In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Daniel Crosby, psychologist, New York Times bestselling author, and Chief Behavioral Officer at Orion Advisor Solutions. Daniel has spent nearly two decades bridging the gap between academic behavioral science and the real-world work of financial advisors, and the conversation we had is one I know you'll return to again and again.

We explore why behavioral finance has over-indexed on bias and what advisors are leaving on the table by ignoring the positive side of the ledger. Daniel breaks down the four meta-biases driving most financial mistakes: ego, emotion, attention, and conservatism, and why the most powerful use of behavioral science isn't a window onto your clients, but a mirror onto yourself. We also dive deep into his latest book, The Soul of Wealth, and what the research actually says about money, meaning, and human flourishing.

If you're an advisor who wants to move beyond portfolio-centric conversations and connect with clients on what truly drives their decisions, this episode will give you both the science and the soul to do it.

Connect with us! 

• Dr. Daniel Crosby on LinkedIn
• Orion Advisor Solutions
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Goren, a driving force behind the modern financial planning education movement. As Chief Strategy Officer at Danko Education and director of curriculum at the Global Financial Planning Institute, Matt helps shape how the next generation of advisors learns, thinks, and serves clients across borders. 

We explore how psychology and behavioral finance fit into hands-on planning, why Cross-Border financial planning is more important than ever, and what it takes to train planners who can truly understand clients, not just crunch numbers. We also talk about how AI is reshaping education and client relationships, and why the human connection remains the centerpiece of great financial advice.

If you’re involved in training, advising, or building financial relationships across countries, this conversation will challenge you to think bigger about who you’re serving and how you teach it. 

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Matt Goren on LinkedIn

Financial institutions are great at planning for the predictable, but what happens when life doesn't follow the plan? A divorce, a medical crisis, a leaky roof. These are the moments that reveal whether the financial system was really built for the people inside it.

In this episode, I sit down with Amanda Estiverne-Colas, Director and Head of Payments Practice at Proficient, founder of AGE Advisors, and one of fintech's most passionate advocates for fairness by design. Amanda has spent over 20 years working behind the scenes on the infrastructure, the plumbing, to expand access and build a financial system that actually listens to consumers.

We explore why planning for the unplanned is the industry's biggest blind spot, how the Fair Digital Finance Framework is challenging institutions to embed transparency and inclusivity into their products, and why trust isn't just a nice to have. It's the foundation everything else is built on. Amanda also shares why empathy isn't soft, it's structural, and how community banks and credit unions are quietly modeling what the rest of the industry needs to learn. Plus, she pulls back the curtain on The Front Row, her Substack series bringing the conversations that happen outside the conference room to everyone who couldn't be there.

If you're building financial relationships with clients, with communities, or with technology, this conversation will challenge you to ask, who are we building it for?

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee
• Amanda Estiverne-Colas on LinkedIn

Every advisor knows the feeling. A promising prospect sits across from you, nods through the whole conversation, says it was helpful, and then disappears. Most advisors chalk it up to competition or timing. But what if the real problem happened before anyone walked through the door?

In this episode, we explore why the moment that determines whether a prospect converts isn't the first meeting. It's the fragile space between curiosity and trust that comes before it. With organic growth in wealth management averaging around 2% in recent years and trillions of dollars shifting between generations, the stakes have never been higher. Yet most firms are still relying on first meetings to do the heavy lifting of discovery, connection, and differentiation all at once.

We dig into what the research actually shows about advisor-client communication gaps, why generic discovery questions produce surface-level answers, and what the advisors who consistently convert prospects do differently. The answer isn't a better pitch. It's a better setup, one that helps prospects reflect before they ever sit down with you, so that the first meeting feels less like an intake and more like the beginning of a real relationship.

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn
• Knomee

If you’re an advisor trying to grow your firm while still buried in the day-to-day of clients and operations, this episode will hit home. Steven Tenney has spent over three decades in wealth management, from building his own RIA to advising leaders on how to grow, scale, and create firms that last.

In this conversation, Marla and Steven break down the shift most advisors never fully make: moving from technician to owner. They explore why succession planning gets ignored, and what it takes to build real, transferable value. They also unpack what actually drives durable growth: trust, team alignment, and client relationships that extend beyond a single advisor. Most firms are more fragile than they think, especially with massive generational wealth transfer and rising pressure to differentiate.

This is a conversation about building something that endures.

• Why most advisors never build a business that outlives them
• The risks in how firms handle client relationships and succession
• How to scale without creating operational drag
• The mindset shift from revenue to enterprise value

Tune in, grab a copy of Steven’s new book, Succession Alpha, and connect with us! 

