February 04, 2025

Why Most Wealth Management Tech Falls Short—And How to Fix It with Adrian Johnstone

26 minutes

Episode 079: Adrian Johnstone is the CEO at Practifi, a purpose-built business management platform for RIAs and wealth management firms. With a background in financial services consulting across Australia, New Zealand, and North America, Adrian has extensive experience in regulatory compliance, technology solutions, and scaling advisory businesses. His expertise in leveraging technology to enhance client relationships and streamline operations has positioned Practifi as a leading CRM solution in the industry.

In this episode, Milemarker CMO and Cofounder Jud Mackrill talks with Adrian about transforming RIAs with purpose-built CRM solutions, and his journey from consulting to building Practifi. They discuss the evolving wealth management landscape, the challenge of balancing software customization with usability, and the future of AI in financial services. Adrian emphasizes the importance of thinking long-term when choosing technology and how RIAs can drive sustainable growth through better client relationships, rather than relying solely on acquisitions or market performance.

In this episode:

[02:05] - Adrian’s journey into wealth management

[03:34] - The origin of Practifi

[04:09] - Practifi's team, customer base, and market presence

[05:40] - Practifi’s unique position and connection with Salesforce

[08:51] - How Practifi combines service and software to deliver value

[13:12] - The importance of long-term planning when choosing a CRM

[16:36] - Practifi's design and user experience

[19:51] - The role of AI and the future of CRM technology

[22:09] - Practifi's ideal client profile

[23:28] - Data ownership and integration

Key Takeaways

Generic CRMs often fall short of addressing the specific workflows, data needs, and compliance requirements of RIAs.

Practifi is not simply an overlay, but a purpose-built solution that leverages the power of Salesforce, offering greater flexibility and RIA-specific functionality.

Practifi prioritizes user experience through role-based design and clear information architecture, making the system more intuitive and efficient for teams.

Investing in design has been central to Practifi's success, making CRM adoption as seamless and intelligent as possible.

Quotes

"If you go and engage with the Salesforce development shop on day one, and you don't speak Salesforce and they don't speak RIA, then you are not going to get the thing that you hope will work for you when you turn it on." ~ Adrian Johnstone

"The industry is necessarily headed towards a richer relationship. CRM technology has to move forward in the process. It has moved more into the client engagement and client acquisition space and less into the efficiency and workflow space. It needs to stretch further forward." ~ Adrian Johnstone

"You can't always just acquire your way to growth and just rely on the markets to deliver it. You also need to be able to build solid, sustainable growth organically." ~ Adrian Johnstone

Links

Adrian Johnstone on LinkedIn

Practifi

Salesforce

Microsoft

Eric Clarke

Connect with our hosts

Milemarker.co

Kyle on LinkedIn

Jud on LinkedIn

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By Milemarker

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