Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Ira Koyner Founder of Triathlon Partners

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Ira Koyner’s successful thirty-year career as an accomplished financial services professional has been driven by sound risk management, effective communication, and a commitment to education.Ira Koyner is a devoted husband and father, he knows providing for your family is more than a responsibility, it is a priority. The cost of day to day expenses, paying for several college educations, funding retirement and providing lifetime financial support for his son with special needs are his priorities. He is grateful to have them. These priorities are not a burden, but rather a part of a rich and prolific life. Financial goals envelop more than responsibilities. They are the journey and destination, fueled by hard work, perseverance and success. Creating a financial plan that protects your family and secures your financial future doesn’t have to be overwhelming. As your dedicated financial advisor, he is committed to fostering a transparent client-advisor relationship. He is proud that his firm is independent, and not tied to a massive conglomerate’s products, platform, and rigidity. His clients have access to over thirty life and annuity companies, several structured note and alternative investment platforms and dozens of issuers. Triathlon Partners is located in Weston CT, in the heart of Fairfield County CT.Learn more: http://www.triathlonpartners.com/TRIATHLON PARTNERS LLC, is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investment Advisory Services are offered through TRIATHLON PARTNERS LLC, a registered investment adviser. Insurance products and services are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents in all appropriate jurisdictions.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-ira-koyner-founder-of-triathlon-partners

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of influential entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have with us, Ira Kuehner, who's the founder of triathlon partners. Ira, welcome to the program. Thanks, Mike. Glad to be here. Yeah, I'm excited to talk with you because it's always neat to hear perspectives and life experiences and how you serve clients and get us started with a little bit of your story.

What is your background? How did you get into financial services and would love to hear the reason why you chose the name Triathlon Partners? And I'm sure there's a wonderful story behind that as well. Sure. Well, this is second career for me. I'm going to start out saying my first career. I was a foreign currency option trader at a big bank on one of those large trading floors you'd see in the movies. And I would basically manage hundreds of thousands of options in a quantitative model, quoting all the hedge funds and asset managers and corporations in the world. And it was a long, stressful day. And I just never had time to manage my own finances. I was just concerned about earning the money, not necessarily managing it. And then COVID happened. And I had a lot of extra time. I didn't have to commute three to four hours a day in the city. And I decided, well, let me look at my own finances. Let me sort of judge and rate how my advisors had been doing.

And I wasn't very happy. I had insurance advisors. I had a couple of financial advisors. And to me, it just seemed like they were competing over my money and not really looking at, you know, overall what was best for me and my family. And I was able to do a lot of research. and get myself out of bad positions and bad products, if you will, and to really make a difference on my own personal finance. And that combined with a lot of research in terms of products I never even heard of, which I just think are fantastic, I was able to really set myself up to start a

whole new career where when I was talking to friends about what I was doing, they're like, you've got to do this for me. You know, I need the help that you're going to provide. So, you know, from that standpoint, I decided to start my firm. I decided to start my firm with independent because I didn't want to be beholden to, you know, the corporation or bank or insurance company that people are sort of loyal to when they work for them. I want to make sure I could buy the best product for my clients. And, you know, being an independent insurance guy, you get 30 different companies and carriers that you can work with from a big spectrum of products and, you know, being on the side of not working for a big wirehouse, you have access

to a ton of information, a ton of providers on different products, which I'm sure we'll talk about later. But, you know, I'm really glad the way I started it and it's really going well. Yes. You know, several of the things I really key in on words that people use and you did not use anything related to, well, I wanted to make a whole bunch of money, right? I mean, that was part of your prior career with all the option stuff and and you your your transition there was twofold a you wanted to hone in on specific skills that you weren't getting for your own personal benefit and have more time with your family and then it just morphed into different people friends family clients gone ooh help me with the same and i hear that same type of story many

times where it's like my parents were taking advantage of by an advisor and i vowed never to let that happen again. So I wanted to, you know, get into the business and treat people right. So that's just a wonderful inspirational story for starting your independent firm. One thing that comes to mind there regarding independent, talk a little bit about the benefits of being an independent for your clients versus one of those captured advisors with a big name. It seems like it kind of can open up a lot of opportunities for your clients. Oh, absolutely. you know, I'm in the tri-state area, I worked in New York.

