Client Experience – In the Money

AI and Financial Advisors: Why 2025 Will Be a Turning Point with John O’Connell (Ep. 26)

By In the Money | May 28, 2025

How is Artificial Intelligence reshaping the wealth management industry?

In this episode, Rusty Sommer sits down with John O’Connell, CEO and Founder of The OASIS Group, at the bustling Market Council Summit in Las Vegas. Together, they explore how AI is rapidly transforming the way advisors serve clients, from streamlining workflows to enhancing personalization at scale. Their conversation highlights both the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI into financial services, while emphasizing the continued importance of human expertise in the process.

Rusty and John discuss:

(01:56) The rise of AI and its prevalence in conferences today
(03:34) How note-taking tech is gaining traction in wealth management
(04:40) The evolving AI wealth tech map with over 80 firms and growing
(07:57)Enhancing the client experience with AI and the importance of having humans in the loop
(14:13) The future of financial advice aided by AI and its potential to increase productivity

Connect with John O’Connell:

Connect with Rusty Sommer:

About our Guest:

John O’Connell has more than 30 years of leadership experience in both emerging businesses and mature, established organizations. He started his career designing and developing financial applications at Merrill Lynch and KPMG Peat Marwick. He was a member of the team for an IPO, sale of a firm, and packaging 2 other firms for sale. He held North American leadership positions at Oracle for over 8 years. He was the president of a FinTech firm and held C-level customer-facing roles at two global, publicly traded companies.

John is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer for The Oasis Group. A firm specializing in helping wealth management and technology firms to solve their most complex challenges. The Oasis Group helps firms with technology selection and implementation, sales processes and strategy, and processes to attract, sell, propose, onboard, and service new clients.

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Navigating the Future of RIAs: Insights from TradePMR’s Robb Baldwin (Ep. 19)

By In the Money | February 19, 2025

What sparked the evolution of RIAs?

In this episode, Rusty Sommer sits down with Robb Baldwin, CEO of TradePMR, at the Market Council Summit in Las Vegas. Together, they have a candid conversation on the history and evolution of the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) sector and the current trends shaking up the landscape. From the entrepreneurial spirit that fuelled the RIA space to recent developments as Trade PMR joins forces with Robinhood, this episode provides a fresh perspective on where the industry is heading.

Robb discusses:

(01:54) The early entrepreneurial days of the RIA industry and its impact on modern practices
(03:33) Major trends influencing the RIA space, such as roll-ups and aggregation
(05:16) The importance of supporting advisor independence with effective technology and service
(06:23) Why the partnership with Robinhood is pivotal for the future of both companies
(11:47) Enhancing client experience through technology to cater to all generations

Tune in to explore how these dynamics shape the future of wealth management and trading technology.

Connect with Robb Baldwin:

Connect with Rusty Sommer:

About our Guest:

With over 30 years of experience in the brokerage and RIA industry, Robb Baldwin is the founder, president, and CEO of TradePMR, a technology and custodial services provider for RIAs. Robb is passionate about empowering advisors to achieve their true independence and deliver exceptional service to their clients.

Robb founded TradePMR in 1998 after facing a challenging transition in his own RIA firm due to a merger of two major custodians. He saw the need for a better solution that would combine innovative technology, extraordinary support, and seamless workflow for RIAs. Under his leadership, TradePMR has grown to serve RIAs across the country, earning recognition for its award-winning Fusion platform and its customer satisfaction. Robb holds multiple securities licenses registered with TradePMR, and he continues to drive the firm’s vision and mission to provide the best technology and service in the industry.

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Tackling Technology Challenges Through Third-Party Integrations with Kartik Srinivasan (Ep.2)

By In the Money | June 13, 2022

The use of technology has its challenges and opportunities for businesses.

On one hand, you can leverage it to improve workflows. On the other hand, trying to get everyone to buy into the technology and make sure the platform you’re using is safe and secure, can be difficult.

This week, Kartik Srinivasan, Director – Head of Third Party Integrations, Digital Advisor Solutions, at Schwab Advisor Services, joins Shannon Rosic to explain how technology has evolved over the years. They take a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities RIAs face when building their tech stack while highlighting Schwab’s approach to solving these challenges.

Shannon and Kartik discuss:

His journey in the FinTech industry
What you should know about an application programming interface (API)
Must-know productivity hacks
Challenges and opportunities that come with building tech stacks
And more!

Resources:

Connect with Shannon Rosic:

Connect with Kartik Srinivasan:

About Your Host:

Kartik Srinivasan is Head of Third Party Integrations, Digital Advisor Solutions, Schwab Advisor Services. He brings more than 15 years of experience in wealth and asset management and has demonstrated expertise in financial advisor technology including portfolio management, CRM and financial planning. Kartik is responsible for strategy, product management, relationship management and support for Schwab’s third-party integration offerings which include APIs, SSO, Trading, Data Delivery and Salesforce. Kartik is passionate about working with the third-party fintech community and helping independent advisors grow their firms and serve their clients by leveraging the right tech stacks and workflows for their business.

Kartik previously worked at Morningstar where he spent time in various product-specific roles and moved into a partnerships and integrations-focused role. Kartik holds a Master of Business Administration in Economics, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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