The Intellectual Capitalist Podcast with Tony D’Angelo

Hello and welcome to the Intellectual Capitalist Show. This is your host Tony D’Angelo, and joining me on the other side of the screen is the amazing Irvin Schorsch. Welcome to the Intellectual Capitalist Show.

Tony, it’s a pleasure to be with you. I’m excited and share some exciting concepts here.

Yes, listeners, Irvin is the founder of Pennsylvania Capital Management. He’s an entrepreneur, a fellow member at Strategic Coach and the author of this, his latest book called Who’s on Your Dream Team, A strategic partnership that will help you make lots more money and create your ideal life. And let me add to that, another byline I think is really powerful of your book, Irvin, is this, how to find a fiduciary committed to your family and your ever-changing life. So you introduced me to this word, I’ve heard it before, that is this word, this idea of fiduciary Irvin. What’s a fiduciary?

A fiduciary is at least in our field, an advisor that puts the best interest of their client ahead of themselves and their firm and does that in writing before the relationship starts. So there’s no question about who comes first in terms of all the services, ideas, and creativity that shared between advisor and client.

Alright, so listeners out there, to put this in context of what Irvin does so well in his book, it’s page 37, he shares with us in 2021, there were over 263,000 financial advisors and there’s roughly 6% that are actually fiduciaries. So that’s about under 16,000 professionals out there being fiduciaries. And the thing that I love about the word fiduciary, it actually is, it’s all built upon this one word and that’s the T word, that’s trust. So Irvin, what inspired you to become a fiduciary and not just a financial planner or a commission-based stock salesperson, how did that evolve in your career journey?

I started my career with one of the big investment firms, they call them wirehouses. And I felt that what they had promised was a month in New York learning about all aspects of the industry. What I got was product sales pitches on all of the products that they sold. And I felt right from the start, I’ve got to be careful because they’re looking out for their best interest, not those of my clients.

And when did you decide to make that shift? So at that time you’re starting out as a commission-based stockbroker I’m assuming. Correct. Or at least the training was for that?

Well, the way they called it, you are a, I could work for a fee or a commission, but the training that I got were about funds that they created, things they wanted to push.

(03:05)
And I made very sure when I started that I would not be obligated to have any allocations that I must sell. And I liked that meaning at least I could do it my way. And I started back in the early eighties when interest rates were very high, I could get AAA insured municipal bonds at 9% for 10 years or longer, or I could get shorter term certificates of deposit at 14 plus percent. And my viewpoint was if I use those kinds of tools as I work with clients, that they wouldn’t get hurt while I was learning my practice and my craft and the proper way to serve clients.

And so over this time you evolved and then now you come out with this second book that you have, you’ve a couple other books out there. Most recently is your book called Reinvent Rich, is that correct?

That’s correct.

I’m sorry,

I wrote that in 2018.

Beautiful. 2018. And now you’ve got this new bestselling book because you’ve hit a couple of the bestsellers list. And again, who’s on your dream team? So tell us about what inspired this book? Who’s on your dream team? Why did you write this one?

The point you mentioned about only 6% of financial advisors out there really concerned me. To me it’s a black spot on our industry. Advisors should be fiduciaries putting their clients ahead of themselves so that the client knows they’re getting true representation and not a sales pitch. And I wanted to be able to put together the right questions so that every successful investor that would utilize a financial advisor could figure out whether they were true blue, a real fiduciary or a charlatan pretending to be one.

I love it. I love it. One of the things we talked about in the green room is I kept picking up again, part of what we do in the intellectual capitalist is feel and sense what that brand is that you as a entrepreneur, that you as a person, as a soul, it’s not just coming from you, it’s coming through you. And it’s these F words I keep picking up. Again, it’s family focused, fiduciary firm and really being able to give people that sense of guidance and stewardship. One of the things I mentioned a moment ago is this idea about this word trust. And I wrote it down as I was in the reading where on page I think three, you basically begin to define the word fiduciary, but it comes from the Latin Fre, F-I-D-E-R-E. And that means to trust how important is trust and where has trust been eroded in the financial services, in the wealth management industry. From your lens?