So part of the problem with New York State is that they're very difficult with insurance products. So you get the only real viable product out there is whole life when you want permanent insurance. But it's not necessarily the terms of the insurance products that are out there in the other 49 states aren't available to you. So you get sold to these whole life problems. these whole life policies. And when you step out in New York State, there are all these much greater products out there. But the insurance guys you meet in New York,

all they want to do is sell you these big name, whole life products, and they massively underperform. And I have the ability, as I said, I work with this great firm Gallagher that helps me out, and they really have access to 30, 40 different insurance, carriers for anywhere from index universal life to term to different types of annuities that I sell through the insurance arm of my company. And it's really, you're able to really offer

the best product. And there is a big difference because there's not one firm that's graded everything, right? You've got to find the product in the firm that's great that fits your client. And it's the same thing on the asset side. On that, I'm not beholden to using certain mutual funds or, you know, compensated for using mutual funds over ETFs. I go with the lowest cost provider when I think the returns will be the same. The same thing with structured notes. I do a ton of those. I've even written some. And, you know, being able to shop that around and go to five to eight different price makers as opposed to go into the guys who work in your building makes a big difference because there is a huge price

discrepancy and I'm able to leverage my experience trading options on foreign currency to make sure my clients get the best prices and the best ideas. You know, you bring up a few good points there that makes me think of something, which is there is never one solution that fits every single person. You know, you're never coming into a client meeting going, okay, nice to meet you, and here's what I recommend. And they are saying, well, I never told you about anything. what you're describing there is you get to know your clients,

you develop a relationship with them, you learn what they need, where they are now, where they want to be, and then you craft some solutions, which might be a variety of things, not just one single thing. It's kind of like,

you know, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Well, if all you sell is X type of a financial product, then you're trying to fit everyone into that, but that's just not the case. It's not,

no two people are alike. And I think that's, that's one of the reasons I named my firm triathlon, right? You know, your financial future can't be solved overnight. It takes discipline, it takes a commitment. It's a long-term plan that you have to believe in. And you've got to believe in yourself. And the metric at the end of the day is your own metric that dictates if you have won, right?

No one does a triathlon to be the number one at triathlon. It's a personal journey. It's a personal experience for everyone. And at the end of the day, when you think of someone who's been dedicated and has committed to all these different facets of their life or, you know, the different contests in a triathlon, you think of a champion. You think of a winner. And, you know, you have to do that on your terms. So, you know, that really fits with my belief that everyone is different. Everyone has different goals. And you just kind of match them and bring the products. to them that will get them to where they want to be. Yeah. Yeah, that's a really, really big point that you're bringing up there because I think that a lot of people don't, when they're looking for an advisor or they're analyzing their current

advisor, they don't really take that into consideration. If you really think about it, it's like, am I being told what to do or am I being drawn into the process of learning and being educated? And I think that's a really big piece. So, you know, a lot of advisors, I'm sure, out there lead with numbers and money and results and here's what we can do. You tend, it sounds like to me, lead with empathy and alignment and education. Right. Talk a little bit about that approach.

Right. I mean, I don't, I've been a client of big advisors. And, you know, they always seem to not, the buck doesn't stop there. They lean on the firm. We're bringing the resources of this firm. I'm bringing you the resources of the. hire asset management and insurance industry, the best of anything that any firm has to offer. But to go back how I approach the business and clients is my goal is to engage, educate,

and empower my clients, right? It's a buy-in, right? You can't construct a long-term plan with someone. And if they don't believe in it, they're not going to follow it. And if they don't follow it, Well, then it's just a waste of everyone's time, right? And they wind up getting into products that based for long-term investing. And that's the worst thing to do is to invest in something long-term. And then in 18 months, decide you don't want it. Right. So from that standpoint, I must have, you know, a lot of clients don't want to put down and say,

oh, I got to block an hour out for this guy. The other guy took 15 minutes. You know, I really got to know what my clients are. And you ask those questions. And when you get to that second meeting, in the beginning of the third meeting, you really discover new things that just change the entire plan and ballgame that's, you know, that that's really very important to them. You know, something that's very close to me is very personal. I have a sum of special needs. He's definitely going to need support for his entire adult life.

