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Build a wealth business that endures.
AI, fee compression, and commoditization are rewriting the rules.
But the firms that last won’t be the ones with the lowest fees or the fastest bots.
They will be the ones where judgment outweighs automation.
I help executives at mid-to-large wealth firms make the talent, client, and systems decisions that separate durable practices from transient ones.
My expertise comes from having built and run three of these firms.
If you want to lead through the shift, not just react to it, let’s connect.
I also write two Substack publications and a monthly column on the questions behind this work. Read them here →
$80B+
Client Assets Managed
3
Wealth Firms Built
$40B+
Cross-Border M&A
Doctorate
Behavioral Finance
The industry is increasingly commoditized. Human judgment is the game changer.
A client can buy a diversified portfolio for basis points from an app. What they can’t buy is judgment.
An algorithm can’t make a judgment call – only a trusted advisor can do that. But trust is the hardest asset to build, and the easiest to lose.
You build and hold it in three places:
The talent you attract and keep.
1
The clients you win on value, not price.
2
The systems and processes that allow judgment, not replace it.
3
Get those right, and the firm can scale.
Get them wrong, and you’re competing on fees against players who charge a tenth of what you do.
Practitioner, not Theorist
I’ve built wealth firms. Not just advised them.
My background isn’t theoretical, but hands-on experience:
-
Built and led three wealth and private-client businesses overseeing $80B+ in client assets through market shocks and structural shifts:
- A #1-ranked ultra-high-net-worth wealth firm
- A brand-new high-net-worth private-client arm for a large insurance company
- A retail product platform modernized to leverage digital advice and focus on client experience
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Advised on $40B+ in cross-border M&A as a senior investment banker in London.
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Doctorate in behavioral finance
Today I partner with executives and principals running wealth and private-client firms think through the talent, client, and systems decisions that determine whether the firm endures.
And I’ve been early to the shifts now reshaping the industry: AI tools and competition, new retirement products, and new models of investment advice. I helped build for them before they became commonplace.
And I know what’s at stake: you’re accountable for outcomes you can’t fully control, deciding before the picture is clear.
How I help
The hard calls behind a firm that lasts
Firm strategy & transformation
Positioning your firm to compete on judgment, not price. Deciding what to build, what to buy, and what to let the algorithms handle.
M&A / Transaction advisory
Buy-side, sell-side, and integration strategy. Guidance from someone who has sat on the principal’s side of the table.
Behavioral practice & client decisions
Applying behavioral finance in daily practice. Making the durable premium systematic for your advisors and your clients.
Keynotes & Seminars
On stage: behavioral finance, made useful.
I keynote for banks, insurers, wealth firms, and industry associations on how people actually decide under pressure.
The behavioral finance behind consequential decisions—delivered to a room that has to go make them.
I take a small number of engagements a year. Each one is built specifically for the audience in front of me.
A way to decide when you can’t wait for certainty.
The biggest calls need to get made in the worst conditions: high stakes, incomplete data, pressure to move.
The Uncertainty E.D.G.E.™ is the rhythm to keep those calls deliberate.
E
Establish
what you control.
D
Diagnose
what really drives the situation.
G
Go
without false confidence.
E
Evolve
as conditions shift.
It’s not a checklist. but a guardrail for how you can avoid rushing, freezing, or drifting when it matters most.
Trusted by the people who carry these decisions.
The thinking behind the work.
Two Substack publications. Plus a monthly column here on the business of building a wealth firm.
Sam’s Books
Exploring decision-making, behavioral finance, and the human side of leading. Written as thinking tools and credibility artifacts.
Latest Release
The Uncertainty E.D.G.E.
The Weight of Tomorrow
Am I OK?
Uphill
Making Your Money Work
If you’re planning to build a firm meant to last, let’s talk.
Whether you’re facing a specific decision, rethinking your strategy, or want your team deciding better—the first step is a conversation. I read every message personally.