Becoming a Better Financial Advisor

Ben Carlson spoke with Brian Portnoy, founder and CEO of Shaping Wealth. They discussed the psychology behind great financial advice, how advisors can improve their own decision-making, coaching clients through uncertainty, and the use of behavioral finance to build stronger relationships.

They also dive into AI's growing role in wealth management, Brian's new AI platform Lydia, what the future of the advisor-client relationship looks like, and why "funded contentment" remains one of the most important ideas in personal finance. Plus, Brian shares insights from his upcoming book and his vision for the next decade of financial advice. (Listen)

Levesque looks at how AI slop shows up in many ways these days, including as you can see above the shape of what AI writes vs. humans. The bottom line is that AI is making many forms of communication and work downright trivial. The challenge for us humans, and specifically financial advisors is to find a path forward. Levesque writes: “Slop is cheap. But real is rare. And rare is what people will pay for.”

Maurer writes: “An estate can be planned and built, but a legacy cannot. It can’t be pursued—it must ensue.” A big job that advisors have is to help clients establish and fund their estates. A legacy is something altogether different. An advisor can help give clients the space to build a legacy, but ultimately it is up to them.