Invest Well, Be Well

Skip Schweiss - Being Where Your Feet Are

Episode Summary

A podcast for wiser investing and stronger living. Success in the markets and in life requires sound investments — in our portfolios and our personal wellness. A weekly show, Invest Well, Be Well explores the principles of long-term investing, behavioral finance and peak performance with top-performing investment professionals and cross-industry leaders. Hosted by investment executive Rusty Vanneman and seasoned journalist Robyn Murray, each episode offers practical strategies for building wealth and prioritizing well-being, so you can make better decisions, grow your resilience and elevate your life. In this episode, we spoke with Skip Schweiss, Chief Executive Officer at Sierra Investment Management. Skip Schweiss, CFP, oversees all operational activities of the organization, focusing on the growth of the firm and demonstrating the value of Sierra’s investment strategies to investors. Skip previously served as president of TD Ameritrade Trust Company and Managing Director of Advisor Advocacy for TD Ameritrade Institutional. Before joining TD Ameritrade, Skip spent 20 years in various management positions, including Executive Vice President at Fiserv Investment Support Services. Skip earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota and an MS in Finance from the University of Colorado. He is past board president of the Financial Planning Association, and current board chair of the FPA Political Action Committee.

Episode Notes

Tune in to hear:

In this episode, we discuss Skip’s career, the future of the independent IRA industry, how we can “keep the soul” of financial advice and so much more!

What are some of the pivotal moments that really shaped Skip’s professional path?
What lessons has Skip learned about creating impact across an organization, or across an industry?
From Skip’s perspective, what’s the state of the independent IRA industry today and where does he think it’s headed?
How can we “keep the soul” of financial advice and how can financial advisors balance their fiduciary duty with scale and technology?
What role does Skip think Behavioral Finance should play in how we think about serving clients and guiding advisors?
How does Skip define leadership and what practices have helped develop his servant leadership style?
What was Skip’s proudest moment during his time in Washington D.C. and is there any unfinished business that still motivates him?
What do mountain hikes teach Skip about resilience, presence and mental strength?
How has Skip’s outdoor adventures informed his decision making and his energy management as a leader?
What does Skip mean by “being where your feet are?”
What’s the best piece of advice that Skip has ever received, either professionally or personally?
If there’s any one thing that Skip hopes advisors or investors take away from this conversation, what would that be?

Quotes

“If I have one thing that I’ve lamented for a long-time, that I think we haven’t figured out yet, it’s how to serve the lower to middle end consumer. Those folks, I think, are still being served by…it might just be their self-directed Schwab, Fidelity or Robinhood Account…which is fine, but I’m a huge fan of the fiduciary advice model, but we’ve never figured out how to scale that downmarket and I would just love to see someone figure that out.” - Skip Schweiss

“One thing I always remember my dad would say over and over and over [is that] ‘anything worth having is worth working for.’ That was such great advice for me. Classic midwestern philosophy, but that really stuck with me…today it’s really principally the same in business or life. I can look up at that mountain top and say I’d really like to get to the top of that mountain, but I don’t have access to a helicopter, there’s no escalator, there’s only one way up there and that’s to work for it.” - Skip Schweiss

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