WealthTech on Deck

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with longtime colleague Steve Gresham, CEO of The Execution Project, a consulting firm that works with advisors and their firms to help advisors better serve the needs of retiring clientele.For many of us, the questions, stressors, and concerns of our clients are changing. As Baby Boomers hit retirement age, it’s our responsibility as advisors to help them afford healthcare and alleviate concerns about outliving their money. A believer in innovation, Gresham advocates for the use of tools and training when it comes to helping advisors meet the needs of their ever-evolving clientele. Jack and Steve talk about segmenting clients, the role of technology in the financial industry, and dealing with disruption head-on.“The markets have been ripping ahead but the clients have been slowing down. So we see them taking money out, we see them thinking about alternatives, and we need to turn that around. But if they don’t know where they stand, they cannot plan for anything better. So giving very solid answers to somewhat amorphous but critical questions is part of our job. Help them understand exactly where they are and what’s realistic for them to be able to do from there.” ~ @thegreshamcoMain Takeaways  Demography is real. Baby Boomers, the largest generation in American history, are reaching retirement age and financial advisors must develop a different level of emotional intelligence and empathy to engage this aging generation.  Clients rule the conversation. Simplify your counsel by giving clients straight answers when they ask questions. Commit to innovation. Find ways to create something that’s customer-centric and advisor-supported without hiding it from the people who can help build it. If you don’t start innovating now, it will be hard to catch up later.  Links The Execution Project Next Chapter Walden Hill Woodworks Fidelity Steve Gresham on LinkedIn Steve Gresham on Twitter 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 Chairman and CEO of LifeYield Mark Hoffman. In addition to leading the company, Mark is responsible for pulling resources and customers together to construct Unified Managed Households. Early in Mark’s career, a colleague’s father broached the idea of combining household assets to achieve client goals, particularly as advisors help clients prepare for retirement. Fast forward more than 30 years later, and that concept has taken shape at LifeYield.In the years that led Mark to LifeYield and his success building money-saving technology, he’s learned a few things about helping large firms achieve complex goals, the importance of quantifying benefit, and developing a software system that sticks. Jack and Mark discuss where the financial industry is headed next, how to provide optimal client value, and the three biggest lessons Mark has learned building LifeYield from the ground up.“The most important feature that you need to ensure advisor adoption is the ability to quantify the benefit of the advice being given to the customer. What is in it for them and why? ” ~ Mark HoffmanMain takeaways  To ensure advisors actually adopt the technology, it must be easily integrated into an advisor’s workflow.  When executing complex projects across complex organizations, follow a few simple rules. 1. It’s just as important to know what you’re not doing as it is to know what you are doing. 2. Don’t keep starting and stopping big projects – it decreases the probability for success, increases costs, and hurts morale. 3. Accept that big projects are a multi-year commitment, so budget and staff accordingly.  4. Communicate clear milestones and celebrate wins along the way. Offer scalable solutions, ensure the tech is highly secure, and allow for the flexibility that enterprise clients will require.  Scoring is the future of wealthtech because it allows advisors to communicate benefits to clients in a digestible way. And it’s more than just taxes, clients should have a holistic understanding of their household’s financial wellbeing.  Links Upstream Tech Ameriprise Financial Franklin Templeton Truist AdvisorPeak Personal Capital Allianz Jackson National Life Insurance New York Life  Northwestern Mutual Morgan Stanley Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Mark on LinkedIn Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Cheryl Nash, CEO of the Financial Supermarkets Division at InvestCloud. Cheryl unpacks her acquisition-filled journey to CEO and everything that makes InvestCloud an industry standout.Cheryl began her career as a data entrant at Security APL before automation was as widespread as it is today. Security APL was ultimately acquired by Fiserv which recently sold a 60% stake to Motion Partners. Cheryl was then appointed CEO of the newly branded Tegra118. Several weeks before Tegra118’s first anniversary, they merged with InvestCloud and Finantix. A true industry leader, Cheryl chats with Jack about planning for retirement, how COVID has shaped consumers, and the future of wealthtech.“Technology is an essential enabler. Use technology for the tasks where speed, efficiency, automation, and precision are needed, while always remembering that we’re in a people business. Relationships matter and trust matters, but technology really becomes an essential enabler.” ~ @cherylnash2Main takeaways  COVID has helped consumers understand the importance of going digital and the need to bring things to market quickly.  The future of wealthtech lies in personalization. Consumers want wealthtech to mimic the personalization features of Netflix and Amazon. Personalization makes it easier for the advisor to give an investor exactly what they want, when they want it, and how they want it.  Goals-based planning is essential for ensuring clients are prepared for retirement and the big questions that come along with it. Stay nimble, open-minded, and always look to the future.  You can’t be everything for everyone, but know what your firm does very well, celebrate those wins, and search for partners to help fill in the gaps. Technology is key to growing your business and innovating within the wealthtech industry. Links Cheryl on LinkedIn Cheryl on Twitter InvestCloud, Inc.  