Category: Finance
Ric Edelman on Advisors’ “Crypto Knowledge Gap”

Ric Edelman on Advisors’ “Crypto Knowledge Gap”

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Are investors outpacing advisors in their understanding of crypto and digital assets? 16% of advisors say they recommend bitcoin and other digital assets, yet 24% of American adults own crypto. It’s important for financial advisors to overcome this gap as the number of digital assets in the market continues to grow and the asset class increases in popularity.

Mark Bruno, Managing Director of Wealth Management at Informa, is joined by Ric Edelman, Founder, Digital Asset Council of Professionals and the Funding Our Future Coalition, to discuss the growth of cryptocurrency and the “professionalization” of digital assets. 

Listen in as Ric and Marc explore:

  • How to educate financial advisors and broaden the knowledge base when it concerns digital assets.
  • As innovations in digital assets continue what does it mean for the first adopters of this technology by hedge funds, billionaires, endowments, pension funds, insurance companies.
  • How the government is reacting to the rise of digital currency and how much truth are there in the predictions that by the end of the decade every government around the world will have a digital currency.
  • To what degree is the lack of knowledge in digital assets a result of a lack of technology, lack of regulation, or lack of infrastructure.
  • The ideal allocation for your client’s portfolio as these digital assets grow.

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Connect with Ric Edelman:

About Our Guest:

Ric Edelman is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 10 books on personal finance. He was ranked three times as the nation’s #1 Independent Financial Advisor by Barron’s and founded the nation’s largest financial planning firm, now serving 1.3 million clients and managing $300 billion in AUM. Edelman is in both Research Magazine’s and Barron’s Financial Advisor Halls of Fame, and recipient of IARFC’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Investment Advisor, RIABiz and InvestmentNews all named him one of the most influential people in the investment management profession. He is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of 10 books on personal finance with more than one million copies in print in seven languages.

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Lori Hardwick: How Technology is Revolutionizing the Wealth Management Industry

Lori Hardwick: How Technology is Revolutionizing the Wealth Management Industry

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Innovation and adoption of technology are rapidly redefining the way financial advisors work with clients – and are revolutionizing the wealth management industry. 

One of the most experienced and knowledgeable voices in the wealth management and WealthTech industries — Lori Hardwick, CEO of Red Rock Strategic Partner — stopped by the WealthStack podcast to highlight the developments in FinTech that all advisors need to know. 

Ms. Hardwick talks with Mark Bruno, the Managing Director of Wealth Management at Informa, about her key learnings sitting on the boards for major players in WealthTech, such as Orion, Cetera, and Vestwell. In addition, they discuss:

  • How emerging technology is improving every interaction advisors can have with clients
  • How technology is accelerating change in retirement plans
  • How financial planning, risk management, and asset management are converging to create a truly holistic and customizable wealth management experience. 

Connect with Lori Hardwick:

Connect with Mark Bruno:

About our guest:

Lori Hardwick brings more than 25 years of experience of working in the financial industry as a prominent voice and is known for her intense passion for continuous improvement in the financial advisory industry.

As CEO of WealthTech at RedRock Strategic Partners LLC and as a Strategic Advisory Board member of Genstar Capital, Lori works directly with C-suite level executives at some of the largest financial services companies, to help them create, and execute against, winning growth strategies and to improve the overall experiences for advisors and their clients.

Lori has been appointed to, and currently serves on, several corporate boards in the financial services and fintech industries including Orion Advisor Technologies, Cetera Financial Group, as Vestwell for which she serves a s Chairman. Lori previously served as Chairman of the Board at Riskalyze through mid-2021.

In 2017, Lori created and co-founded, Advisor Innovation Labs (AI Labs) which underwent a successful transaction in early 2020. Prior to founding AI Labs, Lori served as Chief Operating Officer for Pershing, a BNY Mellon company, sharing leadership responsibility with the CEO for managing the Pershing family of companies. Lori served as a member of Pershing’s Executive Committee and BNY Mellon’s Senior Leadership Team.

Previously and for the majority of Lori’s career, she was a Co-Founder and Group President of Advisory Services for Envestnet, overseeing its enterprise relationship management, institutional advisory sales, strategic partnerships and practice management programs. She had been with Envestnet since its founding in 2000 and served in a variety of roles managing its enterprise, sales, services, advisor orientation and onboarding divisions during her 16-year tenure at the firm.

Lori has been recognized as one of the “22 People who will Transform Wealth Management in 2022” by Financial Planning Magazine, and as one of Top Women of Wealth Tech by ThinkAdvisor, a “Winner in Wealthtech” by Wealth Management Today, a “Woman to Watch” by InvestmentNews and on Investment Advisor’s list of “The 25 Most Influential People in the Financial Industry”.

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Dakota’s Carina Diamond: WealthTech’s Impact on the Future of Advice

Dakota’s Carina Diamond: WealthTech’s Impact on the Future of Advice

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As technology for the wealth management industry evolves, financial advisors will have more options than ever before to enhance the services – and value – they deliver to clients. 

Understanding and navigating the readily changing WealthTech landscape can be a challenge for many, however. In this episode of the WealthStack podcast, Carina Diamond, the Chief Experience Officer at Dakota Wealth Management, shares her experience and perspective on how successful advisory firms are using technology to customize financial plans, improve and deepen relationships with clients — and ultimately run a more productive and profitable business. 

Carina and Mark Bruno, the Managing Director of Wealth Management at Informa, specifically focus on:

  • The role of technology in changing and improving client experiences 
  • How virtual platforms can help to facilitate stronger advisor/client relationships
  • Continued opportunities for advisors to leverage and invest in new technology
  • The primary contributors to Dakota’s growth in 2021
  • Insights into the acquisitions announced at Dakota earlier in 2021

Connect with Carina Diamond:

Connect with Mark Bruno:

About our guest:

As Chief Experience Officer, Carina is responsible for providing leadership and mentoring to the other client advisors at Dakota Wealth, as well as directing marketing efforts for the firm. Before joining Dakota Wealth Management, Carina Diamond was founder and CEO of Springside Partners LLC.

