WealthTech on Deck

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Len Reinhart, a pioneer in the UMH industry and founder of several successful advisory firms. Len began discussing the subject of separately managed accounts, managed money, an advisory approach, and, of course, UMH, nearly 20 years ago. As a baby boomer himself, Len witnessed firsthand the diminishing benefits for boomers as retirement suddenly became their primary responsibility. Simultaneously, he began his career working with managed money where the goal was listening to clients first, unlike the aggressively cold-calling brokers he sat beside. He listened to clients’ goals, their risk requirements, and built strategies to meet those individual needs. Focusing on retirement and listening to clients’ end goals, both financial and personal, became the basis of his approach to advising. As he built firms with a client-first approach in mind, his success caught the attention of competitors and the industry. Len and Jack discuss the transition from winning the financial rat race to simply funding future liabilities. They also discuss why UMH is such a powerful tool for accomplishing lifelong goals and how the role of advisors has shifted to help clients reach those goals. “The end goal of the unified managed household is to take all the clients’ assets, their goals, and aspirations – meaning what are they trying to accomplish with their life – and put them together. And I think the further you take this, the better.” ~ Len ReinhartMain takeaways  When UMH is done properly, investing takes a backseat. In other words, the original selling point for advisors has become the secondary selling point. Everything, including investing, is evaluated based on its probability of contributing to a client’s long-term success.  UMH is evolving into a guidepost by which financial decisions are made. Meaning decisions that were previously handled separately (i.e., taxes) are now made in conjunction with one another.  As UMH becomes commonplace, the way advisors work with clients is rapidly changing. Lifestyle management (managing cost, tax, and risk) is leading the conversation while beating the market is taking a backseat.  Links Len on Linkedin Merrill Lynch BNY Mellon Pershing WealthCare Wells Fargo Envestnet Analytics Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with LifeYield colleagues Harry Bartle and Steve Zuschin. Harry is the EVP of Enterprise Sales while Steve is the EVP of Enterprise Technology Adoption. What should I do with my rollover? When should I take social security? As money in motion is underway, these questions become a high priority for retiring clientele. Leading the innovation arms at LifeYield, Harry and Steve unpack the solutions they’ve helped develop that allow advisors to better serve their retiring clients. Steve, Harry, and Jack discuss why firms want to control the client and advisor experience, the importance of showing clients quantifiable benefits, and marrying planning with real-life results to optimize value.“The first thing you have to do is listen to the client. What’s important? What’s important to them, right? And having great expectations around how much they’re going to be able to afford to spend and what their retirement income is going to look like is at front and center of most people’s minds as they approach retirement.” ~ Steve Zuschin Main takeaways  Firms want to control the client and advisor experience by building their own household technology that both the client and the advisor will experience. When the firm controls the user experience, it can then control user expectations.  You have to be able to quantify value for your clients. Otherwise, clients have no understanding of whether their outcomes have improved.  Individual decisions for clients, like those involving rollovers, can’t happen in a vacuum. When decisions aren’t personalized for each client, you’ll likely have unintended consequences. Links Riskalyze Harry on LinkedIn Steve on LinkedIn Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Yaqub Ahmed and Harshendu Bindal of Franklin Templeton. Yaqub is Head of the U.S. Investment-Only Division while Harshendu leads  Digital Strategy and Wealth Management.While his parents wanted Yaqub to pursue medicine, Yaqub fell in love with financial services and began his career as a record keeper in an asset management organization. Having spent the last 11 years at Franklin Templeton, today Yaqub focuses on the U.S. retirement insurance sub-advisory and Franklin Templeton’s 529 businesses. For Harshendu, his journey in financial services began 27 years ago. He studied engineering in college and stumbled into the industry following graduation. With 24 years of experience at Franklin Templeton under his belt, Harshendu is now responsible for establishing strategic partnerships with global financial institutions and other distribution partners on the retail side of the business. Jack, Yaqub, and Harshendu discuss the role of technology in establishing strategic partnerships and providing holistic solutions for clients, why intelligent automation helps advisors thrive, and what the future holds for asset managers. “Advisors are not going away, they’re just evolving. And we see them be more and more financial life coaches to their clients. And as an asset management industry, I think we need to understand and pave for that transition.” ~ Harshendu BindalMain takeaways  Cultural fit is the number one determining factor of whether a merger will be successful.  Technology plays a crucial role in providing better outcomes and holistic solutions for clients. And great technology allows us to embed solutions into advisors’ existing workflow.  As the role of financial advisors continues to evolve, we need to start encouraging advisors to intelligently automate what needs to be automated.  Over the next few years, there will be several big shifts within the asset management industry. Financial personalization will be commonplace, US workers will increasingly seek out financial wellness and advice from their employers, and collaboration within the industry will increase. Advisors should consider outsourcing the parts of their business that they either don’t have expertise in or don’t have the passion for. Sometimes it’s best to let technology run those aspects of the business.  Advisors must leverage capabilities that are delivering personalization.  Links Yaqub on LinkedIn Harshendu on LinkedIn Franklin Templeton AdvisorEngine Wealth Tech On Deck Episode 001: Personalization, Scaling Efficiently, and Serving the Underserved with Ed Murphy Empower Retirement Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Andrew Salesky. Andrew leads Digital Advisor Solutions at Charles Schwab, overseeing a suite of tech platforms used by more than 7,500 independent advisory firms working with Schwab. Having worked at Schwab for more than 20 years, Andrew has held jobs big and small under the Schwab umbrella – from branch leadership to running schwab.com and driving the growth of “Schwab startups” like Schwab Private Client. Andrew even worked as their first Global Data Officer before transitioning into his current role supporting digital platforms. Andrew spearheads integration across the company, viewing integration as the top accelerator for every corporate goal or initiative. Andrew and Jack discuss current trends and how advisors can best respond, the power of integration, why technology is the great enabler, and why it takes more than tech to reach success. “Integration is not a distraction, it’s an acceleration. It’s really bringing a level of investment that is unprecedented for Schwab in the digital advisor space. We’re able to accelerate our roadmaps in all different areas.” ~ Andrew Salesky Main takeaways  The health and wellness trend is expanding into financial wellness post-COVID-19. Women are also responsible for trillions of dollars of financial assets and with the rise of e-commerce and technological innovation, customers have increasingly high expectations. Advisors must prepare for these shifting trends and demographics.   Technology is a fantastic enabler, but we need a combination of technology and human support to best serve clients.  The financial services industry is still too reliant on paper and hard copies. We need to embrace digitization for the sake of the client. That includes working to streamline digital transactions.  Building and maintaining trust has never been more important than it is now. That deep level of trust can’t be replicated by a device, it must be built by the human advisor.  Links Andrew on LinkedIn Charles Schwab Mckinsey Schwab Private Client Charles Schwab Independent Advisor Outlook Study Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Rose Palazzo and Eric Lordi from Morgan Stanley. Rose heads financial planning while Eric leads efforts across WealthDesk, a place for advisors to manage household portfolios. At Morgan Stanley, Rose and Eric have been instrumental in building the industry’s most comprehensive wealth management platform. Creating a comprehensive ecosystem and saying goodbye to the more siloed industry standard is no easy feat. Eric and Rose have leaned on their prospective specialties to build a system that scales rather than a system where one person wears 10 hats and inevitably drops a few along the way.Jack, Rose, and Eric discuss the magic and challenges of account integration, why integration benefits both client and advisor, and the future of financial technology.“When we talk about moving from accumulation to decumulation, it actually really is the time when it’s most important for the portfolios to be working in concert with each other, as one sort of orchestra instead of being managed in pieces. We know that’s really critically important.” ~ Rose Palazzo Main takeaways  The goal of WealthDesk is to build a connected client experience that eliminates frequent disconnects throughout a client-advisor relationship. It’s crucial for clients to understand how investment advice is directly supporting their personal and financial goals. This connectivity benefits the advisor, the client, and ultimately, the firm.  Integration is the future of financial technology. Personalized advice is becoming more and more commonplace so technology needs to automate parts of an advisors’ workload. That way advisors have the time to dig deeper with each client and develop a more personalized plan.  Surfacing guidance for advisors is key to helping them understand the benefits of different tools. In other words, we know what the best practices are, but we still need to find a way to automate surfacing those best practices and do so in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming and aligns with advisor goals.  Half the battle of building an innovative product is connecting the dots within a large organization. Getting people out of their silos is incredibly tough, but it’s important to help people realize that everyone is working toward the same end goal.  Links WealthDesk Morgan Stanley Rose on LinkedIn Eric on LinkedIn Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with John Thiel, former Head of Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch and longtime advocate for comprehensive advising.John began his career in public accounting where he realized the impact of tax law on financial planning and decision-making. He was eventually recruited into the insurance business and, while it wasn’t popular at the time, John became an advocate for financial advising as he rose through the ranks at Merrill Lynch. While the industry has made and continues to make great progress, advisors still have a ways to go when it comes to implementing a goals-based approach and finding synergy between technology and the advisor-client relationship. John and Jack discuss creating efficiencies for the client as well as the advisor, how advisors can address a rapidly retiring demographic, the impact of COVID-19, and why human advisors are always irreplaceable. “We really need to have a decumulation strategy that is simple, direct, consumable, and that people can execute in a relatively easy way. And it’s gotta be transparent, so people understand this isn’t some black box. Here’s where the returns were coming from, here’s where we’re pulling it from, here’s the decisions that were made to make the recommendation of where you would draw from. And then literally, maybe, send them a paycheck if that’s what they want. Give those retirees or those people in that stage of life the option to choose a preference on how they want to receive income when they stop receiving a normal paycheck.” ~ John ThielMain takeaways  Efficiency is just as important for the client as it is for advisors and firms. For example, clients need an efficient onboarding experience. While many in the industry are hesitant to do so, giving clients access to transparent reporting is necessary and helpful for all parties. COVID-19 has forced many to reassess their priorities. As you help this large wave of retirees, create solutions catered to their preferences, some of which have changed as a result of the pandemic.  