John Wise fiserv RetireUp Finantix Tegra118 The pace of Boomer retirements has accelerated this past year North American wealth management: Money in motion, but not always to the bottom line 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 Michael Liersch, Head of Advice & Planning at Wells Fargo. They dive into Michael’s transformative approach to financial decision-making and what drives his desire to improve financial opportunities for future generations.With a background in academia, Michael took a somewhat unusual path to the financial industry. Growing up in a household where money wasn’t always well-handled, he became fascinated with his own financial psychology and knew his career path would involve helping others.So he began teaching at NYU before transitioning into the corporate sector where he could help clients directly and in real-time. Now at Wells Fargo, Michael breaks down his industry-first approach to helping clients make better financial decisions.“I think a key piece is to always speak in data and fact around the mission of the organization and the transformation exercise. And the data and facts that I always love talking about are around real human beings. What are the jobs that real humans want to be done with their money? And that has really inspired people intrinsically to say, ‘Yes! This is a purpose-driven organization!’ In that way, it becomes a very exciting mission.” ~ Michael LierschMain takeaways  Michael’s three-pronged approach is to 1) ask clients to look back at the past, 2) provide clients with options for current action, and 3) introduce a few strategic elements that clients should be thinking about, so it’s planted in their mind when they dive into a financial solution. Everyone needs a North Star, or ideal destination, when it comes to financial goals. That long view should always be considered when making financial decisions. It’s ok to course-correct along the way because, as 2020 has taught us, sometimes life happens. It’s important that staff and clients are on the same page when it comes to company ideas, values, and benchmarks.  Links WellsTrade Intuitive Investor Michael 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 Dani Fava, Head of Strategic Development at Envestnet. Envestnet’s mission is to make financial wellness widely accessible. Having entered the financial tech world in a non-traditional way, Dani encourages others to embrace what makes them unique. After unintentionally impressing a firm with her technical abilities, Dani found herself catapulted into the world of wealth technology, eventually landing at TD Ameritrade where she launched a web-based rebalancing platform. In the process, she realized advisors could use tech to better serve their clients. Today, Dani lives on the pulse of consumer behavior, following the latest tech trends and predicting how they’ll ultimately impact what clients need from their advisors. Her long-term vision is to develop a connected intelligent system that seamlessly manages a client’s current and future financial wellbeing.Jack and Dani talk about the importance of experimentation, user experience, and why technological advancements will only help advisors stay indispensable.“Everything that we do, everything that we’re automating, everything that we’re building, everything that we’re bringing together, is intended to power the human advisor and is intended to give the human advisor more freedom and time to be that coach for their clients. In my view, the advisor space is becoming more irreplaceable because of the use of technology.” ~ @danielle_favaMain takeaways  Not fitting in is sometimes your superpower. Don’t be afraid to come to the table with a different perspective and ideas that challenge the status quo. Experimentation is necessary for growth. Create in public, invite people to disagree with you, and don’t be afraid of failure.  As consumers delve into the new world of accessible wealth technology, advisors will become more and more necessary. Clients will need help navigating an evolving, tech-driven world.  Links Envestnet Dani Fava on Linkedin Dani Fava on Twitter Noom TD Ameritrade Yodlee Mint Rally 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 Ed Murphy, CEO of Empower Retirement. Empower is the second-largest retirement plan recordkeeper with more than one trillion dollars in assets for more than 12.5 million Americans. The chaos of 2020 has launched more people into retirement than ever before. In fact, a recent study suggests that four times as many people retired in 2020 versus 2019. To stay agile, advisors must adapt to an ever-changing demographic with ever-changing preferences. And no one knows that better than Ed Murphy.As it’s grown and rebranded, Empower has made several smart acquisitions including the acquisition of Personal Capital just last year. Ed walks us through the reasoning behind several of these recent acquisitions, the void in the market that Empower aims to fill, and how he’s navigating a world that’s increasingly retirement-ready.A believer in the need for personalization and a hybrid human-technology approach, Ed discusses Empower’s holistic approach to advising, his emphasis on wellness, and the importance of scaling efficiently.“There're 128 million mass affluent households and many of those households are underserved today. Oftentimes RIAs and the big broker-dealers are typically focusing on much larger balances. And yet those customers have real needs, whether it’s retirement, college savings, or emergency savings. And so I think there is a void there.” ~ @EFMurphyIIIMain takeaways  While clients engage with their retirement accounts online more frequently than ever before, they still want the option for human advisory. No matter how large a company grows, it’s important to remain focused on the customer.  To navigate increasing regulatory challenges and fee pressures, it’s important to scale using a price-advantage approach. Using scale as a cost-advantage is necessary for quick growth. Links Empower Retirement Ed Murphy on LinkedIn Ed Murphy on Twitter Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

WealthTech on Deck is a new podcast from LifeYield about the future of wealth management technology. We created this podcast specifically for wealthtech innovators, financial services executives, fintech product leaders, and financial advisors who want to stay ahead of the wealthtech game. Join us each week as our CMO, and host of the show, Jack Sharry, talks with industry leaders looking to build the wealthtech platforms of the future. We promise to keep it short, sweet, and valuable.Our first episode drops in March 2021. Subscribe now, wherever you listen to podcasts.  Links  LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter