Dr. Mary Bell Carlson
34 episodes listed below
Where financial expertise becomes memorable stagecraft.
Financial Behavior Thought Leaders sits at the intersection of wealth management, behavioral finance, and professional speaking. Its interviews turn keynote ideas into usable takeaways for advisors, event planners, and financial professionals.
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Financial Behavior Thought Leaders is an interview-driven show about the people turning financial-services expertise into stage-ready ideas. It is polished but not stiff. The episodes often begin with a speaker's path into presenting, then move into the keynote, workshop, or teaching model that defines that person's work. The format gives listeners both the story behind the speaker and the practical point of the talk. Behavioral finance is a central thread. Dr. Mary Bell Carlson's conversation on anchors, biases, and planner-client communication frames the show's interest in moving from identification to action. The show is not satisfied with naming a bias. It keeps asking what an advisor can do next. Other episodes broaden that same pattern into life planning, inclusive client service, trust-building, retirement, professional education, and organizational growth. Danika Waddell brings a human-centered view of financial life planning. Deirdre Van Nest talks about speaking as a crafted experience rather than a loose lecture. Heather Fortner connects scaling a firm with the harder work of keeping relationships, values, and leadership intact. Lizetta Rainey Braxton focuses on cultural awareness, relevance, and the client realities advisors may not understand without doing deeper work. Jonathan Ainsley pushes retirement planning beyond the portfolio into longevity, technology, health span, and relationships. Andi Wrenn brings teaching instincts to book studies and professional learning communities. A related Speaker Success Toolkit mini-series turns the lens even more directly toward becoming referable, bookable, and useful from the stage. The show's differentiating move is synthesis: a guest offers a story, and the conversation pulls it back toward a usable message for advisors or event planners. It is warm, practical, and quietly coaching-adjacent. For financial professionals, it offers a way to evaluate speakers by substance rather than polish alone. For speakers, it shows how expertise becomes a talk that people remember.
Made for: Built for financial advisors, event planners, speaker-seekers, and financial professionals who care about client behavior, communication, and practical thought leadership.
What sets it apart: The show combines speaker discovery with applied financial behavior, so each episode evaluates both the person on stage and the idea they bring to an advisor audience.
What makes a keynote speaker truly unforgettable? What happens behind the scenes before they step onto the stage? And, as a financial professional or event planner, how do you know which speaker is the right fit for your audience? Welcome to Financial Behavior Thought Leaders–the podcast that gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the most sought-after speakers in financial services. This show is hosted by Dr. Mary Bell Carlson, founder of Financial Behavior Keynote Group, where we represent the best financial thought leaders and speakers in the industry. Every day, financial advisors, event organizers, and industry professionals are se...
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It shows how financial-services speakers turn behavioral insight and industry experience into practical, audience-ready ideas.
Financial Behavior Thought Leaders treats the keynote stage as a working part of financial services. Mary Bell Carlson interviews speakers about the ideas they present, the audiences they address, and the craft required to make those ideas useful.
A talk can land and still lead nowhere; Mary Bell Carlson asks why you weren't booked again.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A focused look at how speakers shape a talk into something clear, memorable, and ready for different stages.
This first episode opens the mini-series by focusing on the work that turns a good speaker into one who gets remembered and booked. Marybelle Carlson and Deirdre Van Nest keep the attention on the basics that matter most: a clear structure, stories that land, useful analogies,…
A behavioral finance interview that turns bias into practical next steps for advisors.
Financial Behavior Thought Leaders uses a neat role reversal, with Dr. Christy Archuleta in the host seat and Mary Bell Carlson as the guest, to keep the focus on behavioral finance for financial planners and on ideas that can be used in practice.
Growth is framed as a matter of integrity, relationship skill, and holding onto the organization's soul.
Financial Behavior Thought Leaders presents Heather Fortner as a growth story anchored in integrity. Mary introduces the CEO of SignatureFD as one of Financial Behavior Keynotes Group's exclusive speakers, and the arc from $250 million to more than $9 billion in assets lands as…
A grounded case for cultural competency, relevance, and deeper listening.
The piece frames financial advising as a profession that has to stay alert to a changing, diverse world, and Lizetta Rainey Braxton treats cultural competency as something practiced, not proclaimed.
Jonathan Ainsley reframes retirement around longevity, health span, and the next 40 years.
Jonathan Ainsley's focus on flourishing longevity gives the conversation a clear spine, linking technology's shifting role with relationships and, especially, the relationship people have with themselves.
Advisor transition strategy, without the noise.
Odd questions, followed patiently down to the incentives.
Dan Haylett, author and keynote speaker, tells host Mary that Gen X "retirement rebels" reject the armchair, defined-benefit model of retirement their parents lived.
Marybelle Carlson starts with the talk itself.
The episode opens with Dr.
Danika Waddell discusses her journey into financial life planning and speaking, emphasizing human-centered approaches beyond traditional discovery.
Deirdre Van Nest shares her journey from avoiding the stage to becoming a keynote speaker on building trust and connection in financial services.
Mary opens with Heather Fortner and keeps the attention on scale.
Andi Wrenn discusses her journey into speaking and her unique approach to financial education through book study programs.
Mary opens with a simple premise.
Mary opens by framing Jonathan Ainsley as a speaker urging financial services to rethink aging, technology, and relationships.
Matt Halloran discusses his background in applied ethics and communications, leading to his work helping financial advisors build irreplaceable brands through radical authenticity.
Ashley Quamme, a licensed marriage and family therapist, discusses her journey into financial therapy and how she helps financial advisors integrate financial psychology into their practices.
An interview with financial advisor and speaker Tim Maurer about his keynote 'Winning the Work' and his approach to helping advisors grow personally, professionally, and in business.
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