Ep. 08: Trust Isn’t a Final Exam — It’s a Pop Quiz: How Preparation Shapes Reliability with Levi Anderson
Trust in financial planning isn’t built in the big moments — it’s revealed there. Most people think of trust as something you prepare for like a final exam, with a clear date and time on the calendar. But what if the real tests come without warning? What if trust works more like a pop quiz, where the only thing that matters is whether you’ve been doing the work all along?
For Levi Anderson, a financial planning manager at EP Wealth Advisors, this idea became clear through two very different experiences: guiding clients through major life decisions and attempting a 51-mile Grand Canyon run he thought he was prepared for. Both moments taught him the same thing: trust is shaped by the work you do long before anyone is watching.
What You’ll Learn:
Why trust is less like a scheduled exam and more like a pop quiz.
How proactive communication reduces “blind trust” moments for clients.
Why small actions (taking notes, creating templates, doing the basics well) create disproportionate trust dividends.
How unrealistic “business as usual” messaging erodes trust during organizational change.
What personal failure can teach us about rebuilding trust through ownership and integrity.
The crucial role of preparedness in high-stakes financial conversations.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
“I think building trust is a lot more like a pop quiz where you don't find out when the big test of your knowledge is until it's too late to go back and do the studying that you should have done.” - Levi Anderson
“You kind of have to honor what somebody is worried about by communicating well and being transparent.” - Levi Anderson
“It makes it so much easier to trust somebody when they’ve given you every bit of information that they can.” - Levi Anderson
About Levi Anderson:
Levi Anderson is a fee-only financial planner and financial planning manager at EP Wealth Advisors, based in San Diego and serving clients nationwide. He holds the CFP®, CPWA®, and Enrolled Agent designations, specializing in retirement planning, tax strategy, and real estate financial planning. Outside of work, Levi is an avid trail runner, a passion that has shaped some of his most impactful lessons on trust, preparation, and personal integrity.
Resources:
Follow Levi:
LinkedIn: Levi Anderson, CFP®, CPWA®, EA - EP Wealth Advisors
Follow Anne:
LinkedIn: Anne Claessen
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