This Week on The Fuse Show, Natalie and Brian talk with John Euart, Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company.

Key Takeaways

• [04:11] - John’s professional background and what led him to McKinsey and to specialize in industry trends?
• [07:09] - As an industry, we have talked extensively about the great generational wealth transfer and also succession planning for the advisors planning to retire by 2035. Considering this, why are we seeing a reluctance among advisors to take action with the younger generation and with their own retirement?
• [12:46] - Does John think that advice is becoming more scalable as more private equity comes into the industry?
• [13:22] - Does John think that the generational wealth transfer is more of an industry game changer or just a current buzzword or focal point?
• [15:28] - How does John think AI use will evolve within the RIA space going forward?
• [21:25] - Since AI is such a rapidly evolving feed, where should advisory firms look to invest within the AI space to help them grow down the road?
• [22:27] - Everyone’s take on whether AI is an industry game changer or just a buzzword.
• [24:53] - How important is it for a client to have a “one stop shop” experience?
• [27:23] - Is there a certain section of the financial services industry that is doing a particularly good job of using “coopetition” to their benefit?
• [31:23] - Is hyper personalization something we should be investing in as an industry in John’s opinion?
• [34:05] - Is the industry doing a good job of building and distributing the tools that advisors need for this type of personalization?
• [39:10] - Does John think we are in a bubble with private equity or does he think that its growth is sustainable?
• [42:15] - Is it potentially beneficial for some investors to have less liquid investments?
• [47:22] - Does John think that the benchmarking against other advisors is really critical?
• [50:26] - Is benchmarking a buzzword or a game changer in everyone’s opinion?

Quotes

[08:47] - "Another thing that I’d like to get your thoughts on as well, is that I do think there is a broader consumer preference shift that’s happening. I think it’s being influenced by the younger generations. Younger generations want experience and they are more focused on life goals, as opposed to…growing that nest egg as big as possible, and I think we are starting to see that actually impact their parents and grandparents…I’m seeing more and more older generations start to trickle that wealth transfer and actually…[they often want to] see the impact of that wealth transfer before they pass on." ~ John Euart

[23:15] - "I do believe that you are both right. [Adopting AI] is going to require us, whether you’re an RIA, a consultant, a tech leader or a CEO, to think about work fundamentally differently and to think about our data fundamentally differently…I’ve talked about this many times…I think that Financial Services biggest limitation is actually a data problem. " ~ Natalie Wolfsen

Links

• John Euart on LinkedIn
• McKinsey & Company

Connect with Us

• Meet Natalie Wolfsen
• Meet Brian McLaughlin
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Compliance Code: 2268-OAT-9/4/2024

This Week on The Fuse Show, Natalie and Brian talk with Phil Huber. Phil is a Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions for Cliffwater, based in their Chicago office. Prior to joining Cliffwater, Phil was the Chief Investment Officer for Savant Wealth Management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, has attained his Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. Phil has been featured in a number of notable media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, InvestmentNews, CityWire RIA Magazine and Bloomberg TV. From 2018-2020, he was named one of Investopedia’s Top Financial Advisors. Phil was also named CIO of the Year by RIA Intel in 2023. Phil and his wife Christie live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago where they enjoy reading, yoga and spending time with their daughter Hannah. He is also a lifelong, die-hard professional wrestling fan. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S., which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Key Takeaways

• [03:47] - Learn about Phil’s background, how he got into the industry and how he ended up focusing on alternative investments in particular.
• [06:36] - What inspired Phil to write his book, ‘The Allocator’s Edge?’
• [10:17] - In his book, Phil states “that we are living in a golden age of alternative investments.” Why does he think this and what ushered this change into place? Also, what is driving the move of active investing out of the public markets and into alts?
• [15:09] - Is technology helping make alternative investments more accessible to investors and advisors in Phil’s opinion?
• [23:00] - What should advisors consider when sizing their positions in alternative investments?
• [26:23] - What are some other hurdles that RIAs face to get into alternative investments and how might we be able to help them overcome these?
• [28:38] - What, from Phil’s perspective, are some of the biggest opportunities that advisors are overlooking in alternative investments?
• [33:32] - If Phil could give listeners one key takeaway on alternative investments, what would it be?
• [37:27] - If he could snap his fingers and make it happen, what futuristic or sci-fi tool would Phil wish for the most?

