Financial advisory firms are facing major changes in how clients find advisors, how practices grow, and who will serve the next generation of investors. Preparing early can make those changes easier to manage.
In this episode, Jeremy Houser explores how independent financial advisors can build stronger businesses through systems, team development, digital visibility, and succession planning. He examines the coming advisor retirement wave, the trillions of dollars expected to change hands, and how AI is changing advisor discovery. Jeremy also shares lessons from recent advisor events about leadership, client experience, content, and preparing a practice for long-term continuity.
Key points:
How advisor retirements and limited succession planning could put trillions of dollars of client assets in motion
Why independent advisors need systems and team structures that reduce dependence on the founder of the practice
How AI search, AEO, and website content are changing the ways prospective clients discover financial advisors
Why younger generations receiving transferred wealth may expect different communication and digital experiences
How consistent content, leadership development, and defined roles can prepare an advisory firm for future growth
Financial advisors can publish constantly and still struggle to turn attention into trust. A clearer approach starts with being useful, consistent, easy to understand, and available when clients need help.
In this episode, Jeremy Houser talks with Thomas Kopelman, Co-Founder of AllStreet Wealth, about building an advisory business through social media and referrals. Thomas explains how educational content has created a steady flow of qualified prospects, why advisors should write the way clients actually speak, and how batching content makes consistency manageable.
They also cover choosing the right platform, avoiding constant selling, repurposing strong ideas, delegating production, and making responsiveness part of the client experience.
Thomas shares:
How educational social media can attract prospects without relying on cold outreach or constant direct selling
Why advisors should write in the language clients actually use instead of trying to impress other professionals
How batching months of social content at once can make consistent publishing easier to maintain over time
Why focusing on one active social channel and one long-form format can be enough to build recognition and trust
How responsiveness and personal availability can become meaningful parts of the experience clients receive
Thomas Kopelman is the co-founder and lead Financial Planner at AllStreet Wealth. Recognized for his expertise and dedication, he has been named a Top 23 Millennial Advisor by Business Insider, a Top Young Advisor to Watch in 2023 by FA Mag, and one of the top 100 financial advisors by Investopedia in both 2022 and 2023.
Beyond his role at AllStreet Wealth, Thomas is an active blogger, podcaster, and content creator, sharing valuable insights on financial planning and wealth management.
A graduate of Butler University, Thomas has dedicated his entire career to the financial services industry. He is passionate about helping high-income business owners aged 30-50 cut through the noise and leverage their resources to achieve their life goals.
When he’s not assisting clients with their financial plans, Thomas enjoys working out, playing basketball, spending time at the lake with his family, and hanging out with his wife & dog.
Many financial advisors spend years trying different marketing tactics without feeling like they’re reaching the right people.
What if attracting better clients had less to do with chasing leads and more to do with showing who you really are, building trust online, and creating meaningful relationships before the first conversation ever happens?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser sits down with Derek Notman, CFP®, CEO of Couplr AI, to discuss how advisors can rethink client acquisition by focusing on authenticity instead of outdated prospecting methods. Derek shares lessons from building his own advisory practice, explains why niche marketing creates stronger client relationships, discusses how LinkedIn has become an essential part of an advisor’s digital presence, and introduces new ways technology is helping advisors create more meaningful connections with prospective clients.
Key takeaways:
How dating apps inspired the launch of Couplr.AI in the financial space
Why identifying a specific audience creates stronger client relationships than broad prospecting efforts.
How LinkedIn helps prospects build trust before they ever schedule an introductory meeting.
Why authentic branding consistently attracts clients who genuinely value your work.
How technology is improving advisor lead conversion without replacing personal relationships.
What Derek learned about balancing entrepreneurship, family life, and building a meaningful business.
Derek Notman, CFP® is the Founder and CEO of Couplr, Inc., the AI-powered advisor–client matching platform for wealth management and insurance firms. He founded Couplr to replace cold outreach and broken lead-generation models with precision growth intelligence, built on behavioral science and a 1,300-variable matching engine.
Derek is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a long-time practitioner in wealth management. He spent his pre-Couplr career watching capable advisors struggle to find clients they actually clicked with, and watching consumers settle for advisors who didn’t fit their life stage, values, or communication style. Couplr is his answer to that mismatch, an enterprise-grade system that uses behavioral science and AI to help the right advisor and the right client find each other on what actually matters.
