Chris Roper is a seasoned financial advisor who is passionate about helping individuals navigate their financial journeys as a fiduciary and an educator. With over 14 years in the industry, he specializes in 401K advising and personal finance management for high-net-worth individuals. Beyond his professional endeavors, Chris harbors a love for travel, seeking experiences and lessons to bring back to his practice. His approach to business is characterized by his servant leadership, collaborative spirit, and personal goal to help over a million people. Chris has been honored as one of the National Four Under 40 by Advisor Today, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the financial advising industry.

               

 

 

 

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [03:11] Chris Roper discusses how his early struggles forged a resilient financial advising career
• [06:35] The essential role mentorship plays in achieving growth in the finance sector
• [10:55] The segmentation of Chris’ business in personal AUM and qualified plans
• [13:33] Strategies for maintaining work-life balance
• [16:49] Why current financial advisors should consider acquiring practices as a growth strategy
• [21:22] Chris' advice for young advisors
• [25:57] The importance of learning and balancing knowledge and taking action in financial advisory
• [32:25] Chris talks about travel, art, and mentorship

In this episode…

Are you passionate about helping people achieve financial success and lead a life of adventure and continuous learning? Imagine the impact of guiding over a million individuals to thrive in their financial lives. What is required to realize this vision and embark on such a rewarding journey?

Financial advisor Chris Roper delves into the ingredients of a successful career in financial services, emphasizing the significance of passion, perseverance, and seizing the right opportunities. He reflects on his journey from arduous beginnings in the industry to attaining prestigious recognition as an Advisor Today National Four Under 40 recipient. Chris imparts valuable insights on the importance of striking a harmonious balance between a robust work ethic and self-care while underscoring the pivotal role of mentors in personal and professional development. Furthermore, he offers guidance to young advisors on navigating the complexities of the industry and expresses a strong commitment to collaboration for the collective advancement of clients.

In this episode of Advisor Today, Chris Gandy and Suzanne Carawan sit down with Chris Roper, a seasoned financial advisor, about his journey and success in the financial advising world. Chris discusses how his early struggles forged a resilient financial advising career, the segmentation of his practice, why current financial advisors should consider acquiring practices as a growth strategy, and strategies for maintaining work-life balance.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Chris Gandy on LinkedIn
• Suzanne Carawan on LinkedIn
• NAIFA
• Chris Roper on LinkedIn

Quotable Moments:

• "I got started in the business for the time freedom and the money freedom, and why I stayed in was the feeling I got when I get to help somebody out."
• “You might not be the tallest, the fastest, the smartest — but you can outwork anybody.”
• "The quickest way for a young advisor to really build right at this point is to go buy practices."
• "My goal is to help over a million people before I retire.”
• “As soon as you set that business goal, money goals just explode."

Action Steps:

1. Seek mentorship from successful advisors nearing retirement: Pursuing this step cultivates industry knowledge and could open opportunities to acquire established practices, addressing the opportunity gaps for new advisors.
2. Focus on continuous education, especially in client psychology: Understanding clients' needs and motivations can improve communication and trust, which is essential for building a solid client-advisor relationship.
3. Balance acquiring knowledge with actionable business development activities: This approach prevents overlearning and ensures the advisor puts equal effort into client acquisition and retention, securing the business's longevity.
4. Approach the business with a servant's heart: Having a genuine intent to help will be apparent to potential clients, fostering trust and long-term relationships.
5. Embrace and plan for personal interests that support professional goals: Aligning personal passions with business plans can prevent burnout and enhance overall satisfaction, leading to a more successful professional life.

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors' Advocacy program. NAIFA provides a newsletter open to the industry that reports on government activities at the state and federal levels. Sign up now

At NAIFA, we enhance professional skills, promote ethical conduct, and advocate for legislative and regulatory environments.

By joining NAIFA, you gain access to a partnership that elevates your performance while providing greater purpose to your professional work. NAIFA members are happier, make more money, and stay in the business longer.

Get in touch with NAIFA and learn more about how to join NAIFA by visiting NAIFA.org.

Episode Transcript

Intro  0:02 

Welcome to NAIFA's Advisor Today podcast series where we focus on how financial advisors work, live, and give to their local communities and our greater financial services industry. Now let's get started with the show.

Chris Gandy  0:20 

Hi everyone. This is Chris Gandy, your co-host of Advisor Today's podcast. I'm here with our other co-host, Suzanne Carawan, Suzanne, so good to see you today. How are things going?

