Shownotes
- Redefining Retirement as Graduation: I shared my belief that retirement shouldn’t be a retreat, but a “graduation” into something even better—another chapter of purpose, relevance, and contribution, no matter your age or stage.
- A Legacy Built to Last: One of my greatest professional aspirations is to build a legacy at BFG that not only endures but thrives beyond my own career and lifetime, continuing to serve clients and foster great talent.
- The Power of Mentorship and Collaboration: Modeled after a teaching hospital, BFG offers advisors a place to learn and thrive without pressure to “sell”—demonstrating that collaboration and ethical mentorship are the cornerstones of a meaningful career.
- The Critical Need for Financial Literacy: Navigating the financial world requires knowledge and vigilance. I highlighted accessible resources like our free online financial literacy course at BFG University and recommended involvement in programs like Junior Achievement to help bridge the gap.
- Choosing the Right Financial Advisor: When seeking an advisor, trust and transparency are paramount. I cautioned listeners to seek professionals who are honest, open, and clear about their offerings—making the advisor-client relationship as authentic and supportive as possible.
Transcripts
This is Eric Brotman, the host of Don't Retire Graduate, the podcast that asks you what you want to be when you grow up so you can graduate into retirement with purpose and with passion. Welcome to our Diary of a Financial Advisor segment where we interview financial advisors about their professional journeys and their passion for helping others succeed. Today I get to wear a different hat than normal. I'm pleased to be joined by BFG's intern, Tony Breen, a student at Stevenson University. And he's asked to interview me instead of the other way around. So today's show will be from my own personal Diary of a Financial Advisor. Please welcome Tony Breen. Tony, the mic is all yours.
Tony Breen [:Hey, thank you, Eric. It's an honor to be here. Just want to start off with yesterday, actually, I finished up, I graduated from retire university. I read your book and completed that as preparation for this. And so hopefully one day I'm not looking for graduation in the same sense of retirement, but I'm looking to graduate college hopefully. So to start off with, I guess you mentioned in your book that you don't want to retire, but you would like to graduate repeatedly. To expand on this, what does a successful graduation look like to you today? And how did your idea of graduation change as you matured?
Eric Brotman [:You know, the idea of retirement, I think is antiquated, Tony. And I know that for someone, for someone in their 20s, this isn't something that you're necessarily thinking about every day in the way folks like me in our 50s are thinking about it. But retirement is historically the absence of work. It's a disappearance, it's a retreat, it's damn near a surrender. And I have no desire to do that. My life, I have what I think is many, many years ahead of me. I hope it is. And even if I wasn't in my current day job, I still want to be relevant.
Eric Brotman [:I still want to have purpose. I still want to have a reason to get out of bed every morning. So to me, when you graduate, it's the end of something, but it's the beginning of something better. And when you walk across that stage next May, I assume it's next May, when you walk across that stage, you're going to feel a sense of accomplishment, but you're also going to feel a sense of exuberance because you're moving towards the next chapter of your life. If retirement is the last chapter before, frankly, a dirt nap, I'm not ready to sign up for that being next on my, on my bucket list. So I really want to continue to graduate routinely and to constantly be advancing in my professional life. And you know, that might mean new roles, new responsibilities, new opportunities, but it certainly won't mean daytime TV and shuffleboard.
Tony Breen [:Yeah. And I. I think like you mentioned in the book, it is important to leave a legacy. And it seems like here at bfg, you've really created this legacy. What kind of drove you this point? Was it a mentor or a past or just wanting to leave a legacy? What kind of guy you to where you are that you have this legacy of BFG and your other legacies as well?
Eric Brotman [:It's a great question. I think realistically, the idea of just no longer working one day and closing up the tent and having it be like it never existed is a very tragic end to an incredible entrepreneur's journey. And so I would like to see BFG continue for many, many years beyond my working years and hopefully beyond my living years. Quite candidly, I think the legacy that I can leave behind professionally is one that will continue to care for clients and continue to be a great place for employees to work and continue to be a leader in our industry and in our community. And even if I'm not here physically, I want my spirit basically of entrepreneurship and of building something to continue to exist. So my hope is that the company will long outlive me.
