This week, Jack Sharry talks with Rob Pettman, President and Chief Revenue Officer at TIFIN. Rob brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across wealth management, investment platforms, and financial technology. Before joining TIFIN, he spent 19 years at LPL Financial, most recently as Executive Vice President of Wealth Management Solutions.

Rob talks with Jack about the hype surrounding artificial intelligence in wealth management. He discusses how firms across the industry deploy AI, what delivers real outcomes, and what top-performing firms are doing differently. Rob also shares the three major themes driving AI adoption today, as well as how AI reshapes workflows, accelerates advisor transitions, and unlocks new growth opportunities.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:29) - The current state of AI adoption in wealth management

(02:57) - The three core themes of AI value creation

(07:12) - Why outcome matters more than solving the data problem 

(08:36) - What advisors actually want from AI tools 

(11:48) - What change management means for AI adoption

(13:10) - How companies can succeed with AI integration 

(15:28) - The difference between AI at the operating level vs. AI as a tool 

(17:19) - How AI-driven personalization works in wealth management

(20:19) - Point solutions vs. platforms: Why flexibility still matters 

(21:32) - Rob's thoughts on the future of AI in wealth management 

(23:34) - The biggest misconception about AI in wealth management

(25:35) - Rob's interests outside of work

Quotes

"The firms that are most successful have a very strong initiative and leadership presence coming from the C-suite. It's not just about putting a flag in the ground and saying, "We're going to do AI." It's actually them leaning in and pushing through some of the structural issues within their organization that may prevent AI from being successful." ~ Rob Pettman 

"When you view AI as a tool versus a change in your operating model, technology doesn't understand your business. So, it really does have to be the culture around business-led technology-enabled versus business-deferred to technology." ~ Rob Pettman

"The real power, the maximum commercial impact you get with AI, is when cost savings meets growth meets scale, and you put all three of those together." ~ Rob Pettman

Links 

Rob Pettman on LinkedIn

TIFIN 

Cetera Financial Group

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