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Who Are We Building the Next Generation Wealth Management Firms For?
Marketing & Data Webinar, Behind the Scenes at Fidelis Capital Partners and Should You Really Have That Meeting?
Jud Mackrill
April 05, 2025
Good morning.
As I write this, I’m back in the West End of Nashville near the Vanderbilt Campus - grabbing some coffee before I start my day of meetings.
As I collect my thoughts and confirm my daily to-do list, my mind is focused on a question posed by Music Producer Rick Rubin.
“Who are we building for?”
In today’s world, this answer across our industry is changing to some degree.
As generation one founders trade spaces with thier successors or professional investors, “who are we building for” has shifted a bit. And it’s not that we shouldn’t be building more valuable, scalable businesses. But in this act, we need to be careful not to lose the soul and mission that led us to this current point.
So, follow along, here’s this week’s Connected Advisor.
Who Are We Building the Next Generation Wealth Management Firms For?
On the Pod: Building Legacies That Last with Rick Simonetti 🎧
Bookmarks
Live Workshop: Marketing + Data = AUM Growth
Why Most Meetings Are a Waste of Time (And What To Do About It)
Milemarker On the Road ✈️
Who Are We Building the Next Generation Wealth Management Firms For?
In the past 18 months, Rick Rubin has gained a new level of visibility. From a nine-time Grammy award-winning producer to becoming a truly creative author and podcast guest, Rubin is sharing his ideas more and more widely.
Rubin’s impact on music is monumental. Here are just a few iconic albums he’s produced:
Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (1986)
Run-D.M.C. - Raising Hell (1986)
Slayer - Reign in Blood (1986)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
Johnny Cash - American Recordings (1994)
Tom Petty - Wildflowers (1994)
Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003)
Metallica - Death Magnetic (2008)
Adele - 21 (2011)
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006)
Rubin’s creative process is deeply right-brained—intuitive, instinctive, and unapologetically personal. He creates for himself, driven by the pursuit of something new and transformational. This resonates with me - while at the same time causing me question its relevence in long-term reality.
I see this same mindset in business leaders who take big risks and start from zero. They build because they want to, not because of a guaranteed outcome. They’re driven by the desire to create, regardless of initial success.
But there’s a difference between creating music for yourself and building a wealth management firm for others. We’re not producing records—we’re guiding wealth for millions of families and organizations.
The Current State of Wealth Management
I’m just leaving a conference dominated by capital-infused RIAs and aggregators focused on scale, value, and growth. These firms are building for someone else—their investors.
Many of them started as unique entities with distinct identities—like Mercer Advisors focusing on dentists or Pure Financial mastering education. Those original distinctions helped them succeed. But as they grow and evolve, they risk losing that identity.
The Magic Is in the Tension
The secret to long-term success? Keep the magic alive by keeping the magicians—the people who carried the vision and put in the work.
As firms transition to second-generation leadership, there’s a risk of losing the spirit that made them successful. Rather than clinging to the past, successful firms are making room for new cultures and fresh ideas.
To thrive in 2025 and beyond, wealth management firms need a truly independent attitude, brand, and spirit—combined with the support system necessary for professional success. Balancing these elements creates a productive tension that drives growth.
Are You Embracing the Tension?
Here’s how to know if your firm is on the right track:
You have healthy tension. You respect your origins but stay focused on the future. Your team doesn’t try to resurrect the past daily.
Your team fights for improvement. Yes-people won’t move the needle—great teams challenge each other to build better outcomes, processes, and experiences.
You embrace individuality. You help key contributors find their place within the team and do so in a way that the team and the product you put on the field are first and foremost. Systems like Traction can help guide this dynamic.
Where does your firm stand? Are you embracing the tension and pushing toward the next stage of growth?
______________________
On the Pod: Building Legacies That Last
Episode 087: In this episode of The Connected Advisor, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Rick Simonetti, CEO and Head of Wealth Planning at Fidelis Capital Partners, to explore what it takes to serve ultra-high-net-worth families with excellence.
Rick shares how Fidelis Capital was built on the foundation of faithfulness—delivering on promises through deep collaboration, proactive planning, and personalized service. They discuss the importance of mentorship, family meetings, interdisciplinary teams, and how true success lies in preparing future generations. From structuring internal teams to navigating external partnerships, Rick offers practical wisdom for firms looking to elevate their service model and create lasting impact for their clients.
(00:00) - Intro
(02:54) - Rick's money moment
(05:50) - CPA firms vs. wealth management: business model breakdown
[10:45] - Building collaborative relationships with experts
(16:35) - Why “faithfulness” became the foundation of Fidelis Capital
(19:40) - Succession by design: mentorship and developing next-gen advisors
(26:55) - Crafting custom solutions for ultra-high-net-worth families
(32:24) - The power of integration: inside Fidelis Capital team-based model
(36:30) - How Fidelis Capital earns trust and referrals from ultra-high-net-worth clients
(42:32) - Rick's outlook on the future of serving ultra-high-net-worth clients
(46:29) - Milemarker Minute
⚡️Bookmarks
Live Workshop: Marketing + Data = AUM Growth
You’ve got marketing. You’ve got data. But they’re not playing nice.
It’s like having the ingredients for the perfect meal but no recipe. Frustrating, right?
Join me, Jessica Perez, and the team at Proper Expression as we break down the exact framework that makes marketing and data finally click—and drive real AUM growth.
What you’ll get:
A simple formula to turn your data into results
Real-life wealth management success stories
No jargon. Just practical, actionable insights
Why attend?
Because knowing more isn’t enough. It’s about making it work.
Why Most Meetings Are a Waste of Time (And What To Do About It)
Back in 2015, Elizabeth Grace Saunders dropped a truth bomb: Most meetings are pointless.
Fast forward a decade, and guess what?
She was right. And she’s still right.
Sure, we’ve got remote work, Slack pings, Zoom fatigue, and calendar invites stacking up faster than ever. But one thing hasn’t changed:
We default to meetings like it’s the only way to communicate.
Saunders said something smart back then: Before booking that meeting, ask yourself, “Do I really need to?”
Her advice? Use a simple decision tree to figure it out.
Can it be an email? Great. Send it.
Can it be a shared document? Even better. Collaborate without wasting time.
Still need a meeting? Make sure it’s worth it.
Ten years later, the message is the same: Don’t let meetings steal your productivity.
Think before you click “Schedule.”
The tools might be different, but the problem remains.
Meetings aren’t inherently productive—they’re just a habit.
Break it. You’ll thank yourself later.
Milemarker on the Road
Catch my team on the road at the following events or cities:
April 9-10 - Las Vegas, NV, Envestnet Elevate
April 14-15 - New York, NY
April 28-29 - Tampa, FL, Csenge Advisor Summit
Aprill 29-30 - Boston, MA, Tiburon
May 7-8 - New York, NY
If you’re in any of those cities and want to arrange a meeting time, reply to this email, and we’ll get something on the calendar.
Jud Mackrill