Professional development

The FPAi Authority offers demos, guidance and insights to help planners adopt AI effectively in their practices.

A tiered service model should make clients feel valued while helping the firm scale.

Logic (and compelling Cerulli Associates data) explain why advisor teams are gaining momentum. But teaming is not the only option for growth.

For advisors who are also voracious readers, it's no surprise the books that most inspired them in their practices this year often focused on ways to improve client relationships and communication.

These are the stories and issues that readers gravitated to in the last year.

A former Procter & Gamble engineer spent years honing his message and targeting ads to make a nearly 100% niche clientele.

Earn an hour of credit toward industry certifications by successfully completing and submitting the self-guided continuing education quiz.

Even as markets sometimes touched all-time highs, there was a general feeling of uncertainty among advisors and clients. Experts say that's why several tried-and-true strategies became more attractive this year.

The broker-dealer veteran saw her firm's revenue model as a fair trade — even a badge of honor — before going independent.

Founders Elissa Buie and Dave Yeske are leaving a legacy in the profession and at the firm under three successors taking over in 2026.

Michael Nathanson oversaw Focus Financial Partners as it reorganized into five internal hubs. Industry experts say the long overdue consolidation still has far to go.

Troy Von Haefen once shared a stage with Lee Ann Womack. Now he's built a financial advising firm around his Nashville connections.

Steve Lockshin and Michael Kitces tied what they view as some mistaken assumptions around fees to the competitive need for more estate planning services.

Separate from any transactions involved with succession, financial advisors who want to retire face challenges that make exiting the business difficult.

Discipline, esprit de corps and a detailed playbook for advisors provided the growth engine for the enterprise.

Year-end client meetings, Dec. 31 deadlines, oh my. It can be a lot, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Preparation is everything: If clients are aware of the transition well in advance, experts say the risk is pretty low they'll leave the firm.

One of the most consequential M&A deals in years leads this roundup of the many ways big independent firms grew in 2025 and how they plan to continue growing in 2026.

Savant Wealth Management, Moneta Group Investment Advisors and EP Wealth Advisors lead a group of fee-only firms with headcounts well above their peers.

Mindy Neira found that embracing her passions helped build a niche that fulfills her.