I’m sipping on some coffee in the lobby of the Scarlet Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska, coming off time in Boston and New York earlier in the week.
There’s a crispness in the air and a kind of buzz that always comes with late October in the Midwest. The leaves are bright, the air is cool, and everyone here has one eye on the game tomorrow — Nebraska takes on Southern California in front of a sold-out crowd at Memorial Stadium.
Fall in Lincoln always makes me think about change.
The slow kind — the way seasons shift almost imperceptibly — and the sudden kind — that one morning when the air just feels different.
This week’s article is about that tension. About how change seems to creep up gradually… and then all at once.
In wealth management, those “all at once” moments are happening faster than ever. The investor mindset on value is shifting. Technology is evolving. The firms that succeed next year are the ones preparing now for what’s coming.
Because sometimes the big turning points — in markets, in teams, in life — arrive like kickoff: after weeks of quiet build-up, suddenly everything’s in motion.
Here’s this week’s Rising Tide.
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All of a Sudden — and Then All at Once
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Next Mile: How Powerful Data Can Supercharge Organic Growth 🎧
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Denver Event: Mile High Pitstop
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Workshop Invite: Unpacking AI and Data Security for Your Firm
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Milemarker On the Road ✈️
Why change in wealth management is speeding up — and what we can do about it
There’s a saying that one dog year equals seven human years.
Our Dog Nacho wearing his Flag Football Plays Last Weekend
But it’s also a fitting way to describe what’s happening in wealth management today.
A firm that launched five years ago already feels like it’s been through several eras — tech platforms, client expectations, market cycles, and messaging all shifting at once.
The pace of change isn’t linear anymore.
It’s compounding.
We’re operating in dog years.
Why time feels like it’s speeding up
Psychologists talk about something called the proportional theory of time — the idea that time feels faster as you age because each year becomes a smaller fraction of your life.
In our industry, we see this too.
Your first few years as an advisor or firm owner feel endless — every decision feels big, every client conversation feels pivotal.
But then you find your rhythm, build systems, grow confident.
And one day you look up and realize: the industry moved.
What was cutting-edge three years ago now feels outdated.
Your tech stack is dated.
Your clients want different conversations.
Change didn’t knock politely — it sprinted past the door.
Gradually, then suddenly
Ernest Hemingway wrote that bankruptcy happens in two ways:
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“Gradually, then suddenly.”
Ernest Hemingway
That’s also how transformation works in wealth management.
Firms talk about evolving for years, then one catalyst changes everything.
It could be a generational wealth transfer.
A new regulatory framework.
Or a cultural shift in how investors think about money, values, and meaning.
AI, automation, direct indexing, and personalization — they’ve all been simmering in the background.
And now, they’re boiling over.
The “someday” future of our industry is showing up all at once.
The compression of time
Change has always been part of our story.
But now the cycles of change have collapsed.
Client expectations shift in months, not years.
Marketing and communication strategies expire faster than portfolios.
Products, pricing, and platforms evolve with every update.
And investor psychology? It’s evolving just as fast.
Clients don’t want to be managed; they want to be understood.
They crave transparency, automation, control, and personalization — all at the same time.
The future investor is emotionally intelligent and digitally fluent.
They measure value not in statements, but in clarity.
The “All at Once” Moment
Here’s the tension we live in:
Building a firm still takes time.
Developing a team, a culture, a process — those are long games.
But the world outside is moving all at once.
That’s why the best firms aren’t built for speed — they’re built for readiness.
They invest in infrastructure.
They capture and understand their data.
They automate the repeatable, and free humans for what matters most.
They don’t guess what clients want; they listen through the numbers.
They sense what’s shifting long before it breaks the surface.
Because when the “all at once” moment arrives — and it will — those who are ready won’t just react.
They’ll lead.
Living (and building) in dog years
The truth is, dog years aren’t just about aging faster — they’re about adapting faster.
The firms that thrive in this era will be those that:
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Invest early in data and decision systems that reveal what’s changing before it’s obvious.
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Build agility into their workflows and operations.
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Develop empathy for how investor psychology is shifting — from accumulation to meaning, from transactions to relationships.
Change will keep compounding.
Cycles will keep shortening.
And the next “all at once” moment will come faster than the last.
But for those who stay alert, curious, and ready — it won’t feel like chaos.
It’ll feel like an opportunity.
Because the truth about dog years is simple:
They’re shorter, yes — but they’re also full of life.
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Episode 116: On this week’s episode, Kyle Van Pelt sits down with Matt Reed, Chief Revenue Officer at Powerlytics. Matt brings 20 years of wealth management experience to Powerlytics, including leadership roles at Skience, eMoney Advisor, and Brightscope | ISS. At Powerlytics, he oversees the sales and marketing teams and leads the company’s revenue-generation strategy and execution.
Matt talks with Kyle about the power of data in driving organic growth. He explores the struggle of finding the right target and why “who and where” matter in prospecting. Matt also shares how Powerlytics’ data-driven targeting and wealth platform can help find the next ideal client, define the Ideal Client Profile (ICP), and tailor outreach for maximum effectiveness.
(00:00) – Intro
(01:53) – Matt’s money moment
(04:08) – The struggle for organic growth
(08:13) – The “who” and the “where” of prospecting
(10:36) – How Powerlytics’ TrueWealth platform works
(15:54) – Using data to target specific niches
(17:45) – Using Powerlytics as a solo advisor or marketing team
(20:49) – Where Powerlytics sits in the wealth-tech ecosystem
(24:02) – Matt’s outlook on the future of the industry
(26:15) – Matt’s Milemarker Minute
(29:40) – The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
Our team at Milemarker is providing wealth management firms with a free educational workshop around how you can effectively become AI driven without risking security or sending your data out into an insecure environment.
If you are in Denver on Wednesday, you are invited to join us alongside our friends at ArchiveIntel.
Milemarker on the Road
Catch my team on the road at the following events or cities:
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October 30-November 1 – Lincoln, NE
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November 2-7 – Denver, CO
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November 11 – New York, NY
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November 13 – Baltimore, MD
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November 17-18 – New York, NY
If you’re in any of those cities and would like to arrange a meeting time, please reply to this email, and we’ll schedule something on the calendar.
Jud Mackrill
