23 people who will leave a mark on wealth management in 2023

December 9, 2022 5:19 PM

As this year winds to a close, it's time to take at look at the forces and issues that could shape wealth management in 2023. At the heart of any of that change is people.

The Financial Planning staff has put together a list of 23 people we believe will make news in the coming year. We expect to see continued growth in M&A volume, advances in crypto regulation, progress in diversity, equity and inclusion issues, and efforts in areas like behavioral finance, digital marketing and more.

Scroll down to see this year's list, and review our picks for 2022 here.

Vanessa Okwuraiwe, Edward Jones

Vanessa Okwuraiwe, principal at Edward Jones, is a prominent voice in the industry discussing how to improve diversity, equity and inclusion. The Nigerian-descended, U.K.-born and educated Okwuraiwe started her career as a banker at Halifax, then moved to the U.K. office of Edward Jones and later its U.S. headquarters in St. Louis, where she has since led in roles focused on talent acquisition, career development and branch team training and support for the corps of around 19,000 financial advisors at the regional firm. As the firm seeks to move beyond its troubled recent past with minority advisors, Okwuraiwe is focused on helping Edward Jones capture business from the increasingly diverse face of younger wealth — a strategy that involves attracting and keeping talent that diverse clients see themselves in. In part through her leadership, the firm has recently rolled out voluntary unconscious bias training and an allyship course, as well as a "DEI 365" program with events to celebrate diverse identities throughout the year.

Brian Portnoy, Shaping Wealth

Brian Portnoy, an expert on the psychology of money, comes to behavioral finance from an interdisciplinary background. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago, ran a small hedge fund at Chicago Equity Partners and oversaw due diligence for Mesirow Financial's $14 billion institutional fund of hedge funds. The author of The Geometry of Wealth, a 2018 book on how to manage your finances amid the bigger philosophical questions of abundance, he's also a chartered financial analyst. With Shaping Wealth, the Chicago company he co-founded as the pandemic unfolded in early 2020, he's bringing behavioral finance insights to wealth managers around the globe, through live training sessions, self-paced learning and self-reflection exercises aimed at fostering the ability to nurture what he calls "funded contentment."

Abigail Johnson, Fidelity Investments

The CEO and chair of Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest asset managers, surprised the industry earlier this year by leading the company into offering the market's first 401(k) plans that included bitcoin exposure. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin and Tina Smith are demanding that the company reconsider this offering. Johnson said the move was "controversial" even within the ranks of the company, but she said it fit well with her "contrarian thinker" style, in remarks this summer to Coindesk. Fidelity also announced in October it would continue hiring to expand its crypto business and last month said it would open a wait list for zero-fee retail crypto trading. How Johnson handles the ongoing implosion of parts of the cryptosphere and businesses tied to it, most infamously FTX, will be closely watched by everyone in wealth management. Johnson was ranked the second-most powerful woman in finance this year by American Banker.

Penny Phillips, Journey Strategic Wealth

Penny Phillips co-founded Journey Strategic Wealth, an RIA consolidator, earlier this year with an eye on the $2.8 trillion worth of RIA assets up for grabs over the next decade. Her aim is to walk advisors through what it really means to go independent. For wirehouse advisors, the process isn't just a business model shift; it's also a pivot in mindset, one that calls up a need for different skill sets, such as being in charge. A frequent speaker at industry conferences and prolific YouTube contributor, Phillips says that the most overlooked segment of breakaway advisors is brokers who work at insurers.

Naureen Hassan, UBS Americas

Hassan replaced Tom Naratil in October of 2022 as president of UBS Americas. With her breadth of experience in digital products, strategy and now regulation, she will be instrumental to the Swiss bank's ambitions to grow aggressively in the U.S. as it aims for a bigger share of the ultrahigh net worth client pool. Hassan's wealth career began at Charles Schwab, where she launched robo-advising services with Intelligent Portfolios. She moved over to Morgan Stanley, where she led its modernization as chief digital officer of wealth management, and then went into government service as the first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, before returning to Wall Street. Last week, she was asked to lead several teams at UBS that will be focused on designing digital banking and wealth management products, suggesting the wirehouse hasn't given up yet on robo ambitions despite the collapse of its Wealthfront deal in September.

Anthony Pompliano, Pomp Investments

The founder of Pomp Investments and cryptocurrency recruitment firm Inflection Points already has plenty of people watching him every year. His 1.6 million Twitter followers and more than 470,000 YouTube subscribers are proof of that. But in 2023, Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano and his massive platform could emerge as the largest voice for advisors who want to learn more about cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, Envestnet opened up about its digital asset plans, including its intention to launch a digital asset education service to be made available to advisors through the Envestnet platform and in partnership with Pompliano. Things have been quiet since then. But considering his audience and all of the questions about the topic, plenty of noise will likely be made once Pomp starts teaching advisors the ins and outs of crypto.

Anna N’Jie-Konte, Dare to Dream Financial Planning

Three years ago, Anna N'Jie-Konte left the corporate wealth management world where she had spent almost a decade advising ultrahigh net worth clients. She launched a fee-only registered investment advisor called Dare to Dream Financial Planning, which states on its website that it has a mission of turning 10,000 "female entrepreneurs and high-earning career women into multimillionaires to shift the inequitable financial dynamics of our society." N'Jie-Konte is also host of the "Financial Powerhouse Podcast" and, as a Puerto Rican, Gambian-American entrepreneur, she's an outspoken advocate for inclusion in an industry in which change is a business and moral imperative.

Dana D'Auria, Envestnet

Named one of Financial Planning's Top Women in Asset Management in 2017 when she was a managing partner at Symmetry Partners, D'Auria remains a name to know and a voice to get familiar with five years later as co-chief investment officer and group president for Envestnet Solutions. With more than 15 years of experience managing and implementing investment solutions for wealth managers, she now heads up one of Envestnet's three streamlined business lines in the wake of a reorganization that saw the firm's president step down to start summer 2022. And D'Auria is already thinking big picture in her new role. While Envestnet continues to compete in an increasingly crowded wealthtech market, she wants to move forward a vision she came in with upon joining the company as co-CIO in fall 2020: creating a connected ecosystem for advisors and clients to keep their relationships stable as the market exhibits anything but stability.

Patrick McHenry, U.S. House Financial Services Committee

With Republicans set to control the U.S. House of Representatives next year, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is all but guaranteed to take over the chairmanship of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. McHenry's current position as ranking member on that committee puts him in a direct line to move into the seat occupied by Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California when power shifts away from her party in January. As chairman, McHenry will be in position to shape federal policy in response to the collapse of FTX and other crypto exchanges and new rules allowing retirement funds to be invested according to environmental, social and governance principles. He'll also have means at his disposal to impede the SEC's ambitions of further regulating the financial industry. And he'll have to decide if the committee's subcommittee on diversity and inclusion is worth keeping around.

Kirstin Hill, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management at Bank of America

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch Wealth Management continues trying to head off further advisor attrition, and chief operating officer Kirstin Hill will be crucial to that effort. A veteran with 24 years of experience at Merrill, Hill started in 1999 on the trading side and rose through the ranks while working in different divisions. In 2020, she became the first female COO in the now-108 year-old history of Merrill. Hill is focused on guiding the firm toward more digital products and services and broader client engagement, as well as better advisor recruitment and retention. This year her team engineered the wirehouse's big lead generation push with its Advisor Match program, which is a questionnaire meant to help more potential clients identify suitable advisors based on personality and interests. Hill also established a research team to produce reports on reaching diverse segments, such as LGBTQ+ and BIPOC clients.

Preston Cherry, Concurrent Financial Planning

Financial advisors can't take care of clients if they don't take care of themselves. Preston Cherry, the president of the Financial Therapy Association and the founder of Concurrent Financial Planning in Green Bay, Wisconsin, urges advisors to look inward before they look outward. With markets down, inflation up and work stress omnipresent, Cherry, who holds a doctorate in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University, sees holistic planning as encompassing not just an empathetic understanding of clients but also storytelling that draws out obscured narratives. Advisors can do that only if they pursue wellness for themselves.

Andre Jean-Pierre, Aces Advisors

Andre Jean-Pierre has seen the future of investing, and it concerns him. The New York-based financial advisor is not only the founder of his own RIA, Aces Advisors, but also a prominent influencer on Twitter, where he's known to his 13,000 followers as @MrDre. As such, he's well aware of social media trends, including the rise of "finfluencers" — amateur finance gurus whose tips often turn out to be misinformation or scams. From his perch on Twitter, Jean-Pierre has sounded the alarm on these hucksters and encouraged young investors to seek out professional advisors instead.

Dan Moisand, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo

Next year's incoming chair of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards will succeed a winner from FP's 2022 list of people to watch, Kamila Elliott, in one of the most important volunteer positions in the profession. Dan Moisand helped write the first Financial Planning Practice Standards as a member of the CFP Board's Board of Practice Standards in 1999-2001. A consensus builder and tireless contributor to the future of the field, Moisand's other tenures in influential professional organizations include: serving as a national board member of the Financial Planning Association from 2002 to 2007; the 2008 chair of the CFP Board's Discipline and Ethics Commission, a trustee of the Foundation for Financial Planning from 2014 to 2019, and a 22-year member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. That experience will prove crucial as the CFP Board takes further steps to bulk up its sanction process, collaborates as a key stakeholder in advocacy efforts among organizations like those on Moisand's past resume and boosts representation of women and minorities among planners through its Center for Financial Planning.

Brian McLaughlin, Orion

When Orion Advisor Solutions announced in spring 2022 that it would acquire Redtail, there were questions about how one of wealth management's most popular client relationship management programs would fit into the fintech platform's growing ecosystem. In addition, what was next for the man who founded the California-based CRM software company and fostered a culture that helped make Redtail such a recognizable entity? That next step became clear just a few months later when Brian McLaughlin was named president of Orion Advisor Tech as the company announced a new strategic operating model that splits the organization into three business lines. And that culture that created so many Redtail fans since its founding in 2003? Expect to see it continue under McLaughlin's direction at Orion. Earlier this year McLaughlin told Financial Planning that he is eager to keep making the lives of advisors easier via tech, calling the climb to Orion president the job promotion he has been waiting on for nearly 20 years.

Andy Rachleff, Wealthfront

The deal announced early in 2022 that would have seen UBS gobble up Wealthfront seemed to suggest that the era of standalone robo-advisors was drawing to a close. That's especially true since Wealthfront and its executive chairman, Andy Rachleff, were so adamant that the firm would not wind up in the hands of a wirehouse or other massive company. Now that the deal is off, it again raises questions about Wealthfront and the future of standalone robos. Rachleff, who co-founded Wealthfront and had been its CEO, will play a prominent role in the answers. Will Wealthfront innovate and remain independent (as it has vowed)? Or will it look for another UBS-like deal, suggesting robos are not viable on their own or are simply a starting point for companies to lure in investors who can then be handed over to other divisions of their wealth businesses?

Alison Dooher, Charles Schwab

The head of digital advisor solutions at Schwab Advisor Services is extremely excited about her new job. Not just because it puts her at the helm of a team that oversees the suite of technology platforms that supports RIAs that custody assets with Schwab. But the "long-time Schwabbie" is taking the lead as Charles Schwab's multiyear $22 billion integration of TD Ameritrade's brokerage and custody businesses finally comes into focus. Set to be completed set to be completed over Labor Day weekend 2023, the merger will bring TD Ameritrade's 6,000 independent registered investment advisors and Schwab network of more than 7,000 together. And after a career at Schwab that began in 1999, Dooher is ready to be a leader during a time of significant change both within her company, and throughout the fintech landscape.

Hester Peirce, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Hester Peirce may not have been appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission by the current administration. But the Republicans' gains in Congress in the latest midterms elections are likely to give her views a great deal of weight in the coming years. Peirce, who joined the SEC in the Obama administration to fill a vacancy for a Republican appointee, has long been a critic of the direction the agency has taken under current Chairman Gary Gensler. Generally a supporter of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, she has called the SEC out for not doing more to regulate the industry. These positions will most likely put her at the forefront of federal efforts to provide stability in digital asset markets following the collapse of FTX and other crypto exchanges.

Sindhu Joseph, CogniCor

Throughout 2022, wealth managers have made it clear that they're ready to go all-in on AI and machine learning. Automation and solutions can remove a few items from an advisor's plate while also keeping the human element of the business front and center. But as advisors embrace the future, understanding it will be crucial. Sindhu Joseph, the co-founder and CEO of CogniCor, has already started doing her part to provide that understanding. In July, her female-founded AI fintech entered an agreement with Charles Schwab to have information about its suite of solutions shared with Schwab-affiliated RIAs via the Schwab Provider Listings program. And over the summer, she shared her AI expertise as a featured speaker during the Future Proof festival. Joseph believes AI is going to be the new user experience in terms of creating next-level client care and considers understanding human intent to be the "holy grail" of the technology. We'll keep watching as she works to find it.

Cathie Wood, ARK Investment Management

Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management grabbed headlines during the early pandemic when the firm's exchange-traded funds produced outsize gains. Since then, Wood has placed her bets on a venture-capital fund aimed at retail investors and independent advisors. While the ETFs have declined since their COVID peak, the ARK Venture Fund aims to draw investors into an arena once the purview of high net worth investors. With a minimum initial investment of $500, made through the platform financial-technology startup Titan, investors of all stripes can get a piece of the action in early- and late-stage private companies and publicly traded businesses.

Andrew Hartnett, North American Securities Administrators Association

When advisors think of regulation, most look to federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. But states often play just as big a role in overseeing the industry. And when state regulators look for guidance in their work, one of the first people they'll turn to is Andrew Hartnett, who started his one-year term as president of the North American Securities Administrators Association on Sept. 20. Hartnett, also the deputy securities administrator for Iowa's Insurance Division, is now in position to influence NASAA's stances on everything from how states should be regulating non-publicly traded real estate investment trusts to proposed policies on remote work. NASAA's annual reports on states' enforcement actions separately show not only where such work has been done but also areas where regulators may need to step up their vigilance.

Alex David, Stifel Independent Advisors

After more than a dozen years with Wells Fargo's independent channel, Stifel appointed Alex David in 2021 to lead the revamping of its 1099 contractor unit, Stifel Independent Advisors. The recruiting efforts outside of Stifel's much more established presence among employee brokers are paying off. The number of independent advisors in Stifel's Private Client Group jumped 13% year over year to 102 in the third quarter, displaying the impact of a steady stream of incoming teams from wirehouses, regional firms and other independents. In addition, David gives back to the industry through his work in the Association of African American Financial Advisors, which chose him earlier this month to succeed founder LeCount Davis one day as the organization's chairman emeritus.

Liv Gagnon, Choir

Liv Gagnon doesn't come from a formal financial planning background, but she's working to turn a spotlight on the notably white, male demographics of the wealth management industry. As the co-founder of Choir, a company launched last January that uses a proprietary algorithm to track representation at industry conferences, Gagnon is helping to spearhead a certification program that uses data to measure the visibility of wealth management professionals from underrepresented groups — Black, Latino, minorities, women or non-binary people — at industry events. With more than eight in 10 certified financial planners white and nearly eight in 10 male, there's a lot of light to be cast.

Amy Kadomatsu, ComplySci

Amy Kadomatsu, the CEO of ComplySci, has only taken on more responsibility since first arriving at the New York-based compliance software firm as chief operating officer in 2018. She was named president in 2019 and tapped to become CEO the very next year, putting her at the helm of a company that has been serving up compliance software tools for financial services firms since 2003. As such, she is focused on the ever-evolving relationship between technological innovation and regulatory rulemaking — a relationship sure to grow more complex in 2023 as the next 12 months hold the promise of even more dynamic technology being presented to a wealth management industry finally willing to embrace it with open arms. But as Kadomatsu works to ensure CCOs are appropriately balancing the blazing speed of tech with the slower pace of regulators, she will be doing it while also uplifting the underrepresented working in wealth management. Winner of the 2022 Gender Equality/Diversity Professional of Year award from WatersTechnology, Kadomatsu is just as passionate about inclusion as she is compliance.