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3. The Value of Advice: Articulating and Demonstrating Your True “Alpha” with Jamie Hopkins

3. The Value of Advice: Articulating and Demonstrating Your True “Alpha” with Jamie Hopkins

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Financial advisors often have an impact on the lives of their clients that extends well beyond investment performance. An ability to help clients navigate complex life and financial decisions – which are frequently intertwined – is at the core of any successful advisor’s long-term relationships. 

But how can you ensure that clients understand the true value of the services that you deliver – and ultimately the unique problems that only you can solve for them?

In this episode of the WealthStack podcast, Mark Bruno and Jamie Hopkins Esq., LLM, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®, managing partner of Wealth Solutions at Carson Wealth, reveal how to articulate your unique advisor “alpha”. They dive into different ways to communicate your value with prospects and demonstrate what makes you different from other advisors. Jamie discusses how advisors are adapting to create experiences for clients, while also focusing on:

  • The most effective ways to communicate your value proposition
  • The role of technology as a differentiator for advisors
  • The difference between service and relationship for advisors and clients
  • The services, outcomes or solutions that have the most value for investors
  • How behavioral finance impacts clients’ advisor selection

Connect with Jamie Hopkins:

Connect with Mark Bruno:

About our guest:

Jamie P. Hopkins, ESQ., MBA, CFP®, LLM, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP® is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions. He is a Finance Professor of Practice at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.

A nationally recognized writer and researcher, Jamie is a regular contributor to Forbes, InvestmentNews and MarketWatch. A highly sought-after speaker in the financial services industry, Jamie has also been featured on Wall Street Journal podcasts, NPR radio and Fox radio, and has made multiple appearances for NBC10 Philadelphia, PBS and USA Today.

He’s been published in dozens of financial, educational and legal journals and developed educational materials for The American College’s CFP®, CLU®, ChFC® and RICP® programs, along with CE programs for attorneys.

Additionally, Jamie has co-authored three text books and has two ebooks on Retirement Planning, “Retirement Success In 10 Steps: How To Stretch Your Dollar To Last Through Your Golden Years” and “Retirement Risks: How To Plan Around Uncertainty For A Successful Retirement.” He is also the author of 2018’s “Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement.”

 

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2. Dani Fava: Why Embedded Finance is a Game-Changer for Financial Advice

2. Dani Fava: Why Embedded Finance is a Game-Changer for Financial Advice

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Sponsored by: Nationwide

While most consumers rely on mobile apps for the majority of their daily purchases and purchases, financial services apps are largely utility functions that occupy a limited portion of investors’ routines and mindshares. 

Enter Embedded Finance, the next “big disruption” for financial services and wealth management. 

In this episode of the WealthStack podcast, Mark Bruno talks with Dani Fava, head of strategic development at Envestnet, about the future of advice – and importantly, how more financial services companies will directly integrate with consumer technology and mobile applications. Dani explains the concept of embedded finance and offers specific thoughts on:

  • Investors’ digital “relationships” with consumer mobile apps – and the potential to align investment and planning advice with mainstream brands
  • How super apps will impact the way we invest financially
  • Why it’s important for financial advisors to understand embedded finance now – and how they can build deeper client relationships with NexGen investors

Connect with Dani Fava:

Connect with Mark Bruno:

About our guest:

Dani Fava is creating the future of financial services. She was named #71 in top 100 Women in Fintech by Fintech Magazine, Woman to Watch by Investment News 2020, ThinkAdvisor IA25 recipient in 2020, one of top 16 Women in Wealthtech 2019 by ThinkAdvisor.

 

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1. The Evolution of Advice: Joe Duran on the Accelerating Pace of Change in Wealth Management

1. The Evolution of Advice: Joe Duran on the Accelerating Pace of Change in Wealth Management

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When the pandemic hit in March 2020, the financial advice industry essentially became virtual overnight. Advisors and the companies that support them embraced technology like never before and now, roughly 18 months later, the business of advice has experienced it’s most significant period of change ever. 

Where does the advice industry go from here? In this inaugural episode of the WealthStack podcast, Wealth Management’s Mark Bruno addresses the big picture with Joe Duran, managing director of Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management. Joe dives into how modern technology and current worldwide events have changed the way that advisors work, from adapting client meetings to engaging virtually with potential clients and prospects.

Specifically, Joe and Mark dive into:

  • What have been some of the most significant changes in the advisor-client relationship since March 2020? How will that re-shape the future of advice?
  • What technologies, tools and resources allowed some advisors to thrive over the last 18 months?
  • From an industry perspective, how has the landscape of wealth management providers changed the most? 
  • What types of firms, services and experiences will “win” going forward?

Connect with Joe Duran:

Connect with Mark Bruno:

About our guest:

Joe is co-head of Personal Financial Management Group, which includes Ayco and Personal Financial Management (PFM). He is a member of the Consumer and Wealth Management Inclusion and Diversity Council and Steering Committee.

Joe joined Goldman Sachs as a partner in 2019 as part of Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of United Capital, which was subsequently renamed Personal Financial Management.

Joe founded United Capital in 2005. Before that, he served as president of GE Private Asset Management, which he built and sold to GE as president of Centurion Capital in 2001.

Joe has written three books, including The Money Code, which was listed on The New York Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists.

Joe earned a BS in Business Administration from Saint Louis University and MBA degrees from Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley. He is a CFA charterholder.

 

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