WealthTech on Deck

The Five Drivers of Future-Ready Wealth Management Firms with Jeffrey Levi and Rafael Couto

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Jeffrey Levi and Rafael Couto for a deep dive into the future of wealth management. Jeffrey is a Principal at Casey Quirk Deloitte and leads the firm’s Strategy Offering for Financial Services. He advises wealth and asset managers on complex strategic challenges and spearheads research in areas like private credit, alternative investments, and evolving investment strategies. Rafael, a Senior Manager at Deloitte, helps wealth managers and retirement providers navigate large-scale technology and operational transformations. He focuses on boosting efficiency and improving service delivery, particularly in the growing convergence of workplace and wealth management. Together, they unpack Casey Quirk’s latest white paper, which outlines five key growth drivers for the wealth management industry over the next decade. They explore the critical capabilities top-performing firms are building—and how these firms are aligning strategy, technology, and operations to deliver stronger growth and better client experiences. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (02:37) - Why Deloitte is doubling down on wealth management research (04:03) - Casey Quirk's research participants (06:01) - The five core drivers of future growth in wealth management (09:43) - How these capabilities show up across different channels (11:00) - What it means to build a “transformative DNA” within a firm (15:30) - The challenge of delivering a truly holistic client experience (19:40) - How leading firms are earning and maintaining client trust (24:30) - Why the core wealth platform is becoming a key competitive edge (26:52) - Taking an end-to-end approach to platform design (29:14) - What the future of work looks like in this space (33:17) - Rafael’s and Jeffrey's interests outside of work Quotes "In our advisory work, we're seeing a widening gap in performance, growth, and advisor and client experience in the overall marketplace. Some firms are winning, some firms are clearly more stagnant, and in some cases, some firms are starting to decay." ~ Jeffrey Levi "The ecosystem that exists today is going to look very different in five to 10 years because service providers are all evolving to become technology providers. We're seeing massive convergence across servicers, technology firms, clearing and custody firms, TAMPs. We’re seeing IBDs want to launch a platform as a service model to serve other parts of the landscape." ~ Jeffrey Levi "When we looked at the characteristics of those that are growing faster, we really saw that they're shaping their services around financial advice and having that at the center of the journey." ~ Rafael Couto "When we say end-to-end, it is what you put in front of the client that matters. But then you have to think all the way down to the operational component, and how you bring everything together. The value you bring to the client is what really makes you win in the market." ~ Rafael Couto Links  Jeffrey Levi on LinkedIn Casey Quirk, A Deloitte Business Rafael Couto on LinkedIn Deloitte Chip Roame Ridgefield 8 Bocce Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Modernizing the Client and Advisor Experience with Colleen Bell

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Colleen Bell, President of Innovation and Experience at Cambridge Investment Research. Colleen is also a member of the Office of the CEO, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Council, and a part of Cambridge's Executive Administration team. She focuses on driving associate engagement and financial professional satisfaction while advancing and discovering new ways to meet ongoing client needs.  Colleen shares how she transforms client and advisor experiences by eliminating friction, digitizing legacy processes, and designing products that meet the increasingly complex needs of today's investors. From AI-powered solutions to driving paperless processes, Colleen walks us through the behind-the-scenes work that powers innovation at scale and how Cambridge is rethinking service models, collaborating across custodians, and pulling together fragmented account data. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:52) - Colleen's role at Cambridge Investment Research (03:36) - Pain points advisors face around customer experience (06:08) - Cambridge's technology solutions for advisors (07:22) - Cambridge's "Paper Not Alive in '25" (11:17) - The role of financial planning in providing comprehensive advice (13:01) - The integration of non-traditional assets (14:57) - Colleen's thoughts about the future of the industry (17:01) - The current and future of AI in wealth management (19:11) - AI adoption among advisors (21:28) - The importance of human interaction and building relationships (23:28) - Colleen's key takeaways (24:14) - Colleen's interests outside of work Quotes "Anything that we can do to automate that experience, remove the need to provide information, or remove all paperwork from the industry is my goal, and that's what we're looking for." ~ Colleen Bell "Artificial intelligence will completely transform the way that our advisors interact with the home office and how they interact with the clients." ~ Colleen Bell "AI is never going to replace what we, as humans, and our advisors do. It's those advisors who don't adopt it who will be left behind because they're not taking the next step to become efficient and effective." ~ Colleen Bell Links  Colleen Bell on LinkedIn Cambridge Investment Research Unreasonable Hospitality Will Guidara The Coming Wave How to Know a Person Frances Frei Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

