April Aandal: An Anchor for Advisors

Steven Atkinson
May 16, 2022

Years ago, as two companies faced a tough merger, April Aandal sat in a room full of advisors, agenda in hand, trying her best to foster a productive meeting. But the room was distracted and uninterested in the bullet points she’d prioritized. Instead, they were interested in their own agendas. When the advisors slowly began turning to one another, sharing their anxieties and leaning on a room full of perspectives, April tossed out her agenda, sat down, and simply listened.

“You can’t make [study groups] prescriptive. It has to be organic. Communities are organic in nature. People come into a space because it’s relevant for them. And they will stay in a space or an interaction while it remains relevant.” ~ April Aandal

That one experience taught April how to become a part of the table versus striving to lead outside of it. Her current role as a Sr. Relationship Specialist at Avantis is all about educating investors on the investment offerings available to them. And part of that responsibility entails being the steady guide in a room full of advisors. She’s a proponent of advisor “study groups”, but as she points out, there’s a right way and a wrong way to convene.

In this episode, Steve and April discuss how April creates a positive and productive environment for advisors to convene, the incredible growth she’s seen in advisors after joining study groups, the importance of vulnerability, and the dos and don’ts for facilitating advisor education.

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Steve Atkinson

Steven Atkinson

Managing Director, Advisor Relations

For 25 years Steve has helped advisors get into the RIA space and/or helped them grow by developing and sharing a variety of client experience best practices. Steve was an original architect of Buckingham’s Design | Build | Protect® client experience process along with the Life Discovery and Feedforward programs. Steve is also an author of The Wealth Solution and 27 Principles Every Investor Should Know. He is also the host of the Admired Advisor podcast. Steve is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor’s in Finance and Investment Banking. Steve lives in Edwards, CO and enjoys spending time with his daughters skiing in the winter or golfing in the summer .