Episode summary
Maintaining Work/Life Balance While 4Xing The Firm - Andy Panko | Financial Advisor Success Ep479
Financial Advisor Success (Kitces)
· · 1 hr 30 min · Hosts: Michael Kitces, Adam Van Deusen · Guests: Andy Panko
Summary
Andy Panko says the firm’s growth has been driven by a deliberate choice to preserve lifestyle flexibility rather than maximize scale. He built Tenon Financial as a solo, flat-fee retirement-planning practice, then later expanded to multiple advisers only after the firm’s prospect flow became too strong to ignore and his personal season of life changed. He says the business grew from roughly 40 to 50 client households and about $330,000 to $350,000 of gross revenue to a much larger multi-adviser model, while he still kept his own workload around 20 hours a week on average.
A key theme is that his flat-fee model makes hiring and pricing easier. He charges a set annual fee for singles and couples, with new-client fees around $8,400 for singles and $9,600 for married couples at the time he closed his doors to new solo clients, and he uses that predictable revenue to decide what new advisers can earn. He designed compensation around client load rather than bonuses, aiming for a simple structure that starts around $180,000 for 30 households and scales up from there, while still leaving room for the firm’s added compliance, IT, and payroll costs.
Panko also explains that he deliberately hires seasoned, mid-career professionals who want a stable lifestyle change, can work independently, and already understand the investing and compliance world. The advisers do the planning and service work, while he continues to generate the leads through content, social presence, and educational branding. He views the model as intentionally homogeneous: a narrow client type, a clear fee, and a firm structure built to keep both service quality and work/life balance intact.
Key takeaways
- Andy Panko says he expanded only after his solo practice had already met his income and lifestyle goals, not because he wanted to chase maximum scale.
- Panko’s flat-fee pricing was about $8,400 a year for singles and $9,600 for married couples when he stopped taking new solo clients, giving the firm predictable revenue.
- He structured adviser pay around client load, targeting about $180,000 for 30 households and a higher range as the load moves toward 60 households.
- Panko says he hires mid-career, seasoned advisers because they are more likely to work independently and stay longer than younger hires.
- He says the firm’s tax-focused retirement-planning niche and flat-fee model make it easier to match service capacity with revenue and keep work hours controlled.
Notable quotes
“I very much want the lifestyle look and feel of this”
“I wanted the antithesis of of everything my prior life was”
“Everyone pays the same dollar amount. The only distinction is whether you're married or single”
“I know me. I know I'm a builder. I know I'm going to struggle to sit still and just be content with what I have”
“I want to find someone who wants to do this for the right reasons”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Financial Advisor Success Podcast, where you go behind the scenes with financial planner, speaker, and consultant Michael Kitsus to hear stories of how leading financial adviserss navigated the inevitable challenges that arise on the path to success and get insight from leading industry consultants about how to break through to the next level in your advisory business. And now, here's your host, Michael Kitsus.
Welcome everyone. Welcome to the 479th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast. My guest on today's podcast is Andy Panko.
Andy is the owner of Tenin Financial, an RAIA based in Matuchen, New Jersey that oversees $323 million in assets under management for 105 client households. What's unique about Andy though is how he has been able to add additional adviserss to his firm, quadrupling the assets he manages in the process while maintaining the strong level of work/life balance that he desires. In this episode, we talk in depth about how Andy decided to bring on two new adviserss, creating additional business management requirements for himself.
Despite running a highly profitable solo practice that met his lifestyle goals, why Andy sought out mid-career professionals when making his new hires due in part to their established professionalism, ability to operate independently, and the likelihood they would stick around for the long haul, and how Andy decided to set a client capacity of 60 households for himself and for each of his adviserss based in part on his firm's tax focused planning and meeting calendar. We also talk about how Andy charges his clients on a flat fee basis with one price for single clients and another for couples, which is enabled in part by having clients who fit a similar profile of those nearing and in retirement who want tax informed accumulation and retirement planning advice.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- work/life balance
- scaling advisory firm
- hiring advisors
- flat-fee model
- content creation
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Tenon Financial
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Financial Advisor Success (Kitces), this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Kitces. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