From Broker-Dealer to Boutique RIA: Why Summit Wealth Made the Leap with Randy Morris

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Randy Morris, Founder & CEO of Summit Wealth Group, a boutique financial planning firm with 10 offices nationwide. With a career spanning more than three decades, Randy brings deep experience in entrepreneurial leadership, holistic planning, and building a stakeholder-driven culture. Jack and Randy explore Summit’s path to independence and how a focus on culture, ownership, and intentional growth fueled the transition. Randy also shares the key reasons they chose SEI as a strategic partner—from cultural alignment to proactive tax strategies for high-net-worth clients—and what it takes to future-proof a boutique firm in today’s evolving wealth management landscape. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:16) - Summit’s history and foundational philosophy (05:05) - Why Summit selected SEI as a strategic partner (09:05) - Leveraging SEI’s proactive tax strategies (10:23) - Building and protecting Summit’s company culture (14:58) - Summit's organic growth and intentional M&A approach (17:34) - Randy's key takeaways (19:12) - Randy's interests outside of work Quotes "We wanted to continue growing. We felt that growth was paramount, not only to take care of our client's needs in the future, but also the team members that we would add." ~ Randy Morris "Finding this partner to put on our platform and help us launch Summit 2.0, we found that in SEI." ~ Randy Morris "What we're about is building a better business, and what better way to do that than to bring in partners who have already been doing this in their location? But we want them to be willing to come in and share best practices and share what's working for you and build a better practice." ~ Randy Morris Links  Randy Morris on LinkedIn Summit Wealth Group Good to Great SEI Commonwealth Financial Network Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Advancing Women in Finance with Kellan Brown

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Kellan Brown, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Development Officer at 100 Women in Finance. With an impressive resume that includes leadership roles at Income Lab, PrimeCo, and Finance of America’s Retirement Strategies Division, Kellan has also earned accolades like the Disruptor Award and Ascension Award from WealthManagement.com and was named one of InvestmentNews’ Women to Watch. In their conversation, Kellan shares the remarkable story of her career journey—from her early days in sports marketing and commercial construction to discovering her passion for championing women in finance. She offers insight into how 100 Women in Finance supports women at every stage of their careers and why mentorship is essential to changing the face of finance, fintech, and investment leadership. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:53) - The mission and impact of 100 Women in Finance (04:32) - Kellan's career journey (07:34) - How the organization’s mentorship program is making a difference (10:39) - Kellan's keynote at SEI (13:28) - Programs and initiatives empowering women in finance (19:25) - Advancing women in the finance industry (23:30) - The transformative power of mentorship for women (24:55) - Kellan's interests outside of work Quotes "I was awarded the Disruptor Award for a very clear reason. I believe in all of the work that we're doing, and we are not breaking any laws. Our partners are so committed to us, and we are not alienating anyone." ~ Kellan Brown  "Women elevate every single level of any organization when there's equality." ~ Kellan Brown "In a male-dominated industry, we have to find someone that's going to break that barrier down, give us access, and have allyship." ~ Kellan Brown Links  Kellan Brown on LinkedIn 100 Women in Finance Finance of America Income Lab Michael Lane Allie Carey SEI Sneha Shah Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

The Growth Potential of Bank Trusts and Private Banks with Allie Carey

In this episode, Jack Sharry talks with Allie Carey, Chief Strategy Officer, SEI Private Banking and Wealth Management. Allie focuses on strategic planning, global wealth management industry assessment, global go-to-market strategies, channel partnerships, and M&A opportunities. Jack and Allie talk about the role of bank trusts and private banks in wealth management. Allie shares how banks can harness their vast client base to drive organic growth, the opportunities in private banking, and how technology and data transform how banks serve their clients.  In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:51) - Allie's role at SEI (03:10) - The need for evolving skill sets in the industry (04:19) - How SEI serves clients (08:03) - Opportunities for wealth management in the bank channel (13:00) - SEI's growth strategies (16:45) - Allie's thoughts on UMH (18:14) - The future of private banks (24:25) - Allie's key takeaways (25:08) - Allie's interests outside of work Quotes "Banks have a massive client base across their different business lines. A wealth management business inside a bank can work with its commercial colleagues. They can work with their retail colleagues and their lending colleagues." ~ Allie Carey "We're getting to the point where we could have some real advice across the lifecycle of someone delivered via technology, where humans are curating that, not creating it." ~ Allie Carey  "Banks are well-positioned to win in wealth management. They have that near-end client base. They have the breadth of services to really serve the whole client." ~ Allie Carey Links  Allie Carey on LinkedIn SEI Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook