Tag: Pension Plans
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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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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