Tag: Joe Duran
Money Is Just Fuel, It’s About the Drive with Joe Duran (Ep. 28)

Money Is Just Fuel, It’s About the Drive with Joe Duran (Ep. 28)

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In this episode of PRess Play: The StreetCred Podcast, hosts Elena Krasnow and Jimmy Moock sit down with Joe Duran, industry titan and longtime friend of the firm, and managing partner of Rise Growth Partners.

Joe reflects on the emotional and creative side of leadership. He digs into why so many large firms have lost their soul, what it truly means to “make a dent in the universe,” and why credibility and storytelling still matter more than scale. From the founding of United Capital to the philosophy behind Rise Growth Partners, he shares how purpose, originality and the desire to do good shape everything he builds.

We cover:

  • Why wealth management firms lose their way—and how to bring back meaning
  • The insight that sparked United Capital: money is just fuel, not the drive
  • The power of curiosity, empathy, and asking “what’s it all about?”
  • Why PR fails when there’s no authentic story to tell
  • The importance of voice, brand, and “having a song to sing”
  • …and much more.

Don’t miss this rare and honest conversation with one of the industry’s clearest voices about finding purpose, protecting your soul and saying something that matters.

Topics:

(0:14) “Jimmy THE Moock”

(0:50) Meet Joe Duran

(2:11) Who was employee number one at United Capital?

(2:21) What’s for lunch?

(3:01) The price of a rotisserie chicken, not immune from inflation

(3:47) Joe’s journey to America

(5:04) Overcoming your demons

(5:54) Joe’s start as an intern at an RIA, and the power of having an accent

(7:05) The first TAMP, before TAMPs existed

(7:33) The sale of Centurion and the need for a pivot

(8:19) Return to writing and back to school

(8:59) How do you tell people what it really feels like to sell a company?

(10:14) “They’ve forgotten what it’s about”

(10:26) Advisors want to “make a dent in the universe”

(11:33) The number one reason people work for

(11:59) Building something different with United Capital

(12:16) “It’s not about the fuel in your car, it’s about the drive” – the birth of United Capital

(13:29) Happiness is a choice

(13:58) Is it happening for you, or to you?

(15:19) Sacrificing happiness everyday for satisfaction

(16:06) Narrowing the gap between who you want to be and who you are

(20:09) The adventures of Joe, Jimmy and Jason

(21:31) “Marketing is a joke if you don’t have something to say. And if you’re not saying it in an interesting way, it doesn’t matter.”

(25:30) Credibility marketing is everything

(27:08) “You can’t be the leader of a band if you don’t have a song to sing”

(28:34) The Duran Duran column

(29:24) Why Rise Growth Partners is investing in the $3-10 billion firm category

(32:49) Predictions for large RIAs

(34:19) Japanese car case study

(36:19) Takeaways from the sales of Centurion and United Capital

(37:62) “Am I here to get the biggest slice of pie I can, or make the biggest pie I can?” 

(38:49) The three phases that come after selling

(41:19) A buddhist monk, a psychiatrist and a coach

(41:39) Knowing your purpose in the second half of life

(42:49) Death, discovery and rebirth

(43:57) Time for our Play segment!

(44:09) Dream job as a kid – life as a rockstar

(46:19) Plot twist: a love of EDM concerts

(46:57) Moment of gratitude

 

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About our Guest: 

Joe Duran is a serial entrepreneur and recognized visionary in wealth management and wealthtech. He previously served as partner and co-head of the Workplace and Personal Wealth divisions at Goldman Sachs. Before joining Goldman, he founded and led United Capital, one of the nation’s largest independent wealth management firms, which was acquired by Goldman Sachs in July 2019. Prior to that, Joe was CEO of Centurion Capital, one of the first turnkey asset management platforms, which was sold to General Electric. He subsequently served as president of GE Private Asset Management, now known as NYSE-listed AssetMark.