From my lens, trust is the cornerstone of the relationship. As I look at how we serve clients, we are there to serve, not take advantage of it, we could get compensated, but it’s as the client wins, not putting the client in an awkward position where they have to wonder are they getting our complete attention? And is the focus really on helping them to create what matters as life changes? You’ll hear that in this conversation. To me, everything we’re doing is subject to the client’s changing life, which can happen on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. And our relationships with our clients are built on that very open idea that they get a firm, not a person, they don’t get a rep. And in many cases financial advisors are reps for bigger firms and we want to make sure that they get the best we have to offer with our talent and with certified financial planners that we have on our team, of which I am one myself.

(07:03)
And then also we have a professional network of 62 different outside firms who we’ve vetted on a non-pay to play basis, meaning that we pay them nothing, they pay us nothing ever, and we expect them to serve our clients in ways that we don’t or they get fired. If they’re not treating them at the highest level the way we do our clients, then they’re out. So our view of being a true fiduciary is you serve the client in all the ways we’re capable of. We act as that mentor of here are other firms to consider whether they’re local, regional, or national in supplying other things that the clients need.

Beautiful. What I love about the book, you said it a moment ago, it’s not about the money because as you say in the book, what you do as a fiduciary, you said these are the first things we do. We lower your anxiety. So again, we’re looking at and listeners, a successful investor, entrepreneur, individual who has come into some wealth that they’re thinking about yet they have anxiety, they have conflicts that they’re dealing with solving nagging problems. And I think this is in our green room chat, like you said. No, I love to solve people’s really nagging problems elevate joy. Notice listeners, we’re deep in the list here. I haven’t heard MONY once give back your time to do, get back your time to do more of what you love and want to be doing the most and then you say increase your wealth. I’m curious what helped you develop that kind of consciousness in your focus as a fiduciary? Where did that unique process come from? If I could use a little coach language out there for us all?

Absolutely, absolutely candidly, seeing all the things that competitors did wrong

(09:00)
Such as leading with we can manage money better than anyone else. I thought to myself A, there’s really no guide to that. There’s no proof that that’s true or in any way accurate. There have to be other differentiating factors. And to me, creating wealth in an efficient proper asset allocation consistent with the client’s time horizons and with their changing life is expected. And because it’s expected, if you don’t prove yourself and you show how capable you are in those areas, you’re out after the first year anyway. So with that as a given, it seemed essential to me what are the value adds that we bring to the table? And that’s where the professional network idea came from.

And when did that come into fruition for you? Where did you start actually seeing that work? Because in your book you share some fantastic stories, the couple who at the art collection and you were able to get it auctioned off and transported to New York safely and how you did all that. So again, so much more than money. There is this, again, I’m going to keep bringing about this family focus. So it’s not just the individual, it is the family, the current generation and the continuing generations. But again, this constant word around fiduciary, we’re going to solve your problems and your nagging issues first and then we’re going to talk about the money. I thought that was really powerful. I’m sorry, go ahead. You were going to say go ahead.

You asked how long in the last decade? Yes,

Thank you. Most

Of this has evolved in the last decade and it actually started with the obvious, if we’re a financial services firm, a fiduciary firm, then we have connections because every client has an accountant, they have an attorney, maybe they have a pension actuary or others that are expected in our industry. But I found that clients had a lot of other issues and as we vetted one-off relationships for clients that needed them, it dawned on me that what we should create is a true variety that handles more and more of client needs as they grow older. And it may be as simple as helping the mother-in-law, just to pick an example, whose health is beginning to fail, get out of her home into a continuing care retirement community. But it’s not as simple as negotiating that. And in many cases they are negotiable depending on their occupancy, depending on what different apartments or homes they have to offer.

(11:50)
But there’s the cleaning up the home, what goes off to an internet auction after the kids pick and choose what things they would like to have or a live auction and transporting all the goods that need to go to the new home. So we coordinate all of that For many of our clients, that’s an important part which has nothing to do with money, but we do negotiate or a client for example, that wants to buy a new building and they have never heard of a cost seg study where they can maximize their deductions by being effective in evaluating the new building as they purchase it. And we have firms that will do that nationwide. So those are a couple of examples of how if you think outside the box, you can bring in these alternative firms. Or actually I think one of my favorites these days is clients get older and older heading into their eighties and nineties, they don’t want to pay bills as much. And with the advent of the internet, we have firms that will do your week to week bill paying, send you reports on what it looks like, send you copies of your bills or you can send it to them. But that’s something we negotiated the cost down and they work nationwide. So here are a couple of examples of capable firms that don’t do what we do, but every fiduciary should be offering.

I love it. I love it. And for listeners, so I want to take the show on a couple of different levels. Number one, first for you listeners out there who are looking for a fiduciary, I want you to go out and get the copy of the book who’s on your dream team, and I want you to read it. It’ll only take you less than an hour. And I want you to see and begin to answer some of the questions that Irvin and his team really lay out for you. But then also be mindful of this whole other network of specialists because as Irvin just said, what’s 62 different types of professionals, but there’s financial professionals, personal service specialists, specialists for the home. I mean even having a tree arborist, I thought that was fantastic. Your personal growth, your healthcare services, even the work, the commercial cleaning services to the IT specialist, that level of mindset, it’s almost like concierge life support for individuals and for their families.

(14:11)
So I love, again this category that you’re creating. So that’s one piece I want to speak to for you listeners. And then I want to speak to those other individuals in this network that you are attracting and help you be a bigger, better multiplier. So one of the things we’re talking about in the green room listeners, and of course this is the intellectual capitalist show, and what is an intellectual capitalist? An intellectual capitalist is somebody gets rewarded for their surplus understanding. So where does that come from? Surplus understanding, capitalist has surplus understanding is the intellectual, it’s not your iq, it’s this vast understanding and what we’re talking about 30 years of surplus understanding that you have Irvin, what would you say to those individuals who are looking maybe to be a part of your network or some of your collaboration expectations that you have, if you’re going to be referring these network members from that, what are the dos and don’ts of that collaboration?

Great question, Tony. It really is candidly for them to pass the sniff tests,

(15:21)
We have to see and experience either through our own experiences because in many cases I’m vetting these myself as I use them and I find a winner and I look at how they treat me, it gives me a very direct sense of how they treat their clients. And some of the questions that I’ll ask is tell me about, and it’s funny, I did one just this morning and he is a general contractor and we had to cover, are you licensed to do plumbing and carpentry and other things that take requirements? And his answer was no. And yes, what we aren’t licensed at, we have immediately accessible as a general contractor through many years of experience. So like we do in our professional network, they do experientially. And the way I got to this individual was I sent out a note to our best clients, those that were critical, that were objective and said, who do you know that you’ve had at least 10 years experience with? Who’s been consistently a great provider that they do what they say they’ll do on time reliably for a fair price? That’s how we start.

And sure how beats Angie’s List, Irvin’s list the magic of it.

But the difference is this is vetted,

Yes.

So that we’re putting them through their paces. And actually the one this morning a client is used for well over a decade and I want to add them because it’s a gap in our list that I want to fulfill. And we also have clients with shore houses down on the Avalon, stone Harbor, Cape May, Longport areas in South Jersey. I’m looking specifically for them. And I sent a letter to our clients saying, with those kinds of criteria, do you have anyone you trust at that kind of a level that I can interview? So we have an interview process and then we will give them an opportunity to prove themselves. If they don’t, they’re out. If they do, then we begin to consider that.

That’s beautiful. I love that, I love that. So you’re not only tapping your surplus understanding of what it means to be a fiduciary and kind of being that gatekeeper, that guardian, that shepherd of all of these service providers for your client base. But the other piece I shared with you in the green room is that you’re also an educational capitalist, right? Because really what you’re doing is you’re teaching, you have many clients, and I’ll use the word a spirits instead of client because an spirit is somebody who aspires transformation. And from what I gather, you’re not there just to pour in. You’re also there to help people draw out their dreams, their hopes, their fears, their ambitions, and help them create that life that they truly want to actually live that dream. So you’re kind of like the head coach of the team and you’re drawing this all out for people, but talk more about the educational component that you do not only with your clients but also with this advisor network. I think that’s really fascinating.

If I look at that process, that educational process, Tony, it all starts with the first conversation, meaning as I described, if I’m interviewing a potential professional network member, I explained this to them too, that we’re not going to pay them and we don’t want anything in return. We will help them grow their businesses if they meet our standards. As far as the educating and taking the flip side of that, looking at the client side, I look for what’s missing when I talk to them

(19:22)
In that initial conversation where they’ve sought us out or they’ve heard good things about Pennsylvania capital management, we have a perfect track record, no lawsuits, no arbitrations, no complaints, nothing. Obviously. That’s one of the questions in my book to ask whoever you’re working with and very often you get a litany of, well, there was this problem and that problem, but here’s the excuse why this and that there shouldn’t be any and that should be for every member of the team. But as I look at the client side, they’re often, as you pointed out in pain in some area or another, it’s either a lack of understanding, there’s some pain, there’s some anxiety, something went wrong, a child dealing with drugs or someone who’s hurt and they don’t know how to help them or how to get the right healthcare recommendations. And while we’re not physicians, we have many physicians as clients, it’s our third largest client group.

(20:25)
And we do have people that they can talk to to get some of the insights they need in the more complicated fields in particular. So while we’re not medical experts, by asking the right questions to see what the pain points are, we really can get a good sense of what they may be looking for. And then we take that and say to them, let’s develop your priority list. What matters most to you? We know part of what you’re here for is to create more wealth or figure out how to manage it to keep more away from Uncle Sam so that you’re effectively keeping more of what you earn, which may be creating an S corp or a C corp or developing asset protection trusts or other things to help minimize the tax bite. But it also may be as simple as I’m worried about the world and what’s going on politically here and the war in Russia, Ukraine or Israel, Hamas, how do I deal with that VIN and how do I balance out what I’m doing here enough cash to protect my family with growing the rest? So it’s really an interrogatory type of discussion to get to understand what matters to them and then to work from their list. I think that’s the key.

I love it. I want to say it this way, of course I would say a coach, but I would also say at many times you and your team have to be playing the role of a shrink. And I mean that totally positively like a psychiatrist or psychologist, but you got to shrink those big problems down into digestible, solvable situations at the same time a stretch being that so you’re doing shrinking and stretching with your client base. Let me ask you, if I wanted to become a client, let’s put it out there and for those listeners, how does one engage you? Again, I’m going to just say it. I know I need to read the book, but what do I do next if I want to become one of your clients and be under your fiduciary wing, let me say it that way. What would you advise somebody to do who’s listening for this show who wants to become a client of Pennsylvania Capital Management? How do they do that?

Well, very simple. At the back of that book is our contact information last page on the section about the author. So finding this is easy. Our website is pcm advisors.com. We made that very simple. So you can see different journeys that we take clients through right on the website. So obviously checking us out and seeing what we’re made of, very straightforward, very easy, especially in this day and age, obviously, if a prospective individual wants references to be able to validate that clients have experienced what we’re talking about here, that’s easy. In terms of physically becoming a client with us, it’s all about beginning with a discovery meeting, a conversation that will likely last an hour, could be a little less, could be significantly more. Where we talk about some of the things you and I were just discussing, what are points, what do they need help with?

(23:37)
What are the kinds of changes that they’re experiencing that they’re struggling with? And actually I find that I’m very surprised some people come in as a do it yourself, Irv, I’ve been doing this for years, it’s just fine. And we recently had a banker come to us and say, I’m tired of this. I don’t want to worry about this. I want to enjoy my life. The years I have left, she’s in her late seventies and said, I want free time. I’m coming in to delegate this to somebody that can worry about all these issues for me and my family. And having heard that we don’t have a rep, they get the entire team and they get to pick and choose who they want to talk to. I think gives people a sense of that’s great. So I’m not stuck with the rep or single advisor, but in terms of that next step at the discovery meeting, we go through that discussion so they can see what we’re made of. We can get an understanding to see if there’s a good fit, if they are a do-it-yourselfer or they ready to partner with a firm to make some of these decisions. Some people aren’t, some people aren’t. Are they ready? Because we can never tell when an individual or a couple is at that stage of life where they want that, but

(24:52)
Also may be that they are getting sold a bill of goods at one of the big wirehouses filled with moldy level conflicts. The firm creates products that the salespeople sell. And then on top of that, there may be a wrap fee or an ongoing annual fee and it’s not well described and filled with conflicts. And so we obviously can discuss that during that hour discovery meeting where there’s no obligation, but they get a chance to see what we’re like and vice versa.

I love it. Now, one of the critical things of being an intellectual capitalist is we never look at things as cost, but as investments and more. So going back to ISU, as I mentioned, your being an educational capitalist. So what’s the tuition on average that a client would write? Is it a percent of the assets that I have? Is it a flat fee? How does that work from your pricing model? I’m curious to know that.

Of course, we have three different pricing models as a fiduciary, whatever’s best for the client. For example, if the client has a project that they want to accomplish and figure out how to deal with it, that should be by the hour, meaning there’s a specific beginning, middle, and end.

Gotcha. Okay. So that’s going to be hourly for project. All right.

And obviously it’s price dependent on which level member of the team they need. So there could be multiple levels and we would document, the second way would be an annual retainer fee because there’s certain things that they need that are consistent and steady. The third way would be an assets under management, which in some cases may be some of what they have or all of what have whatever they choose, which often is better if you can determine a good negotiated fee upfront than the fiduciary advisor only makes more money if the client makes more money. So actually over time, I like that. And then if there’s a bad market and there’s an off year, then the client pays less because the value of their assets were lower during those periods. So I liked the idea of the cost to the fiduciary advisor being in sync with what’s going on in the world and the markets.

Yeah, that’s the only difference I think would destroy my tuition reference because unfortunately I look at most of your clients, they’ve probably paid a boatload of money over their lifetime in college tuition and there is no direct ROI of that or guarantee. And even if the degree does go down in value, they still had to write the same amount of check. So I really appreciate your model there and certainly listeners do as well. Alright, so that’s really helpful. Now, that was from the client lens. Again, those out there who are looking to really tap into you and your team, your surplus understanding around this, and how many clients do you work with a year? What’s the average number of your team? How many clients do you service each year roughly?

We serve approximately 195 clients.

Beautiful. Okay. And notice what you just said, you didn’t just say clients, you said families. I thought, again, there’s this other part of the piece here that it’s not just you mom and dad, it’s the family. And you constantly give great examples of that in your book that hey, mom and dad are doing well and maybe the kids are well, but the grandchildren were concerned about. So I thought that was really helpful. Beautiful.

I’m glad. I just want to add a point to that, Tony.

Yeah, go for it.

I hired two younger financial advisors who went through the whole certified financial planner process, but they speak the language of Gen Xers and gen wires and now Gen Zs too. I think that’s really important that we have team members who can cater directly to the kids and grandkids of clients so that while at my stage of life I may be dealing with the senior level, fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, we have other team members that will deal directly with the kids, develop that bond, that relationship, and that ongoing continuity.

That’s beautiful. I love it. I love it. All right. Now let’s talk back to that advisor network, this professional network being the educational capitalist. What’s your vision for Pennsylvania Capital Management as you continue to grow? Because you’re a man and listeners, you’ve been doing this for 30 years, I have no doubt you’re going to be doing it for at least another 40 years at the rate you getting younger and younger. So let’s talk, what’s your ultimate exit strategy date as a you said coach, when you plan to die, Irvin, just let it be know, which,

Let me say this to you, I’m going to answer two of this. Number one, how long am I going to work forever until they carry me out?

Here we go, you and I’ll be in the middle of an interview, Irvin and one of us will croak on air, but the show will still go on.

And as far as longevity, my goal is 1 21 20.

Alright, so that’ll take you to what year?

That’s a great question. I never looked at it that way, but Oh

Yeah, yeah. I always go. I did by the year and then I worked backwards.

It’s funny, I’ve never ever looked at that. But I will say that I envision that professional network going well beyond a hundred different categories.

And you’re only at how many categories now what I six

Right now we’re 62.

62. But you want to get to a hundred advisors.

I want to get to a hundred different service providers, all of which don’t do what we do but compliment successful families. And if possible, I’ll stretch it way beyond that. I am amazed at the different kinds of specialties that have been cropping up with the advent of AI and of technology. My view is in some cases as clients get older, let’s say into their seventies and eighties, they got onto the whole smartphone scene too late. They’re not good at it. So what are the tools using their iPhones or using their Androids where we can have for them experts that will charge them by the hour, push us whatever they need remotely from wherever and help them look good to their grandkids and help them be and capable. I think that’s actually a very important next step

That

We want to facilitate the relationships within the families and have through the lens of money and finance conversations between grandparents and children, of course, but also with grandchildren and great-grandchildren that we can facilitate as well.

Well, I think it’s beautiful, and I shared this with you before listeners, I don’t think I’ve shared this with you as you listen to this episode with Irvin, but you’ll meet this man, and I remember the first time I met you was in a coach session. Your energy is through the roof. You get younger every time. I see you both in Zoom and in person, and we have that wonderful visit in Nashville together at Coach Con. And I just got to say, Emerson said this, who you are, shout so loudly. I do not hear a word you say. So listeners, I just want you to think about this. Here you are listening to a podcast of somebody who is not just a financial advisor or a wealth manager, but a fiduciary, family focused fiduciary who has great ambition to live to be the age of 120. And he’s doing the work. I mean, I see you, you look great, you get younger. I think you weren’t late for our meeting, but oh, you had just finished a workout the last time I saw you, right? In Nashville, you’re probably working out this morning,

Actually, it’s tomorrow. I work out with my trainer three mornings a week at 7:00 AM and I do stretching and exercises six to seven days every week as well as play racket sports two to three times a week. So yes, I’m living that lifestyle and eat accordingly to live a very long lifestyle. I love it. The good Lord lets me live that long. One 20, Michael,

That’s beautiful. And what I love in listeners, we all know the adage, and if you don’t, I mean you wouldn’t be listening to this show if you didn’t know this, but we become the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and we can be only as good and as ambitious as our coaches, our advisors, our mentors. So if you’re thinking about having a rich abundant life, hang around an advisor who has a rich and abundant life, I mean, just follow and Irving’s wake and you’re going to be fine ladies and gentlemen. And so I just got to throw that to you. The other piece I think is really powerful. This comes back to if we were able to amplify urban as an intellectual capitalist, it all comes back to where does he create value for humanity? Like why is he on the universal payroll? And we did this little quick test, we call it the core genius profile. You could also call it the value creation profile. And it’s the words putting out there, where do you really get your juju from? And they are leadership, relationship, creativity, and management. And when I did this with you, Irvin, what did you say your number one top was? Was it leadership, relationship, creativity, or management? If you don’t remember. I do. I have written

Down. I do relationship. Absolutely, yes.

So relationship. Now what does that mean? Listeners? What Irvin has is a surplus understanding specifically by having relationship with other humans, with other people in the world. And what is that real thing he brings to humanity? It’s confidence. And what does confidence mean? Let’s break it down to the root Latin con means with Fidelis, it means the word faith. So if you’re looking to create your dream life, what Irvin is capable of doing, how he does it, what is his real superpower? And I think it spreads out into his firm. He’s intimately in tune with relationships. And in that, I love this. This is where you’re resonating with something Dan Sullivan said. He said, all of your intellectual property resides in the dos of your client, of your hero, target of your spirit is the word I use. And you have this innate ability, Irv to sense where people’s pain is, right? It wasn’t just about the money, it was about, Hey Johnny, my grandson needs to get to rehab. You could feel that in people and I, right? And if you could tell us more about that, it is a unique gift that you’re bringing to this industry of the fiduciary.