Suzanne Carawan  0:31 

Everything's going great. Great just to be here. We're excited. It's always a fun one.

Chris Gandy  0:37 

Suzanne, you mentioned right before we jumped on that we've been doing this now, this podcast for a little bit of time now, a couple years, is there any truth to that? So people should be able to give us some snippets. We can do the best of, maybe.

Suzanne Carawan  0:54 

We can do the best of, yeah, we are over two years now. We're into our third year of doing this together.

Chris Gandy  1:00 

Okay, this is our veteran years. Suzanne, can you share with us our sponsor for today's program?

Suzanne Carawan  1:13 

Sure. So today's episode is sponsored by Advisor Today, who is the entity that gives out the four under 40 awards as part of the magazine and our digital platform portfolio, and we're excited today to interview one of our National Four Under 40 winners, Chris Roper, who's going to join us today and talk about all the good work that he's doing in his community and his practice.

Chris Gandy  1:37 

All right. Four under 40, huh? I mean, we got a nice lineup of future leaders, Suzanne, that's what it sounds like under 40. I mean, that's a nice bench of young professionals.

Suzanne Carawan  1:57 

It is, indeed and so, I would be remiss if I didn't mention we're going to give out the awards at our upcoming Apex Conference, which will be September 19, the 21st at the Arizona Biltmore and Chris, are you going to be able to join us? There? Is it your plan to... Oh, excellent. Okay, great. Okay, good. So we can take him in the back room and work him over, Chris, get him into leadership positions.

Chris Gandy  2:19 

Listen, I'm bringing the contract. I'm going to bring a contract with me. Listen, we don't have any NIL money, but we've got a contract with me. But no, Chris, thanks for coming and being part of this program. We truly appreciate it. So Chris, we'll jump right into it. So people get a chance to actually meet you at Apex. We look forward to seeing you out at the Biltmore in Phoenix, Arizona. So really quickly, tell us a little bit Chris about yourself, how you got started in the practice, how you got started in your practice. And then what do you primarily focus on, as you kind of have grown your business, and obviously you've stood out in an area where someone identified you as one of the young, up and coming superstars.

Chris Roper  3:11 

Sure glad to be here. Thanks for having me today, and really appreciate receiving the award. I've been doing this. This is my 14th year into the business. Started out thinking, man, this is going to be easy. It's going to be so much fun. I saw the dollar signs and was like, oh, I can do this. I'm good with math. I'm good with people. I can definitely make this happen. Found out real fast when I looked like I was 12 years old in business that people trusting you with your money is a big deal. And I really struggled for my first, probably two, three years in the business, like really struggled to get traction and stay in the business. And what I found out was, when I really sat down and said, hey, after a couple years of just massive struggles, do I really want to do this? What am I here for? What am I going through?

And what I found out was, I started in this business, really, for the time freedom and the money freedom, and why I stayed in, was the feeling I got when I get to help somebody out. So whether or not I was in a 401 K setting, helping people as participants or as personal clients, that feeling of truly being able to help people better understand their situation and make better choices. Whether they knew it or not, I knew how much I was impacting their lives in 30, 40, years down the road, how much better off they would be, and that feeling is absolutely amazing. It's one of my favorite things in the world to do. That's really what kept me in. I was lucky enough to get connected with the mentors in our firm, our current chairman and one of our senior partners brought up a business plan of things. I thought I could help them out with their business. And they really said, let's try it out.

So I started working on the 401 K side of things, doing a lot of education. At our firm, we do everything from fiduciary down to individual education. So I cut my teeth doing that with them, and then every single month, they were just bringing into more and more meetings to try to learn the business better from the 401K side. So the majority of my Bilka business is made up of 401K so probably 70-80% of my revenue at about that commitment on time of working anywhere from now these days, I do everything in the firm top to bottom, except for our risk of work. We have specialized attorneys for that, but from fiduciary all the way down to I still do education, because I just love it. I love to meet with people. It keeps me grounded. I just got off the road, I was on the road for two weeks, driving all over Tennessee, seeing one of my biggest clients and farmers cooperatives all over the state of Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas.

I still love doing that, and I think it really helps me talk to their people when I'm at the board level room, and bring back to them, hey, this is what your people really care about, what they want. And then the other part of what I do is really on the individual side of things. So high net worth individuals working with those people helping them solve their problems, usually close to retirement. That's probably my favorite people to work with, within three or four years of retirement, because they just have such unique challenges, and there's so many different ways to help them achieve their goals. To me, it's like a little game of chess trying to figure out the best way to help them out. And I love doing that. So hopefully that answers all your questions. I think I got everything out there for you.

Chris Gandy  6:26 

So Chris, how did you start them? I mean, everybody starts from somewhere, right? Were you doing something else? How did you get started?

Chris Roper  6:35 

So I was actually at a recruiters fair. So one of my friends from high school, his mom ran the, I can't remember exactly what her title was, but she basically was at UMKC, which is a big local institution, college here University. She ran everything from the recruiting aspect. So she invited me to this fair, career fair that I was trying. She knew I was trying to get a job. I wasn't really sure what I wanted. And walking around, I had multiple different financial companies come up to me and think, hey, you would be actually really good at this. So I ended up going through a multiple interview processes with those people. I actually had, at the time, some friends that were financial advisors. And I decided I was like, hey, maybe I should ask them what I should be asking these other people. And they said, hey, if you're really thinking about this, come interview with us.

So at the end of the day, offers from like, four different companies. But I went with a company that was local, independent, IRA, people that I knew, and that's how I got started in the business. And then just slowly but surely, over time, have been really, truly blessed of the people I get to work with, some really high quality individuals that I've been able to be a fly on the wall and just soak up all this knowledge, and I like to learn, like I really love learning. So that kind of helped propel me in the career is those two aspects, I believe, is being able to be around really, truly great people having that passion to learn. And then I actually really like working hard, too. It's one of those things like I was talking about this week, and I was at Chicago for the air and water show, talking to some of my friends, and we were talking about growing up, and I was like my grandpa, my dad said, hey, you might not be the tallest, the fastest, the smartest, but you cannot work anybody. That's what you can control. And I really do have, I actually enjoy working. So it's kind of weird like that.

Suzanne Carawan  8:28 

You're in good company here. You're in good company. Chris and I like to work too.

Chris Gandy  8:36 

When you talk about work, what is that? Everybody has to be motivated by something. What does that stem from? Where's that workout they come from? Is it your parents? Did you observe it?

Chris Roper  8:49 

Yeah. Well, I guess I grew up playing sports. I played soccer year round for I don't remember how many years, I made my entire childhood, outdoor, two sessions, indoor two sessions. So I did that, ran track, not because I liked running, but because my friends were doing it. So definitely a lot from there. But really truthfully, I think a lot of it came from growing up and just my parents and grandparents. So my grandfather was in World War Two, worked for the government after that, after being in the Army Air Corps, and it was no nonsense work. He took care of his family. Single income earner ended up having over a million dollars by the time he retired. So great at saving, great work ethic. Same thing with my father, and it was beat into my head, not literally, figuratively, as I was growing up, that that's what we do.

We work hard, and what you can control is your work ethic, and that's what you're bringing to the table. And I guess, from a young age, just that's all I heard, and that's what I saw. So that's what I like to do. The other thing that helps out is, as I talk to a lot of people across the country, from my clients, there's people that really like what they do, and there's people that don't. And I'm blessed beyond belief to be able to have found a career field that I'm passionate about and that I love. Like it absolutely it fulfills me to help people out, and I get to do it every single day. Now, are there days that man, last week, I was on the road, and you're on the road working 16 hour days because you're driving all over the place. Do you get a little worn out? Yeah, but at the end of the day, you still feel good that you're helping people out.

Chris Gandy  10:31 

So, Chris, you got started in the business. You were recruited in, and is your practice primarily now in the qualified plan space, I think I heard you say that, yes, you do some personal planning too. But is it insurance? Is it AUM? Is it a combination of both? Is it financial planning? What would you primarily say your focus is?

Chris Roper  10:55 

Yeah, that's a great question. So it's kind of a twofold question for me. So where my business currently is versus where my business is going is two separate, different identities. So currently, where my business is at is I have, I don't know, I think it's over, I don't know what the market lately, but a billion and a half somewhere around there, and AUM for retirement plans and whether they're 401Ks, four, three, B's non-qualified, deferred comp, things like that. So that's where a lot of my assets are. And what I do there, I'm working everything really, from top to bottom, boardroom down to participant level. And I love doing that. It's just past COVID.

The world's changed a little bit on how we do things. And what I've really focused on is where that's my bread and butter. I'm really trying to expand and grow my personal practice, when I'm looking at helping individuals out, again, that's going to be on the financial planning side and the AUM side of that. So think of there's half a million, I'm sorry, half a billion in personal AUM that I work on, and we work in teams in our business. So some of it, I mean, there's a lot of what I do that's, I'm the lead. That's all I do. I'm working on the planning side, things like that. But we have CFPs and planners if I need to, like, bring somebody in, like, I love the idea of Roth conversions when we're helping with tax planning long term. I don't really enjoy the nitty gritty of planning it out every single year.

So I usually bring people in for that, but I'm usually the lead when I'm working with my individual clients. And we do everything from insurance, long term care, disability, life insurance, asset management, financial planning, everything but tax planning. So we don't actually prepare taxes, we don't prepare estate plans, but everything else we do, and I really enjoy working with other professionals, so that collaboration, when we get to work with high end attorneys to try to solve problems for my higher net worth clients, as well as their CPAs, trying to find out ways, how can we maneuver their situation between all our different areas of expertise to really deliver the client the best outcome that they're trying to get.

Chris Gandy  13:04 

Two weeks on the road, Suzanne, I mean, Chris, he's an animal. He's made it two weeks. Two weeks on the road. Chris. I mean, that's a lot, man. So how do you balance work life, the work life balance? Well, how do you, I know you got to do your time 14 years in and, I mean, you got to take care of yourself too. So how are you balancing that best you can?

Chris Roper  13:33 

It's challenging, and it's something that I'm working on, going back to growing up in the work ethic and things that I've learned over time is in the last few years, I've really started to try to make the switch and say, hey, I need to take care of myself. So I like to go work out to blow off steam. I love traveling. My actual goal right now, I changed my goals for money, goals to helping people goals in 2019 when I was traveling in Thailand. I went down there for a friend's birthday, but I was alone for like, a week. First time traveling internationally alone. And wow, that was an eye-opening experience. When you like, I know a little bit of Spanish here and there.

I can pick up a little bit of French, because it's Latin based. But being in Thailand, it was a completely different planet. It was what it felt like. So I had a lot of time to think about what I do. And I really came back to that piece of what kept me in the business when I started out, which was helping people. And I changed my goals from money goals to helping people goals through my new goals to help over a million people before I retire. And as soon as I did that, my money goals just exploded. So I tell you that story because travel in that scenario, right there, at that moment, became such a huge part of my life. And I love traveling, so that's really why I work hard, is so I can go travel the world and do fun things. So this weekend, I was at the air and water show with friends, and we got a boat and got to watch airplanes, which I love, and be on a boat and watch them, and had a great time.

And this next week, I'm going to Las Vegas, and the week after that, I'm going to Colombia, and I have just nonstop plans to keep traveling. And my goal is to, as I've told you, I'm just trying to switch my business. I have to travel for work to go see my clients, my 401k clients, pretty much. Most of my individual clients, we do everything zoom now, but my goal in 2025 is to be able to work from the road for maybe a month, month and half at a time. So I can either if I want to go to one of our other offices. I think we have 70 offices now across the country, go work from a different state, go work from a national park, be on the road and go do road trips and still do that. Go surfing.

I did some surfing in Costa Rica earlier this year, and it was five days of just absolutely amazingness, not very good at it, but man, did I have a lot of fun. So it's things like that that I have on my vision board and that I'm driving to is, how can I still help the people? How can I still do the commitments that I want to do, but switch my business to be able to do things more virtual on the road so I can have these experience that I really, they really fulfill me when I get to go do some of these things in either our country or different countries. I love traveling for fun.

Chris Gandy  16:13 

Suzanne sounds like he is full of energy and he's got a million people he wants to help outside of this industry, but there's also a million people that needs his help inside this industry too. What a great example. So, so how did you get nominated for 40 Under? I mean, so somebody had to see something in you and say, okay, wait a minute. He's got something different, right? He's a little different than everyone else. So, Suzanne tell us how that works. Like, how does someone get nominated for the 40 Under 40, other than just stand out and be a superstar?

Suzanne Carawan  16:49 

Yeah. So really, there's two ways you can nominate yourself and somebody else can obviously nominate you as well. And what we're looking for, when the committee sits down to select is not only somebody who is standing out, but it is that servant leadership part, right? And Chris, you can see right now, just showcases that in spades. So we're looking for those people who are going to be able to make an impact on the industry, and we think, drive the industry forward so that we can again meet our mission. And of course, our mission at NAIFA is to again, how many people can we get the right risk protection coverage, the whole thing?

So we're speaking very much the same language, Chris, right? When we start talking about, we think of it in terms of either heartbeats we're covering or households we're affecting. How many of those Americans can we get the right coverage and get them to say, yeah, they deserve access to somebody like Chris, right, who can give that kind of right financial advice, as well as, what about the like, where's the industry going innovation wise, right? And I think that's something that our 4 Under 40s really bring to us, is they bring a fresh perspective of how business is now done. You brought up kind of post-COVID, but the workforce has changed dramatically. I mean, you're really saying, look, you're going to take advantage of all the technology we have.

