Podcast
Advice Architects Podcast: Season 1 Recap
July 16, 2023
The first season of the Advice Architects podcast is a wrap. Over the 10 episodes we had the privilege of speaking with some of the sharpest minds in the wealthtech space about the evolving landscape of wealth management and financial advisory services. This post provides an overview of all 10 episodes as host Day Wachell and guests discussed the importance of personalization, data-driven insights, and understanding client behavior in delivering effective wealth advisory services.
In the inaugural episode, Day engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Lex Sokolin, a well-known figure in the FinTech industry. Sokolin shares his insights on how blockchain technology is revolutionizing financial markets and products. He delves into the implications of these transformative changes for financial advisors and the future of financial advice. The discussion provides a deep understanding of the intersection of blockchain, DeFi, and financial advisory services, offering listeners a glimpse into the future of the financial industry.
In the second episode, Day talks with Anton Dovgobrod, CTO of INSART. The discussion centers around Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which have emerged as the common language in the fintech and wealthtech sectors, enabling diverse systems to communicate and exchange data efficiently and securely. Dovgobrod shares his expertise on the best practices for creating APIs and offers insights on how to avoid common pitfalls associated with their implementation.
In the third episode of the Advice Architects podcast, Craig Iskowitz, CEO of Ezra Group, and a highly respected voice in the wealthtech industry, discusses the challenges and intricacies of building a tech stack for financial advisory firms. The conversation revolves around the common challenge faced by every financial advisory firm today: constructing a tech stack that not only meets the needs of advisors but also delivers a client experience that is integral to their brand. This invariably becomes a project of assembling various software and tools that need to harmonize and form a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
In the fourth episode, Day hosts Dr. Leda Glyptis, a seasoned expert in managing tech transformation in large financial businesses, for an engaging conversation about the numerous obstacles that financial institutions encounter during digital transformation and how to overcome the resistance and challenges that accompany this process. Dr. Glyptis emphasizes that innovation in financial services today is not just about understanding the latest available technology, but instead comprehending how that technology is revolutionizing the business model of banking and advice delivery as a whole. This episode provides listeners with a deep understanding of the complexities of digital transformation in the financial sector and the importance of embracing innovation to stay competitive.
In episode 5, Day talks with Josh Book, CEO of Parameter Insights. They discuss the trends that are driving customer loyalty and how wealth management firms can modernize their customer experience by leveraging data and technology. Book emphasizes that for firms to be successful, they need a deep understanding of what's driving consumer behavior. They should develop processes based on this data to provide consumers with the personalized wealth experience they desire. The focus should shift from products to processes, treating clients the way they want to be treated.
The sixth episode of Advice Architects delves into the competitive landscape for wealth management and advice providers, which has seen significant changes in recent years due to the rise of robo-advisors and new competitor models. Day and wealthtech analyst Will Trout of Javelin Strategy and Research discuss how advisors can broaden their advice offering to stand out among the competition while providing more value to clients. They explore the role of new technology solutions in achieving these goals, from high levels of personalization through automated data gathering processes to the specific capabilities wealth managers need to embrace at each stage of the client engagement journey.
In episode 7, influential marketer April Rudin talks about the personalization of wealth advisory services and how advice providers can and should be communicating with their clients. Personalization is a significant trend in wealth advisory today, with clients increasingly expecting services to be personalized, customized, and tailored to their unique needs. Segmenting clients by age, gender or virtually any other demographic category and then assuming every individual in those groups wants to receive the same type of communication, at the same frequency, on the same channel, no longer cuts it, according to Rudin.
Fintech futurist Chris Gledhill shares his broad knowledge and deep understanding of the financial services space in this episode. He believes that wealth is the starting point of any conversation about the future of banking. The discussion ranges from conceptual to practical, covering the diversification of wealth, the redefinition of capital, and how to bridge the growing advice gap.
In episode 9, Deloitte’s Kendra Thompson, a veteran of the wealthtech space, discusses data-driven insights that can help advisory businesses with performance management, client acquisition, sales, and retention. These insights provide a powerful evidence-based tool for understanding what is working and what isn’t, and can also be used to anchor spending, coaching, and incentivizing the actions that actually change outcomes in the field.
In the final episode of season 1, Day discusses the importance of client engagement in the financial advisory process with Adam Holt of Asset-Map. They explore how this engagement differentiates the financial advisory relationship from automated, robo-advisor services that are increasingly available in the marketplace. Holt emphasizes that when clients actively participate in and own their financial planning process and data, advisors gain more insight and can deliver a more meaningful and engaging experience. This active participation allows advisors to establish a unique value proposition and maintain a client-centric approach that surpasses the capabilities of fully automated platforms.
Day studied AI in the SymSys program at Stanford and Film at Columbia. Their innovative thinking drives the company's success by bridging technology and the arts, leading to a culture of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
