Page 10 - Investment Advisor - Jan/Feb 2021

EDITOR’S NOTE

By Janet Levaux

Welcome to the Future

s in past years, Investment Advisor kicks off the year clients finding advisors everywhere — caused by the crisis has
with its focus on Women in Wealth, including the sped up their development.”
A world of wealthtech. This issue’s cover story high- Of course, it’s not yet clear “how fast this revolution will
lights the views of two veteran industry insiders — Cheryl spread within the wealth management industry, but the rate
Nash, CEO of Tegra118, and April Rudin, who leads the tech of change does seem to be moving faster than before,” Herbers
savvy marketing team at The Rudin Group. explains. “Will that rate of change continue at its breakneck
Nash says that when she talks to college students, she pace? If advisors and firms are prepared to embrace the
tells them that if they want “a career that’s enriching and change they want to see in the industry, it will.”
that you can be successful in, look at financial services and Speaking of change, this year brings with it a new Investment
look at technology.” Adviser Marketing rule, which
There’s “an urgency right This year brings with it a Washington Bureau Chief
now to get more women and Melanie Waddell spotlights
people of color into this indus- new Investment Adviser in this month’s “The Playing
try,” she explains. “What a great Marketing rule, which Field” column. “On balance, the
opportunity for us to lift others new rule as adopted is a huge
up, get them in [the door] and Washington Bureau Chief improvement over the current
help them grow. Nobody can framework as well as what was
really do it alone.” Melanie Waddell spotlights proposed in 2019 — both from a
When Rudin was looking at a compliance standpoint but also
career change 12 years ago, she in this month’s “The from a business marketing point
went to see a friend at a large of view,” said Sanjay Lamba,
bank and trust, who told her she Playing Field” column. associate general counsel at the
was “too old to be an entrepre- Investment Adviser Association,
neur; banks would never hire outside firms; high net worth during an early January webcast.
individuals would never be on the Internet; and social media Amidst all this change, we wish you a prosperous and safe
is a fad.” start to 2021. We hope this month’s news and analysis helps
But Rudin listened critically to these views. “Instead of you to hit the ground running. Thank you for your continued
being discouraged by all this, I was encouraged. I thought that support of this publication.
if this guy thinks everybody would say those things, then that
to me looks like an opportunity,” she explained.
Consultant Angie Herbers zooms in on some of the indus-
try’s latest trends in this month’s “The Fast Track” column.
While some of these trends started before the COVID-19 pan- GROUP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
demic, “the digital revolution — people working anywhere and

8 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com