WealthTech on Deck

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with SEI’s CEO, Ryan Hicke, and CFO, Sean Denham, about SEI’s strategy and vision for the future. Ryan, who has been with SEI for 26 years, discusses the company’s renewed focus on innovation, re-engagement with the market, and the importance of client experience. He highlights three major trends SEI is focusing on: alternatives, industry consolidation, and digital assets.

Sean, new to SEI, talks about his transition from public accounting to his role as CFO and his focus on growth. He stresses the importance of using data to educate clients and drive business decisions. Sean also touches on SEI’s unique market position, combining technology, operations, and asset management.

In this episode:

Quotes

“If you believe that talent is going to win the day, you can’t just focus internally. There’s arrogance if we think we have all the answers ourselves. I think if we can truly create a diverse team, both in terms of experience and perspective, we won’t end up with group think.” ~ Ryan Hicke

“People ask me a lot how I measure engagement at SEI. And I sincerely answer, by how many people walk the halls with a smile on their face.” ~ Ryan Hicke

“When I think opportunity, it’s not just earnings per share opportunity, it’s really growth. The opportunity to really maximize, to become more efficient as an organization. That’s what I’m really focused on—top-line revenue growth, optimizing the business, and really that return to investors.” ~ Sean Denham

“No one in today’s society wants to be sold to. They want to be educated. So how do we use data? How do we craft storytelling around that to go educate the market? Not just with us, but also our competitors. That’s the opportunity sitting in front of us.” ~ Sean Denham

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Public relations is an integral part of any marketing strategy. It plays an important role in enhancing credibility and driving business growth. Successful PR firms understand that building a reputation and lasting relationships with clients, stakeholders, and the media requires strategic thinking and planning.

This week, Jack Sharry talks with StreetCred's Managing Partner, Jimmy Moock, and Marketing Manager, Elena Krasnow, about public relations and credibility marketing in financial services. They discuss the key elements of successful PR strategies, the value of authenticity and active listening in building connections, and StreetCred's partnership with Future Proof, the world's largest wealth festival. 

In this episode:

Quotes

[20:59] - "We take our clients and the work that we do for them personally. We leave it all out on the field. We bleed for them." ~ Jimmy Moock

[21:16] - "We believe that PR is a contact sport, meaning you need to be out on the field. Every one of us is doing every portion of client work because the minute we give that up is the minute our skills become rusty." ~ Jimmy Moock

[22:03] - "Being authentic is so critical, and being unafraid to connect business goals and personal stories and share vulnerable moments is something we encourage our clients to do." ~ Elena Krasnow

[22:29] - We all have money stories and ways money has shaped our belief systems. The more we bring those things and the human element to the surface, the more we can really drive success." ~ Elena Krasnow

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WealthTech in the Weeds is a series covering the broad yet critical path to financial services. The goal is to get together with industry experts and get into the details of building an effective, productive, coordinated, and comprehensive advice system.

Comprehensive advice platforms have been a significant development in wealth management. They streamline portfolio management, optimize returns, and enhance investors' financial efficiency. However, implementing these platforms has its challenges. As technology continues to reshape the industry, the lessons and experiences learned from early adopters provide invaluable insights that significantly impact the industry's future and empower investors to achieve their financial goals.

In this episode, Jack is joined by Eric Lordi and Martin Cowley. Eric is the Managing Director at J.P. Morgan and has extensive experience in wealth and asset management. He builds modern wealth management systems that deliver better client outcomes and embraces goals-based investing.

Martin is the Chief Product Officer at LifeYield and has more than 14 years of experience building comprehensive wealth management platforms. In his role, Martin oversees product strategy for portfolio rebalancing, tax optimization, and retirement income, using LifeYield's API-first product suite to address a wide range of client needs. Martin has worked with numerous firms to help them integrate and optimize their systems for improved user experience and financial outcomes.

Eric and Martin talk with Jack about the challenges, benefits, and lessons learned from building comprehensive advice platforms. They dive into the importance of multi-account management, asset location, and tax optimization in improving clients' financial outcomes. The conversation also touches on the operational aspects of implementing these platforms and the need for integration and coordination across different systems. 

In this episode:

Quotes

[02:54] - "We're currently in a world where lots of products and programs have been built vertically over time. How do you start to think horizontally from an advisor standpoint? The biggest mental shift is just moving from an account-based structure to a relationship-based one." ~ Eric Lordi

[10:17] - "Coordinating isn't just about getting the sum of the parts and then working with them. It's about recognizing that some parts fit together better than others." ~ Martin Cowley

[14:08] - "Tax management isn't just tax slots. It's the location and having a machine that is not dependent on underlying trading systems but looks across all these things as holdings that we can score anywhere." ~ Eric Lordi

[30:47] - "Everything we've done has to be flexible because we are looking across multiple companies and client firms. It doesn't have to all be stitched tightly on day one. Those walls aren't going to break down overnight. So, we're building little tunnels between the silos." ~ Martin Cowley

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WealthTech in the Weeds is a series in which we talk to industry experts about the details of building an effective, productive, coordinated, and comprehensive advice system.