Publishing Tags: StreetCred PR, Press Play, Podcast, Elena Krasnow, Jimmy Moock, Joe Duran, Public Relations, Financial Services, Wealth Management, Financial Advisors, Rise Growth Partners, United Capital, Centurion Capital, RIA, WealthTech, Financial Planning, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Purpose-driven business, Personal Growth, Behavioral Economics, Storytelling, Credibility Marketing, Firm Culture, Career Advice

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Storytelling, Trust & Financial Journalism with Diana Britton (Ep. 27)

Storytelling, Trust & Financial Journalism with Diana Britton (Ep. 27)

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In this episode of PRess Play: The StreetCred Podcast, hosts Elena Krasnow and Jimmy Moock are joined by Diana Britton, executive editor of WealthManagement.com and host of the award-winning podcast The Healthy Advisor.

 

Diana shares her journey from growing up in Los Angeles to building a career in financial journalism. She reflects on her early days covering pension plans, some of the standout stories she’s covered at WealthManagement.com and why trust between journalists and publicists is essential.

We cover:

  • Diana’s early inspirations and what eventually drew her into financial journalism
  • her experience writing about defined benefit pension plans
  • the issues surrounding 403bs and their lack of regulatory scrutiny
  • analogies and insights from Philip Palaveev, author of “The Ensemble Practice”
  • her perspective on AI in journalism and whether she can spot a ChatGPT-written pitch
  • the origin story of The Healthy Advisor and its human-centered mission
  • her personal passions, including Star Wars and a childhood dream of becoming an astronaut
  • and much more!

Diana’s journey highlights the power of trust, curiosity and connection in wealth management—don’t miss it!

 

Topics:

 

(0:15) Meet Diana Britton

(1:12) What’s for lunch?

(2:49) Never heard of a boca ribeye

(4:10) In N Out Burger reviews

(6:28) Diana’s background and growing up in Palos Verdes, LA

(7:14) Three summers in Cairo working with Sudanese refugees

(8:15) Her first foray into documentary filmmaking

(9:04) Journalism school: NYU vs. USC

(10:08) Working for Institutional Investors newsletter division

(10:37) Her experience writing about defined benefit pension plans

(11:28) The bug for financial journalism that led her to WealthManagement.com

(12:10) The openness of financial advisors to tell their stories

(12:45) First week on the job…Bear Stearns went under

(14:05) 401k vs. pension plans

(15:25) What makes for a story on pension plans?

(16:22) Looking under the hood of a teacher’s defined benefit plan

(19:35) One of the most memorable stories Diana has ever covered on 403bs

(20:25) 403bs and how they escape regulatory scrutiny; how the retirement system is failing teachers

(23:00) Shout out to Tony Isola!

(23:35) Diana’s go to sources: Joe Duran, Doug Fritz, Brian McLaughlin and others

(24:28) Incredible analogies by Philip Palaveev: describing the industry as “a monkey in a banana trap”

(25:46) “The Ensemble Practice”

(26:25) What is the “banana”?

(28:10) Technology adoption

(29:02) Wealth Management’s internal AI engine

(30:55) Can you tell when pitches are written with ChatGPT?

(31:45) What makes a story stand out to Diana: “We thought it was one way, but it’s actually this way”

(35:52) Worst interaction with a PR person (it wasn’t anyone at StreetCred!)

(37:25) The importance of respecting boundaries with journalists

(38:55) Shout out to David Armstrong!

(39:52) It’s not all bad—real relationships with journalists and publicists

(40:10) The importance of trust

(43:47) The origin story of The Healthy Advisor podcast and its important human-centered mission

(45:28) Impactful episode with George Kinder “The Father of Life Planning” on the art of mindfulness

(46:35) How do you meditate?

(47:52) Time for our Play segment!

(48:09) Dreams of being an astronaut and writing a letter to NASA

(49:20) Star Wars fandom and favorite movie

(52:05) They don’t make ‘em like they used to

(54:39) Moment of gratitude for the Wealth Management team

(56:57) Thank you to our listeners!

 

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Connect with Diana Britton:

 

 

About our Guest: 

Diana Britton is the executive editor of WealthManagement.com, covering independent broker/dealers and RIAs from all angles. She’s also the host of the Jesse H. Neal Award Winning Podcast, The Healthy Advisor, focused on advisor health and wellbeing. All told, she’s been at WealthManagement for almost 15 years, and so it’s fair to say, she’s seen it all.  Diana is a Los Angeles native native, and now lives in Rocklin, California.

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