As CEO, Derek leads strategy, partnerships, and fundraising for Couplr. He also writes regularly to his 20K+ subscribers For the Love of Money newsletter on behavioral finance.
Financial advisors are under pressure to serve more clients, improve efficiency, and keep up with rapidly changing technology.
How do you use AI without losing the personal relationships that clients value most? And where should advisors begin if they want technology to improve their daily work instead of creating more complexity?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser sits down with Greg DuPont, JD, CFP®, CEO of Advocate Wealth Solutions and host of The March to a Million Podcast, to discuss how AI is reshaping advisory firms from the inside out. Greg shares how he’s built AI into his planning process, why he believes human relationships become even more valuable as technology improves, and how automation is helping him create better experiences for clients while operating a leaner business. They also explore estate planning, advisor productivity, and the growing need for tax education as more families prepare to transfer wealth.
Key takeaways:
Building AI systems that support advisors without replacing personal relationships
Using estate planning conversations to attract better-qualified prospective clients
Creating daily AI workflows that improve accountability and follow-through
Helping families understand retirement tax exposure before it becomes a surprise
Combining technology with human judgment to improve the client experience
Greg DuPont is the CEO of Advocate Wealth Solutions, an attorney, financial advisor, entrepreneur, and host of the March to a Million and Your Financial Advocate podcasts. Through his work, Greg helps attorneys, professionals, and business owners reduce lifetime tax costs, manage risk, and create financial strategies that support the lives they want to live.
Driven by his mission, “The March to a Million,” Greg aims to positively impact one million U.S. families by 2030 by helping them preserve more of their wealth through thoughtful tax planning, estate planning, and comprehensive financial guidance. He believes true financial planning extends beyond today’s tax return and focuses on reducing lifetime tax exposure while improving wealth preservation and transfer.
In addition to leading Advocate Wealth Solutions, Greg has mentored financial professionals across the country, is a contributing author to The Recipe for Success, and is an Expy Award-winning presenter for Business on Broadway. Outside of work, he’s a passionate supporter of The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Columbus Blue Jackets, enjoys cooking, and unwinds with a glass of red wine or a Bombay Sapphire martini.
Retirement planning isn’t only about finding higher returns. It’s also about deciding how different pieces of a portfolio work together over time.
What should advisors look for when evaluating indexed annuities? How can product design, diversification, and long-term thinking influence retirement outcomes?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser welcomes Tom Haines, Executive Vice President of Capital Markets and Index Solutions at Annexus, to discuss how fixed indexed annuity strategies have evolved. Tom explains the importance of portfolio construction inside FIAs, how research influences index development, why diversification continues to matter, and how product design can improve consistency for clients throughout retirement planning.
Key takeaways:
Building FIA portfolios around diversified index strategies instead of relying on a single allocation approach
Evaluating product design beyond illustrations, including renewal consistency and long-term implementation
Using global diversification alongside domestic exposure to improve return consistency over time
Looking beyond accumulation by considering income, legacy planning, and changing family needs
Focusing product innovation on practical retirement challenges instead of following industry trends
Tom leads the index diligence and selection process for Annexus and coordinates the firm’s relationships with asset managers, academic experts, and investment banks in conjunction with Annexus’ carrier partners. Tom is also one of the lead architects of the Lifetime Income Builder TDFs at Annexus Retirement Solutions (ARS). In his role within ARS, Tom works closely with the insurers and asset managers that partner with ARS on implementing the Lifetime Income Builder within portfolios and funds. Prior to joining Annexus, Tom led Equities Solutions Structuring at UBS Investment Bank. He began his career in index and statistical arbitrage trading within BNP Paribas’ Cooper Neff Division (Paris office) before serving as vice president in the Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) Group at NYSE Group and head of ETPs and Derivative Product Solutions at RBS. Tom’s research on index products has been published in top financial journals. He formerly served as a member of FINRA’s Investment Management Committee. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in Quantitative Finance from James Madison University in Virginia.
Today, clients are asking better questions online, and the firms that show up clearly may earn more attention.
