Written by HIFON Member: Jon Holmgren

 

If you ever want to humble yourself, look back at predictions you made nearly a decade ago. In 2018, I penned an article forecasting what the 2025 advisory firm might look like. Based on the millions of views of the original article, I can only assume that Taylor Swift has somehow incorporated the lyrics into one of her songs.

Reading it now, I am reminded of the folly in attempting to predict the future. The world has undergone seismic shifts that were unimaginable at the time, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and its profound impact on the workplace and global economy.

The four key differentiators I highlighted back then, enhancing advisor productivity, building a moat around your business, making M&A and succession planning core competencies, and cultivating a lasting culture, have evolved from strategic advantages into table stakes. These elements are now essential for any firm aiming to build and sustain long-term success.

Before turning to what I believe will define the advisory firm of 2030, it is worth reflecting briefly on how those original pillars have evolved.

 

Enhancing Advisor Productivity

Advisor productivity remains a critical focus area, but the search for a silver bullet continues. Despite meaningful advances in technology, no firm has mastered the ability to double or triple advisor capacity while still delivering deep, comprehensive planning.

There appears to be a natural ceiling here. Research around Dunbar’s number suggests humans can maintain roughly 150 meaningful relationships. Wealth management seems to reflect this reality, as most advisors top out around 120 to 150 households before service quality begins to suffer, regardless of technology.

Progress, then, tends to be incremental rather than transformational. Improving productivity requires sustained attention to workflows, role clarity, and feedback loops. At our firm, a dedicated Client Experience team meets weekly to identify friction points and implement improvements based on client and team input. There is no finish line, only ongoing refinement.

 

Building a Moat Around Your Business

In 2018, the idea of wealth management firms deeply integrating tax and estate planning was just gaining traction. Today, it is increasingly common to see advisory firms acquiring tax practices, both to enhance service offerings and to create powerful lead generation engines.

At the same time, estate planning technology has matured. Tools that analyze and summarize estate documents are becoming more accessible and more capable. Together, these developments create a broader and more defensible value proposition. Firms that integrate these disciplines well make it significantly harder for competitors to replicate the client experience.

 

Making M&A and Succession Planning Core Competencies

Looking back, I significantly underestimated the complexity of next-generation leadership development. Succession today is far more than an ownership transaction.

Firms that succeed across generations tend to have comprehensive talent strategies. That includes clearly defined career paths, transparent compensation frameworks, access to capital, and intentional equity programs for G2 advisors. Moving beyond a lifestyle practice requires mastery of the full advisor ecosystem, from recruiting and training to governance and long-term capital planning.

Succession is no longer just about continuity of ownership. It is about building infrastructure that supports durable, multi-generational growth.

 

Building a Culture That Lasts

Culture may be the most important and most fragile element of firm building.

In today’s transparent environment, unhealthy practices rarely stay hidden for long. They surface through lawsuits, online reviews, or word of mouth. Post-pandemic, professionals are also far less willing to tolerate toxic environments or unclear expectations, and they are increasingly protective of flexibility and work-life balance.

Firms that attract and retain top talent are intentional about culture. Compensation matters, but so do clarity, psychological safety, flexibility, and benefits that reflect how people actually want to work. A strong internal culture ultimately shows up in the client experience as well.

 

Looking Ahead to 2030: New Differentiators

Despite the inherent uncertainty in predicting the future, several themes are already emerging with enough clarity to matter.

 

AI as a Table Stake

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming embedded in the day-to-day operations of advisory firms. As I write this, I have tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and AI-driven meeting documentation open on my screen, all of which our firm actively invests in.

We are using AI to draft content, automate meeting notes, and keep our CRM up to date. Just a few years ago, these applications felt aspirational. Today, they are delivering tangible benefits.

The more important question is whether someone in your firm is accountable for exploring AI use cases and translating them into real workflows. Keeping up with AI will soon be as fundamental as managing your CRM or portfolio system.

 

The Ascendancy of Soft Skills

As technology absorbs more of the technical and analytical workload, human skills become more valuable, not less.

By 2030, the most effective advisors will differentiate themselves through emotional intelligence, communication, and the ability to navigate complex personal dynamics. Helping couples align on goals, values, and trade-offs will matter more than technical sophistication alone.

Firms should be asking whether soft skills are assessed during hiring, intentionally developed, and meaningfully rewarded. Culture is shaped less by what is said and more by what is measured and reinforced.

 

Client Experience Engineering

Client expectations continue to rise, shaped not by other advisory firms but by the best experiences clients have anywhere.

Meeting those expectations requires more than good intentions. It requires intentional design. By Client Experience Engineering, I do not mean over-automation or replacing human connection. I mean deliberately designing every client touchpoint so that technology handles routine tasks and advisors can focus on higher-impact conversations.

In well-designed firms, meetings evolve from status updates into discussions about life goals and priorities. Behind the scenes, shared tools, standardized processes, and AI-enabled workflows create consistency and scale.

A key question is whether clients receive a consistent experience across advisors or widely different ones. Firms that succeed by 2030 will invest in dedicated client experience leadership and resist the temptation to let every advisor operate independently.

 

Embracing Agility and Change

Adaptability may be the defining capability of the next decade.

Firms must be willing to walk away from legacy revenue streams that no longer fit, pivot strategies when assumptions change, and support advisors who niche more deeply and require specialized tools. Systems like EOS can help firms set clear goals and adjust quickly, but many advisory firms still focus primarily on gathering assets rather than building adaptable organizations.

The coming years will reward speed, clarity, and a willingness to evolve.

 

Conclusion

Building the advisory firm of the future is not about predicting every trend correctly. It is about committing to continuous learning and intentional design.

The predictions I made in 2018 provided a useful framework, but the landscape shifted in unexpected ways. As we look toward 2030, the firms that thrive will be those that embrace technology without losing their humanity, develop people as deliberately as processes, and remain agile in the face of constant change.

Let’s revisit these ideas again in 2030 and see how close we came, or at least enjoy a good laugh at the author’s expense.