Writing to you this week from Madison, Wisconsin - one of the prettiest college towns in the country.

Being on a research campus always feels different. Campuses built for open-ended missions attract a certain kind of person. Students and leaders with a stubborn optimism. People who want to build something that has never existed, something that paves the way for what comes next.

Earlier this week I learned about a Franco-Brazilian startup called MORFO.

They use AI-driven drones to reforest land destroyed by logging and sprawl. Instead of sending crews out to plant trees by hand, MORFO's tech studies the topography and balances the spread of seeds and fertilizer. Their effort led to higher success at a scale no army of people could match.

It's a simple idea.

It's just executed through the lens of what's achievable now. Drones. AI. Better mapping and imaging.

Not unknowable. Just unbuilt, until someone built it.

Valar Atomics is doing a similar thing with nuclear energy. Nuclear has been around for decades. Valar is making it far more flexible and modular. They don’t have a new idea. They have an old idea, executed with the ambition this moment allows.

Their particular focus, in partnership with NVIDIA, is on the data center problem affecting the overall energy grid, using advanced reactors to enable waterless cooling for data centers.

Now look at wealth management.

All things considered, we are at day one on new innovation that can be brought to this sector.

Our industry has gotten comfortable. We are prone to be successful to a fault. Success has a way of making the status quo feel safe.

It’s easy to focus on the incremental details of building our businesses while we miss the openings for dramatic advancement right in front of us. But they are there, and they are meaningful.

Does that mean your ETF still collects its 35 bps? Maybe.

Does it mean you can still charge 100 bps for advice? Likely.

But the best way to lose any game is to play not to lose.

Our industry needs to play to win. Not just win. Reinvent. And stop running with our heads turned over our shoulders.

Take the simple ideas. Take existing technology or concepts. Push them somewhere they have never dared to go.

Ask how something could be better. Then have the locus of control to make it so. If it is not you, find the people who have that stubborn curiosity. Put real energy behind them.

Robinhood and Altruist get this. They are not playing not to lose. They are playing for reinvention, and they are not sparing any fools along the way. Placating the establishment only slows you down. The less they care about how things have always been done, the more time and attention they can throw at how things should be done.

Innovation has dimensions.

Most people never invent a brand new concept. The Wright Brothers knew flight was possible. They just had to figure out how. Get the speed right. Get the weight right.

What about you?

What do you want to make faster? Smaller? Free? Or truly disruptive?

Episode 151: This week on Next Mile, Kyle Van Pelt is joined by Eric Amar, Founder & CEO of Accelerated Wealth Partners, about the shifting dynamics between massive corporate firms and independent boutique RIAs.

Eric discusses the balance between scale and personalization, the rise of mega RIAs, and the trade-offs advisors face when choosing independence. From his front-row seat at Focus Financial Partners during its explosive growth to launching his own firm, Eric shares his unfiltered perspective on what's really driving industry consolidation, why EQ beats IQ in this business, and where the real opportunity lies for entrepreneurial advisors.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro

(01:00) - Eric's money moment

(04:44) - The EQ vs. IQ debate: Why emotional intelligence matters 

(06:45) - Why Eric founded Accelerated Wealth Partners 

(12:25) - The client's dilemma: Choosing between independent RIAs vs. big brands 

(16:23) - Are RIAs becoming the new wirehouses? 

(23:09) - The "breakaway of the breakaways" trend: Why advisors are leaving 

(26:49) - What sets Accelerated Wealth Partners apart from other firms

(33:24) - Eric's outlook on the future of the wealth management industry

(38:20) - Eric's Milemarker Minute

Everyone wants to grow—but the firms pulling ahead aren't just recruiting more advisors. They're recruiting the right ones.

Join Jessica Perez and me on Wednesday, July 22 at 1:00 PM ET for a live webinar where we'll show how firms can use data and AI to identify advisors who are the best fit before the first conversation even happens.

Register here:

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Jud Mackrill