What does your digital presence tell search tools, social platforms, and real prospects about who you help?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser talks with Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist of FMG, about how financial advisors can improve their online visibility, build trust through social proof, and create content that answers real client questions. Samantha explains why niche messaging, fresh website content, reviews, podcast appearances, and strong LinkedIn activity matter as AI changes how prospects find advisors.
Samantha discusses:
Why advisors need clear niche messaging so AI tools can connect them with the right prospects
How reviews, testimonials, and LinkedIn recommendations help build digital trust signals
Why fresh blogs, social posts, and podcast transcripts help keep advisor content visible
How to use AI tools to test whether your firm appears in client-style search prompts
Why relatable stories and client questions can shape stronger advisor content ideas
Samantha helps financial advisors create digital marketing strategies that produce exponential growth through channels such as content marketing, SEO, website development, social media and video.
A prolific speaker and content contributor, over 10,000 financial professionals have heard Samantha speak at industry conferences and even more have read her educational content in the pages of well-known industry publications.
Samantha is Investment News 40 Under 40 award winner, a ThinkAdvisor Luminary, and a WealthManagement.com “10 to Watch”.
She was part of the original five-person team that launchedTwenty Over Ten and now serves as Chief Evangelist atFMG. There is nothing Samantha finds more inspiring than being able to empower advisors to market themselves effectively, and she gets a thrill from each message received from those financial advisors who are enjoying returns on their marketing investments.
Retirement planning is changing quickly, and advisors who fail to adapt may struggle to connect with the next generation of clients.
How are Gen X and millennials changing the conversation around retirement, income planning, and financial advice? What role will AI, digital marketing, and client experience play in the years ahead?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser talks about how advisors can prepare for shifting client expectations, use AI to improve efficiency, and strengthen their digital presence. He also shares why younger generations may be more open to guaranteed income conversations, why mentorship and human connection still matter, and how advisors can stand out as more wealth moves to Gen X and millennial clients over the next two decades.
Key takeaways:
Why younger generations may think differently about retirement income and financial planning
How AI can help advisors reduce repetitive tasks and create more time for growth
Why building a stronger digital footprint may matter more over the next several years
How client experience and community-building can help advisors stand out from larger firms
Why mentorship, adaptability, and constant learning still matter in a changing industry
Markets are often viewed through numbers, charts, and economic data, but there is another layer influencing how they move.
How can advisors better understand these forces and connect them to portfolio performance? And how can they explain those movements in a way that resonates with clients?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser interviews Ronnie Sadka, Founder and Managing Partner of MKT MediaStats and Professor at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, about narrative-driven investing. He explains how media data, behavioral finance, and systematic research can help advisors track what is driving market attention.
Ronnie also shares how identifying narrative momentum and asset sensitivity can provide clearer explanations for performance and offer a different lens on diversification and long-term strategy.
Ronnie discusses:
How public narratives can influence markets before they fully appear in asset prices
Why slow-moving themes like inflation, AI, and conflict may affect portfolios over time
How MKT MediaStats tracks digital media data to quantify market attention
Why advisors can use narrative exposure to explain portfolio movement to clients
How long-short strategies may add a different source of portfolio diversification
Ronnie Sadka is the founder and managing partner of MKT MediaStats, senior associate dean for faculty, chairperson and professor in the Seidner Department of Finance, and the Haub Family Professor at the Boston College Carroll School of Management. His research focuses on the liquidity in financial markets. Ronnie is a frequent speaker at academic and practitioner conferences, his work has appeared in various outlets including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Financial Analysts Journal, and has been covered by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.
Prior academic experience includes teaching at the University of Chicago (Booth), New York University (Stern), Northwestern University (Kellogg), and the University of Washington (Foster). Industry experience includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Lehman Brothers (quantitative strategies). Sadka recently served on the economic advisory board of NASDAQ OMX. Professor Sadka earned a B.Sc. (Magna Cum Laude) in industrial engineering and a M.Sc. (Summa Cum Laude) in operations research, both from Tel-Aviv University. He received a Ph.D. in finance from Northwestern University (Kellogg).
Speed matters more than ever, but does faster mean less personal?
What if technology could actually help you build stronger relationships instead of replacing them?