It’s funny you would portray it that way, Tony. You called it a gift. I call it a means of communication. Meaning when I’m in the first few minutes meeting someone new, I find that with just a few questions, I can understand what’s really going on for them. Are they a happy Glass three quarter full like I am type of person? And if they are, then we get to share that and enjoy that in each other. If they’re not, then I’m asking questions about why not? What’s missing? What was it in their experience? Again, I’m not big on superficial chitchat. I like deep meaningful conversations.

Right. And listeners, just for your context, Irv, I are in the middle of a heat wave here on the East coast. I don’t think we’ve talked about the weather ones today, which we love both.

That’s true.

It’s because you’re deep into the relationship. Let me ask you this, and I’m literally putting you on the spot with this one. Do you remember your print? Do you know your print numbers? There’s a two. Your two something.

I think I was two. One,

Yes. Ooh, wow. Okay, so this is really magnificent. So the two ones listeners in print, remember print is looking at, so if we look at Core Genius, that profile, that’s where Irvin creates value as an entrepreneur, as a soul. But then he has this, why does he do what he does? The two is the need to feel needed and appreciated. So conscious service, mindset, service mindset, all the way. And I warn Irvin or any two out there, be careful because you’ll be a serve aholic. You’ll always be putting the needs of others before that of your own if you’re not redeemed. But if you are redeemed, there’s just this beautiful humility. And that’s again what I have the privilege of meeting you now in this course of your life. And then this one is the need to reform things. And you can see it. Look at your ultimate, what you’ve manifested in your work. You said, alright, this wasn’t just, this wasn’t right. This needs to get fixed. So the one wants things to be right, perfect and correct. And so that’s why you said, Hey, if you’re going to join my network, you’re welcome. That’s the two. But if you’re doing this, excuse my vol bluntness here. If you’re doing this half ass, you’re out, you can you talk about that a little bit more, Irvin,

I’d be happy to. Really, that’s why I wrote this book, who’s in your dream team for that one in the print? And my view was if I write an expose in simple, easy to understand concepts, outlining the right questions to figure out whether your current advisor is for real or is

Holy shit, I said it for you there. Exactly. Urban didn’t say that ladies and gentlemen, I did.

Well, I think Tony, you’ve got the idea, a very, very clear idea. And I feel good that I wrote something where it really is an expose and they can look at what they’re doing. If they choose to have a discovery meeting with us, great. If they don’t, then I’ve educated them to take that and make a smart choice in their own lives. And to me, I feel like I’ve contributed to humanity in a meaningful way.

Well, and you said something really, you said the critical word, and I’ll say it again, this word educate. And the two one profile is the ideal profile for a great compassionate teacher. By the way, I should know I’m married to one, but you are at an advanced level of that. And so this ability to want to heal people’s pain by giving them the more correct and better path for them. Again, not this canned product that the big company told us to sell, but this more I’m going to create again, a very proprietary intimate school that you have 190 families enrolled at. Really powerful. So there’s a mindset there. You have different tracks, I hear, okay, docs are a big class of clients that we support and serve. I’m certain you have other levels, but this word education actually means to draw out. And I picked up in reading your book, and I’m certain in your unique process when you consult with the client, you’re really drawing out where their pain is and how to solve that. Talk to that a little bit.

Be happy to, when I look at drawing out the pain that’s evolved over many years, initially I thought it was about the money, meaning we talk about what money issues you have in effect looking through the lens of money and finance to see what’s going on with that individual. And I realized that as I said a few minutes back, they expect you to be talented and committed to the principles that a certified financial planner embraces. But they’re not used to dealing with someone that really wants to understand who they are, what’s important to them in life, what are their aspirations. And that’s part of why I wrote the guide on, instead of retiring at 65, let’s look at the alternatives because we want to help them stay physically fit, mentally sharp, have a purpose going forward. And when you retire at 65 and you say, that’s it, then the body withers, the brain slows down and they die. History shows us that that’s the wrong way to go. Yes, it might’ve been appropriate when you were only living to 65 several decades ago. But with the advances in medicine, my view is we want to help them live longer with vitality and quality. And part of our process leads right into that because we want to help them not just uncover the pain and the problems as life changes, but how to deal with it.

I love that. I love it. Kim Butler, who I think from Strategic Coach, she’s been a guest on the show as well, and she’s working on the idea of this instead of retirement rewire and how to rewire that. And I applaud any baby boomer out there or silent gen member who is redefining that, what you all have done with longevity and what’s possible, right? I mean, again, a hundred is the new 65 as Peter Diamandes would say. And having that, not only the mindset, but again, you move your body every day like you are Irvin, it’s one thing to talk it, but you walk it. And I love that, that you do that. So what other ambitions do you have for your organization, for your company, for ISU, if we can coin it that way, but what’s your vision outside of the hundred additional network professional collaborators? What’s the vision?

The vision is to make a difference in the world. And I know that’s said often my view of that difference in the world is right now we want to, we expand our team, not just the professional network, to be able to serve many, many more families, but also to be in many ways a role model for the industry. I think this is where the industry should be going. I know that there are issues with regulation when you’re dealing with large companies, so it’s harder for them to turn around a little bit like a big sailboat. Yeah,

Big oil tanker.

And doing that rotation is tough. In a smaller firm, simpler, easier. I think that we will be a very good role model as we continue to expand. We’ve had very good success and looking forward to continuing that as we create a firm that will withstand future generations. Even if I would’ve passed my goal of one 20, I want to see this firm vibrant and growing and continuing to be that role model for serving clients.

I love it. So you’re going to come back when you’re a hundred at the latest and then going to come back on the show when you’re one 20, please.

I love it.

Alright, good, good stuff. Alright, so let’s bring it home. What’s your big takeaway that you really want listeners leaving this session with this podcast? Alright, here are three things that I can do, either as a financial fiduciary, as a potential client or customers, a current customer, an entrepreneur out there listening. What kind of advice would you want to share in part with them as we wrap up?

Number one, there’s a better way than what you’re used to for most, the 94% who are being served by someone who’s not a fiduciary. As I look at that, I do encourage, this is important, buy this book, spend one

Hour. Who’s on your dream team? Everybody. For those who are only listening,

Who is on your dream team? As Tony mentioned, it got two number one bestsellers, one in risk management, specifically on Amazon just this week. And I think it’s a good read whether you want the audible that you listen to, you want an ebook, you want the soft back or the hard back all available through Amazon. And I think it’s important to educate yourself. So that would be takeaway number one, take away and to also compare what you’re doing with the way it should be.

(45:52)
For two, I would say that you should have family meetings. I find that very often that while the numbers may be secret that you don’t want to share with your family about what you have, a lot of the concepts and the things that you’ve learned over the decades are so important to enrich the lives of your children and your grandchildren. Number three, spend time with them. I like taking each one of our kids. I have three kids away on a trip, father child, to go spend time doing where what they want to do in a place that they pick, where I get the joy of seeing them grow and enjoy it, and they get the fun of having something they’ll never forget because I plan a heck of a trip. It’s always fun. So I would say make time for your family and each other in this busy, busy world that we live. And obviously align yourself with a fiduciary firm that can do a great job for you and encourage those family relationships to expand obviously to the next generation, because one day you won’t be living at least here on this great earth. So you want to make sure that you share those concepts that you’ve learned with your future generations.

That is a beautiful way to close this out, Irv, I really appreciate it. I’m certain you do too, listeners, and again, as Urban said, get the book who’s on your dream team available anywhere online. You can get the audible, the hard back, the soft back, or the digital where I recommend get all four so that you can give it away too after you’ve learned to digest from this. So listeners of the Intellectual Capitalist Show, this is Tony DiAngelo, along with Irvin from Pennsylvania Capital Management and saying continue to transform those useful ideas in the cash flowing assets. Until next time, we’re grateful. You’ll list us today.