Advisor Turntable Podcast: Episode 4

The traditional AUM model likely isn’t going away completely, but it may not be enough anymore.

In this episode, Brendan sits down with financial advisor Adam Wojtkowski to unpack a major shift he’s making in his business: separating financial planning from investment management into two distinct offerings—and in his case, companies.

The goal? Better alignment with how different generations actually value advice, how they’re willing to pay for it and focusing on the part of the business he enjoys most.

A few key takeaways for advisors:

• Planning is becoming the product—not just the gateway.
  Financial plans were often used to win AUM. Adam is flipping that—treating planning as a standalone, paid service with its own value.
• The next generation isn’t wired for the traditional model.
  Many younger clients don’t yet have significant assets, but they do have complex financial decisions. If you only monetize AUM, you may be missing them.
• The 1% fee isn’t as untouchable as it looks.
  It’s held up better than expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s future-proof—especially if the extended bull market that has benefitted this model begins to turn.
• AI is changing the investment side.
  Tools like Microsoft Copilot are already acting as a “financial analyst,” helping refine the investment process and opening the door to scaling that side of the business differently.
• Marketing still matters—and paid leads can work.
  Paid lead generation (like SmartAsset) continues to show strong ROI for his firm—proof that growth doesn’t have to come from cold outreach.

The bigger picture:
The industry has spent decades bundling everything together—planning, investments, advice. This episode looks at what happens when you start to unbundle it and why that may better reflect where advisor-client relationships are headed.

If you’re thinking about how to future-proof your business model—or questioning whether the “default” way still makes sense—listen to the latest episode of Advisor Turntable.

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