In this episode, Jeremy Houser interviews Matt Halloran, Chief Evangelist at Zocks, about how AI is reshaping the way advisors operate and communicate. They explore how faster follow-ups, smarter systems, and better listening can transform client relationships. Matt also shares practical ways advisors can use video, social media, and AI tools to grow their business while staying human and present.
Key takeaways:
How rapid follow-up using AI can instantly set you apart from other advisors in competitive situations
Why thoughtful gestures, supported by AI insights, can strengthen relationships and build long-term trust
How simple, real-time video content after meetings can become your most effective marketing strategy
Why talking less and listening more creates stronger connections and better outcomes with clients
How integrating AI tools into your workflow can free up time and improve both efficiency and client experience
Matt Halloran, widely known as MattGPT, is the Chief Evangelist for Zocks and a trusted voice at the intersection of communication, leadership, and technology in financial services. A seasoned keynote presenter, three-time author, TEDx speaker, and industry expert, Matt brings more than 15 years of experience as an advisor coach and practice management consultant, helping professionals transform the way they connect with clients, teams, and themselves.
Known for his warmth, authenticity, and signature “nice-guy rebellion,” Matt challenges outdated ideas of leadership built on pressure, perfection, and posturing. Instead, he champions a more human approach rooted in empathy, curiosity, and intentional listening. Over the course of his career, he has helped thousands of advisors and business leaders build deeper relationships, create more meaningful impact, and rediscover the joy in their work through genuine human connection.
Matt is the author of Shut the F Up and Listen, a practical and deeply relatable book that blends real-world stories, actionable exercises, and proven tools to help people reconnect in an increasingly noisy and distracted world. His widely viewed TEDx talk expands on this philosophy and introduces the HOPE framework, Helping One Person Every Day, illustrating how small, intentional acts of presence and compassion can compound into lasting personal, professional, and cultural change.
With appearances on more than 1,000 podcasts, Matt is a natural storyteller who brings a rare mix of wisdom, humor, and heart to every stage, conversation, and audience. Whether speaking to advisors, entrepreneurs, or leadership teams, his message consistently resonates because it is practical, honest, and deeply human.
At the core of everything Matt does is a simple but powerful mission: to help people communicate better, listen deeper, and lead with love—proving that in a world increasingly driven by automation, humanity remains the ultimate competitive advantage.
Many advisors rely on instinct to run their business. But what happens when you replace guesswork with real numbers?
Understanding what drives growth, where prospects fall out of the funnel, and how marketing actually performs can change how a firm operates.
In this episode, Jeremy Houser interviews Molly Pierce, CEO of Track That Advisor, about how financial advisors can use data to improve marketing, hiring, and client conversion. She explains the benchmarks advisors should track, including stick rate, close rate, and cost per client. Molly also shares insights from annual industry studies covering billions in assets and tens of thousands of appointments.
The conversation highlights when to hire staff, how seminars continue producing strong results, and why understanding KPIs can transform advisors from practitioners into business leaders.
Key takeaways:
Why advisors often misunderstand their real close rate and how a 30% industry benchmark provides clarity
What are the benchmarks for advisors based on metrics from 150 different advisory businesses
How annual studies analyzing billions in assets reveal patterns in marketing funnels and advisor growth
The importance of tracking stick rate, close rate, case size, and cost per client to guide decisions
The best ROI marketing for an advisor based on 2025 data
Why workshops and dinner seminars continue delivering strong ROI despite common industry skepticism
How pending leads and delayed appointments signal the need to hire staff and improve capacity
Molly Pierce is the CEO of Track That Advisor (TTA), a data and analytics company dedicated to helping financial advisors understand, measure, and scale their businesses with clarity. Through TTA’s Resource Center, benchmarking studies, and Data Storytelling Course, Molly equips advisors and IMOs with the tools to move beyond vanity metrics and lead with real performance data.
Known for translating complex numbers into actionable strategy, Molly helps advisory firms understand key drivers like cost per client, close rate, stick rate, and marketing ROI, empowering them to become their own data coach instead of relying on guesswork.
She is also the host of The Advisor Summit Podcast, where she interviews industry leaders on growth, leadership, and operational excellence in the advisory space.
When she’s not diving into dashboards, Molly is raising her two mullet headed boys with her husband in Arizona. They enjoy anything outdoors, hunting, boating, & going to the dunes.
