Linda Clayton of Atara Wealth Management

Speaker A: Foreign. Hi there and uh, welcome to another episode of Nurturing Success where we chat with successful financial professionals and advisors about what they're doing well and how they might be able to change the world for the better. I'm happy to have Linda, uh, Clayton here today, who's a good friend, a great partner, uh, a wonderful advisor, and I think you're going to learn a lot from her. So thank you for being here, Linda.

Speaker B: It's my pleasure. Thanks John.

Speaker A: You're very welcome. So Linda has an extensive experience which she'll kind of share with you, but uh, you'll notice into her designation she's a cfp, uh, cdf, cdfa. And of course, you know, most of you listening to this are advisors, so you understand what those things mean. Um, but I always like to start off, Linda, with kind of just a great thought for the day. So tell me what you're grateful for today.

Speaker B: You know, I am so grateful to, to my clients because I learn from them constantly. One of the things that I do is I teach MBA students financial planning and these are CFP candidates. And it's a two way street. Teaching it helps you get perspective that you may not have thought about and it really helps me then serve a diverse, uh, range of needs because I have the ability to learn from a diverse population that I might not, not immediately find in my network.

Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. And I've forgotten, Linda, that you did that. So, um, so maybe share, if you don't mind. Maybe it's what's one or two lessons you've learned from people that are not yet. Right. They're not in the financial professional space. They're learning, they obviously have an interest in finance and so forth, but they're not there yet. So maybe one or two things that you could share with other advisors about the surprise you that you learned from them. Like I had no idea you didn't. Anyway, you share anything interest on that side.

Speaker B: There is a lot of different backgrounds that these people come to me from where money was never spoken about in their families or the way that it was um, considered really clouds their um, judgment on what they think financial planning is about because it's the lesson that they've learned and it's the normalcy in their family. So when we start exploring all the different components of a well rounded financial plan for a client, in many cases it's the first time some of these people have been introduced. So we take for granted how blessed we are, how much we know, what we've learned, what we've Experienced not recognizing that some people have not had any exposure to this. It's new to them.

Speaker A: Yeah. And it's fascinating.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: And it's probably not much different than many of the consumers or clients that become clients or their own experiences. Right. They're fighting. They're not fighting. That's not the right word. But they have their own biases that come from family experiences, whatever else it might be. So it's interesting that you're seeing that at the level of someone who intends to become write a financial planner. Right. They're going through the MBA program and their teach learning finance is interesting. That's cool. How. Um, long.

Speaker B: One of my students. Yeah, I'm sorry, One of my students this term is Russian.

Speaker A: Oh, wow.

Speaker B: And so I not only have the diverse background, but it's completely different culture. And so it's fascinating to learn about how money was discussed in her family and her in her country.

Speaker A: Uh, how do you think that's helped your practice and the work you do with your clients?

Speaker B: People have the Internet and their friends and well meaning condense that they listen to to try to figure out what they're supposed to do. And what it does is it's information paralysis. And so it's hard for them to understand what's valid and what's not. And it really helps me to be patient and to listen. And it's not just what they say, but what they don't say that is so important.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's great. Um, and I think this won't be a surprise to anyone, but as technology advances, AI gets woven into our lives more and more in our distraction economy now. Right. So gaining the attention and slowing down and listening I think is probably a very valuable skill for advisors and hard and probably difficult. Right. I mean it's so easy just ourselves to not be focused on what our clients are telling us and how we can help them best. Right. Um, interesting process. How did you get into financial services? Give us a little bit of your background and how you arrived at doing today what you do.

Speaker B: Spent most of my career in the airline industry. And I was managing ticket offices not only in the United States, but I had one in Panama. And I had, ah, not only for my airline, but two other airlines. So I had at one time three airlines, um, an um, international and 19 offices throughout the United States. And a lot of that was doing their leases for the offices. It was budgeting, it was accounting, it was auditing, it was customer service. I mean there was so many details. And then the world changed after 9 11. Yeah. And when everything changed after 9 11, it really, I, uh, had to reinvent myself. I, because I did not want to work in an airport environment somewhere else in the world. My parents were getting older. Um, you know, I, I was a single mom. I was juggling careers, there were health issues in my family. I was trying to find where I could use the skills that I was learning all this time to help other people. And that's what I recognized, is that having to start over, uh, there are other people that face this. If I can help them face these financial setbacks and help them learn what I wished I'd known at the beginning was so valuable. And it's not that you have no clue about money, it's just that you didn't know how to best use it. You didn't know what you didn't know. And so my goal was to help clients and empower them to learn what I wished I'd known all that time.

Speaker A: Well, I love that you do a fantastic job for your clients and your empathy is very evident and I know it carries through the work you do to help other people. So thank you for doing that. Um, so tell me a little bit more about um, the company behind you and sort of how you, I know it's not a big team, but you kind of believe in a team approach and some things like that tell us a little bit about how you work, um, in the world.

Speaker B: Well, at Cetera Wealth Services they are my partner's behind the scene. I have access to Gene Goldman for example that you, you see on podcasts all the time and Wall Street Journal and so many. He's such a great resource and ah, yet he's not too big. You can pick up the phone and actually talk to him or his team. Um, they're such a great resource. I have back office people that help me get things done. I have um, a part of a white glove high net worth group where I can get additional resources and services, state planning assistance, all kinds of things that support me and my practice so that I can spend one on one time working with my clients.

Speaker A: That's great, thank you. Um, so this may be cliche but you know, every year is kind of turbulent. 2026 is probably going to be turbulent as well. But is there anything that kind of stands out you're excited about in 2026 kind of going forward that's like, oh, this is going to be cool. Like anything that stands out to you and it could be personally, it doesn't have to be professional.

Speaker B: No, no, Austin, it's. I tell my clients a lot. The only thing constant is change.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And maybe that's my airline background, because that was something they had in common. But it's not what happens, it's how you deal with it. And that's what I try to impart to my clients, is that once we know what we're working with, what we're solving for, there's lots of ways to get there. I'm like their gps. You get in your car and you know where you want to go and you had it pull out of the driveway and you start on your journey and things happen between where you started and where you're going. And so I partner with them to find a way to get there. And we might have to divert, we might have to take a detour, but I feel like it's possible. We just recognize that change is going to happen and we have a plan, so we learn how to address whatever comes up.

Speaker A: Yeah, good. It's kind of like, uh, I'm going to combine together your airline background. We've all heard this story about if an airline takes off from New York, headed to Los Angeles, but they're off by even a minor degree, they might end up in Alaska or Seattle or somewhere else. It's an old little story about the idea of being directionally true and making adjustments as you go, which is what financial planning is all about at the end of the day. So I like that and I really like your GPS analogy. That's great. Um, do you work that into your conversations with the clients?

Speaker B: Absolutely. We talk about that, um, from the get go. And one of the things we talk about also is I'll remind them, what are we solving for? Because they hear so many different strategies or different approaches. And when we look at what they might be considering doing, I'll look at it through the lens. Will this bring you closer to your goal or further away? And if we keep remembering what we're solving for, what are we trying to achieve? It helps us weed out some of the things that really are not going to be as attractive as they thought when they have to choose.

Speaker A: Uh, I think it's fantastic. It's a great reminder for obviously it's good for advisors entering the space, but also for experienced advisors. So what are we solving for? We find this in our practice all the time. You have to remind people why they made the choices they did. Because at the time that was the right decision. Now the, uh, decision might change. And so then that goes back to what you said about sort of about acceptance. Right. Sometimes you just have to accept where it went. If something didn't go to plan, you just accept it. Then you make an adjustment. So I really like that. And uh, I don't know that everyone has that same approach in the financial planning space. So, so that's great. Uh, tell me, so what's working for you right now? What's, what's ring. Where are you finding new clients? What's working for you?

Speaker B: Well John, it's easy to get comfortable behind a desk and so getting involved in the community, working with centers of influence like you, joining professional groups like fpa. Um, I'm in a women's professional group. Um, I'm a mediator and arbitrator for the LA County Bar. So I meet professionals in that capacity. My teaching, um, the, all the things that I do outside my work, one on um, one with clients, I look at them purposefully the same thing. What am I solving for and how can I make the best impact? What can I learn from this interaction? What can I bring back to my practice that would benefit my clients? So that is how I have grown my practice. It's primarily referrals and I am getting lots of referrals from existing clients. And it's so interesting how they know each other or know somebody who knows somebody that uh, that's referred me. So I feel really, um, thankful that they were and comfortable enough with the advice that I've given them to recommend me to someone else.

Speaker A: Yeah, that you're, you're a busy person. And by the way, I heard you did a fantastic job at the event last night. So, so thank you for doing that. Right. So I always do a great job and you're out there. Um, and so that's the business development strategy. It's getting in front of other people and other professionals and consumers on um, a regular basis. And that works for you. And obviously the low hanging fruit of getting more clients from existing clients seems um, simple. But you got to earn that, right? You got to earn the referral.

Speaker B: Absolutely.

Speaker A: Are there some intentional things you do as you're working with a client to sort of set the stage for uh, a warm referral to another person? Is there anything you can think of you do intentionally other than being your wonderful self?

Speaker B: Do recognize when somebody gives me referral. I don't. And that's something that I think clients don't expect but appreciate.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And so I do have uh, referral acknowledgement that I give them that they kind of want to earn another one. And so I think That's a, that is something that I do anyway. Um, it's. But I, I do think that everyone wants to be appreciated and acknowledged and they want good feedback from the person that they referred to. And so I really enjoy getting that feedback from the client that said, oh, they're, they're telling me that they're so thankful for the referral and that makes them feel good. They want to refer somebody else because they're getting that acknowledgment.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, that's obviously the best way to get business and grow your business. So that's great. Um, I like that. So what is, what does Linda do? I don't want to say outside of work because these days work and life are all intertwined and. But what do you enjoy doing when you are not working directly in your practice? What are some fun, fun things you like doing?

Speaker B: Well, I love to cook, I love to entertain, I love to my grandchildren. That keeps me very busy. I love to travel. I haven't had an opportunity to do that very much. Um, and I want to be able to take advantage of some of the travel opportunities that I have put aside for a while and do. And then I, um, I belong to some clubs where I enjoy doing some social things with other club members. So that's, that keeps me very busy. There's not a lot of grass growing under my feet on any.

Speaker A: That's why I said, I know you don't have downtime in the way that we might think of what that means. But, uh, but that's okay. You're taking full advantage of, of all the things you do and that's great. Um, do you mind sharing maybe some of the tools you use within your practice? I mean software or anything that's, you know, just to share with other advisors what you're using.

Speaker B: Sure. I'm a big proponent of um, a lot of the tools that are available. So I use Asset map, nitrogen jump, AI Russell's roadmap, FP Pathfinder, holistic plan, MoneyGuide Pro. Um, I do have E money, but I haven't migrated everybody over there. It depends on what the client is. Are they goal based or what are they looking for? Again, what are we solving for? Um, but I have access to both of those softwares and then I do an annual questionnaire that I call Pride and Gratitude. And what we do is. Say it one more time, Pride and Pride and Gratitude. And we review the prior year's accomplishments and we plan for future goals.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Uh, and that is really powerful because in the thick of it. The clients don't always recognize how far they've come in a given year. And so when we go back and I ask them to think, what did you accomplish? What did you leave unfinished? What do we want to, uh, why. Why was it unfinished? And what do we need to do this year? It's great conversation to have, and it really helps clients pat themselves on the back that, oh, I did do that, didn't I? And. And move forward to things that they are reminded that I haven't forgotten they said they wanted to do, and, um, that we're still working toward those goals.

Speaker A: I love that idea. Um, and I think people do annual reviews, but they probably don't do a look back. Like, it sounds like you're really doing a look back. And so it's a fluid and evolving life plan in a way. Right. Um, that's great. Where do you keep that data? Is it handwritten notes? Is it something you keep in your database? How do you kind of keep that data?

Speaker B: It's a questionnaire, and we do it together. And then they save their questionnaires and they get a copy, and we'll go back and look at what they've done, uh, prior years and where they. Where they're going. And it's. It's a lot of fun because some of their goals in their minds initially might have felt unachievable.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And then here they are, years into something that they had thought they could never do. And that's powerful.

Speaker A: Yeah. I love that. Um, you know, it's not the same kind of thing, but, you know, we do, uh, you know, a. A, you know, kind of a vision board. Right. Every year. So it's kind of. We do a team vision board, and then I have a personal vision board. Right. Um, and just, you know, the idea of. Of having things down that you can. And you can see it's. Right. So I can get to it and think about it, and, you know, I don't look at it every day, but, you know, certainly the idea of annually returning those kind of things and the fact the client has it and refer back to it, I think is great. So cool. Uh, you can share or not share. Up to you on these next two questions. I'm curious how you track. Do you track number of families you work with? Do you track aum. Um. Um, what's important to you? And again, it's up to you to share if you want to or not share some of those numbers. But I'll leave it to you how you track where you're at in your practice?

Speaker B: I track both.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: And it, again, it depends. Some of my clients are clients because they are family of other clients and they, they might be Henry's, um, high earners. Not rich yet.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, sure.

Speaker B: But giving them a strong foundation is a great prelude to someday when they do have resources. And I've had clients that I've met years ago and we worked with that were extended family that all of a sudden say I have, and it's a big amount of money that we just got and now I'd like to have you put it to work. And all of those lessons that we worked on a long time ago were not taken lightly. They, they knew that it was something that they wanted to be able to do. So I, I really invest time in some of these people that are learning and getting started because number one, it's the right thing to do. I, I want, I want to emphasize teaching. I'm a teacher after all. It's so helpful and I want them to start. But it's great when they now say, okay, that lesson, I did take it to heart. Now I'm ready.

Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you for sharing that. And I know probably how you can ask the next question because I don't think it's specific in your case because I know the way you work. But. So you don't really have a minimum per se, is there? How do you address that with certain clients? Or do you address it?

Speaker B: We talk about again, what are we solving for?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And am I going to be a good fit for what they're trying to do and what assets they have may or may not play into that conversation in the decision making process. They, they may be somewhere, somebody that is just getting started. A lot of times clients, uh, will introduce me to their recently graduated young person and here they are and they need to get started. And so a minimum is not applicable. If there's somebody that it really would not benefit from financial advice, they don't want it and they just want to try to capture the thing they heard on the news. They, I might not be the right fit for them because I, I really believe that planning is so important. And I, I talk to my clients and I say, if you come into me and I'm your doctor and I hold up my bleeding finger and I say, guess where it hurts. Well, if I don't do a full examination, I'm going to miss the gangrene in your foot. So to me, if all you want is just a tiny sliver of, um, the whole high. I'm not going to do the best job for you. So in order for me to do the best job, I really need to understand everything about your financial life and what your values are and what we're solving for. And if that's not what they're looking for, then I'm not going to benefit them.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's well said and I appreciate that because I do think that is somewhat unique in your space. So. But I'm glad you're there. Um, can someone hire you to just write a financial plan and not assets or anything else, just.

Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Um, that is definitely one of the options when I sit down with clients. One of the initial, um, conversations. Our initial meeting is a get to know you meeting. And in that meeting I show them three different ways I can work for them. Uh, one of them is to just do a plan. Another is after the plan is done, I can continue to be on a consulting basis. They, uh, pay me quarterly to have full availability. If they're doing that, if I'm at a plan or on a consulting ongoing, I give them a lower cost of my assets under management because they're already paying me. I'm not double dipping. Or they can hire me hourly. Although I will say most people, when they recognize how much time we spend together, the other options are a lot more affordable for them. But I very clearly describe that at the beginning so that they know that there are opportunities.

Speaker A: And thank you, thank you for sharing that again. Because as advisors see this, they understand the different models and I think it's ever changing and it's valuable to understand what other people are doing. Um, so let's transition, talk a little bit about some of the work we've done together. I just want to ask. So obviously we're in the liability management space, you're in the asset management space. And I firmly believe, as I think you do as well, that the two things are tied together. And making these in a silo don't often result in the outcome you're hoping for. So tell me how you think about liabilities and mortgages and debt planning kind of in the context of your practice. So, Linda, So we've had a chance to work together on a number of different cases, and we obviously work in the liability management side. You work on the asset side. I think we both believe these two things are tied together, so the decisions should be tied together as well. So how do you think about liability management, debt mortgages, kind of in the context of your practice?

Speaker B: Well, absolutely. It's possible to, um, overlook that unseen financial burden that debt can place in an otherwise robust portfolio. If you have sizable obligations, they going to erode your standard of living. So on the surface, it may look like you've got plenty of money, but until that debt is managed, if you have an emergency or you want to retire, you're not able to do it because of all the debt that's outstanding. Yeah.

Speaker A: So, I mean, it needs to be kind of looked at as well. Um, we've had a chance to work together on, you know, some cases where we need to bring in home equity into the plan. I mean, how do you feel about, you know, home equity ultimately as part of a retirement income plan?

Speaker B: You know, my clients have been in situations where the alternatives would be to sell something that they're going to have a huge tax burden if they do. They've had health challenges where they're. They don't want to have a fire sale.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: They have, they have debts that are preventing them from achieving other goals that are very important. And so we try to plan not only for the liability, but how we can offset that with something else in their plan. And it's been a great opportunity for clients. They're so thankful that this has helped them reach their goals. So it's been a wonderful resource to, um, have. The really important conversation that I appreciate that you have is that it's not just what you can get approved for, but what you can afford. Yeah. And that that aligns with what I talk about too. So I, I appreciate that you're really aware of the whole financial picture and not just, you know, we can give you this much, but not take into account their other expenses.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, yeah. Thank you for that. Um, yeah, they're all. And there's no one solution for everyone. Right. And every case is unique, Just like every client you work with. Every client we work with is unique. Um, there is no one size fits all. So. And the product, you know, in my case, I'm product agnostic. I mean, there's different things to solve. Different. Going all the way back to your original, you know, what are we solving for? Right. And that's what, you know, there's ways to solve for some of the same issues from this side. There's taxes. Anyway, you mentioned it all, so thank you. All right, so we're just about done. Um, I want to give you kind of the final word. And so it can be maybe some advice for their advisors or just a general goodwill feeling to the world out there, but what do you want to share with the world?

Speaker B: Well, uh, what I want to share is that it's something that I have learned and honed when I do mediator mediations because you have to be neutral, you have to listen, you can't give advice. And as advisors, we are so quick to give advice. We want to tell them just what to do. And it's hard to sit on your hands and just listen. And I think in our attempts to be helpful, we miss so much and clients often say important things right after we think they finish speaking.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: So I, I've really taken to heart the quote that we have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.

Speaker A: Thank you. Perfect way to end. Thank you, Linda.

Speaker B: Thank you, John.

Speaker A: We'll talk to you soon.

Speaker B: It was a pleasure.

Speaker A: Thank you so much.

Speaker B: Mhm. Bye.

Speaker A: Bye.