Hello darkness, our old friend. Daylight saving time can really be a depressing move.

I don’t know how my friends in Boston handle the winters.

As we navigate our annual time regression and darkness immersion, I’ve been in New York and St. Augustine and am now headed back to Charleston to wrap up my week.

If there's a consistent theme that I found throughout all of the various conversations I've had this week, it's that we are at a really key time of evolution in our industry.

The legacy players that everyone relied upon and built their businesses on are no longer able to move the way they could in the years before. This means that wealth management firms and asset managers are forging new paths and seeking out more modern infrastructure.

It's all really cool stuff if you do the kind of work that I get to do each day.

It's effectively a form of curation that wealth management firms (or that our industry at large) is navigating. These conversations, sparked my thinking for my topic in this week's article.

Here’s the Connected Advisor:

1. Why Curation is the New Currency

2. Marshall Financial: Overcoming Cultural Shifts and Communication Barriers🎧

3. Bookmarks

   1. Purpose-Driven Growth: Finding Success Without Losing Yourself with Ali McCarthy

   2. Talking Mission-focused RIA’s in Citywire

4. Milemarker On the Road ✈️

Let’s go.

Why Curation is the New Currency

Have you ever wondered why you don’t paint your own house, change your own oil, or do your own taxes?

It’s not that you couldn’t — you probably could.

But would you really want to? And would it be done with excellence? You pay someone to help you because they’ve got the experience, the tools, and the know-how. They make it easy.

Now, think about the current state of wealth management. Clients today could handle their own investments. Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, UBS, et al.—they provide research, tools, and partnerships. They’ve got reports from Bain, BCG, Deloitte, and EY stacked to the ceiling. Data is more accessible than ever. Investment products? They’re a dime a dozen.

That’s the thing. The basics? They’re table stakes.

The real game has shifted to something bigger.

“Providing” wealth management is no longer enough. It’s about curating a unique experience that makes clients feel taken care of, in a way they can’t replicate on their own.

Let’s get real: the “what” of wealth management is turning into a commodity. But the how? That’s the new frontier.

1. How are you making wealth management not just an investment but an experience?

2. How are you doing for your clients what they could never do for themselves, no matter how many pie charts and bar graphs they have access to?

3. How do you deliver perspective to help your clients understand where the puck is going and why the moves you're suggesting today will make even more sense years from now?

This is where the industry is heading. We are crafting, curating, creating. As of today, most of us aren’t where we want to be.

For the firms who are paying attention, this is the opportunity of the next decade.

Curation or Bust

If we can become scalable curators—not just advisors—of personalized, transformative experiences, we’ll no longer compete with online advice and one-size-fits-all portfolios. Instead, we’ll build real relationships and loyalty that transcend numbers.

McKinsey did a study (McKinsey & Company (2021) called The value of getting personalization right—or wrong—is multiplying that found that companies that excel at personalization generate 40% more revenue than average players. In case you’re wondering, personalization is not just using your clients name in a canned email you send once a month.

Curation is one of the keys to real personalization.

It's fundamentally rooted in customer empathy and a deep dedication to delivering an ever-changing value to customers with the desired goal of impact.

Its no wonder the firms who accomplish it grow.

Curators are simply better businesses because they do more good and continue to iterate on it.

How can you begin to curate? Think about the now popular concept of “Unreasonable Hospitality” and the story of Eleven Madison Park’s rise to becoming the top restaurant in the world.

Every detail matters. The moment your client interacts with you, from the first phone call to the last report, should feel like it was crafted just for them. It’s about making wealth management a full-on experience — one they can’t get anywhere else.

So ask yourself: what are you curating today?

What do your clients feel, see, and experience that’s beyond just the numbers?

Because that’s your identity, that’s your value, and that’s where the future lies.

________________________

On the Pod: Overcoming Cultural Shifts and Communication Barriers

Episode 067: Effective communication is the bridge that connects financial experts with clients who may feel overwhelmed by financial jargon. Translating financial concepts into clear, relatable language closes the gap between technical knowledge and client understanding, laying the groundwork for successful partnerships and empowering clients to make better financial decisions.

In this episode, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Paula Nangle, President and Senior Wealth Advisor at Marshall Financial Group. Paula focuses on instilling the values that have guided Marshall Financial for more than 40 years. She talks with Kyle about how she transitioned from pharmaceuticals to financial services, and her experiences navigating cultural shifts, overcoming communication barriers, and building meaningful client connections. Paula also dives into her passion for teaching financial planning concepts, and shares her take on the industry's future.

In this episode:

[02:42] - Paula's money moment

[05:37] - From pharmaceuticals to financial services

[09:18] - Teaching financial concepts

[10:49] - Qualities to look for in financial advisors

[14:05] - The gap between academic knowledge and practical experience

[16:14] - Using data to make strategic decisions

[20:30] - Providing career transition services to clients

[24:57] - What it takes to grow a financial advisory firm

[27:36] - Paula's Milemarker Minute

Key Takeaways

1. Effective communication, free from industry jargon, is essential for building trust and helping clients make smart decisions.

2. Data and analytics are essential for running a successful financial advisory firm and making informed strategic decisions.

3. Providing personalized financial advice and addressing clients' unique needs is a key differentiator for financial advisors.

4. AI is a whole new ballgame in the future of financial services.  Advisors need to leverage technology to enhance client experiences and improve efficiency.

    Listen to Episode

⚡️Bookmarks

Purpose-Driven Growth: Finding Success Without Losing Yourself with Ali McCarthy

Talking Mission in Citywire

Earlier this week, CityWire ran my editorial on mission. We were able to dig a bit deeper on some of the things around mission more specific to the RIA community.

Milemarker on the Road

Catch our team on the road at the following events or cities:

1. November 7-8 - St Augustine, FL

2. November 11-12 - Charleston, SC

3. November 12-13 - San Diego, CA

4. November 12-15 - Arlington, TX

5. November 14 - Charlotte, NC

6. November 18-20 - San Francisco, CA

7. November 21-22 - Omaha, NE

8. December 4-5 - New York, NY

9. December 9-11 - Las Vegas, NV

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