Steve Kurz, Partner at Galaxy Digital, spent the first decade of his career in traditional finance. Following that, he crossed over into crypto before it was considered cool and has since become a trailblazing voice in its institutional adoption. In the season finale of CXO, we sit down with Steve for a candid conversation on bitcoin, blockchain, and breaking the mold in an ever-evolving industry.


Hear Steve's views on:

• Debunking the simple calculus that he believes many first-time crypto investors fall prey to.
• Understanding that fundamentals may exist in crypto, just as many believe they do in the stock markets.
• Recognizing bitcoin’s raison d'être, and why he believes it has become especially compelling as central banks look to digitize fiat currencies.
• Setting 0.50% as a starting point for strategic asset allocation to digital assets.

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You could describe Michael Kitces, Head of Planning Strategy at Buckingham Wealth Partners, as a man about town.  Speaking at over 50 industry conferences per year – averaging one per week – Michael has rubbed shoulders with many of the leading voices in the financial planning industry.  He regularly shares his insights around practice management on his widely-read blog, nerd’s eye view, and he joins us today on CXO to discuss the key trends driving the financial planning industry.   

Hear Michael’s views on: 

• Identifying the rise of what he refers to as turnkey advice and planning platforms (‘TAPs’).
• Understanding why bigger firms keep getting bigger. 
• Moving from a focus on products, to a focus on the advisor. 
• Delivering actionable insights to clients, establishing what is cutting edge – and what is simply noise to cut through.
• Bucking the trend: a controversial take on the rise of millennials.  

Follow Michael Kitces: Twitter, LinkedIn

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In the latest installment of CXO, we are joined by Michael Antonelli, Managing Director, Market Strategist at Baird. Michael and many others in his position have long argued that the 60/40 portfolio is a relic of the past, with the forward return expectations being the lowest they have been in decades. What’s next? As portfolios evolve, investor behaviors may too – how does the wealth management community keep up with the times? 

Hear Michael's views on:

• Risk-taking, risk-seeking, the difference between these two things.Setting asset allocation as ‘the guiding principle of good wealth management’.
• Crafting portfolios that bring clients to the conversation.
• Debunking myths about millennials, as the largest investing generation alive approaches their prime.
• Championing ‘edutainment,’ style, and personality in the world of finance.

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From a humble home to the White House, from the Hollywood Hills to Wall Street.  Few have lived the many lives that Anthony Scaramucci has.  After the depths of 2017, he made a return as Managing Partner at SkyBridge.  What’s Anthony’s next move – and what lessons for life did he take away from his previous ones?  

Tune into this week’s CXO for an intimate sit-down with Anthony Scaramucci. 

 At a Glance 

Hear Anthony’s perspectives on: 

• Growing up blue-collar, grinding to pay off student debts and graduating from Harvard’s worst-dressed list to Goldman Sachs.
• Laying the foundations for SkyBridge, with the backing of a few friends in high places who trusted his entrepreneurial itches.  
• Venturing into new territory through ‘The Davos of the Dessert’ – the first step in putting Scaramucci’s and SkyBridge’s name on the map. 
• Coming full-circle to appreciate the deep loyalty – and duration – of the retail investor.
• Reflecting on his superpowers – and his kryptonite – Before Trump (BT) and After Trump (AT). 

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Follow Anthony Scaramucci: Twitter, LinkedIn

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In the first year of COVID-19, CAIS IQ regularly caught up with Shannon Saccocia, Chief Investment Officer at Boston Private. We talked pent-up demand, politics, and the pandemic, among other investment themes and macro trends that were shaping the world around us. As the delta variant makes its way across the country, threatening the recovery of the economy: what are the potential opportunities – and challenges – for investors that lie ahead?

Hear Shannon's views on:

• Recognizing how analyst views and estimates are formed in a once-in-a-century pandemic
• Underscoring the importance of portfolio management discipline even and especially when markets reach all-time highs
• Appreciating how The Why of Wealth may now be forever-changed in light of last year’s global events

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In this week's CXO, we invite Bing Waldert, Managing Director of U.S. Research at Cerulli Associates, to discuss key topics and trends shaping the future of wealth management. In a far-ranging discussion covering demographics, automation, and consolidation, Bing lays out what he believes lies ahead for the industry at large.

