Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford

Get Recommended by ChatGPT: How One Podcast Appearance Doubled Paul McManus’s Business

Paul McManus of Influential Advisor Media on why the old SEO playbook is dead, how search everywhere optimization gets advisors recommended by Google and ChatGPT, and what one guest appearance on Michael Kitces’ podcast did for his business.

Paul McManus of Influential Advisor Media on why the old SEO playbook is dead, how "search everywhere optimization" gets advisors recommended by Google and ChatGPT, and what one guest appearance on Michael Kitces' podcast did for his business.

An attendee at an exit planners conference in Nashville walked up to Paul McManus and said he had loaded every vendor into ChatGPT before the event to decide which booths to visit. Paul's company was in the top three. For Paul, that moment captured how much the way people find, vet, and choose professionals has changed.

Paul is Founder and CEO of Influential Advisor Media, the company he started about 12 years ago as More Clients More Fun and where he pioneered The Short Book Formula. He returns to The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast to explain why he rebranded, why a short book works as a trust accelerator, why advisors need to win three playing fields instead of one, and how an appearance on Michael Kitces' podcast brought in more than 200 appointments and doubled his business. He closes with how guest appearances and your own show build the "topical density" that trains AI to recommend you.

Connect with Paul McManus on LinkedIn and learn more about Influential Advisor Media

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • Why Paul rebranded More Clients More Fun as Influential Advisor Media, and why years of cold lead generation convinced him that trust was the missing ingredient

  • How a short book works as a trust accelerator, and why Paul says 80% or more of second conversations close when the prospect reads it first

  • The three playing fields advisors need to win: client referrals, centers of influence, and what Paul calls the infinite referral network

  • What search everywhere optimization means, and why ChatGPT and Google's AI overviews now shape who gets recommended

  • How a CPA went from barely referring clients to asking for 500 copies of an advisor's book to send on his own letterhead

  • How Paul's appearance on Michael Kitces' podcast led to more than 200 appointments in a year

  • Why guest podcasting and hosting your own show build the "topical density" AI uses to decide who to recommend

Why This Matters for Financial Advisors Right Now

Why does cold lead generation convert so poorly for financial advisors?

Because it has no foundation of trust. Paul started his company about 12 years ago helping advisors use LinkedIn to generate leads and appointments, and it worked: prospects booked, showed up, and fit the demographics his clients wanted. But the conversion from appointment to new client was, in his words, "abysmal." His diagnosis is that cold lead generation, whether on LinkedIn or through Facebook ads, skips the trust that advisors are in the business of earning. He jokes that there are three decisions you don't want to get wrong: who you marry, your religion, and your financial advisor. When a client arrives through a referral, trust transfers from the person who made the introduction and conversion is high. A cold prospect doesn't get that head start.

How does a short book help advisors win clients faster?

By accelerating trust before the second meeting. Paul's short books run 12,000 to 25,000 words, about one to two hours of reading. After a first call, he sends the prospect a copy, or the audiobook, and asks them to read it before the next meeting. He says 80% or more of those second conversations close, and the meeting shifts from explaining yourself to "What stood out to you?" Mike adds that "know, like, and trust" leaves out competence and familiarity, and a book lets a prospect see that you're good at what you do and hear your voice before you ever sit down together. Paul is clear that the book isn't about royalties. It pays off when you insert it into things you already do, like referrals, centers of influence, and lead generation, and make each one more effective. About 80% of his clients are advisors and wealth managers, and some write books to educate first-time buyers, such as advisors preparing to sell a firm.

What are the three playing fields advisors need to win?

Client referrals, centers of influence, and search everywhere optimization. Paul says advisors should get good at all three at once and abandon none. Referrals still drive a lot of growth but are hard to scale, easy to improve at the margins, and hard to 10X. Centers of influence are the second field, where advisors often send business to CPAs who don't reciprocate. The third is what Paul calls the infinite referral network, which is where search everywhere optimization comes in. A book helps in all three.

How can a book turn a CPA into a referral source?

By changing the advisor's status from someone chasing centers of influence to someone they want to work with. Paul's example is a client named Joe, who wrote a book called Retirement Success. Joe had a couple of CPA relationships that didn't reciprocate. As part of the launch, Paul had him run what he calls an "inner circle soft launch": invite the CPA to read the book, then hold a feedback call. The CPA went from pulling teeth to asking for 500 copies to send to his own clients on his letterhead. Paul's point is to stop chasing centers of influence and become one, and being an author helps.

