Financial Advisor Success – Episode 455

Adding Hard-Dollar Value For HNW Executives By Guiding Them In Negotiating For More (Equity) Compensation with Emily Shacklett

Host: Michael Kitces
Guest: Emily Shacklett, Managing Director, Fairport Wealth
Release Date: September 16, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Michael Kitces interviews Emily Shacklett, Managing Director of Fairport Wealth, about her unique approach to adding substantial, quantifiable value for high-net-worth (HNW) executive clients. The focus is on how Emily helps clients navigate, understand, and negotiate their complex compensation packages—including salary, equity, and non-financial terms—particularly during job transitions and significant career moments. Emily discusses how her background and experience inform her service model, describes Fairport’s business structure and client niches, and shares insights into the best practices for both educating prospective clients and supporting existing ones. The conversation also touches on Emily’s career journey, leadership lessons, and advice for new financial advisors.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution of Executive Compensation Planning

• Origins in Public Accounting (06:37): Emily started as a CPA at KPMG in the 1990s, focusing on executive outplacement counseling and compensation advice, particularly during major corporate transitions like bank mergers and Ford outplacement.

  • “I started out my career as just a young woman doing a lot of advisory and coaching on people losing their jobs. And that is what has brought me to this comfort level with providing this kind of advice today.” – Emily Shacklett (05:15)

• Limits of Accounting-Only Firms (10:20): The compliance firewalls in public accounting constrained the ability to give investment advice or implement recommendations, prompting her shift into the independent RIA space for more holistic, actionable service.

2. Fairport Wealth’s Client Model & Structure

• Firm Profile (25:46): Fairport oversees $4.8B AUM for roughly 2,000 households across six offices, with Emily serving as primary advisor for about 90 households (~$3M in advisory revenue, 300M AUM).
• Team Approach (27:43): Client teams are tailored per client, typically involving a primary advisor, a secondary advisor, a client service manager, and an investment strategy specialist.
  • “We can still build our teams to suit our clients… Depending, you know, some clients… they've got two to three different advisors…” – Emily Shacklett (29:41)

3. Niche Specialization & Complementary Needs

• Primary Practice Areas (31:26): The firm’s main focus areas are corporate executives and professionals, family business owners, widows, and divorcees.

  • “We have some unique talents and skill sets that we offer to these target markets…” – Emily Shacklett (31:26)

• Why Niches Expand, Not Limit: Specializing in executives naturally extends to serving related needs, such as assisting their widowed or divorced spouses—often with similar complexities in compensation and wealth management.

  • “Ultimately, I think working with executives or a business owner…can lead you to inheritors, divorcees, and widows, and being able to provide that expertise…” – Emily Shacklett (33:08)

4. Adding Quantifiable Value Through Compensation Negotiation

• From Education to Action:

  • Education First: Fairport runs educational programs (ex: "Pay, Perks, and Parachutes") for executives and professionals, focusing on understanding and negotiating all aspects of compensation.

    • “A big piece of this now is we have an education program… to share with anybody who’s willing to listen…” – Emily Shacklett (36:59)

  • Team-Based Negotiation: Special emphasis on assembling the right legal and financial team to maximize negotiation outcomes and protect the client’s interests, especially regarding non-competes and custom compensation structures.

    • Memorable Quote: “You never have more leverage than on your way in.” – Emily Shacklett (41:07)

• Key Areas Covered in Negotiation [40:55]:

  • Salary (often least flexible)

  • Signing and retention bonuses (often highly negotiable)

  • Equity compensation (RSUs, options, vesting schedules)

  • Benefits: 401k match, healthcare, education, memberships, etc.

  • Non-financial terms: workplace flexibility, culture, additional perks

  • Memorable Client Story:
    “She was about six months away from a restricted share vesting at the current company… was offered a four year cliff-vest at the new firm… I just simply asked the question, ‘What happens if you…aren’t there in four years?’…They did put a clause in, and… it was about $700,000 that this person would have lost had they not just asked the question.”—Emily Shacklett (44:27)

• When to Bring in Legal Experts:

  • "If at any point…there's employment agreements…non competition agreements, non solicit agreements, that's when I generally say I think that we should have an attorney look at these... Whether they know one or not, we have enough really trusted employment attorney contacts..." – Emily Shacklett (53:14)

5. Engagement Structure & Fee Model

• Billing Approaches (55:30, 58:22):
  • Existing clients: Service is included in their standard AUM or retainer fee.
  • New/one-off: Retainer-based arrangements; typically $10–12K/year for C-suite executives, $3–5K/year for emerging professionals.
  • Flexibility in starting with a retainer, then transitioning clients to an AUM engagement if a broader relationship develops.

6. The Pay, Perks, and Parachutes Program

• Format & Delivery (39:53, 68:41):

  • Typically an hour-long, high-impact seminar (can be webinar or in-person).
  • Teamed with employment attorneys for legal perspective.
  • Designed for education, not sales, but functions as a powerful prospecting tool.
  • Ideal attendance is ~25 people for best engagement ("I really love it when we've got, say, 25 guests in the room…" – Emily Shacklett, 72:00)

• Promotion Tactics (70:47):

  • Invitations to clients, corporate networks, recent exec hires (via "people on the move"), and HR contacts.
  • Partnering with outlets like Crain’s Cleveland for broader reach.
  • Referrals: “We've gotten a number of referrals out of these programs because it's ‘I went to this program and…this happened to my sister…’” – Emily Shacklett (61:39)

7. Career Advice & Personal Reflections

• Negotiation's Compounding Impact:
  • “If you just negotiated $5,000 more in salary to start when you were in your 20s or 30s, by the time you're in your 60s, that amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars.” – Emily Shacklett (63:48)
• Leadership and Self-Awareness:
  • Emily shares a personal story about taking on a leadership role that was not a good fit and having to step back for the firm's and her own well-being. (76:03–83:10)
  • “It would have been very easy for me to just…go find another advisory position…but I didn’t. I stuck it out, rebuilt relationships… and now I feel like my star’s rising again.” – Emily Shacklett (78:55)
• On Building a Lasting Advisory Career:
  • Patience and learning from mentors is key for aspiring advisors.
    • “I would encourage newer advisors not to be too impatient. If you're fortunate…take the time to get to know [experienced advisors], how they do business... you're soaking up golden nuggets that they've learned over the course of their career.” – Emily Shacklett (85:06)
• Defining Success:
  • “My success…I feel like always hinges on how I make people feel, how I motivate them, how I impact them in their lives.” – Emily Shacklett (87:31)
  • Emily’s two children are following her into the business, and a third may become an employment attorney, completing the full "family executive advisory team." (88:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• On Service Inflation vs. Fee Compression:
  “Fees just aren't compressing at all…But what has happened is there's service inflation…we have to do more clients than we used to for the proverbial 1% fee.” – Michael Kitces (03:04)

• On Why Specialize in Executives:
  “Working with executives or a business owner…can lead you to inheritors, divorcees, and widows, and being able to provide that expertise…” – Emily Shacklett (33:08)

• On Assembling the Right Team:
  “You can be a really smart CFO…but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be comfortable challenging or asking for what you deserve…” – Emily Shacklett (41:35)

• On The Impact of Small Negotiations:
  “Even the little stuff is a big deal, especially when you're younger…hundreds of thousands of additional compensation.” – Emily Shacklett (63:48)

• On Navigating a Leadership Misstep:
  “I got to the point where I felt like I'm not doing anything well. It's just, like, falling apart…I stuck it out, rebuilt relationships…and now I feel like my star's rising again.” – Emily Shacklett (78:55)

• On Success & Legacy:
  “I have three kids. I have two that are actually following my footsteps…this is really cool because I've not always been present. But they see what I do, they see the impact and they want to be what I was when I grew up.” – Emily Shacklett (87:31)

Episode Timeline (Timestamps)

• [03:04] Kitces introduces service inflation vs. fee compression and new value propositions.
• [05:15] Emily shares her public accounting roots and early exposure to executive comp.
• [14:55] Retainers and fee arrangements: past and present.
• [20:46] Description of Fairport’s structure and merger background.
• [31:26] Fairport’s client niches and why specialization is additive.
• [36:59] Educational programming as a core business development and service tool.
• [40:55] Deep dive: what’s covered in “Pay, Perks, and Parachutes.”
• [44:27] $700,000 win: real-world impact of a single negotiated clause.
• [53:14] The role of employment attorneys in client transitions.
• [55:30] Fee models, negotiating time-sensitive retainers, and converting to ongoing relationships.
• [68:41] In-person vs. virtual seminar delivery; ideal group size; maximizing engagement.
• [72:00] Intimate, interactive sessions seen as most effective for education and relationship-building.
• [76:03] Emily’s leadership struggles and transition.
• [85:06] Advice for new advisors: be patient, learn from mentors, embrace deliberate growth.
• [87:31] Defining personal and professional success, legacy, and family influence.

Conclusion

This episode offers a deeply practical and empathetic look at how meaningful “hard-dollar” value can be added for HNW executives through compensation and career transition guidance. Emily’s approach underscores the trend of advisors moving beyond portfolio management, leveraging specialized expertise and robust professional networks (including attorneys), and intentionally building educational platforms that attract, convert, and retain high-value clients—while also fostering long-term personal relationships and a legacy of mentorship.

For more insights and resources, check out the Nerd’s Eye View blog at www.kitces.com.