Hear Bing's views on: 

• Preparing for the next generation of advisors and clients
• Acknowledging automation as a complement to – not a replacement of – in person service
• Exploring key industry trends: how consolidation may have contributed to lower fees and higher expectations, and understanding the shift towards the hybrid RIA model
• Looking beyond succession plans: 1 in 4 advisors plans to exit their business in the next 10 years. 8% of advisors plan to retire in the next 5 years. What more can firms do?
• Reaching the top – and staying at the top: the potential need to elevate client experience, such as providing access to alternative investments

Follow Cerulli Associates:  Twitter, LinkedIn
Follow Bing Waldert: Twitter, LinkedIn
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How can financial advisors learn faster, remember longer, and be more competitive?

On this week's CXO, Nic Millikan sits down with CAIS’ first-ever Chief Innovation Officer, Andrew Smith Lewis. Andrew came to CAIS as an industry veteran in artificial intelligence and brain science, holding multiple patents in the fields of AI as well as knowledge and skills improvement.

Tune in to hear how Andrew leveraged his experience improving learning and memory through AI-driven programs across governments, higher education, and top corporations, and applied this to CAIS IQ - the industry's leading learning platform designed to help financial advisors accelerate their understanding of alternative investments.

Hear Andrew's views on:

• Improving learning and memory – the science behind how the brain works  
• Leveraging lessons learned from helping over 6 million people learn faster and remember longer 
• The financial community’s tendency to focus on the what – and not the how – of advisor education
• The importance of education for the wealth management community

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More RIAs were bought and sold last year than in any other year on record. They were also bigger than ever, with an average AUM of $1.8 Billion*.

This week CXO sits down with Dan Seivert, CEO and Founder of Echelon Partners, an investment bank dedicated to servicing the wealth management industry, as he walks us through his views on the driving forces behind this unprecedented M&A activity.

Hear Michael's views on: 

• A record year: how RIA M&A ended at an all-time high in 20201, in spite of the pandemic-induced global economic slowdown.
• Movers and shakers: who are the big players in these markets? 
• ‘The Valley of Doom’: why he believes firms must crossover before they generally become attractive acquisition targets.
• A year in recap: an overview of The 2020 Echelon RIA M&A Deal Report.

Follow Echelon Partners:  Twitter, LinkedIn
Follow Dan Seivert: Twitter, LinkedIn
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*Echelon Partners, The 2020 ECHELON RIA M&A Deal Report

Consumer prices in America are surging at a pace not seen since 20091. Could this be a sign of inflation rearing its head, or a confluence of other natural – and not so natural – forces at play? 

In this weeks CXO, we invite Michael Dow, CIO at Beacon Pointe, as we confront the monster under the nation’s bed, while unravelling why he believes interest rates may remain as low as they are for the foreseeable future. 

Hear Michael's views on: 

• Financial Repression: what it is, how it keeps interest rates low, and why the Fed and the Treasury must collude to enable it in today’s circumstances
• Government Engineered Inflation: how some view this as a solution to their debt 
• Inflation Levels: will this year’s levels be as ‘transitory’ as the officials predict
• Market Outlook: what will the outlook for traditional and alternative investments in an inflationary environment look like in the future 

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Follow Michael Dow: Twitter, LinkedIn
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How does a classically trained opera singer break into the Barron’s Advisor Hall of Fame? Founder and CEO Lori Van Dusen talks to CXO about building LVW Advisors, orchestrating a portfolio that cuts through the noise, and the one corporate policy she got J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to change for good. 

Hear Loris' views on: 

• Her inspirational journey from conservatory, to Harvard, to Lehman, and ultimately, the top of the financial advisor community
• How she believes the musically-inclined have a unique perspective on timing, establishing patterns, and understanding how different elements of a portfolio behave in concert
• Overcoming the seemingly impossible in founding her private practice – one month before the 2008 Global Financial Crisis

Follow LVW Advisors:  Twitter, LinkedIn
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