And, you know, a lot of people don't want to share their story or share that. But it's a very big financial commitment because you can't really. rely on the state or local governments or federal government to support your kids. The programs or, you know, purely social that are important, but financially, it's just, they're just terrible. But you have to do it the right way. And there are a lot of things that people aren't aware of, of the best way to do it, which actually could cost quite a lot less than they think. So you have to get to, you know, family-owned businesses, inheritances, tax status, you know, separating the tax-free money versus the taxable money.

And coming up with a plan, not only how to get in, but how to get out. If you don't have an idea of how to get out or how to spend all that money during retirement that you've been saving so hard for, you're missing a lot of opportunity there. You know, just like there's not one plan for every single person and it's a cookie cutter template, We know that's not the case. Also, as you were describing that, it makes me think of this. Once you create that plan and you and the client's high five, so to speak, and everyone's happy with it, that plan is not the correct plan for the next 20 years with no changes. So how often are you recommending to meet together to make sure all of the facets of that plan are still, you know, where they need to be based on life changes potentially?

Right. So, I mean, I like to check in all my clients at least every three months just to make everything. It's all right. You know, they've lost their job. Do they need more cash reserves? Are they looking to buy our house, another kid, just so that you have these things on the radar. But you also, you know, from a standpoint, a lot of the products I get them into can be switched back out. You know, you do have to set aside a portion for long-term planning and a portion that could be flexible. to meet those medium-term goals, we have to know what those medium-term goals are. How much of their kids' education do they want to pay? What does their retirement? What do they think their retirement wants to look like now? And then in five years, well, what do you think it's going to look like now again? You just have to have that constant communication and engage. Because if you don't engage, you can't plan.

And as you say, plans change and you have to be flexible. But if you don't engage and you don't have that honest. good relationship with your advisor. It's just not going to work. Yeah. So, Ira, what type of clients tend to resonate most with your story and are attracted to the way that you're serving them in your advisory practice? Well, you know, it's really people that want, know what they want to a degree. And they know they need a change.

and they just lack the education experience exposure, if you will, to the markets, and they want to sit down and they want to learn and they have some sort of goal. I do not like clients that say, here's my money, make the most money possible. To me, that's a big pitfall, right? Because you're never going to make the most money possible. It would be nice. But the way I approach it is I have all these great tools. tools to help people make money and how to preserve their money and reach their goals.

But a lot of these tools get them a couple of steps on the ladder higher before we even start by looking at what are the best plans for their long-term goals. What are the most tax-efficient ways to get where they want to be? Because taxes are massive. They take a big bite out of your wealth. You look at your 401 case statement. I tell my clients, 35% of that money is not yours. Yeah.

Right. And you haven't been taxed on it yet. You haven't been taxed on it yet, but it's not yours. So don't look at that money that it's cash in your pocket. Right. You know, what we try to do is make sure that we maximize the cash in your pocket, not the account statement. Right.

And part of, and really you have to have a client that understands what they want or understand that there are options out there, that it's okay to say, this is what I want. A lot of people are just like, I'm just working really hard. No, no, no. Let's enjoy, let's look forward to enjoying how hard you've worked and how disciplined that you have been for saving. And once we get that down, it's really a much better. Your relationship is better. Goals are more defined. And things just become possible. you thought were not. Yes, amazing. Awesome.

Well, let's wrap up, Ira, in this conversation. And if you could summarize the mission of triathlon partners in one sentence, what would that be? You know, I'm going to go back. I mentioned it before. My goal is your advisor is to engage, educate, and empower to equip you with the knowledge to make a confident decision that's best going to meet your financial objectives. and goals.

Love it. Sounds nice and succinct. Love it. And if someone is interested in learning more and reaching out and connecting with you, what's the best way that they can do that? They can visit our website, www. Triathlon Partners.com. And also I'm big on education, as I said.

So please subscribe to my YouTube channel, Triathlon Partners TV. and you'll see a ton of education, a ton of good, poor financial information that will help you through your journey and get you to your goals. Excellent. Ira, thank you so much for coming on today. It was a real pleasure talking with you. Oh, thank you for having me. It was fantastic. Thank you. You've been listening to influential entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders. To learn more about the resources mentioned on today's show or listen to you. and to past episodes, visit www. www.

www. influential entrepreneurs radio.com.