We have to meet clients' preferences to differentiate ourselves while also allowing them to participate in the process. Give clients access to the same tools advisors use.  Forget complexities, present everything in a way that’s simple for clients to digest and understand. This helps build trust.  Links John on LinkedIn MyNextSeason Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events Merrill Lynch Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources FINRA FSU Foundation The V Foundation Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG Suite, and Matt Nollman, VP of Marketing at LifeYield. The two share their expertise on all things digital communication. Six years ago, Samantha’s husband stumbled upon a problem with seemingly no solution. Every advisor at a firm had an identical web presence. So he created Twenty Over Ten, an easy-to-use website platform for financial advisors. Sam hopped on board to lead sales and marketing and when Twenty Over Ten sold to FMG Suite, Sam shifted to Chief Evangelist, or, as she likes to think of it, Chief Educator.Matt began his career in tech startups before joining LifeYield and working to expand the company’s digital reach and online presence. Matt also aligned LifeYield’s marketing and sales with its strongest revenue stream and spearheaded LifeYield’s shift into enterprise. Both Samantha and Matt understand the importance of reaching people through effective communication and taking digital risks. Samantha, Matt, and Jack discuss why advisors should become educators, why marketing can no longer be an afterthought, and the most impactful (and surprising) marketing strategy for firms, advisors, and beyond."Digital marketing no longer should be a line item that kind of gets whatever is leftover in your budget. If you want to grow and grow intentionally and find the clients that will be the best fit for your business, you need to put your money where your mouth is. We see a lot of financial advisory firms, the average is spending 1 to 2 percent of revenue per year on their marketing budget. But the growth firms, the firms that are actually adding new clients more than they’re losing them, they’re spending about 5 to 10 percent.” ~ Samantha Russell Main takeaways  Hiring a great copywriter is one of the best ways to improve your business’s communication. In a world where everyone is always inundated with information, engaging people through text is invaluable.  When it comes to digital channels and strategies, your firm doesn’t need to be everywhere at once, especially if your marketing team is small and lean. Figure out a scalable way to communicate that works for your business. If you have multiple channels, make sure those channels work together to tell one cohesive story with complimentary messaging.  Digital referrals are invaluable. If you don’t have a strong web presence, you’re out of the race for a client’s attention before the race even begins.  Even if you can’t measure its success right away, explore new audiences and new channels. It may lead to insights and value that can’t be quantified.  Links Samantha on LinkedIn Smantha’s website Twenty Over Ten Squarespace  Wix Weebly Putnam Investments  Broadridge Financial Solutions Emerald Connect Morgan Stanley Ameriprise Financial SEI Northwestern Mutual New York Life Money Management Institute NextChapter InvestmentNews Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Matt Nollman on LinkedIn Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Eric Clarke, CEO of Orion Advisors. Eric is committed to improving client outcomes through strategic acquisitions and smart technology.Straight out of grad school, Eric began his career as an asset management wholesaler. The company he worked for was experiencing operational challenges and, eventually, Eric realized the fiduciary IRA business needed stronger technology. At the time, available tech was only built for the brokerage business rather than advisory firms. Seeing an opportunity from necessity, Eric developed a business plan and founded Orion. As Eric puts it, what’s current today is incredibly dated tomorrow. Orion provides technology services to advisory firms while keeping a pulse on what’s current and pivoting as needed.  Jack and Eric discuss the art of acquisition, how to instill proactivity in advisors, and why behavioral psychology is the backbone of strong and effective advising.“What’s fascinating to me is that our industry is dominated by finance and accounting degrees, myself included. And as we look forward, I think we’re going to see a lot more emphasis inside of the industry on having degrees potentially dominated around behavioral psychology. And hopefully, we get to a point where we’re really understanding the investors that we’re serving in ways that we can drive and create value back in very meaningful ways.” ~ Eric ClarkeMain takeaways  When buying technology, advisors must make sure that technology is solving one of two problems: Is it creating a better client experience or driving internal operational efficiencies?  When combining businesses, you have to take a step back and look at the best ways to integrate offerings so you’re never operating in silos.  Knowing the overall composure of an investor is incredibly important in driving client value. And there’s more to it than simple risk-tolerance. Understanding an investor’s behavioral psychology also helps advisors to proactively solve problems by preventing potential stressors.  