The Advisors Edge Podcast

Your RIA wants to start a trust company. But is there enough business to support it?

In this episode of The Advisors Edge, host Chad Ramberg sits down with David Peterson, Founder & President of American Fiduciary Solutions, to examine what it takes to establish and operate a trust company and why the business case should come before the charter.

Drawing on his experience as a former financial institution examiner and trust company consultant, David explains the financial commitment, leadership requirements, and regulatory responsibilities RIAs and family offices need to consider.

The conversation also explores jurisdiction selection, private family versus public or retail trust companies, regulatory examinations, and the differences between trustee and custody services.

WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER:
✅ Why existing client demand should influence the decision to establish a trust company
✅ What RIAs should understand about initial capitalization, operating reserves, and ongoing expenses
✅ Why dedicated leadership is essential when operating a regulated trust company
✅ How private family trust companies differ from public or retail trust companies
✅ What advisors should evaluate when choosing a state for their trust company charter
✅ Why regulatory examination preparation requires ongoing attention
✅ How trustee services and custody services represent different trust company business models

The central question isn't simply whether your RIA can establish a trust company. It's whether the business case, operational capacity, and long-term responsibilities make sense for your firm.


ABOUT THE GUEST
David Peterson
Founder & President, American Fiduciary Solutions

David Peterson is the Founder and President of American Fiduciary Solutions, a firm that helps clients establish and operate trust companies.

His background includes serving as a financial institution examiner with the South Dakota Division of Banking and working with trust companies on applications, governance, compliance, and regulatory examinations.

Through American Fiduciary Solutions, David supports clients with trust company formation, board responsibilities, ongoing operations, and examination preparation.

Connect with David:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-peterson-3b538851/
Website: http://www.americanfiduciarysolutions.com/


ABOUT THE HOST
Chad Ramberg
Co-Founder & President, Box Professional Insurance

Chad Ramberg works with registered investment advisors on professional insurance and risk considerations.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/
Website: https://www.boxproinsurance.com


SPONSOR
Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisors Edge.

Box Professional helps RIAs understand where operational and risk exposure actually shows up before it becomes a claim.

Learn more: https://www.boxproinsurance.com



CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction: What RIAs Should Know About Trust Companies
02:00 — How American Fiduciary Solutions Supports Trust Companies
03:52 — David's Background in Trust Company Regulation
07:00 — When Should an RIA Consider Starting a Trust Company?
10:24 — Why Dedicated Leadership Matters
11:57 — Business Planning and Regulatory Expectations
14:08 — Initial Capital Requirements and Operating Reserves
16:38 — Technology, Staffing, and Office Requirements
19:16 — Private Family Trust Companies vs. RIAs
21:36 — Choosing the Right State for a Trust Company
25:35 — Regulatory Examination Frequency
30:00 — Trustee Services vs. Custody Services
33:11 — Does Starting a Trust Company Make Business Sense?
35:24 — Final Reflections


THE ADVISORS EDGE

The Advisors Edge features practical conversations for RIA owners, fiduciary advisors, and advisory-firm leaders navigating decisions involving firm operations, risk, compliance, client relationships, and long-term growth.


DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

What actually makes an RIA valuable to a potential buyer?

Revenue matters, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

An advisory firm's financial records, client demographics, recurring revenue, organizational structure, and succession planning can all influence how a prospective buyer evaluates the business.

In this episode of The Advisor's Edge Podcast, Chad Ramberg sits down with Ryan Hutchins, founder of Peak Business Valuation, LLC, to discuss what RIA owners should understand about business valuation, acquisitions, and preparing for a potential sale.

Ryan founded Peak in 2018 and sold the company in 2024. Today, he leads its valuation division.

Drawing on his experience evaluating businesses and navigating a sale himself, Ryan shares practical considerations for advisory firm owners who want to better understand what makes their businesses valuable whether or not they're planning an exit anytime soon.

IN THIS EPISODE:
• Why clean financials matter when preparing to sell an advisory firm.
• How client demographics, average AUM, and recurring revenue influence valuation discussions.
• What RIA owners should consider when planning for acquisitions and succession.
• Why building the right organizational structure matters for long-term growth.
• The importance of knowing what comes after selling your business.
• How AI is changing workloads and responsibilities within professional services firms.

Understanding what makes your firm valuable isn't just relevant when you're ready to sell. It's part of building a business that can serve clients and operate effectively over time.


ABOUT THE GUEST

Ryan Hutchins, CPA, ABV, AM, CMEA
Founder, Peak Business Valuation, LLC

Ryan Hutchins founded Peak Business Valuation in August 2018.
After selling the company in 2024 to a larger professional services organization, Ryan continued leading its valuation division.

His professional experience includes business valuation, transaction-related analysis, and helping business owners better understand the factors that influence enterprise value.

Guest LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-hutchins-abv-am-cmea-peakbusinessvaluation/
Company Website:
http://peakbusinessvaluation.com/


ABOUT THE HOST

Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/


SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisor's Edge Podcast.

Box Professional helps RIAs understand where operational and risk exposure actually shows up before it becomes a claim.

Learn more:
https://www.boxproinsurance.com


CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Ryan Hutchins
00:52 Ryan's Background and Founding Peak Business Valuation
03:56 RIA Acquisitions and Succession
08:00 Business Sales and Market Uncertainty
10:56 AI and the Role of Professional Judgment
18:55 How AI Changes Professional Workloads
22:05 Finding Purpose After Selling a Business
26:02 Clean Financials and Transaction Readiness
28:54 How Client Demographics Influence RIA Valuation
33:56 Building the Organization for Long-Term Growth
42:48 Closing Reflections



DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

AI tools can produce answers that sound remarkably confident.

For financial advisors, the harder question is what happens when that output touches a consequential client decision.

Where should AI assistance end and human judgment begin?

In this episode of The Advisor's Edge Podcast, Chad Ramberg sits down with Dan Zimon, Founder & CEO of Teranode and Managing Member & Investment Adviser Representative at Camba Capital, LLC, to explore the role of human judgment in AI-assisted advisory decisions.

Dan's central argument is straightforward: AI can provide additional perspectives and expose potential blind spots, but the advisor remains responsible for synthesizing those findings and making the final decision.

As Dan puts it during the conversation:

“a human will always stay in between the AI and the execution.”

They also explore a problem advisors are increasingly encountering. AI systems can produce confident responses, but confidence does not mean every relevant consideration has been captured.

Dan explains why he believes an independent review can provide a different lens rather than simply asking the same system to check its own work. As he says during the conversation:

“They're designed to sound sure. That's the trap though.”

The conversation then moves from the limitations of AI output into the operating process Dan has built around independent review and human accountability.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

• Why confident AI output can still contain blind spots
• Where human judgment belongs in an AI-assisted advisory process
• Why Dan believes the system that generated an answer should not be its only reviewer
• The four lenses Dan says Teranode Review uses: evidence and grounding, cost and conflicts, risk and best-interest fit, and alternatives and trade-offs
• Why the advisor, not the AI, remains responsible for the final decision
• The role of documentation and reasoning when AI assists with consequential work
• Why advisors may want flexibility to work across different AI models as the technology evolves
• How curiosity and adaptability can help advisors approach new technology without losing the human side of advice

Dan also walks Chad through a pension-election example to demonstrate how he says the review process works.

The example illustrates workflow and human oversight. It is not presented here as a recommendation regarding any pension election, rollover, or other financial action.

In Dan's explanation, the software does not select the action. The advisor does.

As Dan puts it:

“So the AI never decides.”

This is a grounded conversation for advisors thinking seriously about where AI can assist, where independent review can add another perspective, and where human responsibility still matters.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dan Zimon

Founder & CEO, Teranode
Managing Member & Investment Adviser Representative, Camba Capital, LLC

Dan discusses Teranode Review from the perspective of both a builder and an investment adviser representative.

During the episode, he explains that he built the review process because he wanted an independent second look at AI-assisted work rather than asking the same AI system to audit itself.

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dzimon/

Website:
https://teranode.ai

ABOUT THE HOST

Chad Ramberg

President, Box Professional Insurance

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/

SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisor's Edge Podcast.

Box Professional Insurance was built around the belief that an RIA's business insurance advisor should understand the advisor's world and the risks they face.

Learn more:

https://www.boxproinsurance.com 

CHAPTERS

00:00 | Introduction

02:55 | Why Dan Built an Independent Second Look 

05:10 | Keeping the Human in the Decision Seat

10:43 | Putting Human Judgment Between AI and Execution

12:43 | AI, Hallucinations and High-Consequence Decisions

19:05 | How Teranode Works 

23:15 | Where the CCO Fits Into AI Review

26:48 | Building for a Model-Agnostic AI Future

30:55 | Why Advisors May Want Freedom to Change AI Models

37:04 | What’s Important to Dan?

40:22 | Closing

DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

AI is moving quickly inside advisory firms.

But before an RIA starts automating more of its work, there is a more fundamental operating question:

Is there a clear process to automate in the first place?

In this episode of The Advisor’s Edge Podcast, Rob leads a discussion with Chad Ramberg and Ryan Closs of Box Professional Insurance about the emerging risks and operating challenges facing RIAs as firms adopt AI, automate more work, manage cybersecurity concerns, and try to build more consistent organizations.

One of the central themes is simple: technology does not eliminate the need for human judgment, clear standards, or documentation.

Ryan contrasts “hero-led” organizations where critical knowledge and judgment live primarily inside individual people with process-centered organizations that create standards for how work gets done.

That becomes especially important when firms start introducing AI and automation.


WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER

✅ Why firms need a clear standard before they can reliably automate a process
✅ What happens when employees adopt AI individually without firm-wide expectations
✅ Why using AI does not remove the professional’s responsibility for the final work
✅ How standardization can strengthen—not replace—human judgment
✅ Why documentation matters when decisions and workflows vary across the firm
✅ How cybersecurity and social-engineering risks are creating new operational questions for RIAs
✅ Why some apparent AI problems are really process problems
✅ How incremental process improvement can make an advisory firm more consistent over time

For RIA owners and advisory firm leaders, the question is not simply whether the firm should use AI.

It is whether the organization has enough clarity around its processes, responsibilities, and standards to use new technology intentionally.

Because automation can accelerate a process.

It cannot create a good process where one does not already exist.
A practical conversation for RIA leaders thinking seriously about AI, automation, risk, documentation, and building a more durable operating organization.



FEATURED EXPERTS

Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/

Ryan Closs
RIA Risk Advisor, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-closs/


ABOUT THE SPECIAL GUEST HOST

Rob Jacomen
Founder & CEO, Insurance Distribution Architects
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-jacomen/


SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting Advisor’s Edge.

Box Professional Insurance was built around the belief that an RIA’s business insurance advisor should understand the advisor’s world and the risks they face.

Learn more: https://www.boxproinsurance.com



CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction and the current state of the RIA industry
04:00 — Emerging AI risks for advisory firms
07:38 — AI, professional responsibility, and E&O questions
14:06 — Why human judgment still matters
15:45 — AI-assisted communication and advisor responsibility
24:08 — Cybersecurity and social-engineering risks
34:04 — What happens when a potential client risk surfaces
39:24 — Reducing friction in the insurance application process
48:31 — Automation, underwriting, and human judgment
50:25 — Why you can’t automate what you haven’t standardized
54:06 — How standardization can elevate human judgment
01:04:02 — Continuous improvement inside the firm
01:07:00 — The AI risk leaders may not see
01:09:43 — Closing thoughts



DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and featured experts. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation. 

Having a cybersecurity plan is one thing.

Knowing what happens when your firm actually has to use it is another.

For RIAs, that difference can expose practical gaps that have little to do with buying another security tool: unclear responsibilities, providers assuming someone else owns a task, missing response information, communication breakdowns, and continuity plans that haven't been tested under pressure.