What is search everywhere optimization, and why does it matter for advisors?

It is the new version of SEO: showing up wherever people now ask questions, not just on the first page of Google. Paul says the old game was ranking for a keyword. Today the conversation happens in Google's AI overviews, ChatGPT, and other AI tools, and many people never click the links. He credits the phrase "search everywhere optimization" to someone else and uses his own term, the infinite referral network, for the opportunity. His proof is the Nashville story: an attendee at a conference with more than 100 vendors loaded them into ChatGPT, and with the context it had from past conversations, it put Paul's firm in his top three must-see vendors. Paul adds that cookie-cutter websites, newsletters, and social posts are not what AI cites.

Does search everywhere optimization matter if your clients don't use AI?

Yes, because the people around them do. Paul's mother is among the 20% to 30% who don't use AI. When she had trouble with a hearing aid, Paul asked an AI tool for recommendations, passed them on, and the problem was solved. His point is that the family members and stakeholders who help someone make an important decision are putting your name and company into AI to see who you are. Mike agrees and notes that some niche will always avoid AI, which means live events and in-person experiences still matter, but adoption has been steeper than anything he has seen, and the technology is becoming transparent in everyday life.

How do a book and podcasts train AI to recommend you?

By creating consistent, long-form, human content about one topic. Paul says a short book is about 25,000 words of the polished version of your voice, stories, and frameworks, which helps train AI on its own, and it gives you a foundation to build content on. Podcasts add to it, whether you host one or guest on others, because they create long-form show notes and genuine human conversations. Each appearance is a signal, and as they pile up you create what Paul calls topical density, which teaches AI that you are the person to surface on that topic. He points to his first appearance on this show two years ago, which still serves him today when someone searches his name.

What happened when Paul appeared on Michael Kitces' podcast?

It brought in more than 200 appointments in a year and, by Paul's account, doubled his business. After writing the first edition of his book, Paul went on what he calls a virtual speaking tour, guesting on about 20 podcasts over roughly two years. The Kitces appearance came after the book gave him the credential to get booked; if Kitces' team searched his name, he had trained Google to show him as an expert on the topic. Paul rehearsed an hour a day for 14 days, wasn't given the questions in advance, and recorded a 90-minute episode that dropped at the very end of 2024. Over 2025, people who heard it read his book or booked a 50-minute call. Paul calls it the halo effect, or authority by association: Kitces never endorsed him, but inviting him onto the show did it implicitly.

Why should advisors host their own show, not just guest on others?

Because your own show is a stage you own, and a small audience can still be worth a lot. Mike points out that most people are afraid of being on camera, so every rep builds an edge. He asks the audience to imagine being invited to speak to a ballroom of 200 advisors. A couple hundred listeners and viewers across platforms is the same thing. Paul takes it further: it isn't 200 people today but potentially 2,000 over five years, because every episode keeps compounding in search. He is restarting his own tour with a goal of 20 more podcasts, and he suggests a quick test of how well he has trained AI: ask Google or ChatGPT "Who is Paul G. McManus?" and include the G.

"The real underlying point is that it was a transfer of trust."

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Related Episodes

Frequently Asked Questions

What is search everywhere optimization?

Search everywhere optimization is the idea that advisors need to be found and recommended wherever people now search, including Google's AI overviews, ChatGPT, YouTube, and podcasts, not only on the first page of Google. Paul McManus credits the phrase to someone else and calls the opportunity the infinite referral network.

Does SEO still matter for financial advisors?

Yes, but it is no longer enough. According to Paul, people still use Google, but AI overviews summarize the content and many never click the links, and more people ask ChatGPT first. He says cookie-cutter websites, newsletters, and social posts are not what AI cites.

How long should a short book for financial advisors be?

Paul recommends 12,000 to 25,000 words, which a reader can finish cover to cover in one to two hours. The goal is a book prospects will actually read before a meeting.

How should advisors use a short book in the sales process?

Paul sends prospects a copy, or the audiobook, after the first call and asks them to read it before the second meeting. He says 80% or more of those second conversations close, because the book has already built trust and shown competence.

How can guest podcasting help financial advisors get clients?

Guest podcasting transfers the host's credibility to the guest and adds signals AI uses to learn who is an expert. Paul went on about 20 podcasts over roughly two years, and his Michael Kitces appearance led to more than 200 appointments in 2025.

What is topical density?

Topical density is Paul's term for the cluster of content, from a book, your own show, and guest appearances, that signals to AI that you are the expert on a topic. The more shows and conversations tied to your name and topic, the more likely AI is to surface you.

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Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford

Why Most Advisor Marketing Content Was Built for Compliance, Not for the Advisor

Charlie Van Derven of Social Advisors on why canned, compliance-first content keeps advisors forgettable in one of America’s least trusted industries, and the four-step process that still works.

Charlie Van Derven of Social Advisors on why canned, compliance-first content keeps advisors forgettable in one of America's least trusted industries, and the four-step process that still works.

Your firm approves the content. Compliance signs off. And hundreds of thousands of other advisors are posting something that looks almost exactly like yours. According to Charlie Van Derven, that isn't an accident. It's what the system was designed to produce.

Charlie is President of Social Advisors, the content marketing firm he started in 2013 and host of the RIA Collective podcast. His path there runs from snowboard sales rep in Duluth, Minnesota, to building websites for Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney branches, to a stint at FMG Suite, to starting Social Advisors from his master bedroom. He joins host Mike Langford on this episode of The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast to explain why so much of the marketing content built for advisors was designed to keep overhead down in the compliance department, why authenticity matters more as AI makes content easier to produce, and why business development still comes down to four steps. He closes with a story from his days pitching websites to those branches: the corner office guy.

Connect with Charlie Van Derven on LinkedIn and learn more about Social Advisors

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • Why Charlie says much of the content built for advisors was designed for compliance departments, and why that is "terrible for the advisor"

  • Why canned content keeps advisors forgettable in an industry that, by Charlie's account of a 2023 Gallup poll, ranks among the least trusted in the U.S.

  • Why authenticity matters more as AI makes content easier to create, plus Charlie's Descript avatar mishap

  • The four steps of business development that haven't changed: know your audience, get in front of lots of people, nurture, and convert

  • Why your email list is an asset you own while your LinkedIn followers are "rented people"

  • How guest-driven webinars and small in-person events turn a large list into real conversations

  • What the corner office guys in Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney branches were doing while everyone else was "so busy" at their desks

Why This Matters for Financial Advisors Right Now

Why is so much advisor marketing content built for compliance instead of the advisor?

Because the path of least friction at a broker-dealer runs through the compliance department. Charlie spent time in national sales at FMG Suite approaching broker-dealers, and says the conversation started with compliance, not sales and marketing. Ask a firm with 2,000 advisors what happens when 30% of them want to post their own content, and the review overhead becomes the problem. A pre-approved content library solves it. Charlie is quick to say that model works for some advisors, but with roughly 400,000 practicing advisors in the country (his estimate) all sharing the same voice, the result is great for compliance, FINRA, and the SEC, and terrible for the advisor.

Why does canned content hurt trust in an industry that already struggles with it?

Because it looks like everyone else's. Charlie cites a 2023 Gallup poll that, as he recalls it, ranks the industry as the fourth least trusted in the U.S., with advertisers one spot ahead of it at number three. His point is that posting a bunch of canned material without your actual voice isn't the way to change that perception. Mike adds the product-side reality: every advisor and firm has access to the same stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and insurance products at about the same price, so clients are buying the advisor. Charlie also notes that syndicated content doesn't live on your own website, which means it isn't really your content.

How should advisors use AI for content without losing authenticity?

Use it mostly for ideation, and keep your own voice on the final product. Charlie says his team uses AI for content creation because content is becoming commoditized and AI only accelerates that. Five years ago humans wrote every article and social post. That is no longer the world. But he argues authenticity becomes more important, not less, in an industry where trust is already low. His own experiment with a custom Descript avatar made the point: it read his script, and his wife said it gave her nightmares. Mike's warning is that if every advisor hands the work to AI, we end up with AI promoting to AI.

What are the four steps of business development?

Charlie says the tools and methodology have changed, but the process hasn't:

  1. Audience. Know who you serve. His advice is to be a big fish in a small pond, because a defined audience tells you the pain points, the messaging, and where to show up.

  2. Reach. Get in front of as many people as possible with a lead magnet, a small ad budget, associations, and local networking events. He uses the acronym OPN, other people's networks, which he credits to Tom Poland.

  3. Nurture. Stay present with a methodology and tell your own story. With a CRM, he says, you can nurture 10,000 people as easily as 10.

  4. Convert. Use events, and especially webinars with a guest who serves the same audience, to find who is finally ready for a conversation.

Why should advisors own their email list instead of relying on LinkedIn?