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Ted Dimig, Global Head of Wealth Management Advisory Solutions at J.P. Morgan, and Mark Hoffman, CEO, Chairman & Founder at LifeYield.

They discuss trends like tax optimization and the role of modern technology in enhancing advisory practices. They explore the challenges and strategies involved in operationalizing these innovations, emphasizing the necessity of embracing technology to improve client outcomes. They also touch on advisor adoption, the benefits of models-based practices, and the industry's trajectory toward increasingly personalized financial services.

In this episode:

Quotes

[02:22] - "The first big trend in asset management is the importance and the need to personalize investments. The more you can get a client's goals to match their investment solutions, the higher the probability that they're going to stick with their investments over the long run." ~ Ted Dimig

[11:42] - "You want to build your ecosystem in a way that is easy to explain to the client. Being able to explain to them the savings and why you're doing certain things reduces the trading that you have to do." ~ Mark Hoffman

[17:11] - "Technology allows you to be more holistic. It allows you to make all the connections and to do things right. And that frees up the advisor to have a conversation at the client's own level." ~ Mark Hoffman

[26:06] - "You need to embrace technology if you want to be a winner in the personalization space, in the end-to-end client investment journey, and in the tax space. So those who don't adopt will be left behind." ~ Ted Dimig

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Leadership is more than titles and responsibilities. It involves building a winning culture—a culture that isn't just a tagline or value statement but a living, breathing system encompassing a firm's operations. It is a culture where individuals collectively achieve extraordinary results. Organizations that embrace this kind of culture promote honesty and transparency, empower employees to contribute their unique perspectives, and are united by a shared vision.

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with John Drahzal, President and CEO at Horizon Investments. John oversees the company's growth and acquisition initiatives and all aspects of the company's operations, which includes investment management, consulting, sales and marketing, technology, finance, and legal. He joined Horizon Investments in 2017 and previously served as President. 

John and Jack discuss leadership and how a winning culture drives success. John talks about how Horizon Investment builds its culture and operating principles and the importance of the human element in wealth management.

In this episode:

Quotes

[13:04] - "Leadership is about building a winning culture. It's a culture that drives success and where people will work together." ~ John Drahzal

[16:29] - "If you instill this culture of coaching and winning through culture, and the employees develop in that culture, it is amazing to see what they can do. Watching that development is amazing." ~ John Drahzall

[20:56] - "While the firm will drive efficiencies with technology, I firmly believe that this will continue to be a people-led business and that humans need that because these are really important decisions. We're responsible for their dreams. And that requires the human element." ~ John Drahzal

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Over the past three years, Jack Sharry has hosted the WealthTech on Deck podcast, featuring interviews with some of the best and brightest financial services leaders. Through these conversations, Jack has learned valuable lessons that will shape the future of the retirement industry.

In this episode, we flip the script as Jack takes the guest seat, and Matt Nollman, VP of Marketing at LifeYield, hosts the show. They discuss the evolution of the retirement industry, reflecting on 150+ episodes of the podcast. They cover key lessons such as the rise of Unified Managed Households (UMH), the critical importance of tax management, and strategies for organic growth. They also discuss the transformative potential of AI in wealth management, and share valuable career advice, emphasizing the power of deep, intentional listening.

In this episode:

Quotes

[10:49] - "Studies show that the biggest cost investors incur is taxes. So, if you're going to improve outcome, you have to figure out how to minimize tax and maximize outcome, whether for accumulation or income." ~ Jack Sharry

[15:45] - "The top four things consumers are looking for are tax planning, retirement planning, investment management, and cash flow planning. So, what they're looking for is to reduce paying taxes." ~ Jack Sharry

[16:11] - "If you're going to improve the outcome, it's a multi-account exercise. You can't improve one account at a time. You need to do it in a coordinated fashion." ~ Jack Sharry

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The Legends of WealthTech is a series about the history and evolution of the advisory business, featuring professionals who have powerfully shaped the industry.

This week, Jack talks with Paul Hatch, Founding Partner and CEO at Vestria Capital. Paul oversees the firm's strategic vision, operations, and growth. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Paul held senior leadership roles at Citibank, UBS, and Morgan Stanley, responsible for developing and managing a wide range of investment products, services, and markets for the wealth management divisions.

Jack and Paul talk about the history of managed money, its growth from a niche offering to a cornerstone of modern wealth management, and how it drove the evolution of industry giants. They also discuss the cultural integration challenges during mergers and acquisitions and how client-centric advisory services overcome these hurdles.

In this episode:

Quotes

[11:34] - "UMAs showed they were a better solution for the clients. It brought costs down, and most importantly, it meant that you were managing as a portfolio, not as a series of asset classes." ~ Paul Hatch

[17:55] - "When you raise your right hand and swear that you are going to do what is best for the client, that's really what advisory business is all about." ~ Paul Hatch 

[22:46] - "I don't think it's enough that you service clients. You have to show them the results." ~ Paul Hatch

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WealthTech in the Weeds is a series covering the broad yet critical path to financial services. The goal is to get together with industry experts and get into the details of building an effective, productive, coordinated, and comprehensive advice system.

In this episode, Jack talks with Jeff Benfield, Head of Advisor Solutions at SEI, and Martin Cowley, Chief Product Officer at LifeYield. Jeff leads the strategic vision, roadmap, and execution of the financial advisor technology suite of solutions for SEI's independent advisor business. With a focus on relationship-centric platform architecture, Jeff has been instrumental in developing SEI's Wealth Platform, leading the charge in building a multi-account, multi-relationship approach to empower advisors.

Martin brings vast experience working with various firms to build comprehensive and coordinated platforms. With a focus on API-first architecture, he helps firms integrate seamlessly and avoid the pitfalls of disparate systems.

Jack talks with Jeff and Martin about building multi-account, multi-factor relationship platforms for advisors. Jeff and Martin highlight the challenges and importance of operationalizing complex systems at scale and their strategies for connecting and empowering advisors with more innovative tools and platforms.

In this episode:

Quotes

[22:16] - "Tax is the center of what we do. Our ability to lean into that to make sure that we're the platform best suited to solve that problem of the household balance sheet and how we're able to solve the tax problem is where we're going." ~ Jeff Benfield

[22:30] - "Utilizing and leveraging the technology that's built and currently coming out to make those smart tools, make them intelligent, and give that personalized feel is where we're leaning into." ~ Jeff Benfield

[24:23] - "The move towards householding is happening, and it's widespread. SEI is far ahead in that front just with the new system being built, and the fact that it's multicurrency, multi-jurisdiction is just icing on the cake. It's very powerful." ~ Martin Cowley

[25:46] - "It's always good to pick something that's valuable, focus on that, and support people in using it, so they understand the incremental benefit they're getting." ~ Martin Cowley

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In this episode, Jack talks with Arlen Oransky, Executive Vice President and Chief Membership Officer at Money Management Institute (MMI). With more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry, Arlen has been instrumental in shaping its growth and evolution. He has significantly contributed to expanding MMI's membership and programs and is known for his behind-the-scenes influence and dedication to promoting industry collaboration and education.

Jack and Arlen talk about the historical development of separately managed accounts (SMAs). He shares how MMI grew from a small group of SMA advocates to a robust institution representing the broader advisory solutions market. Arlen also discusses the firm's educational efforts to prepare the next generation of industry leaders and the collaborative approach MMI fosters among asset managers, wealth managers, and solutions providers to drive industry growth and innovation.

In this episode:

Quotes

[07:13] - "MMI's mandate expanded just above and beyond what we were doing back in the day. It was all around enabling and facilitating industry dialogue and industry growth. And that's at the forefront of where we are now." ~ Arlen Oransky

[20:44] - "We want to help create a legacy not only for the Money Management Institute but, more importantly, for individuals who are going to carry this industry forward." ~ Arlen Oransky

[22:05] - "Stay educated. Feel free to get outside your comfort zone. That's the only way that you're going to advance and learn." ~ Arlen Oransky

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In this episode, Jack talks with Tim Williams, Executive Vice President of Education Initiatives at the Money Management Institute (MMI). Tim is a seasoned business strategist with a proven track record in steering cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions. With more than three decades of experience in wealth and asset management, he brings deep expertise in business strategy, innovation, change management, and professional development.

Jack and Tim discuss MMI’s professional development programs, highlighting initiatives designed to sharpen leadership skills and open doors for career advancement within the industry. Tim also shares his insights on cultivating a growth mindset, the importance of continuous learning, and the value of building a strong network of industry experts.

In this episode:

Quotes

[12:51] - “The number one lesson I’ve learned from participants is how much this program gives them awareness that they’re not in this alone.” ~ Tim Williams

[29:50] - "We are so focused on the process that we have forgotten that the best way to innovate, get organic growth, and move the ball forward is a growth mindset—meaning, fail early, fail fast, test, and learn." ~ Tim Williams

[31:57] - "We are getting a new era of leaders. We have to embrace them and support them. We can learn a lot from them." ~ Tim Williams

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