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1. Why Insurance and Wealth Management Still Feel Like a Digital Trap
We’ve digitized everything: takeout, dating, tax prep. But try shopping for life insurance or finding a financial advisor? Suddenly it’s 2003, and your personal info is being passed around like one of those old AOL trial CDs. For industries that sell security and trust, the irony is painful. Let’s be clear: this is no longer just a UX issue. It’s a trust crisis. There's and entire generation of customers that expect a hyper-personalized, digitally enhanced experience that feels good. I think it's safe to safe that the writing is on the digital wall and if insurance, wealth management, and fintech firms don’t embrace the new customer experience demands, they’re going to lose this entire generation of customers to companies that do. — Derek N.H. Notman, CFP®
2. How Relationship Intelligence Sparks Referrals—Without You Even Asking
Harvey Mackay managed an envelope company in the 1960s, yet he solved a problem that still haunts advisory firms today. In Harvey’s case, his salespeople had superior product knowledge. But their customer knowledge was skipping a beat. To fix that, Mackay drafted 66 questions – about hobbies, kids, decision styles, even favorite sports teams – that pushed his reps to see buyers as people, not purchase orders. The “Mackay 66” became legend after he shared it in his best-selling book Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. Since then, thousands of sales teams still keep a version of it in their CRMs. — Bill Cates
3. 3 Stocks Set to Surge if the Trade War Ends
Commodities are the raw ingredients that grease the global economy. With international trade flows under pressure, it’s been difficult for operators within the sector and for the service providers that support them. However, with global trade talks progressing and deals being struck, a change in fortunes could be on the cards. Here are three share ideas that could prosper if stability emerges around the rules governing imports and export agreements between nations. — Derren Nathan
4. How Many Parts of Life Rely on Trusted Relationships?
It is easy to assume we live in a transactional world. You have seen the TV commercial about the two guys checking out of a hotel. One guy got the lower rate because he used a website that aggregated rates offered on different sites. No humans involved. This implies you buy what you need from the lowest cost provider. Life does not work that way. Advice has value. It also comes with a financial cost. — Bryce Sanders
5. Top Lessons from Professor Siegel This April
April was a volatile and policy-sensitive month in the markets. Every week, my colleagues and I were joined by Professor Jeremy Siegel to discuss how macroeconomic data, Federal Reserve policy and the variety of tariff proposals from President Trump shaped sentiment and the investment landscape. While growth and earnings held in pre-tariff impact, inflation uncertainties and the renewed threat of trade barriers added complexity and politics to an already uncertain outlook for interest rates. — Jeremy Schwartz
6. What Modern Learning Reveals About the Power of Human Advice
A Columbia student admits 80% of his coursework is done by ChatGPT. Not 8%. Eighty. It’s not just him. According to New York Magazine, students everywhere are outsourcing their thinking to AI. Papers, quizzes, entire assignments—written in seconds by a machine. Professors use their own AI tools to attempt to weed out work that wasn’t done by their students. Detection tools are glitchy. Policies are murky. — Jud Mackrill
7. The Untapped Power of ABS in a Modern Portfolio with Andrew Hsu
We talk with Andrew Hsu, founding member and Portfolio Manager at DoubleLine, about their new ETF: DABS, an ETF focused exclusively on asset-backed securities (ABS). Andrew explains why ABS are gaining attention beyond institutional investors, citing their low correlation, strong yields, and resilience. He breaks down what ABS are, how they differ from other fixed income products, and why now is the right time to make them accessible to a broader audience. — Power Your Advice
8. Is Anyone Even Real Anymore? Vanity Metrics, Bots & the Rise of Autonomous AI
Your likes are up. Impressions? Skyrocketing. You’ve got comments rolling in at midnight on a post you barely remember writing. Feels like success… right? But before you put up the streamers and declare yourself the next marketing guru, let me ask: Are you actually connecting with humans? Or just getting attention from algorithms, bots, and some very enthusiastic click farms? — Niki Clark
9. How a New Era of Client Engagement Is Transforming Financial Planning
As a financial planner, you do more than manage money—you guide clients through life’s transitions, decisions, and aspirations. But in a world overflowing with data, documents, and distractions, the real challenge isn’t collecting information—it’s helping clients see the big picture, stay focused, and feel confident in their plan. Welcome to the age of Mind Mapping—a transformative strategy that turns complexity into clarity, and planning into powerful collaboration. — Jeff Thorsteinson
10. The Strategic Advantage: Why Integrated AI Solutions Are Reshaping Wealth Management Communication
In wealth management, where every client interaction holds potential value, the emergence of AI-powered communication tools isn’t just changing how meetings are documented, it’s fundamentally transforming client relationship management, compliance oversight, and operational workflows across all communication channels. As the industry evolves beyond traditional email and meeting notes to embrace texting, calls, chat apps, and social media, understanding how deeply integrated solutions connect these touch points has become essential for firms evaluating their technology investments. — James Cantwell
11. Top 5 M&A Challenges Every Executive Must Know
Professional services firms have two primary paths to growth. They can grow organically, gradually expanding their client base and territory over time. Or they can grow by acquiring other businesses that complement theirs. Each approach has its upsides and downsides. Organic growth usually comes with lower financial risk and allows you to build a tight-knit team—so you can enjoy the fruits of the brand equity and goodwill you’ve cultivated over time. But it can be slow and geographically limiting. Acquiring other businesses, on the other hand, can quickly add new offices, revenue and headcount, as well provide access to new markets and hard-to-find talent, IP and skill sets. However, an acquisition growth strategy comes with serious challenges, as well. — Elizabeth Harr