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Rick Hu is known as "The Titan," a top 1% producer and founder/CEO of Midas Wealth. On this episode of Office Hours, he sits down with Kuldeep Madan to talk fee-based planning, the business-owner mindset every advisor needs, and why he walked away from the #1 practice in the country to start over.
From food stamps and Medicaid in Brooklyn to Northwestern Mutual's youngest-ever managing director at 25 and back-to-back Forbes recognition, Rick's story is equal parts deeply personal and intensely practical. He opens up about the immigrant childhood that shaped him, buying his father's dream car, the moment his...

On this episode of Office Hours, Kuldeep Madan sits down with Michael Book, founding partner of Lenox Advisors, a 35-year industry veteran, a member of the Finseca Hall of Fame for leadership and mentorship, and a new grandfather. The two trace how they met, a chance encounter when their Jeeps got stuck in the Dubai desert, before Michael walks through his whole arc: a sports-obsessed Long Island and New Jersey childhood, a college career he admits was more fun than academic, three and a half years selling for his dad's plastics company, and the cousin's tip that pulled him into...

On this episode of Office Hours, Kuldeep Madan sits down with Gershon Distenfeld — outgoing Co-Head of Fixed Income at AllianceBernstein, a regular on Bloomberg TV and CNBC, and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner who gave the winnings to charity. They open with the origin story: how a "difficult" client relationship with Vince D'Addona turned Gershon into one of Kuldeep's clients, and the running joke that came out of it. From there, Gershon traces the path from a modern Orthodox childhood in Teaneck, New Jersey, through a Y2K-era start at Alliance Bernstein to three decades running fixed income....

Live from the MassMutual Disney Leaders Conference, and after winning the 2025 Advisor of the Year award, Kuldeep sits down with Joe Mallee, Head of MassMutual Financial Advisors, for a wide-ranging conversation recorded on-site. They dig into Joe's "expensive book club" friendship with Kuldeep, the loss of his mother and the cause it inspired, what it takes to go from advisor to GA to home office leadership, and his rules for staying present under pressure.

Books mentioned:

- Principles: Life and Work — Ray Dalio: Principles: Life and Work: Dalio, Ray: 9781501124020: Amazon.com: Books
- The Power of Now —...

On this episode of Office Hours, Kuldeep Madan sits down with Sahand Elmtalab, managing partner of Catalyst Group and MassMutual's 2020 National Advisor of the Year, for a wide-ranging, personal conversation about how great advisory practices are built.

On this episode of Office Hours, Kuldeep sits down with Tom Wall, founder of Whole Life Masterminds, host of the Fast Start Forum, and author of Permission to Spend.

Tom traces his path from financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual to home office wholesaler to one of the industry's most trusted educators. They dive into the real mechanics of whole life versus IUL (which Tom calls "Lie-UL"), who should and shouldn't own whole life, the truth behind dividend interest rates, the history of mutual insurance companies (yes, they go surprisingly deep), and the risks hiding inside premium financing.

Tom also shares...

On this episode of Office Hours, Kuldeep sits down with industry veteran Vince D'Addona for a candid, funny, and unfiltered conversation about what it really takes to build a career in financial services.