Tony Breen [:Yeah. And I think BFG does a really good job of mentorship and collaboration. What kind of inspired you describe as an ensemble practice model at bfg? Is this what you kind of think differentiates BFG from other firms?
Eric Brotman [:Well, there are a number of firms that are ensembles where you have multiple practicing partners or principals who are involved together and who own the company together. Being an ensemble isn't necessarily unique. What is unique about BFG is that, number one, all of our advisors are salaried. That's a major shift in an industry that's typically been all about sales and all about production and all about, you know, what have you done for us lately? And so none of our advisors are incented to sell anything to anyone ever. And I think that is a major shift. Another thing that I think makes us a little bit different is that we don't have an asset minimum. We have offerings to meet folks where they are, and we can work with families who are just getting started or individuals just getting started, all the way up to multigenerational families and multi generational family businesses and so forth. So it allows us to work with people instead of saying, sorry, we won't help you, and that's been terrific.
Eric Brotman [:And then you Know, lastly, if there's another differentiator, I think it's the corporate financial wellness programs that we run where companies are either for profits or nonprofits will hire us to work with their employees and help create some financial literacy and do some financial consulting and those kinds of things. Just, they're not out there. You know, 401k providers don't do a great job of doing that, and HR departments aren't legally allowed to do that. So I think we're filling a niche, and I think that's partly what separates us. You know, I had a terrific mentor early in my career who has built something very similar. And, you know, I, I aspired to build something in my own, in my own sort of image, but using some of that as the, the impetus to get started. And, and, and it really was helpful to me. So you talk about mentorship.
Eric Brotman [:I, I love the fact that we're essentially a teaching hospital for financial advisors, to use a medical analogy. I mean, advisors can join us and can learn the business and can get great at their craft without having to call friends and family and try and sell them something, which is just an insulting way to start a career. And sadly, the way so many advisors my age and older had to get started.
Tony Breen [:Yeah. And I think going through learning about different companies and kind of where you want to start out as a financial advisor, seeing something like that, where everyone's working together and it's collaborative, and like you said, you're not going out doing all the marketing yourself is really important. But I'd also like to add that you wrote a book to promote financial education. How important is it that the everyday person or clients or anyone really learns more about financial literacy? And do you have any recommendations of ways they can do this? Is there certain books you would suggest or resources that come to mind?
Eric Brotman [:I think being financially illiterate is as challenging and as often frustrating as being illiterate in general. I think we're faced with, as Americans, we're faced with huge financial decisions on a constant basis, starting at a generally young age. And I just think if you don't understand how this game is played, and I say game because there's so many shenanigans in the financial world, whether it's in the legislature or in the halls of Congress, or whether it's various companies or institutions or there's shenanigans everywhere. And so I think understanding how this works, understanding the basics of budgeting, the basics of how a credit card really works and how that interest compounds, understanding the student loan crisis that we're in was really about giving young people huge amounts of money that they arguably are going to have trouble repaying and they're responsible for that. So I think being financially literate allows you to make some good decisions. And I think there's nothing we do, Tony, that is neuroscience. There's nothing we do that people can't do for themselves, but they don't. A lot of the times where they want an accountability partner, where they want a kind of like having a trainer at the gym, you know, if you may know how to do sit ups and push ups, but if there isn't somebody there screaming to give you 20, you might not do them.
Eric Brotman [:And so I think from a financial literacy standpoint, it allows you to be armed, to be able to play this game effectively. And you asked what the resources are. I mean, obviously I put out the book and the podcast to try to help because not everybody needs a financial advisor and some people frankly shouldn't hire one. But it is good to get some advice. And so self serving as it may be, I hope folks will join you and graduating from retire you and reading it. There's also a resource on our website if you go go to bfguniversity.com There is a free financial literacy online course. It's eight modules. It's designed for young people or anyone who wants a refresher course.
