I have had the pleasure of spending the past 20 years covering the wealth management industry. Some days, I’m certain I’ve “seen it all.” Others, I’m positive that I am sitting atop the tip of a giant iceberg. Having spent over two decades at Financial Planning Magazine, and then InvestmentNews, I have produced content focused on Wall Street, Main Street, and many a cross-street. I was still a relatively green content producer downtown at FP on 9/11, and later in my media career had the opportunity to present creative content at the United Nations. Every conference, video shoot and interview in between exposed me to fascinating individuals – industry leaders and less well known, but no less passionate, members of this financial advisory community that I would gradually fall in love with.
I have observed and reported; ideated and created. But there was something missing. As I watched firms come and go, merge and evolve, it dawned on me that I understood their exhilaration, their trials and tribulations – but I had yet to experience them. I never had the opportunity to participate in the growth and emergence of a business from the inside out. Until now.
For me, the perfect opportunity was at Integrated Partners.
Let me take a step back and introduce myself.
My name is Matt Ackermann, and I am a storyteller. From age six, I was making up stories that both entertained my seven siblings, and at times aggravated my parents. Telling great stories – creating amazing content – this is my life’s passion. I have traveled as far as Haiti and as near as mid-town Manhattan and used every medium from print to YouTube to show-and-tell amazing stories of great financial advisors.
The inspiration and perspiration have always been worth it because the mission has been simple: Create amazing content and they will come. I told everyone that would listen that I have had the fun job, coloring inside (and outside the lines) to help make a great story more vibrant.
Now, I get to create content and work with financial advisors and CPAs at Integrated Partners to help tell their stories. I get to work side by side with Paul Saganey, whose entrepreneurial acumen is matched only by his humility and genuine desire to help as many advisors as he can, to grow and thrive.
You see, when I decided to leave InvestmentNews, it wasn’t about leaving a great media outlet, it was all about joining an amazing team – a group of people with big hearts and a familial culture that takes care of each other in good times and bad. Over the past couple years, I got to know Integrated Partners when I attended their annual internal conference. I heard Paul speak about the synergies between advisors and CPAs, and Andree Peterson speak about the support that Integrated provides its advisors and I was sold.
I knew that they had found a winning formula for success. You see, Integrated Partners has an incredible foundation, an amazing structure, and a dynamic network of advisors. If you think of this like building a race car, the engine is powerful, awe inspiring, sends shivers up your spine as it revs and shakes the pavement; the primary driver has been racing since 1996; the crew is second to none. Work has been done on the exterior, but we’re going to add some zip, shine it up, apply the decals – you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it.
From spending the past two decades in the media, I can say with certainty that we stand at an interesting intersection in communications. Content is king and online communication and 24/7 news outlets have created a need for more content – and more creative content – that stands out and puts the focus on our advisors.
Advisors need people that are thinking about both the message and the medium 24/7 so that they can think about their clients 24/7.
Integrated Partners is a company built upon an unshakable ethos of serving incredible advisors, an inspiring vision, and amazing growth-oriented support. It is a company that encourages creativity, process, and ideas to help it stand apart.
Not too long ago, Integrated Partners was one of the industry’s “best kept secrets.” Yet word is starting to get out – I am one of six new teammates the firm added this year (2020!), as it quietly surpassed $8B in advisory and brokerage assets.
I am here to ensure that whatever shroud of secrecy remains is lifted. I will tell this story with all of my energy, passion, and experience, and I will shout it from the rooftops. I will support our advisors and their CPA partners with a commitment and dedication that honors this group of professionals and embodies the Integrated ethos.
Together, we will move mountains. Together, we ride.
Andree Peterson is the Chief Implementation Officer and Matt Ackermann is the Chief Content Officer for Integrated Partners.