In this episode of The Advisor’s Edge Podcast, Chad Ramberg and Charles “Chuck” Failla, CFP® sit down with Lyman Terni, Partner at Havoc Defense, LLC, to explore what happens when an RIA takes its cybersecurity and incident-response planning off the page and actually tests it.

Lyman walks through tabletop or “bench” exercises designed to simulate real incidents and uncover problems before the firm has to respond to an actual event.

The conversation goes beyond the exercise itself, exploring how IT, compliance, insurance and firm leadership coordinate during an incident and what firms can learn by testing scenarios involving compromised email accounts, ransomware, backups, system outages and alternative communication.


IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

- Why a successful tabletop exercise can be one that finds problems
- How assumed responsibilities can create gaps between IT, compliance and firm leadership
- What a tabletop or bench test actually looks like
- Why incident response requires coordination beyond the IT team
- Why an IT provider's standard response may not account for an RIA's operating environment
- What firms should think through when testing business email compromise and ransomware scenarios
- Why backup and recovery planning needs to be understood before an incident
- What happens when a critical system such as Office 365 becomes unavailable
- Why firms need another way to communicate when their normal communication channel is down
- How smaller RIAs can begin improving preparedness without assuming every improvement requires another technology purchase

The goal isn't to prove that a cybersecurity plan is perfect.

As Lyman explains, finding problems is part of what makes the exercise useful. Testing gives the firm an opportunity to uncover assumptions, clarify responsibilities, and understand how its response would actually work before the plan is needed for real.



ABOUT THE GUEST

Lyman Terni is Partner at Havoc Defense, LLC.

Havoc Defense is a managed service provider focused on security-first IT management and security services. The firm works with RIAs, broker-dealers, accounting firms, lawyers, and high-net-worth families.

Lyman's background includes financial services, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity advising, and IT.

Connect with Lyman:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lymanterni/
Website: https://havocdefense.com/



ABOUT THE HOSTS

Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/

Charles “Chuck” Failla, CFP®
Founder, Sovereign Financial Group & GoRIA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfailla/ 
https://www.goria.com 

The Advisor’s Edge Podcast brings together practical conversations for financial advisors, RIA leaders, fiduciaries, and firm builders navigating the decisions that shape their firms, clients, risk, compliance, and long-term durability.



SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisor’s Edge Podcast.

Box Professional helps RIAs understand where operational and risk exposure actually shows up before it becomes a claim.

Learn more: https://www.boxproinsurance.com



CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction: Lyman Terni of Havoc Defense
02:00 — What Is a Bench Test or Tabletop Exercise?
05:03 — How Testing Exposes Assumed Responsibilities
08:00 — Why Coordination Gets Harder as an RIA Grows
09:10 — Who Should Be Involved in an Incident Response Test?
14:23 — What Actually Happens During a Tabletop Exercise?
18:06 — Who Gets Called First After a Cyber Incident?
20:00 — Understanding the Incident-Response Timeline
22:23 — Why RIAs May Need More Than a Generic IT Response
25:20 — Ransomware: What Lyman Is Seeing
30:07 — Cloud Storage, Backup, and Redundancy
32:50 — What Happens If Office 365 Goes Down?
38:35 — What RIAs Should Take Away From the Conversation
40:40 — Lyman’s Path Into Cybersecurity and RIAs
43:39 — What Lyman Wants to Be Known For




DISCLAIMER

This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment, legal, tax, or insurance advice. The views expressed are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of their firms or affiliates.

Adding more AI to an already complicated technology stack doesn't automatically make an RIA more efficient.

Before adding another tool, there's a more important question to answer:
What problem are you actually trying to solve?

In this episode of The Advisor’s Edge Podcast, Chad Ramberg, Charles “Chuck” Failla, CFP®, and Rob Jacomen sit down with Daleele Alison, CEO of RooksDM, for a practical conversation about how RIAs can approach AI and technology decisions more deliberately.

Daleele explains why the process should begin with understanding the business problem—not the technology. From there, the conversation moves into the operating foundation underneath effective AI adoption: data quality, sources of truth, technology consolidation, workflow inefficiencies, internal governance, security tradeoffs, and human oversight.