Because you own the list, and you rent everything else. Charlie has a LinkedIn network of 11,000 to 12,000 people and says only about 5% of a network typically sees a post, maybe 10% if the content is good. A qualified email list reaches nearly everyone with the subject line, and well-run campaigns can see open rates of 30% to 50%. His target is adding 50 to 100 emails a month. Followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are rented space, and the platforms control the network. Mike points to the exodus from X as proof that audiences move.

How do webinars and small events help advisors convert prospects?

They show you who is ready to talk. Charlie's example: an advisor with an email list of 3,000 who invites it to a webinar and gets 50 registrations and 18 attendees now has 18 real prospects to follow up with. He prefers bringing in a guest who serves the same audience, because the guest markets the webinar to their list and you return the favor. Mike's version for in-person events is to host something simple at a restaurant or bar during a slow afternoon, line up speakers, and let the room come to you. Charlie says his clients are running go-kart events, golf simulator nights, and wine tastings, and that showing up beside you at an event works as an endorsement.

What did the corner office guys know that everyone else missed?

That the business is trust and relationships, not time spent at a desk. In the early 2000s Charlie drove a route of Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney branches pitching websites. Each branch had four prized corner offices: the branch manager and the top three producers. Everyone else was "so busy" and always the last one out, and said the corner office guys were never around. Charlie's takeaway was that they were never there because they were golfing with their best client, having coffee with an association's executive director, meeting a center of influence, or at a lunch meeting. He tells the story today to advisors who are busy at their desks and on LinkedIn, and points to a 70-year-old advisor who went fully digital on a consultant's advice, bought leads, and added no new clients for two years.

"That's great for compliance. That's great for FINRA. It's great for the SEC. It's terrible for the advisor."

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Related Episodes

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does so much financial advisor marketing content look the same?

According to Charlie Van Derven, much of it was built to keep overhead down in the compliance department. Pre-approved libraries make review easier for broker-dealers, but they give every advisor the same voice, which Charlie says is terrible for the advisor.

What does OPN mean in advisor marketing?

OPN stands for other people's networks. Charlie, who credits the acronym to Tom Poland, recommends getting in front of the associations, publications, conferences, and communities that already serve your target audience.

How many people see a financial advisor's LinkedIn post?

Charlie says about 5% of a network typically sees a post, and perhaps 10% if the content is good, unless a post goes viral. He recommends building an email list because you own it and can reach nearly everyone on it.

What are the four steps of business development for financial advisors?

Charlie's four steps are to identify your audience, get in front of as many of them as possible, nurture them over time, and convert them, often through webinars or events.

Should financial advisors buy leads?

Charlie advised one quiet, relationship-driven advisor against it. The stat he hears is that about 4% of purchased leads close, and each lead is sold to three or four advisors, so the strongest closer takes most of them.

Do financial advisors still need in-person meetings?

Yes, according to Charlie. Digital tools are table stakes, but he says the business is still trust and relationship, which means being present in your community, meeting clients outside the office, and hosting small events.

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Mike Langford Mike Langford

Why Pre-IPO Investing Isn't an Advisor Problem — It's a Missing Infrastructure Problem

Dean Rubino of KPC Private Funds on why pre-IPO investing is a missing infrastructure problem, not an advisor mistake, and how one signature and one K-1 can change the equation.

Dean Rubino of KPC Private Funds on why clients are chasing pre-IPO deals without their advisors — and what fiduciaries actually need before they can say yes.

Your client just watched a segment about the next big AI company heading toward an IPO, and now they want in. You hesitate. According to Dean Rubino, that hesitation isn't a mistake. It's a reasonable response to a market that was never built for fiduciaries.

Dean is Co-Founder and CEO of KPC Private Funds, an SEC-registered adviser that gives independent wealth advisors institutional-grade access to private funds. After 25-plus years in private funds, including a stint as CEO and CIO of Hamilton Lane's Richcourt Group, he joins host Mike Langford on this episode of The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast to explain why access to pre-IPO equity has gone direct to consumers, why advisors have been left standing on the sidelines, and how one set of documents, one signature, and one K-1 can change the equation.

Connect with Dean Rubino on LinkedIn and learn more about KPC Private Funds

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • Why Dean says the real pre-IPO "mistake" is a market structure issue, as access skips the advisor and goes straight to the end investor

  • What fiduciary-grade infrastructure looks like: custodial acceptance, proof the seller has the right to sell, and a diligence file that can stand up in a regulatory exam

  • Why Series D vs. Series E, common vs. preferred, and anti-dilution provisions matter when buying pre-IPO equity

  • Why private companies are staying private longer, and how value creation has shifted from after the IPO to before it

  • How one subscription document, one e-signature envelope, and one consolidated K-1 can replace five of each

  • How pooling capital and investing through a QP-qualifying vehicle can widen access to funds with $10 million minimums

  • Why the complexity in private markets isn't the investment itself — it's knowing how to evaluate it

Why This Matters for Financial Advisors Right Now

Why are advisors hesitant about pre-IPO investing?

Advisors hesitate because most pre-IPO vehicles were designed for the retail buyer, not the fiduciary. Dean's argument is that the market is going direct to the consumer and bypassing the advisor, who is left saying, "I wouldn't do that because it doesn't have the infrastructure." Clients watching CNBC or listening to Bloomberg Radio get excited about SpaceX or the latest AI names, but they often don't know which questions to ask, where fees may be hidden, or whether the vehicle actually owns what it says it owns.

What infrastructure do advisors need to offer pre-IPO exposure?

Advisors need three things: custodial acceptance so the investment appears on the client statement, reasonable assurance that the seller actually has the right to sell, and a diligence document that can be shown in a regulatory exam. Dean also stresses the investment details. Are you getting Series D or Series E shares? Common or preferred? Are there anti-dilution provisions? Understanding where you sit in the capital structure is as important as knowing the purchase is real.

Why is private market paperwork such a burden for advisors?

Each private investment typically comes with its own subscription agreement, often 50 to 80 pages, plus an offering memorandum and a limited partnership agreement. Dean says those three documents together can exceed 200 pages. Make five investments and you're handling five sets of documents, five sets of signatures, and five e-signature envelopes, multiplied across every client. And because financial advisors typically keep around 90% of client assets in stocks, bonds, and ETFs, they can't afford to spend more than roughly 10% of their time on private investments.

How does KPC simplify private fund investing?

KPC's platform is structured as a fund in which every investor is essentially a "fund of one," so the advisor can build a customized allocation for each client rather than a one-size-fits-all portfolio. According to Dean, an advisor can invest a client across hedge funds, private equity, pre-IPO stock, and co-investments with a single set of documents, a single e-signature envelope, and a single consolidated K-1. KPC is an RIA, not a broker-dealer, and Dean says the firm's client is the financial advisor.

Why are private companies staying private longer?

Dean points to two reasons. First, private capital pools, including private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, and large family offices, have grown larger and more sophisticated. Second, secondary markets for private shares have made it easier for founders and employees to get liquidity without waiting for an IPO. The result, in Dean's words, is that a big part of the value creation that used to happen after an IPO now happens before it.

"The complexity is not the investment itself. The complexity is how do you evaluate the investment."
— Dean Rubino, Co-Founder & CEO, KPC Private Funds

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

  • KPC Private Funds — Dean's platform giving independent advisors access to hedge funds, private equity, pre-IPO equity, and co-investments

  • Dean Rubino on LinkedIn — where Dean shares updates on KPC and the private markets

Related Episodes

Frequently Asked Questions

Why aren't more financial advisors offering pre-IPO investments to clients?

Many pre-IPO access points were built for retail investors, so they lack the custodial acceptance, ownership verification, and diligence documentation a fiduciary needs. According to Dean Rubino, the market is going direct to the buyer and bypassing the advisor, which is why advisors often pass.

What should an advisor check before investing a client in pre-IPO equity?

Dean recommends confirming that the investment can appear on the custodial statement, that the seller has the right to sell, and that the diligence is documented. Advisors should also understand the share class and capital structure, including Series D or E shares, common versus preferred stock, and anti-dilution provisions.

Can an advisor invest a client in multiple private funds with one set of documents?

According to Dean, yes, under KPC's structure. An advisor can place a client in a combination of hedge funds, private equity, pre-IPO stock, and co-investments using a single subscription document, one e-signature envelope, and one consolidated K-1, rather than separate documents for each.

How can clients access private funds with high minimums or QP-only requirements?

Dean explains that by pooling capital, KPC's platform can meet minimums such as $10 million. Because the vehicle is large enough to qualify as a qualified purchaser (QP), investors who don't meet the QP threshold on their own can still gain access to QP-only funds. KPC works through financial advisors, who act as fiduciaries in deciding what to present.

This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.

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Mike Langford Mike Langford

AI Just Exposed This Firm's HR Secrets — Here's How to Avoid It

A Microsoft Copilot misconfiguration exposed one firm's HR secrets, including who was on a performance improvement plan. John O'Connell of The Oasis Group joins Mike Langford to unpack the AI adoption mistakes putting wealth management firms at risk — and the boring, overlooked use cases that actually pay off.

John O'Connell of The Oasis Group on the AI mistakes already putting wealth management firms at risk — and the boring, overlooked use cases quietly paying off.

A wealth management firm turned on Microsoft Copilot, connected it to SharePoint, and assumed their HR directory was safe. It wasn't. Employees could ask Copilot directly who was on a performance improvement plan — and it answered.

That's the story John O'Connell, Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, opens with on this episode of The Modern Financial Advisor Podcast. John has spent 2026 doing little else but talk to wealth management and RIA leaders about AI — 20-plus keynotes, a standing gig as Schwab's AI speaker, and a monthly AI WealthTech Map tracking 110+ firms — and he joins host Mike Langford to lay out exactly where the industry is getting AI right, where it's quietly exposing itself to risk, and what a financial advisor should actually do about it starting this week.

Connect with John O’Connell on LinkedIn and The Oasis Group

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • John's five-camp framework for AI adoption in wealth management: Vanguards, Roadrunners, Tasmanian Devils, Bison, and Ostriches — and where most firms actually fall

  • How a Microsoft Copilot and SharePoint permissions gap exposed one firm's executive salaries and HR records

  • Why "vibe coding" an AI tool without a developer review can open the door to SQL injection attacks and runaway token bills

  • Why the best first AI use case in your firm is the most boring task, not the flashiest one

  • How AI can help new financial advisors reach "escape velocity" faster, using FINRA's own retention data

  • Why "written by advisors for advisors" should raise your guard, not lower it

Why This Matters for Financial Advisors Right Now

Is AI actually a cybersecurity risk for financial advisors? Yes — and the risk usually isn't the AI model itself, it's the permissions sitting underneath it. John's central warning in this episode is that AI tools inherit whatever access model already exists in a firm's systems. If a SharePoint folder is "hidden but not secured," a chatbot layered on top of it doesn't know the difference — it just answers the question. That's exactly what happened to the firm John describes: Copilot didn't break any rules. It followed the access permissions that were already quietly broken.

This matters for every firm in Mike's audience because the fix isn't exotic. John's advice: before you plug any AI tool into existing software, ask where your data actually goes, who can access it, and whether your permissions model would survive someone asking the wrong question. He also makes the case that free AI tools carry a second risk most advisors haven't priced in — firm data like fee schedules can end up used for training or debugging outside the United States the moment it's typed into a free tool.

The episode also tackles a tension every RIA principal feels: the AI tools are moving fast, but most RIAs are small businesses with no developer on staff. John's answer is refreshingly unglamorous — don't start with your flashiest, most client-facing idea. Start with the task your team hates most. Let AI document that workflow, iterate on it, and build comfort before anyone touches a client-facing use case. And if a vendor pitches a custom-built AI tool, John's advice is blunt: get a professional developer to pressure-test it before it goes anywhere near client data, because the kind of vulnerability that leaked over two million people's financial information in the real-world MOVEit breach started with exactly the kind of overlooked "what if" question most non-technical teams never think to ask.

Finally, John and Mike connect AI directly to one of the industry's most persistent problems: advisor retention. FINRA data shows 85% of financial advisors quit before year five — right around the point most successful advisors say it finally "clicked" for them. John's take: firms that use AI to compress the 7-to-9-year runway to owning a book of business, instead of just automating tasks for existing producers, are the ones that will fix this.

"You gave your people a chainsaw, turned it on, and you're asking them to juggle with it and not hurt anybody. That's probably not gonna work out well."
— John O'Connell, Founder & CEO, The Oasis Group

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Related Episodes

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the biggest AI security risks for financial advisory firms?
The biggest risk isn't the AI tool itself — it's inherited permissions. AI tools like Microsoft Copilot answer based on whatever access controls already exist in a firm's systems. If those permissions have gaps, AI can surface sensitive data (like HR records or executive salaries) that was never meant to be visible, simply because it was "hidden" rather than properly secured.

What's the best first AI use case for a financial advisory firm?
According to John O'Connell, it's not a client-facing use case — it's the most boring, most-dreaded task in the firm. Starting with low-stakes internal workflows (like summarizing email threads or formatting recurring documents) builds comfort with AI before extending it to anything client-facing.

How can AI help new financial advisors succeed faster?
FINRA data shows 85% of financial advisors quit before their fifth year — right around when most successful advisors say they finally felt it click. AI can compress that learning curve by teaching new advisors firm processes, financial planning basics, and client conversation triggers much earlier in their careers.

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Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford Marketing & Business Development Mike Langford

Why "Curation Over Accumulation" Is the New Private Markets Playbook for Advisors

Frank Burke, Chief Investment Officer at PPB Capital Partners, joins Mike Langford to explain why curation over accumulation is one of the clearest ways financial advisors can differentiate their practice with private markets. They cover the SpaceX effect, legal settlement finance as an overlooked alt asset class, the liquidity education gap tripping up advisors, and why you don't have to be a private markets expert to offer real access to your clients.

How Financial Advisors Can Build a Private Markets Offering That Actually Differentiates Their Practice

By the time a client asks you about SpaceX, the opportunity that made it interesting is usually already gone.

That's not a knock on the client — it's just how information travels. The investors who got into SpaceX's 2019 funding round, at a valuation in the $50–100 billion range, are now sitting on a stake worth well over a trillion dollars. By the time SpaceX's IPO made headlines and clients started asking their advisors how to get in, the return that mattered had already happened years earlier.

That tension is the center of Episode 151 of the Modern Financial Advisor Podcast, where Frank Burke, Chief Investment Officer at PPB Capital Partners, joins Mike Langford to talk about why private markets access has become one of the clearest ways for advisors to differentiate their practice — and why most advisors are further behind on this than they realize.

Frank has spent his career inside the private markets, joining PPB Capital Partners in 2017 to help build out the firm's Capital Market Solutions platform. PPB itself has spent almost twenty years helping RIAs across the country access private markets and alternative investments, building custom, white-labeled fund structures that let advisors offer proprietary alts exposure under their own brand.

If you've ever wondered how to talk to clients about private markets without overpromising, how to vet a manager you've never worked with, or how to build something in your practice that actually looks different from the advisor down the street — this episode is your playbook.

Connect with Frank Burke on LinkedIn PPB Capital Partners

What You'll Learn in This Episode

  • Why the SpaceX effect is creating both pull (client-driven) and push (advisor-driven) demand for private markets access

  • What "curation over accumulation" means — and why building your own white-labeled fund structure creates real differentiation, not just another product

  • The liquidity education gap tripping up advisors and clients in interval funds and private credit

  • How legal settlement finance works as a differentiated, low-risk private credit strategy

  • Why operational due diligence matters as much as investment strategy when vetting a private markets manager

  • Why advisors don't have to be a hero — and how to talk to clients about alt strategies you don't fully understand yourself

  • How AI's energy demand is quietly creating a "picks and shovels" opportunity in private credit

Why This Matters for Financial Advisors Right Now

Frank put it plainly on the show: most advisors are in a commoditized business. You sell largely the same stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, charge about the same fees, and offer roughly the same services as the advisor across town. In large part, clients choose you because of you — the relationship, the trust, the way you make them feel understood.

Private markets access changes that equation. It's one of the few places an advisor can hand a client something genuinely unavailable anywhere else — a fund structure with their own name on it, built around their own vision, their own client base, their own specialty.

And the demand is real. With SpaceX's IPO behind us — and Anthropic and OpenAI's expected offerings not far behind — clients are increasingly asking advisors how they get access to opportunities like this. The catch, as Frank explains, is that by the time an investment is generating that kind of attention, the return that mattered has usually already been made.

Curation Over Accumulation: What It Actually Means

This is the phrase from the episode that will stick with you longest.

Most advisors think about alts access as a menu — a list of funds to pick from. Frank's framing is different. When PPB works with an advisor for the first time, the first question isn't "what do you want to allocate to." It's "what are you actually trying to solve, and what's your vision?"

From there, PPB helps the advisor build a custom, white-labeled fund of funds — a proprietary structure built around where that advisor sees value in the private markets. Some advisors want direct investing in sectors where their own client base has real expertise. Some want to run their own real estate fund. Others just want a curated selection of smaller, undiscovered managers they'd never find on their own. Either way, the fund carries the advisor's name, not PPB's.

As Frank explains it, that ownership is the whole point:

"It's that advisor's fund of funds, right? With their name right on it — and it creates a sense of ownership, a sense of pride that they have something out there that their peers don't. And that's what's driving a lot of our growth with these types of structures." — Frank Burke, Chief Investment Officer, PPB Capital Partners

That's curation over accumulation: not gathering as many alt products as possible, but building one differentiated structure that's actually yours.

The Newsweek Indicator: Why Being Early Beats Being Right

Mike shared a story from his time working at Fidelity's corporate headquarters in Boston, home to the company's famous "chart room" — a kind of museum of market history where the walls are lined with charts and old Newsweek covers marking key moments. The lesson passed down on the tour: by the time an investment hits the cover of Newsweek, it's over. That's the signal for smart money to get out — and for the general public's money to start piling in.

It's a useful mental model for private markets. Investors who got into SpaceX at that $50–100 billion valuation made roughly 50x their money by the time the company went public north of a trillion dollars. Clients hearing about SpaceX for the first time today, after the IPO, are hearing about it at the Newsweek moment — not the early one.

That gap, between when an opportunity is genuinely early and when it becomes common knowledge, is exactly where Frank sees the biggest opportunity for advisors who can get clients access sooner.

Legal Settlement Finance: The Alt Asset Hiding in Plain Sight

One of the most concrete examples Frank shared is a strategy most advisors have never heard of: legal settlement finance.

Here's how it works. When a legal case settles, the cash is often sitting in escrow — guaranteed to be paid, but not immediately available. Law firms still have to pay attorneys, clerks, and private investigators in the meantime, and traditional litigation finance — lending against cases that haven't settled yet — can cost a law firm north of 25% in effective cost of capital, since it's really a venture-style bet on whether the case wins at all.

Legal settlement finance is different. It only lends against cases that have already settled, where the money is real and simply waiting to move through escrow. That structure lets investors earn mid-teens returns with no case risk — the underwriting risk is limited to which plaintiffs may ultimately not be eligible for a distribution, not whether the case itself succeeds.

It's the kind of strategy most advisors would never think to ask about — and exactly the kind of thing PPB's curated platform exists to surface.

How PPB Vets Managers So Advisors Don't Have To

Private markets come with a structural challenge public markets don't have: there's no standardized reporting, no uniform way to verify what a manager is telling you. Frank says the biggest risk here is operational, not strategic — many first-time fund managers are excellent at picking investments but have never actually run a business before. Controls, processes, cybersecurity, the back-office fundamentals — that's where inexperienced managers most often stumble.

PPB partners with a third-party operational due diligence firm to vet managers before they go on the platform, and advisors building a custom fund with PPB can lean on those same relationships even when they bring their own manager to the table. As Frank put it, it comes down to a "sleep at night factor" — advisors can tell clients the operational vetting has already been done, not just the investment thesis.

You Don't Have to Be a Hero

This might be the most reassuring moment in the episode for advisors who feel behind on alts.

Frank's advice: you don't have to master every strategy to offer private markets access. Some structures are genuinely simple to explain — a real estate fund is just buying properties. Others, like AI-driven quantitative strategies, are close to a black box even for sophisticated investors. The advisor's job isn't to understand every mechanism. It's to trust the manager's track record and talk to clients about what they're personally comfortable explaining.

"You don't have to decide you're all of a sudden going to be an expert in all this AI tech that's going on. If that feels over your head, guess what — you don't have to invest in those, and you don't have to bring those to your clients." — Mike Langford, host, Modern Financial Advisor Podcast

The same logic extends to AI's ripple effects across the private markets. Frank pointed to a growing theme on PPB's platform: energy infrastructure. As AI data centers drive up electricity demand, smaller power companies are seeing what Frank called "an AI bump" — private credit opportunities tied to real, quantifiable infrastructure rather than the AI technology itself. It's the modern version of picks and shovels: you don't have to bet on the miners to profit from the gold rush.

Frank's 10-Year Outlook for Private Markets

Asked to look ten years out, Frank pointed to two forces that will reshape advisor access to alts: tax efficiency and democratization. He expects more advisors to place alternatives inside IRAs specifically for tax reasons — strategies like legal settlement finance are taxed as ordinary income, so tax-advantaged accounts make a real difference. And he expects registered offerings and interval funds to keep expanding access for smaller clients, driven in part by continued high-profile IPO activity from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.

The throughline for advisors: the liquidity education Frank described earlier in the episode is only going to matter more as access widens.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

  • PPB Capital Partners — Frank Burke's firm, building custom private fund structures for RIAs

  • PPB's Insights page — webinars and thought leadership from the PPB team, available at ppbcapitalpartners.com

  • Investing in Private Credit for AI Infrastructure Companies - Mike mentioned an episode of the 6 × 6lock Podcast where Stanton Ray from Columbia Threadneedle shared how there are some really interesting private credit investment happening for power plants that are generating the electricity for the data centers that power AI.

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