I believe the next wave of organic growth in wealth management will come from relieving families of the work of coordinating their financial lives. Better products and more productive advisors matter. But firms have a substantial opportunity to stand out by connecting the accounts, documents and professionals that clients still have to manage themselves.

For more than two decades, independent fiduciary wealth management firms have been my clients. At Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank, I helped registered investment advisors understand and use structured products. I later co-founded Stone Ridge Asset Management and continued exploring growth opportunities at Mobilize Capital Partners. Throughout, I have asked what helps advisors win clients and what stands in their way.

Why organic growth has become harder
The industry has become exceptionally good at serving advisors. It has built sophisticated investment products, custodial systems, planning tools and technology. Yet about a decade ago, we saw organic growth in the registered investment advisor channel slow to the low single digits, where it has remained. Rising markets and acquisitions can obscure that challenge.

Schwab’s 2026 benchmarking study illustrates the distinction. Firms managing at least $250 million reported 16.6 per cent asset growth in 2025, while net asset flows contributed 4.8 per cent. Paithos Research found that the median SEC-registered RIA grew reported assets by 14.4 per cent yet added just one net reported client. Asset growth can make a firm look more successful at attracting clients than it really is.

Winning a client from another firm requires a tangible benefit that justifies the effort of moving. The independent fiduciary model once offered a clear distinction. Alternatives, more sophisticated planning and broader services subsequently gave families new reasons to switch. As competitors adopted those capabilities, the differences became harder to see. I believe that convergence helps explain the difficulty of generating organic growth.

AI is now helping advisors become more productive. That is valuable, but similar tools across firms may do little to help a family choose between them. The growth opportunity lies in what those tools enable firms to improve for the client.

The coordination burden families still carry
I came to understand that opportunity through my own family’s experience. Our wealth manager has been a client of mine for more than a decade. The people there are excellent at their work and have become friends. Across our wealth manager, banks, crypto custodian, accountant, attorneys and other providers, we pay six figures a year in fees. Even so, much of the coordination falls to us.

Recently, as we finalized our taxes, I watched my wife track down the cost basis for a crypto transaction, several K-1s and private equity statements scattered across client portals and third-party custodians. Each professional held part of the information. She brought it together. Our working record remains a thick green folder and a spreadsheet she maintains.

When I asked dozens of people with varying degrees of financial complexity how they kept track of everything, most laughed and described their own folders and spreadsheets. Someone in their family was doing the same job.

The problem is easy to understand. Each provider builds systems around its own work, while a family’s financial life crosses those boundaries. Hiring capable professionals does not automatically create a coordinated service. The family is often left to supply the connections, and the burden grows as its finances become more complex.

Research also points to unmet needs. JD Power found in 2022 that only 14 per cent of surveyed investors received comprehensive advice under its criteria. Its 2025 study identified ease of doing business as an important driver of satisfaction. My family’s experience made the gap between fees paid and coordination received tangible.

What AI could change for clients and advisors
For years, taking on that coordination on a scale would have required more staff to gather information, chase documents and keep records current. AI is changing what is possible and reducing the cost of building technology, much as cloud computing lowered infrastructure costs in the mid-2000s.

Imagine a family and its advisor sharing a continually updated view of accounts, private investments, debts, trusts, insurance, key documents and the professionals responsible for them. At tax time, the system could identify missing statements, help retrieve them and track what has reached the accountant. An upcoming capital call could prompt a review of cash and borrowing needs. A change in the family business could bring related tax, estate and investment questions into view.

With that context, the advisor could see what had changed and what remained unresolved, contact the family earlier and involve the appropriate specialist. Families would spend less time assembling information, while advisors could devote more time to judgment and advice. Better coordination could also reduce the cost of delivering that service.

The first systems designed around this client native operating environment are emerging. Building them requires more than a new interface. It demands a detailed understanding of existing wealth management systems and how to connect them around the family’s needs.

The takeaway for wealth managers
Wealth managers should assess technology by how much coordination work it removes from the client’s life, alongside the time it saves the advisor. Helping a family keep its information current, track outstanding tasks and connect its professional team would deliver a benefit clients can recognize. That gives prospective clients a clearer reason to move and existing clients a stronger reason to recommend the firm.

I have spent my career looking for ways to help this industry grow. The opportunity I see now is to take responsibility for the work behind the green folder and spreadsheet. When families no longer must hold their financial lives together themselves, wealth managers will have created a meaningful difference in the service they provide.