. As an “finance insider”, you know much more about the finance industry than most consumers. If your loved one wanted to hire a financial advisor (not you :-)), which 5 things would you advise them to find out about before committing? Can you give an example or story for each?

I have a lot of opinions about this topic.

First — you need to ensure you’re working with an impartial and qualified professional. That means you’re working with an advisor who has taken a Fiduciary Oath to serve you in your best interest. Fiduciaries have an ethical and legal obligation to disclose conflicts of interest, and make recommendations that are in your best interest (not just recommendations that are suitable for you).

This also means that they don’t sell insurance or financial products for a commission. Always ask if the advisor is a Fiduciary. Certified Financial Planners have made this commitment to act in clients’ best interests, and have completed a rigorous educational and ethical training program.

Second — understand how the advisor is compensated. If the advisor can’t explain it clearly or simply, walk away and find a different advisor. There are thousands of great advisors at networks like XYPN and NAPFA who are not just fiduciaries, but also fee-only advisors — meaning they charge a flat fee, a monthly fee, or a simple AUM fee with no hidden costs associated. If the advisor is going to manage your investments, ensure they are fee-only and a fiduciary. You want to be confident they are not incentivized to put your money into high fee funds, or sell unnecessary products like insurance or annuities.

Third — look for comprehensive planning — not just investment management. Successful financial planning starts with having a plan and understanding the behavioral side of your relationship with money. Even if you are earning well and seeing strong investment returns, neither matters unless they’re working toward your long term plan. When your goals align with your values, and your behaviors align with your goals, you create a powerful foundation for success. A true financial plan takes everything into consideration (from cash flow to your insurance needs), not just your investment returns. A comprehensive plan helps you pivot, adapt and grow with confidence, and most importantly — reflects who you really want to be in the world. Advisors with the Registered Life Planning (RLP®) designation, specialize in this approach and guide clients through a deep assessment of their life vision, and can help turn that vision into reality.

Fourth — look for someone who understands you and your specific needs. There are advisors all around the country who have created firms to work with specific types of clients on their specific needs. For example, Childfree Wealth specializes in helping childfree people navigate the nuances and potential of their financial picture. Maybe you’re struggling to pay down your medical school debt — you can find a firm that works exclusively with medical professionals. Maybe you’re a widow, or going through grief, you can find someone who is deeply familiar with that process.

Fifth — believe that you deserve an advisor. Money is hard. It’s scary, and it’s confusing. We’re not taught financial basics anywhere in our education, so there’s no shame in saying that you need support and advice. Some people try to handle their finances on their own, but there’s nothing like a professional’s opinion and support to help you take the risks you want to take, and achieve the peace of mind that you’re looking for. Yes, you will pay for this relationship, but you would pay for professional guidance in a lot of areas of your life, and your finances are the backbone of your security — so go ahead and treat yourself.

I think most people think that financial advisors are for very wealthy people. This is likely not actually true. Can you explain who would most benefit from hiring a financial advisor and why? Can you give an example?

I firmly believe that almost everyone could benefit from working with a financial planner. Whether you’re an expert at investments or a total novice, having unbiased third party support can save you time, give you confidence and help keep you accountable. For a long time, financial planning was reserved for the pre-retiree/retiree, but now, thanks very much to XYPN, the field has expanded to serve younger clients on their needs — like having children, buying a home or taking a sabbatical.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I credit three individuals for my success. First, Katie Braden was the cold call that changed my life. She took time to help understand the industry and introduce me to the evolving landscape. I also credit Alan Moore and Michael Kitces for taking a chance on me as their first hire at XYPN. I knew very little at the time, but I was deeply motivated. Their trust and confidence set me up for long-term professional success.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Share wealth — don’t hoard it. If you have it, give it to those who need it more. If we all gave more money away, and expected it of others, we could solve a lot of problems of inequity.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

LinkedIn

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.