In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Jim Dickson, founding partner and CEO of Elevation Point, about the firm’s approach to minority investing and helping independent advisory firms grow while maintaining ownership and control.

Jim shares how Elevation Point supports partner firms through technology, private markets, organic growth resources and M&A capabilities. He also explains why data infrastructure is becoming increasingly important as artificial intelligence develops, why alignment between advisors and investors matters when structuring minority investments, and why firms need to build the capacity to serve more clients as the wealth management industry continues to evolve.

Jim discusses:

• How minority capital can support RIA growth while advisors retain meaningful ownership and decision-making control
• Why organized data is becoming essential for firms that want to use AI in client service and advisor workflows
• How private-market access, education, diligence and reporting can help advisors expand investment capabilities
• Why technology, team structure, organic growth and M&A capacity shape which advisory firms can scale effectively
• Why advisor-investor alignment and preparation for market volatility matter when RIAs make long-term growth decisions

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Jim Dickson:

• LinkedIn: Jim Dickson
• LinkedIn: Elevation Point
• Website: Elevation Point

About Our Guest:

Jim Dickson is a growth-focused investor, born entrepreneur, and wealth management industry innovator, with more than thirty years of industry experience. Recognized for his approach aimed at championing and elevating independent financial advisors, Jim is a visionary leader skilled in crafting and executing high-growth strategies for advisory firms. Jim’s “advisor-first” growth mindset caters to the values and long-term visions of RIAs and independence-seeking advisors, empowering them to thrive in today’s dynamic marketplace.

Jim co-founded Elevation Point with Mark Penske in 2024 to support independence-focused financial advisors and RIAs. The firm executes Jim and Mark’s partnership growth model that includes strategic investments as well as granting entrepreneurial advisors and RIAs access to services, solutions, and support from the Elevation Point platform and those of its partners—elevating advisors and RIAs to their vision of higher ground. At its inception, Elevation Point’s dynamic and customizable OCIO solutions, alongside comprehensive back and middle-office support services are available to advisors nationwide for managing the complex needs of high-net-worth clients.

Previously, Jim founded Sanctuary Wealth in 2018, launching the Partnered IndependenceSM platform, empowering elite advisors with essential tools and resources. Under Jim’s leadership, Sanctuary Wealth grew rapidly into one of the industry’s top RIA firms, with more than $25 billion in assets and 76 partner firms in 28 states by 2023, when he left the firm.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Andy Busser, president and CEO of Pitcairn, about how the century-old firm has evolved from a single-family office into an RIA serving approximately 150 families and overseeing roughly $12 billion on their behalf.

Andy shares how Pitcairn combines investment management with trust, tax, accounting, insurance, family education and governance services to support families across generations. He also explains why the firm prioritizes character, curiosity and emotional intelligence when building its team, how it approaches growth and alternative investments, and how artificial intelligence is creating more time for deeper analysis and stronger client relationships.

Andy discusses:

• How shared single-family office services combine investments, trusts, tax, insurance, accounting and family support
• Why Pitcairn selectively evaluates new families to ensure long-term cultural and relationship fit
• How hiring employees for optimism, curiosity, empathy, work quality and self-awareness shapes the firm’s culture
• Why employee engagement is the firm’s leading leadership metric and how it relates to revenue and EBITDA growth
• How the firm is exploring the use of AI to speed up analysis and planning, and create more time for client relationships and staff development

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Andy Busser:

• LinkedIn: Andrew Busser
• LinkedIn: Pitcairn
• Website: Pitcairn

About Our Guest:

As President and CEO of Pitcairn, Andy guides the firm’s culture and operations, building on a century of gold standard experiences for clients and employees. Andy’s curiosity and energy set the tone for a team focused on deep relationships, integrated service, technological innovation, and continuous learning.

Before becoming CEO in 2023, Andy served as Pitcairn’s President of Family Office, leading the firm’s relationship managers, analysts, and client communications professionals. He came to Pitcairn in 2015 from Symphony Capital, a healthcare-focused manager of private equity and hedge funds, where he was a partner. Earlier in his career, he was a management consultant with The Wilkerson Group/Wilkerson Partners.

Andy advocates for helping families become empowered stewards of wealth across generations, a topic he speaks and writes about often. He presents regularly at events hosted by the Family Wealth Alliance, The UHNW Institute, and Family Business Magazine’s Transitions and Align conferences, and he writes a Forbes column on family office leadership and strategy. His perspective has appeared in Barron’s, Bloomberg, Crain Currency, and InvestmentNews, and on NPR.

He also represents Pitcairn in the Wigmore Association, a global collaboration among the chief executives and chief investment officers of independent family offices located in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Mexico.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Matt Adams, chief executive officer and managing partner at Mission Wealth, about how the firm has grown into a national RIA managing $17.5 billion while continuing to prioritize client service and culture.

Matt shares how Mission Wealth combines organic growth, referral programs, digital marketing and carefully selected mergers and integrations while maintaining a relatively low client-to-advisor ratio. He also explains how employee ownership, expanded planning services, behavioral finance and a thoughtful approach to artificial intelligence and technology are helping shape the firm as it continues to grow across the country.

Matt discusses:

• How organic growth, referral channels, digital marketing and selective mergers work together at Mission Wealth
• Why Mission Wealth keeps a low client-to-advisor ratio while investing in service, training and ownership
• How behavioral finance and Inspired Living are being built into deeper, one-to-one client relationships
• How Mission Wealth approaches smaller advisory firm integrations with a goal of being fully operational on day one
• Where AI, data, cybersecurity and internal technology are improving productivity across the client journey

Resources:

• Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on Wealth Management
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: Wealth Management
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter: David Armstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Matt Adams:

• LinkedIn: Matt Adams
• LinkedIn: Mission Wealth
• Website: Mission Wealth

About Our Guest:

Matthew Adams is the CEO of Mission Wealth, a national wealth management firm headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. Having spent 23 years with the firm, he has helped guide its expansion to $17.5 billion in assets under management, approximately 225 team members, and more than 5,000 families served nationwide. His leadership focuses on organic growth, client service, team development, employee ownership, strategic integrations, and the thoughtful use of technology to support the firm’s continued growth.