It’s better to disrupt your own entity than let other businesses disrupt you first. There are four key areas that advisors should be looking at when it comes to improving value propositions: prospecting, planning, investing, and outcomes. Links Eric on Linkedin Orion Advisor Services Orion Portfolio Solutions CLS Investments Brinker Capital Investments Money Management Institute EY Modern Wealth Black Rock Morgan Stanley The Pace of Boomer Retirements Has Accelerated in the Past Year The Peak 65 Generation: Creating A New Retirement Security Framework Tax Alpha HiddenLevers Teammates Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack talks with Lori Hardwick, Chairman of Riskalyze and Board Member at firms like Orion Advisor Tech and Cetera Financial Group.Lori began climbing the financial services ladder working as a wholesaler. In 1997 she had her first baby and realized the wholesaler lifestyle didn’t mesh with motherhood. So she pitched an idea to her senior executive team about starting an RIA program back when RIAs were still relatively new to the industry. She then left to start her own firm, Envestnet. After decades as a leader in the industry, Lori describes the successes and failures that sometimes unfold when old tech meshes with emerging tech, and why culture determines the success of that merger. She also describes why financial tech is in direct competition with giants like Amazon and Google, and why our technology must allow clients to engage and interact in a way that’s personalized.Jack and Lori discuss the importance of showing clients quantifiable benefits, why advisors should take inventory of the software at their fingertips, and the necessity of hyper-personalization. "We need to make sure we’re not just allowing for transparency to the data, but also the ability to interact with it. The one thing I truly believe is that transparency and the ability to interact digitally will build trust with that advisor. The more they can see, the more they trust their advisor, and that is critical to building those long-term relationships and keeping those clients happy.” ~ Lori HardwickMain takeaways  The ease of data transfer from one platform to the next has been a fantastic change for the financial industry. It helps improve the experience for advisors and clients alike. It’s important for clients to be able to see everything in one place. They should have one interface that connects the dots for them. When clients interact with an advisor’s technology, they interpret that as an experience with their advisor. Tech must be top-notch for the sake of an advisor’s reputation. The financial industry needs to listen to what clients actually want so we can create and fine-tune technology to meet those needs.  Links Lori on LinkedIn Riskalyze Envestnet Orion Advisor Tech Cetera Financial Group Nuveen Pershing Advisor Innovation Labs  RedRock Strategies Genstar Capital Credential Financial Morgan Stanley’s GPS Aladdin North American Wealth Management: Money In Motion, But Not Always To The Bottom Line Vestwell Authentic & Ethical Persuasion by Jack Sharry The Vision For 2025: Hyper Personalized Care and ‘Care Of One’ Ben Franklin Technology Partners  Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Mary Beth Franklin, a columnist and contributing editor at Investment News, specializing in social security, medicare, and retirement income. We’re living in a time where traditional retirement rules no longer apply, in part because of COVID-19’s dramatic impact on money in motion. As a result, helping clients navigate retirement is more complex than ever before. Having spent her career covering retirement from all angles – from policies on Capitol Hill to life inside private firms – Mary Beth has a unique understanding of where we’ve been and, more importantly, what retirement now calls for.Given her unique expertise on all things social security, Mary Beth emphasizes the importance of software in achieving increased personalization and how advisors can help clients answer the ultimate retirement question – what’s the optimal sequence for withdrawing retirement income? Mary Beth and Jack discuss what a changing landscape means for both client and advisor, how COVID-19 changed the financial industry for the better, and what most people miss when planning for retirement. “People grew up with a couple myths: that you’re going to put as much money as possible into your qualified retirement plans to lower today’s taxes and your taxes were going to go down in retirement. Well, that may not be true going forward. And advisors and software providers need to understand that this is a very fluid situation and the best thing they can do is stay on top of these changing environments and pivot where they can and help their clients make the best decision for them.” ~ Mary Beth FranklinMain takeaways  When creating retirement plans for clients, advisors will benefit from software that helps fill in the gaps of thousands of complex retirement rules that no single advisor could memorize. And while many creative claim strategies have disappeared, social security is still a critical piece of the retirement puzzle.  The right software should be easy to use and seamlessly integrate into an advisor’s existing financial planning software.  Changes in money in motion are heading in all different directions. It is not one consistent trend. So advisors need software and other tools geared towards personalization.  Many people need advice outside of the advice that their workplace is providing. Advisors should approach clients with a transparency-first approach to gain trust.  The pandemic forced the financial industry to embrace software and also spotlighted holes in everyone’s retirement safety net. As a result, we’ve seen an increase in broader financial wellness – financial planning outside of just health benefits and a 401k.  Links Mary Beth on LinkedIn Investment News Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits by Mary Beth Franklin Franklin Templeton Kiplinger’s Personal Finance North American wealth management: Money in motion, but not always to the bottom line Empower Personal Capital Edelman Financial Engines Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook