Measuring Client Impact with Michael Kothakota, PhD, CFP®, AFC®

Our guest today, Michael Kothakota is the head of research at the CFP Board. In this episode, we learn about Michael’s path into financial services, and how the AFC curriculum - on the way to becoming a planner - helped broaden his perspective and enabled him to better support clients.

We discuss how critical it is for financial professionals to be able to effectively connect solutions to human needs, and the importance of relational skills and building trust with our clients. We also get a glimpse into the early stages of CFP Board’s client impact study and are reminded how important it is not to build a profession on anecdotes.

Show Notes:
1:56 Mike's journey into financial planning and research
5:56 Building an integrated continuum of personal finance
9:12 CFB board's addition of financial psychology
13:16 Into his role as research director
17:45 Metrics around financial behavior
19:43 The importance of research in the finance industry
23:17 Advice for students or career changers into financial planning
26:18 Mike's final 2 cents

Show Note Links:

CFP Board Research and Resources

Wealth Bridge Wealth

Connect on Linkedin

JFCP Research Journal & AFCPE Research resources

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