You can be a digital nomad, right? Is usually the term to be out there and being able to still service for clients, whether you're sailing the Caribbean, right? Or you're sitting in Sedona, Arizona, or something like that, it doesn't change your ability to focus in and serve that client. So I think that's definitely one of the newer trends we're seeing, and it's one of the promises. Ironically, the Financial Services has always tried to tell people, right, you can kind of do this work like balance and choose your own hours the whole thing. But nobody ever really has a great example of it, in my opinion, right? When they go out to recruit, they talk about it, but I don't know that you can, but you're, like, living proof of how you can actually do this and make it work.

And not to say that from day one, but, I mean, you can get there, right, and figure out that whole piece out. I mean, doing all this has never stopped. Chris Gandy, he can work from the road wherever. You just have to be good at logistics. But yeah.

Chris Gandy  19:06 

Chris, where do you call home?

Chris Roper  19:08

Kansas City, Missouri.

Chris Gandy  19:10

Kansas City, Missouri, huh? Home of the chiefs. Okay, so, I have to ask this question, Chris, if I was in Kansas City, and the word on the streets is that Kansas City has got some pretty good barbecue somewhere. It's just a word on the streets. Now, I've been there a couple times, and I have not been blown away yet. So Chris, when I come, I expect to be blown away by like, a place. So you're like, you have to go here. Like I'm expecting.

Chris Roper  19:37 

I got you a brand new one. The guy just opened up his restaurant, he was only open like two days a week, and now he's open four days a week. So it's got to be on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday is hard because they'll sell out. It's called chef J that's one that's under the radar. Will blow you away, guaranteed hands down, it is.

Chris Gandy  19:58 

Suzanne, we're taking. We're taking a podcast on the road. You hear that.

Chris Roper  20:03 

Come on the road, get hungry, and we'll go to three or four different places. Wait a little bit at each place, because this is the thing about Kansas City, is, like we have a lot of good barbecue, for sure, but some places are known for very specific things, right? So you could go to just one spot, but I think it's a lot more fun to go to multiple spots. Like, I have my buddy's coming in from Germany. He's bringing his mom, who's a huge cheese fan. We're gonna go to a game, and we literally have a whole day planned out. We're gonna hit like five different spots. So, I mean, you got to be hungry, but it's barbecue tour. I'm a great guide. I love food too. I didn't mention that earlier. I'm a huge foodie. I love to eat good food.

Suzanne Carawan  20:42 

It goes with travel. That's good. It would be terrible if you love travel, like, don't like experience anything.

Chris Gandy  20:49 

I don't like food. I don't like food. He's in France, and he's like, no.

Suzanne Carawan  20:53 

None for me.

Chris Gandy  20:53 

The crook mature. I was just taking it cheaper. Okay, Chris, so, what would you say you've been in the industry now for a while, though, what would you say to yourself if you were to look back, what would you say to young advisors getting into the business? What words of inspiration would you give them, or what advice would you give them about the business now, now that you're in it, now that you're starting to make some progress, what advice would you give them as it deals with the industry.

Chris Roper  21:22 

I think it's one of the greatest industries to be in. You just have to have the mental fortitude to be able to understand that you're going to get no's right, especially starting out. People have a lot of rightfully so issues with just handing over their money or their livelihood, especially when most Americans don't really understand how the system works. They don't really understand how money works, because they don't teach it anywhere, unless you learn it from your parents. So I think if you come in with a servant's heart and you really show them that you're out for their best interest and that you care about them.

That's been the thing that I learned, was you show people that you care, you show people that you're knowledgeable, and that's how you can really help people out. And then you just have to be able to make sure that you can stick it out or, I mean, when I started, there was no salary, there was no anything. It was literally eat what you kill. And the industry is different. I think now that it was back when I started, I feel like there's been some changes. But try to find somewhere where there's a little bit of somebody to help you and guide you and be with you and mentor you. That's how I think you can truly be successful. So have the passion in your heart to help people make sure you have some ability to take care of yourself, because if you're desperate, people can smell desperation, and they don't want to work with people that are desperate, right?

So you’ve got to have some ability to take care of yourself a little bit. And I think if you can do those couple things, and be aligned with somebody, like there's so many advisors that are trying to retire right now and they have no plan of action. So if I was a new advisor, I would go find somebody who's five years off from retirement, and, hey, how can I help you? And I want to buy your practice. And how do we make that transition happen? That's what I would be doing, honestly, right now, I'm looking for practices to buy. I don't need to buy a practice, but that's what I want to do. There's so many people that are out there, and these advisors are great advisors, but we're getting old as an industry. I think the average agent advisor is like 50 or 55 and that's the average age. So is it higher than that? Yeah. So I'm actively looking for practices that I can go in and say, hey, I'm a seasoned advisor. I have years left to go. I can help your clients out.

You want an exit strategy, like, let's make some things happen. So that's what I would do as a young advisor, is I would find that situation, or try to find that situation that you could get into, because I think that's a way that you can really be successful. You can learn from somebody who's been there. You can really have some kind of a base that you're going to like grow into and be successful in.

Suzanne Carawan  24:14 

So we got to introduce you to David Wood. So David Wood is another NAIFA member. He'll be at Apex together as well. So we have a dinner we're putting together. But he's a master at doing the buying, the selling kind of relationships, too. And he does a whole series and seminars for us and with us on that, so we'll get everybody all connected. But yeah, because his whole point is that, the quickest way is, like, sure, you can organically grow this whole thing, but the quickest way for a young advisor to really build right at this point is to go buy practices. And he has all that he's like, his whole point is that so many people have no idea how to do that. Just as the advisor doesn't know how to sell their practice, they don't know the options. So he's an expert at helping to facilitate all of that.

Chris Gandy  24:58 

Yeah, he's a pro at how to package it, how to put it together, and then how to move it forward. So you may want to  attend that session. And what about learning? Tell us a little bit about the importance of learning, not only from other people, but the importance of learning the business. Because I think new advisors get in. They're like, I want to go make money. I want to be successful. I want to be Instagram famous. I get it, right. They want to do those things. But this is a business that is delayed gratification, and it's a business that's not necessarily all awarded for front you're in the 401K business. I'm telling you right now I know that business is labor intensive and it is delay gratification. So tell us a little bit about that for you and what that means for you. Because I think people need to hear that it just doesn't happen overnight.

Chris Roper  25:57 

For sure, it doesn't happen overnight. And I think I'm the best example of a cautionary tale, right? So I've always been good at school. I've always been like, on the smarter side of things. What people would tell me, what not school is kind of easy for me. I love learning. One of the things I think that held me back starting out was trying to be an expert in every different aspect of our world before I was putting some of the work in of like, hey, how do we actually get clients, right? So it's more fun to learn for me than it is to pick up the phone, right? I was cold calling back when I first started out, which maybe is not the greatest thing in the world to do, but that's what we did back in the day. And sometimes I would definitely prefer going out and learning and doing that.

So there's a balance I think, that you need to reach between being confident and being able to help people on the learning side of things, as well as putting efforts towards things that will actually make you money or keep you in the business, right? Because if you're not in the business, you can't help people. So you got to be able to stay. You got to be able to feed yourself. And I actually talked to our younger advisors. I have one of my partners in the firm. He's about three years in, but I worked with him when he's an intern 10 years ago, before he went to the Marine Corps and came back and he has the same type of mentality that I have. I was like Joey, we work in teams for a reason.

I can be the expert in these areas. You don't need to be the expert. Go focus on helping people out, and when you do that, we can make money together, right? So I think again, it depends on your situation that you're in, but you got to be careful, at least from my perspective, on over-learning and not doing the work that's going to actually help you stay in the business, help people out.

Chris Gandy  27:51 

You're obviously making progress. This is great.

Chris Roper  27:54 

Yeah, I've been blessed again, been blessed to work with the people I work with and all the divisions that we have. I worked in every single division that we have, so I have a pretty good breadth of knowledge. And every once in a while, I still go in and dive deep, but I don't spend all day, every day, just with my head in the book. Although I will tell you what, I'm having a great time right now. I'm getting my behavioral finance accreditation, and that's absolutely fascinating, and that actually helps me a lot in my business, is just helping people like understand how their brains operate. Because I don't know about you guys, but I always get the question, hey, what's your degree in? And I was like, I'll tell you what.

I wish my degree was in psychology, because I feel psychology is what I use every single day way more than anything in finance, it's all about what's in between people's head and what did they learn when they were growing up? And who are they? What are they watching on TV, who's at the water cooler next to them? And just try and help people sort out like what they've been taught to help them make better decisions. But yeah, psychology would be the degree that, if I was going back, I would say, I can only imagine how much better I'd be at my job if I had that degree. And I think I'm pretty good as it is right now.

Chris Gandy  29:05 

I think everybody should learn psychology, meet people where they're at, understand their inhibitions that preexist based on the series of factors in their lives, right? And be able to be more empathetic as it deals with the education and the understanding and the patience of people, I think we get to that space. We are innate in that because of the industry we're in, and we can see that there's so many people out here that need help and don't have it, but to somebody on the outside looking in, this is my money. I want to make sure it grows. I don't want to take any risk. You know how that works, right? I don't take any risk. I want the money just to grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow. And I don't understand that there's no such thing as you'll always win, right?

And so part of that is education, and then so I heard you say something kind of interesting. You said, you need confidence and competence. Suzanne, we can coin it, right? You need both. And so we want to make sure that you're you exemplify that and, and being a 40 under 40, I don't know who nominated you, but whoever it is, you need to find them and thank them for nominating you. Because it's an astute honor to do that. You think about how many advisors are under 40 years old, and then it could be but Suzanne, how many 40 under 40s do we have?

Suzanne Carawan  30:43 

Oh, you mean historically, like, how many classes?

Chris Gandy  30:46 

Just this year? We're in 2024, right? How many this year?

Chris Roper  30:51 

How many people applied?

Chris Gandy  30:52 

No. How many will be awarded 40 under 40 this year? Four. How many, say one more time? Four. How many times? One more time? She said Four under 40, that's four. Yeah, four people in the entire nation. Chris, if you played sports, you made it to League, yeah, that's right, you're the you're the Kansas City. You represent Kansas City. It's bigger than yourself, and you should be proud.

Suzanne Carawan  30:54 

And we might not have told you this, Chris, but like you're the class of 2024, so there's classes before you and all those 4 under 40s, right? They tend to start to know each other, because that stays with you in your NAIFA profile forever. They even named one of these 440s nationally.

Chris Roper  31:40 

I'm very honored. I really appreciate it.

Chris Gandy  31:43 

So that means, Chris, you understand, like the bar said here, that means you can't go backwards. I understand, like, how this works. Like, now you're 40 under 40. Now everybody's, dude, like, you're the man, so let's make this happen. So, they say that the responsibility of success is just as heavy as the burden of success also. So Chris, congratulations. We look forward to seeing you at Apex. We have NAIFA nation listening out there. Is there anything you would like to share with NAIFA nation before we bring you into our Advisor Today, hot seat the lightning round.

Chris Roper  32:25 

I would say, I always love meeting good people. So if you've heard anything today that if I can help you out in any way, please reach out. If you think we can collaborate, let's do that. There's enough people out there that need help. I've met some great, advisors across the country, and love sharing ideas, figuring out different ways to improve other people's lives. So I'd love to meet you, if you're selling a Charles Schwab Advisor, or have Schwab and you're selling something in Kansas City, let me know, I have deep pockets behind me, so let's go.

Suzanne Carawan  33:03 

That is what makes him such a NAIFA member, right? Like you couldn't have said it any better. That's the DNA of NAIFA members, right there. Yep.

Chris Gandy  33:12 

Chris, we look forward to seeing you, show up and also inspire other people through your work, your efforts, and not only that, but your words. So, Suzanne, let's take him to the lightning round. Let's do it. Wish we had some lightning or whatever, as we Chris, we don't. We're a cheap podcast. We're on a financial budget. We're on a budget here. So no lightning. With that being said, Chris, so the goal of this is just to kind of get to know you a little bit. They get to know who you are.

They get to know we've learned a lot about you here, but at the end of the day, who you are and what you do are two different things, right? And so people kind of want to know, like, what's underneath the suit and the astute businessman. So I'll ask you some questions. And again, you don't have to think, whatever comes to mind, that is the answer. So Chris, first and foremost, what's your favorite thing to do in you're not working?

Chris Roper  34:19 

Travel, for sure, hands down.

Chris Gandy  34:21 

Okay, see Suzanne, Chris, what's your favorite food?

Chris Roper  34:26 

Street tacos and chocolate shakes.

Chris Gandy  34:30 

Chocolate shakes. Favorite places?

Chris Roper  34:34 

I only get to eat them when I'm on the road. I have to be out of Kansas City. I don't get ice cream otherwise, or else I would get fat because I love it. I can eat those two things every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.

Suzanne Carawan  34:51 

Outside Kansas City, chocolate.

Chris Gandy  34:53 

Outside Kansas City, you will be drinking shakes. So, we know what to order.

Chris Roper  34:58 

By the way, real quick if anybody ever needs a place to go, I have them all over the country. Like some of the best spots, it's usually a place that's cash only. It usually has good burgers, but they have shakes. I know them all over the place. If you ever need anything, let me know I got you.

Suzanne Carawan  35:14 

Like the Chris Roper inside list, right? It's like your pick list. I love it. Love it.

Chris Gandy  35:20 

His nickname is Guy Fieri. I mean, he's all over the place. Chris, share with us a little bit about, it's pretty unique painting on your on your wall, behind you, right? I'm sure there's something behind it. Where does that come from?

Chris Roper  35:36 

Yeah, so I started a couple years ago. Um, every single place I travel, I try to find a local artist and get paintings. So this right here. This is the painted mountain. This is in Peru. It's like 17,000 feet up, and it's really, really, it looks like this. It's beautiful. It's just different stripes of minerals coming down. This is you, I know you can't really see because of the glare. That's Machu Picchu. This is just a representation from Peru of different pieces of their cultural heritage. And then above here, I'll move this up real quick. There's a volcano behind there.

So I'm actually gonna go back to Guatemala and hike the volcano probably next year. I hiked one of them when I want to hike. And I have a couple more paintings I need to get. I rotate them through, but I have a couple more frame so, like, I was just in, like, Costa Rica. I have one from there, Spain. I have a few from Spain. I just lived there earlier the year. So, yeah, I just got to get some things mounted so I can just rotate them through.

Suzanne Carawan  36:47 

How many continents have you hit at this point?

Chris Roper  36:50 

So, like a lot of time in South America. North, South, Europe, Asia, Africa. I've not been to Australia or Antarctica. So five continents. I counted up today 20 countries I'll be at by the end of the year, I should be at 23 I think. I was going to try to hit like 40 before 40, but I kept going back to some of the same countries. I got to get some new ones. That's great.

Chris Gandy  37:17 

Chris, who would you say has been a mentor for you in this business?

Chris Roper  37:22 

Easy. Two people, Scott Colangelo, he's the chairman of our company, blessed to be able to work with him. Really learned a ton from him on the 401K side of things. And then our ERISA attorney, Matthew Eichmann, who actually just started his own fiduciary law firm. We still work together all the time, but he decided he want to do more, less on the advising and more on the just actual pure risk of work. So started his own firm with some partners there, and those two people have absolutely from a work ethic perspective, from a knowledge base, some of the smartest people I've ever met have hand over fist, put me ahead of themselves to help me out in my career and truly help me get to the next level. Those guys, I deserve all the credit in the world for believing in me and then taking me under their wing to help me out.

Chris Gandy  38:15 

Awesome, Chris, you could go back in time and have dinner with anybody, whether they're alive today or they've passed on, who would it be and why?

Chris Roper  38:22 

Oh my gosh, that's a good one. Hold on a second. Let me think I'm trying to think of somebody really fun. I would definitely do with somebody fun. I just watched that movie the other day with Freddie Mercury, so him, because I bet you gave you a time to have a dinner with.

Chris Gandy  38:40 

Yeah, awesome. All right, Chris, you have the ears of NAIFA nation, is there anything else you would like to share with everyone out there listening with bated breath on some of the words that you've got to share with NAIFA nation?

Chris Roper  38:55 

First of all, I really appreciate the honor. Second, I look forward to meeting everybody. And third, make sure that you're out there helping people, people who need our help. So whether or not they're your ideal client or not, if people are asking for help, I would ask you to help them out, right?

Chris Gandy  39:13 

Awesome, awesome. Chris, thank you for being on Advisor Today. Suzanne, do we have any final notes before I wrap us up.

Suzanne Carawan  39:21 

Just remember, you can go out there and register and meet awesome people like Chris Roper in just a couple of weeks. Apex.naifa.org, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone.

Chris Gandy  39:31 

Listen, if you're not a Kansas City Chief fan, don't worry, Chris will be there. We can give him a really hard time, even though they've got a stacked team. So Chris, thanks for being on. We will take you up on the barbecue and Kansas City Definitely. It's a wonderful place. Thanks everybody for tuning in to Advisor Today, podcast where we lift up the voice of all of you collectively for the betterment of this industry and for our clients. As we move forward, we will see you soon in Apex. We'll see you next week, same time, same place, and we'll see you later. Have a good week.

Outro  40:14 

Thanks for joining us for NAIFA’s Advisor Today podcast series, make sure to subscribe to get future episodes, and if you're interested in coming on the show, let us know.