Happy Friday.

Hopefully, this email finds you in good spirits as my US readers are readying their refrigerators and freezers for the Thanksgiving holiday ahead.

I’m writing you from the Charleston airport as we head to Omaha this morning for a friend’s wedding and the Wisconsin / Nebraska football game.

One of our family life hacks since moving to Charleston has been to get our turkey’s through Rodney Scott’s Barbecue. This is an experience that I look forward to all year and has redefined turkey for me. Sorry for the hype.

This week, I’m going to the land down under to talk about the importance of movements and how often, movements are born in a bit of isolation.

Here’s the Connected Advisor:

1. Stop Asking for Permission. Start Building a Movement.

2. How Data Transformed Avantax's Offering From Advice to Financial Therapy 🎧

3. Bookmarks

   1. TradePMR Joins Robinhood

   2. The Data Tracking US Soldier and Spy Movements

4. Milemarker On the Road ✈️

Pass me the gravy, please.

Stop Asking for Permission. Start Building a Movement.

Ever noticed how Australia—a country with a population smaller than Texas—has managed to produce an outsized share of Hollywood’s biggest stars? Chris Hemsworth. Margot Robbie. Hugh Jackman. It’s an impressive list, but the magic isn’t just in their talent. It’s in their culture.

CBS’s 60 Minutes recently ran a piece titled Aussiewood, exploring this phenomenon. Beyond the glitz of Hollywood exports, the story unearthed something deeper: a mindset that should resonate far beyond the silver screen.

Here’s the big takeaway: the Aussiewood community doesn’t wait for permission. They don’t ask the gatekeepers for a nod to be relevant. They are taught to show up, take risks, and let their work speak for itself.

This permissionless culture is a game-changer—not just for actors, but for all of us.

Why Asking for Permission is Asking for Denial

Let’s face it: asking for permission is often just an invitation for someone to say no. No one builds anything extraordinary by waiting for a stamp of approval.

If you have a bold idea, waiting for the world to validate it is a waste of time. It’s not about recklessness; it’s about recognizing when the status quo isn’t equipped to see the vision you do. Yes, check the boxes where regulators and laws matter—FINRA, SEC, DOL. But don’t let them box you in.

Instead of asking for permission, seek support. Invite others to advocate for the idea. Give them a reason to believe in what you’re building.

The Power of Community

There’s another core element to Aussiewood’s success: community. Australia’s film ecosystem isn’t just about individuals hustling alone—it’s a collective effort. Actors train together, support each other, and succeed together.

In a post-COVID world, many of us have lost that sense of togetherness. We’ve scattered. Teams are distributed, offices have thinned out, and the buzz of a shared workspace is often missing.

I’ve seen what a strong hub can do. During my 18 years in Omaha, Nebraska—a city not exactly synonymous with glamour—I witnessed the financial industry thrive because it had a tight-knit ecosystem. It wasn’t about any single person’s ambition. It was about collective progress. The community generally cared more about moving the industry forward than individual accolades.

When you focus on the success of the whole, you create a multiplier effect. That’s the magic of Aussiewood, and it’s a principle we can all embrace.

Build Your Own Epicenter

Where’s your Aussiewood?

Maybe it’s your company, your team, or an emerging initiative like my friend Jamie Hopkins’ FinServ Foundation. Jamie didn’t wait for permission to address the talent gap in wealth management. He built a community—one that now includes over 610 students from universities across the country.

These students aren’t just filling seats; they’re the next generation of leaders. They’ve found their epicenter, and the industry will be better for it.

Maybe you want to transform your office into a hub for creativity and strategic thinking.

Maybe you see an opportunity to host monthly gatherings with industry peers to spark collaboration.

Maybe it’s time to adopt modern tools like Slack to streamline your business, leaving legacy systems behind.

Maybe it’s about supporting the existing communities around you that could thrive with just a little budget and attention.

This is the kind of action we need to take. Instead of waiting for someone else to create the next big thing, we need to build our own hubs, our own movements, and our own collectives.

The Challenge

So here’s the question: where are you asking for permission when you should be pushing forward? What community do you need to build to make your vision a reality?

Don’t wait for approval. Take a page from Aussiewood. Create something so compelling, so undeniably impactful, that the gatekeepers have no choice but to get on board.

It’s not about you. It’s about the movement you’re building. And when you stop asking for permission and start building together, incredible things happen.

Let’s get to work.

________________________

On the Pod: How Data Transformed Avantax's Offering From Advice to Financial Therapy

Episode 069: Our relationship with money is often influenced by personal experiences, cultural upbringing, and deeply rooted beliefs. These invisible drivers shape our financial habits, decision-making, and overall well-being. Financial therapists understand that money decisions aren't just about numbers and logic—they're about people. By recognizing clients' emotional and psychological responses to money, financial therapists create holistic plans that align with each person's values and goals.

In this episode, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Emily Millsap, Manager of Financial Planning at Avantax Wealth Management. Early in her financial services career, Emily discovered her passion for behavioral finance and how our core money beliefs are deeply rooted in our generational wealth stories and personal experiences. They discuss financial therapy and its role in holistic planning highlighting the key differences between traditional financial advice and financial therapy. They also explore how a holistic approach can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes.

In this episode:

[02:41] - Emily's money moment

[05:10] - What is financial therapy?

[08:09] - Differences between financial therapy and financial advice

[11:37] - What it takes to run a successful centralized planning desk

[13:35] - Bringing together financial therapy and holistic planning

[19:41] - Integrating tax planning into financial therapy

[22:52] - Keeping up-to-date with holistic planning

[24:47] - Future trends in financial planning

[27:23] - Milemarker Minute

Key Takeaways

1. Financial therapy is a holistic approach to financial planning that considers both the emotional and logical aspects of money management.

2. Understanding clients' emotional responses to financial decisions is essential for providing effective advice.

3. A centralized planning desk streamlines the process for advisors and clients, allowing for a more efficient and effective approach.

4. Emerging trends in the industry include the growing importance of holistic planning, the increasing role of women in wealth management, and the need to navigate the growing availability of financial information.

Listen to Episode

⚡️Bookmarks

Custody on The Move as Robinhood Buys TradePMR

The biggest news of the week was the acquisition of TradePMR to Robinhood.

While it makes a lot of headlines, the proof will really be in the pudding if this move can actually influence the RIA industry. Robinhood already has a questionable past and as advisory firms bring custodians to the table its difficult to present your clients with options outside of the big investment banks or retail brokers.

The Data Tracking US Troop Movements

In a disturbing and super interesting piece, Wired details how US troop movement data is available for sale, creating a massive risk in the fabric of the intelligence community. This article is a worthy read for you this weekend.

Milemarker on the Road

Catch our team on the road at the following events or cities:

1. November 18-20 - San Francisco, CA

2. November 21 - Birmingham, AL

3. November 21-22 - Omaha, NE

4. December 4-5 - New York, NY

5. December 9-11 - Las Vegas, NV

6. December 12 - Baltimore, MD

7. December 17 - Birmingham, AL

If you’re in any of those cities and want to arrange a meeting time, reply to this email, and we’ll get something on the calendar.

Jud Mackrill