Daleele also explains why firms need to understand where their data actually lives and establish standards around which systems serve as the source of truth before expecting automation to move information reliably across the technology stack.

The conversation ultimately goes beyond technology itself. Chuck and Rob explore how AI can reduce administrative friction while giving advisors more capacity to be present with clients, strengthen relationships, and focus on work where human judgment still matters.

Chuck shares a practical example of AI-assisted meeting notes allowing him to focus more fully on the client conversation.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Why RIAs should define the problem before deciding whether AI is the solution
• How technology sprawl can create more maintenance, training, integration, and operational complexity
• Why AI-generated insights still depend on the quality of the underlying data
• How firms can establish sources of truth across CRM, planning, and other systems
• Where to look for operational friction before automating another workflow
• Why technology decisions may benefit from an internal technology committee
• How specialized AI agents could change advisory-firm workflows
• Why security and third-party access remain part of the technology decision
• Where human review belongs as AI becomes more embedded in firm workflows
• How advisors can use AI to create more capacity for client conversations and relationships

Daleele's core message is straightforward: don't start with the tool.
Start with the problem.



ABOUT THE GUEST

Daleele Alison
CEO of RooksDM

Daleele Alison is a technology leader, entrepreneur, and Microsoft Partner focused on helping businesses operate more efficiently through technology.

As CEO and cofounder of RooksDM, Daleele works with firms to identify technology and operational challenges and determine where integrations, automation, data architecture, and other technology solutions can help address them. In the episode, Daleele explains that RooksDM's work with RIAs grew from seeing firms use multiple technologies that often did not communicate effectively with one another.

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daleele-alison/

Website:
https://rooksdm.com/


ABOUT THE HOSTS


Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/

Charles “Chuck” Failla, CFP®
Founder, Sovereign Financial Group & GoRIA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfailla/
https://www.goria.com

Rob Jacomen
Founder & CEO, IDA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-jacomen/



SPONSOR


Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisor's Edge Podcast.

You already know the back office is where the liability hides.
The miscalculated fee.

The onboarding step that got skipped.

The vendor handling client data you've never actually vetted.

Most RIA insurance policies weren't built with any of that in mind.

BPI was. They help advisors find the exposure before it finds them.

Take the FREE C³ Coverage Diagnostic and get your score in under 2 minutes.

RIA Coverage Diagnostic Assessment: https://www.boxproinsurance.com/



CHAPTERS

00:00 — Meet Daleele Alison, CEO of RooksDM
04:00 — Are RIAs Adding Too Much Technology?
05:00 — Start With the Problem, Not the AI Tool
09:00 — AI, CRM Data & “Garbage In, Garbage Out”
12:00 — Security & Third-Party Technology Tradeoffs
13:00 — Building a Source of Truth for Firm Data
19:00 — Is Your RIA Operationally Ready for AI?
25:00 — Why Firms Need a Technology Committee
27:00 — Specialized AI Agents & Where This Could Go
37:00 — What Becomes More Valuable in an AI-Driven World?
40:00 — Will AI Replace Financial Advisors?
45:00 — Human Review & AI-Generated Work
48:00 — AI-Assisted Compliance Review
50:00 — Finding the Real Constraint Inside the Firm
55:00 — Daleele on Integrity & Legacy



DISCLAIMER
The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

A technology problem inside an advisory firm rarely stays isolated to technology.

An email change can affect archiving. An old employee credential can remain active. A computer prepared before a breakaway can still contain programs controlled by the old firm. And when a device, system, or access point disappears, the firm's recovery plan suddenly matters.

Those are the technology gaps advisors may not know to look for until something changes.

In this episode of Advisor’s Edge, Chad Ramberg sits down with Regina Schumaker, Founder of SchurTech Solutions, LLC, to discuss the technology issues that show up inside real advisory practices—and why understanding the advisor's operating environment matters when technology intersects with compliance, cybersecurity, transitions, and day-to-day productivity.

Regina brings more than 30 years of technology experience, including nearly two decades working directly with financial advisors inside a broker-dealer environment.

Rather than treating technology as a collection of isolated tools, Regina explains why advisors need to understand how their systems connect—and what can happen when one part changes.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE COVER:

• Why financial-advisor technology needs differ from those of a typical small business
• How overlapping tools and old employee credentials can create unnecessary operational gaps
• Why advisors may not know which technology questions they should be asking
• What advisors can overlook when leaving a broker-dealer or transitioning to an independent RIA
• Why email archiving, secure communication, devices, and software access need attention during a transition
• How technology troubleshooting can create new problems when the entire workflow isn't understood
• Why cybersecurity starts with individual behavior as well as monitoring tools
• The practical role of MFA, VPNs, backups, and safer technology habits
• Why recovery planning still matters in increasingly cloud-based advisory firms

The larger lesson isn't that RIAs need more technology.

It's that the technology they already depend on needs to support the way the firm actually operates.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Regina Schumaker is the Founder of SchurTech Solutions, LLC.

Regina brings more than 30 years of experience helping people solve technology problems, including nearly two decades supporting financial advisors inside a national broker-dealer.

Her experience spans advisor operations, technology support, Microsoft 365, device troubleshooting, vendor coordination, cybersecurity practices, and technology workflows within financial-services environments.

Through SchurTech Solutions, Regina provides relationship-driven technology support for financial advisors and small businesses.

Guest Website:
https://www.schurtechsolutions.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Chad Ramberg is President of Box Professional Insurance and host of Advisor’s Edge.

Advisor’s Edge focuses on the real-world decisions that shape advisory firms—from risk and compliance to operations, technology, client relationships, and long-term firm durability.

SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting the Advisor's Edge Podcast.

You already know the back office is where the liability hides.

The missed onboarding step.

The overlooked vendor relationship.

The client data exposure you didn't realize existed.

Most RIA insurance policies weren't designed with those risks in mind.

BPI was.

Take the FREE C³ Coverage Diagnostic and better understand your firm's risk profile.

https://www.boxproinsurance.com/ 

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Why Advisor Technology Gets Complicated
02:00 — Regina Schumaker’s Path Into Advisor Technology
05:00 — Technology Support Built Around Financial Advisors
07:00 — What Does an MSP Actually Do?
10:00 — Making Technology Work for the Advisor
13:00 — Why Advisor Technology Is Different
17:00 — The Technology Side of an RIA Breakaway
22:00 — Understand the Problem Before You Fix It
27:00 — Cybersecurity Starts With Individual Behavior
32:00 — Cloud Systems, Security Monitoring & Backups
36:00 — Why Regina Built SchurTech Solutions
39:00 — The Entrepreneurial Side of Building the Business
43:00 — Final Takeaways for Advisors

DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the host and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

Most advisory firms don't stop growing because they run out of clients.
They stop growing because the systems, leadership habits, and decision-making that created early success eventually become the very things holding the firm back.

In this episode of Advisor's Edge, Chad Ramberg sits down with Jarrod Upton, MBA, MS, CFP®, Professional EOS Implementer at EOS Worldwide, for a conversation about one of the biggest transitions firm owners face: evolving from being the center of the business to building a business that can grow beyond them.

Together, they explore why founder dependency limits scale, how leadership must evolve as firms grow, the importance of organizational clarity, and why succession planning begins long before ownership changes hands.

If your advisory firm is growing—or you're trying to build a business that can thrive without depending on you—this conversation offers practical leadership lessons grounded in real operational experience.


WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why founder dependency quietly limits growth
• The leadership shift required to scale beyond yourself
• What "delegate and elevate" actually looks like
• Why organizational clarity creates accountability
• How strong core values influence hiring and decision-making
• Why founders must "let go to grow" for succession to succeed



ABOUT THE GUEST

Jarrod Upton, MBA, MS, CFP® is a Professional EOS Implementer with EOS Worldwide. He works with entrepreneurial leadership teams to improve organizational clarity, accountability, execution, and long-term business growth using the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS).

Guest LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrodupton/

Company Website
https://www.eosworldwide.com/



ABOUT THE HOST

Advisor's Edge is hosted by Chad Ramberg.

Each episode features conversations with experienced operators, firm builders, and industry leaders exploring the strategic, operational, leadership, and fiduciary challenges facing today's independent advisors and wealth management firms.

Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/



SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting the Advisor's Edge Podcast.

You already know the back office is where the liability hides.
The missed onboarding step.
The overlooked vendor relationship.
The client data exposure you didn't realize existed.

Most RIA insurance policies weren't designed with those risks in mind.
BPI was.

Take the FREE C³ Coverage Diagnostic and better understand your firm's risk profile.
https://www.boxproinsurance.com/



CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction

01:52 — Defining What Growth Really Means

06:12 — Growth Stops Being About Getting Clients

10:48 — What Got You Here Won't Get You There

11:49 — If You Can't Delegate, You Can't Elevate

18:55 — Let Go to Grow

19:04 — Your Core Values Should Cost You Business

20:19 — Why Succession Starts Long Before Retirement

27:36 — Building a Business That Outlives the Founder

34:12 — Final Leadership Takeaways

36:41 — Closing Thoughts



DISCLAIMER

This episode is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, insurance, compliance, or business advice.

Every RIA is about to make a decision about AI and their client data. Most are about to make it wrong.

In this episode of Advisor's Edge, Chad Ramberg and Charles "Chuck" Failla, CFP® sit down with Arnulf (Arnold) Hsu, CEO of GReminders, to answer the question quietly keeping firm owners up at night:

If AI can read your emails, summarize your meetings, and update your records for you—what happens when it gets one wrong and nobody catches it?

Here's the trap.

AI is very good at pulling data out of documents, statements, and transcripts and dropping it into your system of record.

It is not good at knowing when it's wrong.

Skip the human review step, and bad data flows straight into the records your entire firm runs on—the same records a claim or an exam will one day put under a microscope.

Arnulf's take cuts through the noise:

The CRM screen you know is on its way out.

Advisors will reach client data through agents, chat, and tools that look nothing like today's CRM.

But the system of record underneath—and your responsibility for what's in it—isn't going anywhere.

Confuse those two, and AI stops being an upgrade and starts being a liability.

This isn't a pitch for any platform, and it isn't a case for tearing out your stack.

It's an operator-level conversation about where AI belongs in a real advisory firm, what to hand it, and the one step you can't let it skip.

Inside the conversation

• The one gap that lets AI quietly corrupt your client records—and how to close it
• Why "deterministic" software and AI can never be trusted the same way
• The human-review step most firms skip before AI-extracted data hits the system of record
• Why the best AI rollout is the work your team stops doing—not a new process to learn
• How to shrink a bloated tech stack without creating more places for work to break
• Where "simple" scheduling turns into a nightmare of client tiers, teams, rooms, and exceptions
• How to protect your advisors' highest-value hours instead of burning them on admin

For RIA owners, operations leaders, senior advisors, and anyone deciding where AI belongs—and where it doesn't—inside the firm.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Arnulf (Arnold) Hsu is the CEO of GReminders and a serial entrepreneur who has spent more than 20 years building and leading B2B enterprise software companies as a CEO, CTO, Product Leader, and Board Member. He specializes in translating complex business problems into software solutions customers love. Throughout his career, he has successfully led and exited three enterprise software companies and now helps advisory firms streamline workflows through AI-powered meeting intelligence and CRM automation.

Guest LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnulfhsu/

Website:
https://www.greminders.com/ 

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Charles "Chuck" Failla, CFP®
Founder, Sovereign Financial Group & GoRIA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfailla/
https://www.goria.com

Chad Ramberg
President, Box Professional Insurance
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-ramberg-71278533/

SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting Advisor's Edge.

Box Professional helps RIAs understand where operational and risk exposure actually shows up before it becomes a claim.

Learn more:
 https://www.boxproinsurance.com

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 – The AI decision every firm is quietly making
• 01:35 – Arnold Hsu's path through 25 years of enterprise software
• 03:55 – Why GReminders built around wealth-management workflows
• 05:50 – AI, meeting management, and the advisor tech stack
• 08:35 – Where workflow friction actually shows up in a firm
• 10:15 – The hidden admin load around every client meeting
• 12:25 – Will AI replace the CRM?
• 14:20 – Structured data, AI, and the human-verification line
• 16:40 – Bolting automation onto the systems you already run
• 20:40 – Change management through subtraction
• 21:45 – Moving your team toward higher-value work
• 22:25 – Why scheduling is harder than it looks
• 27:50 – Vertical specialization and customer fit
• 29:10 – Building a business that actually means something

DISCLAIMER

The views shared in this episode reflect the perspectives of the hosts and guest. They are not financial advice or investment recommendations. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation.

For decades, financial advisors were paid for access to information, investment selection, and market expertise.

Today, much of that has become a commodity.

The advisors creating the most value aren't simply choosing investments—they're helping clients make better decisions, communicate through uncertainty, and navigate increasingly complex financial lives with confidence.

In this episode of Advisor's Edge, Chad Ramberg and Chuck Failla sit down with Anna Rathbun, CFA, CAIA, Founder & CEO of Grenadilla Advisory, for a thoughtful conversation about how the advisory profession is changing—and what firms must do to remain indispensable.

Drawing on her experience leading institutional investment teams and now building her own advisory firm, Anna shares why process, communication, empathy, and disciplined thinking have become every bit as important as technical investment expertise.

Together, Chad, Chuck, and Anna also explore how advisors should think about alternative investments, where AI can genuinely improve advisor productivity, why peer collaboration remains invaluable, and how stronger client communication ultimately creates stronger advisory relationships.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• Why investment management alone no longer differentiates advisors

• What clients actually expect from advisors today

• How better communication builds deeper client trust

• Why process matters more than prediction during uncertainty

• How AI can improve advisor productivity without replacing professional judgment

• The surprising connection between music, empathy, and exceptional financial advice

ABOUT THE GUEST

Anna Rathbun, CFA, CAIA, is the Founder & CEO of Grenadilla Advisory, a privately held investment management firm dedicated to helping institutions, families, and individuals pursue long-term financial growth and stability.

Prior to launching Grenadilla Advisory, Anna served as Chief Investment Officer of a registered investment advisory firm, leading investment research, portfolio strategy, and client communications. Her experience spans institutional investing, macroeconomic analysis, multi-asset portfolio construction, and private markets. She also holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts, bringing a distinctive perspective to leadership, communication, and client relationships.

Guest LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-rathbun-cfa-caia-aa561689

Company Website

https://grenadilla-advisory.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Advisor's Edge is hosted by Chad Ramberg and Charles "Chuck" Failla.

Each episode features conversations with experienced operators, firm builders, and industry leaders exploring the strategic, operational, and fiduciary challenges facing today's independent advisors and wealth management firms.

SPONSOR

Special thanks to Box Professional Insurance for supporting The Advisor's Edge Podcast.

You already know the back office is where the liability hides.

The miscalculated fee.

The onboarding step that got skipped.

The vendor handling client data you've never actually vetted.

Most RIA insurance policies weren't built with any of that in mind.

BPI was.

They help advisors find the exposure before it finds them.

Take the FREE C³ Coverage Diagnostic and get your score in under two minutes.

RIA Coverage Diagnostic Assessment:

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CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction

01:00 — Anna's journey from classical music to investment management

04:00 — Building an institutional investment career

05:20 — Why private markets deserve more attention

10:20 — How the advisor profession is changing

16:20 — AI as a productivity tool for advisors

20:00 — Why advisors learn most from one another

22:45 — The communication mistake many advisors make

29:13 — Why process and guardrails matter

32:06 — The connection between empathy and financial advice

38:08 — Advice for the next generation of advisors

40:00 — Closing thoughts

DISCLAIMER

This episode is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, insurance, or compliance advice.