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

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Rob Pettman on LinkedIn

TIFIN 

Cetera Financial Group

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Vlad Golyk, Partner and Leader of McKinsey's North America Wealth Management Practice. Vlad works closely with wealth and asset managers, focusing on growth, transformation, and the evolution of operating models. He is a co-author and lead contributor to two recently released reports, The Looming Advisor Shortage in US Wealth Management and US Wealth Management in 2035: A Transformative Decade Begins. 

Vlad talks with Jack about the forces that will shape wealth management over the next decade. He highlights significant challenges, particularly advisor capacity, which is becoming one of the industry's most critical concerns as demand for financial advice continues to rise while the advisor workforce ages and declines. Vlad also explains how advisory firms can build an operating model that delivers holistic advice while addressing advisor shortages.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:40) - Why growth, productivity, advisor models, and AI are interconnected

(04:53) - The looming advisor shortage in wealth management

(10:12) - The power of AI in the modern advisory world

(18:15) - Monetizing AI: AI-powered guidance and new revenue opportunities

(22:08) - What makes a successful wealth management operating model

(26:14) - Vlad's interests outside of work

Quotes

"If you're only building for today's clients who want the human advisor enhanced by technology, you might be optimizing a model that the next wave of accumulators will never opt into." ~ Vlad Golyk

"Investors are clear about the role they want AI to play today. They want it as a guidance layer, not an autonomous agent." ~ Vlad Golyk

"Build a blended experience where AI handles analytical throughput and the human shows up at moments of highest emotional and financial stakes. Investors want that, they pay for it, and they want it from the advisor." ~ Vlad Golyk

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Vlad Golyk on LinkedIn

McKinsey

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Steve Gresham, Founder and Managing Principal at NextChapter. With more than 40 years in asset and wealth management, Steve has spent his career working on growth issues as an executive and as an advisor to executives. He has also played a key role in developing major industry innovations, including managed accounts, target-date funds, wealth strategies, and practice management.

Steve talks with Jack about why advisor capacity is becoming the defining driver of enterprise value. He discusses how firms can build their enterprise value through four key levers—headquarters-led capabilities, hybrid tech and human delivery, retention, and client acquisition. Steve further explores why advisory capacity is the new growth currency in wealth management and how AI accelerates this shift.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:54) - Defining organic growth, enterprise value, and advisor capacity

(05:03) - The next chapter of organic growth

(08:53) - How advisor capacity is a driver of enterprise value

(11:28)- How AI is linked to enterprise value

(14:57) - The four levers to build enterprise value

(20:45) - Applying the four levers framework to real firms

(25:42) - Steve's key takeaways

(27:46) - Steve's interests outside of work

Quotes

"You have to be able to tie AI into what is already an ongoing digital and information revolution. AI is riding on those same rails. It is accelerating the speed of the train, but it's still primarily leading to a human-led advice industry." ~ Steve Gresham

"Newer, younger advisors have a much more open mind about the role of technology. It makes them more efficient. And if it's used correctly, it makes them more successful." ~ Steve Gresham

"End treating organic growth as a hero metric and start managing for enterprise value. And that means defining the advisor or the organization's capacity to engage as a KPI." ~ Steve Gresham

Links 

Steve Gresham on LinkedIn

NextChapter

SEI

Fidelity Investments

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Alois Pirker, Founder & CEO of Pirker Partners. For 25 years, Alois has worked with many leading wealth management firms and providers globally. Today, he advises firms, vendors, and investors on where the industry is headed, grounded in real conversation, real data, and real-world execution.

Alois talks with Jack about how firms navigate the convergence of AI, operations, and business model transformation. They discuss the gap between AI hype and practical implementation, why data management is the key to successful AI implementation, and how firms are moving from siloed, product-focused models toward holistic advice. 

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(03:35) - What makes AI different this time

(06:00) - The challenge of organizing data across firms

(10:26) - Why AI can't fix broken infrastructures

(13:17) - The truth about organic growth

(18:04) - How the vendor landscape has evolved over time

(21:41) - Alois' interests outside of work

Quotes

"Using AI is very expensive. So, marrying traditional methods with AI methods, that's where the secret sauce is." ~ Alois Pirker

"Organic growth starts with trust. It starts with the trust the advisor or the firm has earned with the client or prospect. And that cannot be manufactured through technology." ~ Alois Pirker

"Smart vendors know their position in the value chain. They know where they are strong." ~ Alois Pirker

Links 

Alois Pirker on LinkedIn

Pirker Partners

Range.com

FINNY

Morgan Stanley

Jed Finn

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Bradley Kellum, Partner and Head of Wealth Management for North America at Oliver Wyman. Brad is a leader in wealth management technology focused on improving how advisors leverage systems to deliver better client outcomes. With deep experience across advisory platforms and digital transformation, Bradley brings a strategic perspective on how technology can unlock scale, efficiency, and more personalized client engagement.

Jack and Bradley explore the challenges firms face with fragmented systems and how integration is becoming essential to delivering a unified client experience. They discuss the shift toward more holistic advice, the role of data in driving better decisions, and how firms can position themselves for the next wave of innovation in wealth management.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:50) - Bradley's role at Oliver Wyman

(03:08) - What convergence means in the financial services industry

(05:53) - The target operating model: Data, technology architecture, and people

(07:33) - A customer-first approach to executing goals-based wealth management

(11:50) - Public and private investments: demand vs. operational reality

(16:24) - The role of AI in empowering advisors

(22:27) - How firms can navigate the convergence in financial services

(24:47) - Bradley's interests outside of work

Quotes

"The right product at the right time is a solution." ~ Bradley Kellum

"All things financial are expensive propositions to build and maintain. So, to feed that engine, you need primacy in a client's life." ~ Bradley Kellum

"If you're everything to everybody, that's a recipe for mediocrity. The winners will really serve the clients that they've chosen to go after better than others." — Bradley Kellum

Links 

Bradley Kellum on LinkedIn

Oliver Wyman

Morgan Stanley

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Len Reinhart, President of Reinhart Consulting Group and a pioneer in fee-based advisory services. Len has spent decades shaping the evolution of wealth management, from his early days in large brokerage firms to helping build and scale some of the industry’s first fee-based advisory platforms.

Len and Jack take a walk down memory lane to discuss the origins of Unified Managed Household (UMH) and goal-based wealth planning, and how Len's prediction about UMH is finally taking root. From the early days of EF Hutton to the founding of Lockwood Advisors, Len shares the story of how the financial services industry transitioned from commission-driven transactions to the fee-based advisory model we know today and how he brought goal-based investing to everyday investors.

In this episode:

(00:00)- Intro

(02:06) - Len’s career journey and the origins of fee-based advisory

(06:08) - Early experience inside large brokerage firms

(07:40) - Transitioning from transactional business to fee-based models

(12:15) - The development of goal-based investing

(16:33) - Key ideas from “A Managed Account Odyssey”

(21:04) - Why change in financial services takes decades

(24:31) - The role of UMH and AI in the future of wealth management

(28:10) - Len's interests outside of work

Quotes

"The one thing that has bothered me over my years in this business is how slow change happens in the financial services industry. There's a lot of stuff going on with different types of investments, but the way to do business changes very slowly." ~ Len Reinhart

"One thing we realized about why change takes so long in this business is that the end advisor, you have to catch them at the right time. We didn't do it with the biggest producers. We did it with the wannabe producers, and we helped them become big producers." ~ Len Reinhart

"AI is coming. AI can take this technology and impact the advisor dramatically. And for an advisor to have the value add they need to retain a client, they've got to be doing UMH. If they don't, they're going to lose the client." ~ Len Reinhart

Links 

Len Reinhart on LinkedIn

EF Hutton

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management

Jamie Dimon

Jim Seuffert

Pershing

WealthCare

Altruist

Holistiplan

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with David Lau, Founder & CEO at DPL Financial Partners. David is an innovator and disruptor in the financial services industry and one of the pioneers in fee-based annuities and in making annuities more accessible. His firm focuses on integrating innovative insurance products into a fee-based advisory practice, helping advisors deliver greater value and better outcomes for investors through transparent, cost-effective solutions.

David and Jack explore the transformation underway in how advisors integrate annuities into a fee-based, household-level practice. They discuss why commission-based annuities are giving way to low-cost, fee-based structures, how technology is making annuity analysis scalable across entire books of business, and why asset location within a household — including tax deferral through investment-only variable annuities — is the clearest path to better client outcomes.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(02:21) - DPL's role in the convergence of human and digital advice

(06:30) - Scaling annuity analysis from individual clients to entire books

(09:42) - Simplifying annuity analysis through technology and automation

(13:17) - How annuities make a difference to a portfolio

(18:31) - Leveraging structure to create better outcomes

(23:41) - David's outlook on the future of the financial services industry

(25:07) - David's key takeaways

(25:53) - David's interests outside of work

Quotes

"We build technology that commoditizes annuity knowledge. So now you don't need to be an advisor trying to figure out which annuity is best or which will suit your client. You just tell us about the client, and we give you the best annuity." ~ David Lau

"Working to bring capabilities together and being able to analyze the efficiency of asset location within a household is incredibly powerful." ~ David Lau

"You always have to stay on top of what's going on in the market because it's evolving quite a bit, not only from a technology point of view but also from a product point of view. And all of this convergence really makes a difference." ~ David Lau

Links 

David Lau on LinkedIn

DPL Financial Partners

Vanguard

Morningstar

Homes for HOPE

Chip Roame

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with the Co-Founders of Avantos, Bassam Chaptini and Rabih Ramadi. With deep experience in financial technology and enterprise systems, Bassam and Rabih are rethinking how advisors interact with data, clients, and the broader advisory ecosystem.

Bassam and Rabih discuss how they built an AI-native operating system that unifies client data, streamlines onboarding, and enhances how advisors service complex households. From UMH to real-time client assistance, they share how they moved beyond traditional CRM models to create "AI butlers" that advocate for clients and reduce advisors' administrative workload.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:45) - Career journeys and foundations in wealth technology

(03:53) - Transforming client onboarding through AI

(06:08) - Moving beyond traditional CRM to intelligent relationship management

(06:49) - Delivering a 360-degree view of client relationships

(10:12) - Advancing UMH in practice

(12:18) - Turning AI tools into a full operating system with Avantos

(18:08) - How AI enhances the delivery of better advice

(22:05) - Integrating Avantos capabilities into SEI

(23:31) - Bassam and Rabih's interests outside of work

Quotes

"To do proper client relationship management, you need to understand three dimensions: the clients, all the products that you own or don't own, and all the agents or advisors." ~ Rabih Ramadi

"Every engagement with SEI, we were impressed. We love the company's vision, and being part of it makes us super excited." ~ Rabih Ramadi

"We're creating AI butlers within your organization to make sure your clients are happy. At the end of the day, advisors are happy when their clients are happy." ~ Bassam Chaptini

"Having a 360-degree view of your clients as an advisor is absolutely key to deepening your relationship with them. This includes not just being able to service them in ways that weren't possible before, but also taking on the day-to-day administrative burden for advisors and making them more productive." ~ Bassam Chaptini

Links 

Bassam Chaptini on LinkedIn

Rabih Ramadi on LinkedIn

Avantos

Altruist

Hazel

SEI Access

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Tom Lewandowski, Principal and Leader of the High-Net-Worth (HNW) Segment at Edward Jones. Tom leads the development and execution of strategies to better serve HNW households, including defining a unique value proposition for clients and branch teams, product and service strategy, pricing, compensation, operations and infrastructure, integration, and internal and external communication.

Tom talks with Jack about how Edward Jones leverages its deep-rooted culture of trust to serve the HNW market. Tom explains how the firm's Generations Program provides branch teams with access to specialized expertise in estate planning, tax strategy, and business transitions, ensuring that complex client needs are met with the same personalized touch the firm is known for.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:10) - Tom's role at Edward Jones

(02:10) - Tom's journey in the wealth management industry

(03:42) - Why Edward Jones leaned into high-net-worth clients

(05:53) - The genesis of the Edward Jones Generations Program

(07:56) - How Edward Jones' home-office specialists support local branch teams

(11:43) - Latest updates on Edward Jones Generations Program

(15:25) - Helping families move from uncertainty to clarity

(17:10) - Edward Jones' future goals

(20:21) - Tom's key takeaways

(21:09) - Tom's interests outside of work

Quotes

"Trust is that gateway to the conversations that matter." ~ Tom Lewandowski

"We strongly believe that family conversations are the most important. If you want to remove that burden or turn it into something positive in terms of how that comprehensive plan can impact your family, we'd love you to consider an Edward Jones financial advisor, because we're the best in the business of driving those." ~ Tom Lewandowski

"If you can marry the best of both worlds—great advice, solid products and services—into a comprehensive financial planning conversation, that's what clients are really looking for." ~ Tom Lewandowski

Links 

Tom Lewandowski on LinkedIn

Edward Jones

EY

Husch Blackwell

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This week, Jack Sharry talks with Scott Smith, Senior Director of Advice Relationships at Cerulli Associates. Scott leads research on financial advisor trends, client engagement, and the evolving wealth management landscape. In his role, Scott works closely with wealth management firms across the industry, helping them understand advisor behavior, emerging technology adoption, and the strategic forces shaping the future of advice.

Scott talks with Jack about the trends that actually drive growth in wealth management: organic growth, tax optimization, alternatives, AI, and Unified Managed Households (UMH). He also discusses the factors that affect clients' financial decisions and why the secret to winning the next decade is not about having the flashiest tech, but about creating the path of least resistance for advisors and clients alike. 

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:51) - Key trends and challenges shaping wealth management today

(06:11) - Why tax optimization and organic growth drive better outcomes

(08:37) - The reality of technology adoption in advisory firms

(11:15) - Understanding Unified Managed Household and its core capabilities

(15:06) - What investors actually prioritize when working with advisors

(20:27) - Scott's key takeaways

(21:39) - Scott's interests outside of work

Quotes

"People definitely want improved outcomes. When we ask affluent investors what is important to them? It's reducing their tax bill and simplifying their financial life." ~ Scott Smith

"AI does a great job solving logic and algorithms. But in wealth management, clients are almost 90% emotionally based. It's all about how they feel about money and their goals. People are not going to share their emotions with a machine." ~ Scott Smith

"The more you act like a fiduciary in spirit as well as the law, the better off you're going to be long term." ~ Scott Smith

Links 

Scott Smith on LinkedIn

Cerulli Associates

Steve Craver

Altruist

Holistiplan

Rob Pettman

LPL Financial

TIFIN

The Psychology of Money

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