Quotes

[16:31] - "Most people don’t view fund structures as technological breakthroughs…[but] I kind of think of them though, as technology, in a way…I think of the ETF as a technology that has really democratized beta…and to bring down costs and increase liquidity, and so the ETFs have now become this ubiquitous fund vehicle that pretty much everyone uses as their default way of gaining market exposure." ~ Phil Huber

[23:18] - "[When allocating to alts] it has to be enough to matter, but not so much that it’s going to introduce behavioral risk into the portfolio or to the end client, so I think there’s a middle ground range there…of 10-30% of a portfolio across alternatives." ~ Phil Huber

Links

• Phil Huber on LinkedIn
• Cliffwater LLC
• The Allocator’s Edge

Connect with Us

• Meet Natalie Wolfsen
• Meet Brian McLaughlin
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Compliance Code: 2011-OAT-8/8/2024

This Week on The Fuse Show, Natalie and Brian are joined by Christi Deakin and Chris McDonald from Amazon Web Services. Christi Deakin, based in Sarasota, FL, is currently a US Fintech Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), bringing experience from previous roles at Nyca Partners, Wells Fargo and BearingPoint (formerly KPMG). Christi Deakin holds a BBA in Accounting @ The University of Texas at Austin. With a robust skill set that includes Portfolio Management and more, Christi Deakin contributes valuable insights to the industry. Chris serves as the Industry Specialist of Capital Markets at AWS. He has over 20 years of experience with roles focused on global product management, compliance and regulation at Bloomberg and executive management roles at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase.

Key Takeaways

• [02:41] - Where do each of our guests currently live and what do they love about it?
• [05:37] - More on each guest’s professional background and what led them to Fintech and AWS.
• [08:21] - From their perspective, what are the main data challenges that are holding the industry back and keeping us siloed?
• [12:58] - How might larger organizations best adapt to the shift in customer experience that will need to happen for many of our next gen clients?
• [17:47] - What are some of the new innovations at AWS that people should be paying attention to in our industry?
• [20:21] - How do they think that AI might transform the financial services industry over time?
• [23:47] - It seems like we are still very much in the trial and error phase of AI and we will have to wait for the dust to settle before we know what sticks. Do Chris and Christi agree with this?
• [25:14] - Looking ahead, what future trends do they see really impacting the industry or B2B more generally?
• [27:27] - If they could leave our listeners with one key takeaway, what would that be?
• [28:41] - If they could snap their fingers and make it happen, what futuristic technology or tool would each of them wish for most?

Quotes

[11:40] - "With a 3 Trillion Dollar wealth transfer on the horizon…,and this wealth transfer is going to younger generations, I think customer experience expectations are really going to rise. That doesn’t mean everything is going to be digital and self-service, because investors at some point…want advice [on] how to manage their money and how to manage these important decisions in their life." ~ Christi Deakin

[16:45] - "...I think being able to bring [the level of personalization we see on streaming services]...into the Financial Services is huge. Again, it’s a little more complicated, it’s a little more sensitive [when] you’re talking about someone’s money, but the underneath kind of capabilities of putting all that data together and joining the dots…is really key." ~ Chris McDonald

Links

• Christi Deakin on LinkedIn
• Chris McDonald on LinkedIn
• Amazon Web Services

Connect with Us

• Meet Natalie Wolfsen
• Meet Brian McLaughlin
• Check Out All of Orion’s Podcasts
• Power Your Growth with Orion

Compliance Code: 1758-OAT-7/16/2024