South Dakota bank shows how to build custom banking business

Episode 147

Episode Notes

Bruce and Jeff are joined by Adam Cox, executive vice president and chief wealth management officer at First National Bank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In addition to running his own award-winning podcast, 'Common Sense on the Prairie,' Adam walks us through how he's led the growth and hybrid development of First National Bank to provide a variety of banking and RIA services to its clients. 

Guest Bio:

Adam Cox is executive vice president and chief wealth management officer at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, a community bank located in southeastern South Dakota. A native of South Dakota, Adam ventured through the Midwest to earn his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota, JD from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Adam has devoted his entire professional career to the field of wealth management and has served as head of First National Wealth Management since 2016. More recently, Adam began hosting Common Cents on the Prairie™, a podcast by First National Wealth Management, in 2020. The award-winning podcast features national and local experts as well as groundbreaking interviews with real couples, all with the goal of making financial education more accessible to others regardless of their financial situation.

Under Adam’s leadership, First National Wealth Management has grown its discretionary assets by nearly $700 million, and added another $3.4 billion in non-discretionary trust assets. Over the past three years, Adam’s team has achieved double-digit annual organic new fee revenue growth (excluding market performance), added hundreds of millions in new discretionary assets, and averaged more than one new account every business day.

Adam’s personal mission is to change the way wealth management services are delivered, and he attributes his team’s success to their strong culture, client-obsessed mindset, digital-first marketing approach, and desire to become easily referrable. Furthermore, the First National Wealth Management team has created an incredibly exciting, winning culture that is intensely focused on the future of the wealth management business.

Adam and his wife, Diane, live in the Sioux Falls, SD area with their two daughters. They enjoy spending time together, walking, reading, relaxing on the weekends, and attending the occasional concert — preferably with country music artists.

This episode is sponsored by Schwab Asset Management.

As one of the industry’s largest and most experienced asset managers, we offer a focused lineup of competitively priced ETFs, mutual funds and separately managed account strategies designed to serve the central needs of most investors. By operating our business through clients’ eyes, and putting them at the center of our decisions, we aim to deliver exceptional experiences to investors and the financial professionals who serve them. 

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