In a new episode of Head to Head, Jeff Erdmann (Founding Partner of the Erdmann Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management) joins Co-Heads of Distribution Kirsten Pickens and Ryan Robertson to discuss how childhood dyslexia helped him launch a multi-billion practice, why he hires “partners” instead of “employees” and how he balances family, mentorship, career and philanthropy.
“It’s about connecting with people and finding a connection point. Allowing them to talk about themselves. My rule number one is I never want to speak more than 30 percent of the time in a conversation. [I want to be finding] what matters to them, letting them talk about it and having a deep impactful conversation. And then obviously taking a complex situation and simplifying it for them and then giving them an outcome.” —Jeff Erdmann
Jeff Erdmann
Jeff is the founding partner of The Erdmann Group, a distinguished wealth management team based in Greenwich, Connecticut. He began his Merrill career in 1984 and has garnered national recognition as a leading financial advisor. He is the only advisor to have been named #1 on Forbes “America’s Top Wealth Advisors’ list for eight years running—2016–2023 (Published annually Aug–Oct. Rankings based on data as of Mar 31–June 30 of current year). Barron’s has recognized Jeff as one of America’s Top 100 Financial Advisors from 2004–2023 and the top advisor from Merrill on the list from 2009–2023 (Published annually Mar–April. Rankings based on data as of December 31 of prior year).
In addition, Jeff was honored with the esteemed Bank of America Corporation’s David Brady Award in 2017, recognized for client focus, philanthropy and overall commitment to his company and community. In 2019, The Erdmann Group was ranked #1 Private Wealth Group by Barron’s Magazine and has remained in the Top 10 since (Published annually in April. Rankings based on data as of December 31 of prior year).
Kirsten Pickens: Welcome to Head to Head, a podcast by FS Investments, where we get personal with the people of financial services. I’m Kirsten Pickens—
Ryan Robertson: —and I’m Ryan Robertson. We are the co-heads of distribution at FS Investments, and together, we sit down with some of the brightest minds, innovative thinkers and thought leaders in the financial services industry.
Kirsten Pickens: Today we’re excited to welcome Jeff Erdmann, Founding Partner and Managing Director of the Erdmann Group at Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management. Jeff is the number one advisor in the U.S. on the 2023 Forbes Top Wealth Advisors list – having been ranked number one now eight years in a row. He’s also been ranked on the Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisors list since its inception in 2004. So how does the number one advisor in the country close business? From a borrowed suit to managing over 12 billion in assets under management, Jeff shares his lessons from almost 40 years of record setting leadership in financial services.
Ryan Robertson: In this episode, Jeff talks about how childhood dyslexia helped him launch a multi-billion dollar practice, why he hires partners instead of “employees” and how he balances family, mentorship, career and philanthropy. So, let’s get started. We’re excited for you to hear our conversation today.
Kirsten Pickens: Jeff, welcome to Head to Head. Thank you so much for being here. Ryan and I are honored to be able to sit down and have a conversation with you. So, thank you.
Jeff Erdmann: Glad to be here. My pleasure.
Kirsten Pickens: Absolutely. As the number one financial advisor in the country for the last eight years, a lot of the industry has heard from you. They’ve heard your story, they’ve been inspired by you, you’ve mentored thousands, but it all had to start somewhere, right? And so when I think back to some of the articles that have been written about you, I love the Barron’s article that was written in 2009 titled “From a borrowed suit to $8.3B.” Now, I know you’re a lot higher number than that today, but let’s go there. How did it all start for you?
Jeff Erdmann: Well, I had two gifts when I started. One is I did start the industry with a PhD. I was poor, hungry, and driven or desperate. You can put a desperate or a driven on the D, whichever you want. And I think another advantage I’ve had in life, which I always love to talk about, is I was terribly dyslexic as a kid. And for a large part of my life, I thought everyone was smarter than me. And what I’ve learned in my thirties and forties with three dyslexic boys is that dyslexia has nothing to do with how smart you are. But the gift it gave me is, I think what dyslexics do really well is (a) they park their ego at the door and (b) they figure out and surround themselves by people that have skill sets that they don’t. And I feel really comfortable around people that do things better than I do, and hopefully I’m complimenting what they do in a different way. So, that helped me a lot. And I think starting in a strange city, not knowing a soul at age 22, was an advantage because I really did feel as though I had my PhD and it was a dog fight. And back then in the 1980s, our business was about numbers. It was a game, it was a contest. It wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as we are today.