Eric Brotman [:And it's free for anybody who wants to take it. So we're trying to do our part. I think there's some great nonprofits doing good work in this space. I think Junior Achievement is certainly one that does a great job with these things. And so whether it's plugging into the systems at school or to nonprofits or using courses like the ones that we've put out, I think there are a lot of resources and it's worth taking advantage of.
Tony Breen [:Yeah, definitely. And I think going off of the book, you had a chapter that gave some really good insights on how to pick an advisor. And it was actually called Financial Advisor Secrets, quote unquote. What would anyone searching for an advisor, what would you recommend they consider first? I know all the secrets are probably important, but is there something that stands out for someone who's ready to take that step?
Eric Brotman [:Well, I think first you have to have someone who you trust implicitly because the financial relationship is a lot like a medical relationship. I mean, there's no disrobing, thankfully, but it's very intimate in terms of the conversations. I think you need to trust somebody. It's good to get a Recommendation from someone you know or trust, whether it's your CPA or your, your lawyer, or whether it's a friend or relative who's had a good experience with an advisor. But beyond that, you know, I talk, I call it the secrets of financial advisor simply because there's so many different ways that, that these, these contracts and these systems can be non transparent. And I think being authentic and being transparent is insanely important. And so you should be working with someone who has as few secrets as possible. Quite candidly, Tony, you've done a great job with this interview.
Eric Brotman [:We only have time for one question left. I'll, I'll let you throw one more out there and I promise not to turn it around on you. How's that?
Tony Breen [:No, that's good. And this is my favorite one. Anyway, so if you had to retire tomorrow, what would you graduate into and what degree or accomplishment are you the most proud of?
Eric Brotman [:All right, that's two questions. It might be three. First of all, I'm never retiring, so everyone can, can feel good about that. Not in the tradition sense. If I were to graduate tomorrow, I would be doing a lot more consulting and speaking and volunteering. I would be trying to spread financial literacy as many ways as I could and trying to make a difference in whatever aspects I can. I mean, I love this industry, I love this business, I love what we've built and I certainly am excited to help other people find financial independence, even if I'm not in the day to day work of a CFP at some point. Point.
Eric Brotman [:So that's first in terms of what I'm most proud of. I think we touched on it already. I'm most proud of the fact that we've built something that will outlive me. And with an incredible management team, an amazing group of talented and ethical advisors who do the right thing and take great care of people. I'm very proud of that. I mean I, you know, I, I would put us up against anybody, anyone in the industry and say we are doing as good, if not better job than anyone I know. That doesn't mean there aren't some other great advisors out there. Of course there are.
Eric Brotman [:It just means that what we've built, if it's right for somebody, you know, we were going to take care of people. And it's just a, it's an amazing thing to watch and it's an amazing thing to see all these young people who have become superstars in their own right and have been able to do it the right way. So I appreciate it. Tony, this was a lot of fun. I did not expect to be on the hot seat when I woke up this morning. I thought perhaps you would be on the hot seat. But I thank you for this and it sounds like based on this conversation, you kind of want this gig. After you graduates, we'll be talking a little more.
Tony Breen [:Yeah, it wouldn't be bad.
Eric Brotman [:All right.
Tony Breen [:Well, thank you. I appreciate it.
Eric Brotman [:Absolutely. I'd like to thank everyone for listening and watching today. If you enjoy our show, please subscribe, leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform and share it with friends and family so they can join you on your quest toward financial freedom. If you'd like to send a topic or idea we might discuss in a future episode of Don't Retire Graduate, please post it on our Facebook page. We'll be back next week with another engaging guest and in two weeks with another entry in the Diary of a Financial Advisor. For now, this is your host, Eric Broughton, reminding you. Don't Retire Graduate securities offered through Kestra and Investment Services llc. Kestra is member finra, sipc Investment Advisory Services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, llc.
Eric Brotman [:Kestra as an affiliate of Kestra is Kestra Is or Kestra as are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.
