By Private Advisor Group Marketing
Investors have unique needs and financial aspirations. Independent financial advisors have a distinct competitive advantage in meeting those needs— with agility in how they can personalize service, offer nonbiased financial advice, and cater services and solutions for clients’ evolving life stages. To explore the holistic client journey from an advisor’s perspective, Private Advisor Group’s Chief of Staff Jamie Kulik, led a dynamic panel with three advisors with diverse practice models. They revealed what’s working for advisors today, how client behavior (including next-gen investors) is influencing service, and what top advisors are doing both operationally and from a technology perspective to elevate the client experience.
Leveraging Technology to Drive Operational Efficiencies
For advisors, time is everything — and there never seems to be enough of it. Reflecting on the opportunities available to advisors to create efficiencies, Drew Boyer, president and founder at Boyer Financial Group in Columbus, Ohio, emphasized honing the ability to evolve with technology and leveraging that for better human-centered experiences.
Aligned with this sentiment, Erin Lapidus, president of JBL Financial Services in St. Louis, Missouri, shared that her firm saw transformative operational advancements by systemizing its client touchpoint process. Using the firm’s existing customer relationship management technology, Redtail, her team customized the workflow by leaning on the vendor’s expertise and providing additional training and resources for staff.
Within the new process, all the touchpoints required for the client are entered into Redtail when they initially come on as a client. The number of required touchpoints corresponds with the firm’s AUM-based segmentation model – for example, clients with the highest AUM receive four touchpoints a year, with additional communications as needed. When the time comes, the office manager gets the notification to reach out to the client to schedule a meeting.
“Not only does this system and technology help us create deep relationships and unique touchpoints for each client, but it also frees up our team’s time,” explained Lapidus. “Instead of quarterly reviews for the entire book clogging up our calendars, every client gets a review on their own schedule. They know we are paying attention to them since we proactively and consistently reach out.”
Streamlining meetings and communicating with clients gets easier with the right technology. A favorite among advisors is Jump, an AI notetaking system and assistant designed for the wealth management space.
“I like to be in the moment when I’m with a client, but with my sloppy left-handed writing, I don’t want to miss details in my notetaking,” said Boyer. “Jump is good at picking up the details, and it syncs with Wealthbox to integrate with other aspects of my business.”
He also likes using MyRepChat for compliant text-messaging for everything from birthdays, appointment reminders, to anniversaries. Boyer shared that automating the message is an efficient way to stay on top of these thoughtful gestures without detracting from larger client service initiatives.
Both Boyer and Chuck Kedra, CFP®, CEPA®, AIF®, wealth advisor and partner at FPA Wealth Management in West Chester, Pennsylvania, remarked that technology has helped them transition away from the clunky experiences of building and managing in-house models. From support in rebalancing portfolios to the ability to bring in sleeves and separately managed accounts for bigger client accounts, Kedra said the technology has been a big upgrade for the firm: “It was easy to set up and frees up time to interact with and service clients.”
Starting Multi-Generational Planning Conversations
An incoming tidal wave of wealth presents an opportunity for advisors to better support current clients and their families, but the crucial planning has had a slow start. Kulik shared that the majority of wealthy individuals haven’t discussed passing on their assets with their families — and 35% of advisors haven’t raised it either.¹ The panelists shared how they’re working to change that by welcoming the next generation of investors into their practices.
When collecting information for a new client, the team at FPA Wealth Management also gathers information for the children and grandchildren – mainly names, dates of birth, and emails if they have them. Kedra explained: “Even if they are not our clients yet, we want to invite them to educational webinars and share our newsletter with them, so they can begin to see our content and learn more about who we are.”
The junior advisor on his team also offers financial planning as an easy offer to the next generation, helping get younger clients in the door and making a personal connection outside of the parent’s relationship.
For Lapidus, tax code conversations have become an entry point for multi-generational planning. Encouraging clients to think beyond the next generation, she turns tax efficiency into a legacy discussion, with the aim of keeping more wealth in the family.
Creating Authentic and Valuable Client Touchpoints
Meaningful client relationships aren’t built in portfolio reviews alone. The panelists agreed that the key to staying engaged in between these meetings is simple: show up authentically with content and interactions that are genuinely relevant to clients’ lives.
Boyer fell in love with music when he received a pair of drumsticks at 6 years old, and now he channels that passion into his work. He published “Hip Hop x Finance” in 2025 as a unique financial guide that blends personal finance education with the powerful influence of hip-hop culture.
He also has embraced social media to engage with clients, building the Sounds Returns brand. Every week Boyer shares short videos across social platforms and publishes a long-form blog post. To stay relevant and reach new audiences, he covers different genres and generations in his content and will ‘news hack’ as part of his social strategy, publishing timely posts when high-profile names are in the headlines.
“Music is a universal language, and it helps me connect with clients of all ages in a really fun and personal way,” said Boyer. He added with a laugh, “A 70-year-old fire chief came in two weeks ago to tell me that his new favorite music is Wu-Tang Clan.”
For those interested in building their presence on social media, he emphasized that it takes time and practice to get comfortable recording yourself on video and listening to your own voice.
Lapidus opts for the “original long form content” with a weekly, two-hour, local radio show: Straight Talk on Retirement. As the firm’s top marketing driver, Lapidus estimates that 99% of clients are listeners or have friends or family who tune into the show.
“When we talk to clients and prospects every week through the show, we can reaffirm our messaging about smart financial planning,” said Lapidus. “Listeners are hearing the same thing before they came on as a client, in our meetings, and on our show now. We find that this consistency adds credibility and helps reduce investor anxiety.”
She uses anonymized client case studies for content which help listeners “self-select” and identify the firm as a potential partner who could help them with similar situations.
She has also grown the relationship with the station, sponsoring and appearing during daytime show segments as a guest to share commentary on financial tips.
Elevating Client Service in the Small Moments
Advisors have the privilege of supporting clients through the big and small, happy and sad, moments.
“When you form a personal relationship with your clients, you get the privilege of knowing when important life events happen,” said Kedra, “and there are few more important than having a child.”
To celebrate clients at this exciting time, he sends the new parents a copy of a baby book that the firm keeps in stock at the office. It is an easy and inexpensive touchpoint that is meaningful for this personal milestone.
Similarly, Boyer said that he will send a doormat to new homeowners to congratulate the client on the accomplishment.
“I’m blessed to be the third generation in my family in financial services,” shared Lapidus, “and when I started, my grandfather said: ‘If you care more about the people than the money, the money will always come.’”
She explained that this philosophy differentiates practices when acquiring and retaining clients and is also the top reason why the children of current clients stick with the advisor. “The children will see you cared more for their parents than about their assets, and that comes through in both the small moment – from baby books and touchpoints on music – and in all the thoughtful work you do for them,” said Lapidus.
When advisors leverage technology to automate and systematize the friction in the client journey, they get back something invaluable: the time and capacity to focus on the conversations and moments that matter most to clients.
¹ Fidelity Center for Family Engagement, Fidelity, The Decade of Generational Wealth, https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/proxy/content?literatureURL=/9900575.PDF (2024)
