Month: February 2024
RIA Edge Podcast: Adding Client Services Doesn’t Always Add Value

RIA Edge Podcast: Adding Client Services Doesn’t Always Add Value

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Growth-minded RIAs often look to bring new services to clients. Research from WMIQ and Marshberry shows widely different motivations and approaches—and sometimes elevated expectations for the impact on firm value.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, managing director of editorial and content strategies for the Wealth Management Group at Informa, talks with Rob Madore, vice president of financial services for MarshBerry, about recent research the firm has done with Wealth Management’s WMIQ to explore how firm leaders think about adding new client services, both to pursue organic growth and preserve fees. With over 70% of advisors actively exploring ways to enhance services, Madore warns it’s no panacea. Firms that make it work need to undergo a ruthless self-appraisal and have a clear view of how the move will impact the business’ bottom line. 

Specifically, David and Rob discuss:

  • The top reasons firms look to expand client services, and the services most firms are looking to add.
  • How firms decide whether to outsource, acquire, or partner with others to bring clients additional services.
  • What RIAs often get wrong about service expansion, and the impact on the business. 
  • Where fee compression and margin dynamics fit in the decisions and strategies RIAs pursue.
  • Why technology is the pivotal enabler for enhancing client experiences.

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Rob Madore:

About Our Guest: 

As a Vice President on MarshBerry’s Financial Advisory team, Rob helps RIAs develop and implement sustainable growth strategies.

Prior to MarshBerry, Rob held leadership positions at companies like Wise Rhino Group, WebMD and Questis, where he was a sought-after speaker and consultant focused on giving firms the tools to thrive through the convergence of the wealth, retirement and insurance industries.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business and is a proud supporter of veteran groups like SEALKids.

Previously a collegiate and professional hockey player, most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Rob now lives in Charleston, S.C., with his wife, Allie, and his two sons, Louis and Teddy.



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RIA Edge: Mark Hurley Looks to the Future of Wealth Management and Sees a Jungle

RIA Edge: Mark Hurley Looks to the Future of Wealth Management and Sees a Jungle

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The seasoned RIA executive has penned a nearly 100-page whitepaper sketching a bleak but compelling future for the wealth management industry. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, editorial director for Informa Connect’s Wealth Management Group, talks with Mark Hurley, founder of Fiduciary Network who heads the cybersecurity firm Digital Privacy & Protection. Hurley’s recent white paper, “Welcome to the Jungle,” analyzes the trajectory of the RIA industry and sees a far more competitive industry where mid-sized, generalist advisors can’t compete, squeezed between national-branded RIAs and hyper-specialists. 

Specifically, David and Mark discuss:

  • What low-interest rates and rising markets have meant for the RIA industry, and how that is changing.
  • How the role of technology fits in financial planning and where certain functions are increasingly automated, leading to shifts in compensation for such roles.
  • Why hyper-specialization can benefit firms as a means of differentiation, especially smaller firms, looking to carve a niche in the market.
  • How cybersecurity is emerging as an existential threat and the impending regulatory changes emphasizing the need for robust measures to avoid legal and reputational fallout.
  • The acquisition of specialized talent and targeted marketing, and how they emerge as critical strategies for smaller firms to thrive.
  • Why private equity investment in the public model may not be conducive to long-term value creation in wealth management.

Resources:

RIA Edge Podcast

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Mark Hurley:

About Our Guest: 

Mark Hurley is the CEO of Digital Privacy & Protection, LLC, a company which provides a digital protection service to the clients of wealth managers. He has co-authored several major white papers on the wealth management industry over the past twenty five years.  He previously founded Undiscovered Managers, a mutual fund company that he sold to JPMorgan, and Fiduciary Network, one of the wealth management industry’s first aggregators. Earlier in his career he was a managing director at Merrill Lynch and a vice president at Goldman Sachs. He also served as a Presidential Appointee at a bureau of the United States Treasury. Hurley is a graduate of West Point and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

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RIA Edge: Wealthspire’s Mike LaMena: Building a Firm That Clients “Will Never Outgrow.”

RIA Edge: Wealthspire’s Mike LaMena: Building a Firm That Clients “Will Never Outgrow.”

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Wealthspire Advisors’ Mike LaMena on the secret to building a national RIA with a single identity that still empowers advisors to bring their “personal brand” and credibility to local communities and niche markets.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, editorial director for Informa Connect’s Wealth Management Group, talks with Mike LaMena, chief executive officer of Wealthspire Advisors, about how his firm navigates the shift from traditional stock-centric advice to a holistic life-coach approach and does so at an ever-growing scale. Having recently acquired a $3 billion firm, LaMena is optimistic on the prospects for more mergers and acquisitions to find complementary capabilities that, he says, empower advisors to focus on demonstrating their credibility in niche markets while benefiting from a national brand and consistent client experience. 

Specifically, David and Mike discuss:

  • The recent acquisition of $3 billion AUM GM Advisory Group and where that firm sits in Wealthspire’s growing UHNW service model. 
  • How one-third of Wealthspire’s clients have multi-generational wealth, and what the firm offers those clients to bring the generations together. Hint: Philanthropic planning and in-house family dynamic specialists are key.
  • Why a highly personalized client service model, ironically, requires growth and scale.
  • Why firms are required to adopt the Wealthspire brand, and how that helps, not hurts, the advisor’s personal brand and credibility in the marketplace. 
  • How he’s seen no slowdown in M&A opportunities even with higher interest rates, and how demographics and new opportunities continue to lift the entire industry—even as the firms that were offering “crazy valuations” seem to have quieted down. Still, the pipeline for quality deals remains high.

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Mike LaMena:

About Our Guest: 

Mike LaMena is the Chief Executive Officer of Wealthspire Advisors, joining the firm in September of 2017. He has over 27 years of experience building, operating, and leading global wealth management organizations. His commitment to service excellence and his fundamental belief in the power of the firm’s independent, conflict-free model of financial advice inspires his enthusiasm to serve clients and expand the business. At Wealthspire, Mike has helped grow the organization to over $20 billion in AUM with 22 offices nationwide and more than 300 employees.



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