• Steven Tenney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steventenney/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee: https://knomee.com/

Tim Hamilton has spent nearly two decades helping builders - entrepreneurs, founders, and high-growth professionals - navigate the complex side of wealth. From managing concentrated assets to life-changing events like home purchases, new children, or business exits, Tim helps clients align their financial decisions with their values, psychology, and long-term goals.

In this conversation, Marla and Tim explore how AI and technology can make advisors more effective, why independence is resurging in wealth management, and how human empathy and behavioral insight create relationships that last. You’ll hear about serving complex clients, articulating your value as an advisor, and lessons from Tim’s own life that show wealth is about more than numbers, it’s about living in alignment with your purpose.

Connect with us! 

• Tim Hamilton on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hamilton-financial-planner
• Compound Planning: https://compoundplanning.com/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee: https://knomee.com/

Shaun Williams started his career in one of the fastest environments in finance, trading options on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. Then he did something a little off script for someone in that world: he stepped away from the trading floor and went out to see the world, eventually reaching all seven continents…without flying!

His travel changed his beliefs about money. He paid attention to people, their stories, and the different ways they define a good life.

Marla and Shaun talk about the trading floor, the trip that took him across the globe, and how his unique experiences shaped the way he works with families today. You won’t want to miss this conversation about values, financial planning, and building a fast-growing advisory business.

Connect with us! 

• Shaun Williams on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunwilliams25/
• Paragon Capital Management - https://www.paragoncapitalco.com/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/

Most firms assume advisors leave for a bigger payout. That assumption is costing them.

In this conversation, Shelby Nicholl shares what actually pushes advisors to make a move. Sometimes it’s compensation, but more often than not it is a slow drift from belonging, a lack of clarity about the future, or feeling undervalued despite driving revenue.

Shelby sits at the intersection of where advisors are and where they want to go. She’s helped teams break away, launch RIAs, negotiate transitions, and rebuild practices from the ground up. What she’s seen is consistent: the advisors who thrive after a move aren’t chasing a check. They have a clear story about why they’re leaving and what will be better for their clients on the other side.

This episode goes deeper than transition mechanics. It explores identity, purpose, compensation blind spots, and the subtle signals leaders miss before their best people start looking elsewhere. 

If you’re leading a firm, acquiring firms, recruiting advisors, building your own RIA, or just wondering what’s next, this conversation will challenge the story you’ve been telling yourself about why advisors move.

Connect with us! 

• Shelby Nicholl on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbynicholl/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/

You cannot “move fast and break things” when you’re responsible for someone’s retirement, their kids’ education, or the business they built over 30 years. So why are so many advisors still borrowing playbooks from tech without asking what actually fits our industry?

In this conversation, Jason Pereira pushes past the surface-level AI hype and gets honest about what changes and what doesn’t.

Yes, large language models will eat the busy work. Yes, automation will reshape workflows. But the differentiator has never been speed. It has always been judgment, trust, and your ability to understand the human sitting across from you. Jason talks about the tension every firm feels: profit versus service, efficiency versus intimacy, growth versus depth. He makes a compelling case that you can hold both, if you design your business on purpose instead of stacking tools and hoping for magic.

In an industry facing advisor shortages, generational wealth transfer, and rising client expectations, you cannot afford to keep guessing what drives action. Discovery has to get smarter, more structured, and more human at the same time.

Connect with us! 

• Jason Pereira on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pereirajm/
• Woodgate - https://www.woodgate.com/
• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/

Advisors are trained to solve technical problems, but most client relationships don’t strain at the technical layer, but at the emotional one.

In this conversation, Marla sits down with behavioral finance expert Meghaan Lurtz, Ph.D., to explore the subtle difference between doing what’s efficient and doing what’s effective. Rules of thumb like the 4% withdrawal rate or six months of savings help simplify complex scenarios, but they also create anchors that can shape expectations and even create conflict.

Together, they go through what happens when the advice becomes paternalistic and how small shifts in the meetings’ design can change the entire trajectory of a relationship. Because as investment management becomes more commoditized, understanding how your client wants to live dictates how they want to allocate. Behavioral finance becomes the differentiator in your practice.

This episode is a reminder that portfolio construction may power the engine, but trust carries the relationship forward.

Connect with us! 

• Marla Sofer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlasofer/
• Knomee - https://knomee.com/
• Meghaan Lurtz on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghaanlurtz/