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The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors

The Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors

By: Mindy Diamond Financial Advisor Recruiter and Consultant
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Launched in 2017 as Mindy Diamond on Independence, the show has taken on a broader perspective beyond the independent space to include topics, insights, and candid conversations around financial advisor transitions, growth, and an ever-changing industry landscape. Each episode is designed to offer objective guidance and actionable advice with some of the industry’s brightest movers and shakers.©2026 Diamond Consultants, Inc. All rights reserved. Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • The Trust Behind the Transition: UBS Breakaways on What It Takes to Move $1B in a Matter of Months

    The Trust Behind the Transition: UBS Breakaways on What It Takes to Move $1B in a Matter of Months
    15 Oct 2026
    Michael Lee & Steve Armaly—Founders & Managing Partners, Ox Road Capital After leaving UBS to launch Ox Road Capital, Michael Lee, Steve Armaly, and their partners crossed $1B in AUM in just 225 days. They share how years of client trust, partner alignment, and a client-first vision helped make an extraordinary transition possible. In Summary When Michael Lee, Steve Armaly, and their partners left UBS to launch Ox Road Capital, they walked out the door without client information or a single dollar in assets at their new firm. Just 225 days later, Ox Road crossed $1B in AUM. But that extraordinary result was years in the making. Mike and Steve join Mindy to share the story behind the transition: why a highly successful $1.2B UBS team decided its vision had outgrown the employee model, how four partners worked through very different perspectives to reach alignment, and why they ultimately chose independence over the significant recruiting economics available elsewhere. They also discuss the realities of leaving a non-Protocol firm, how clients responded, and why years spent building trusted relationships became one of their most valuable assets during the transition. Today, with approximately $1.1B in AUM, a 93% retention rate, six additional team members, and a growing new-business pipeline, Ox Road is beginning to realize the larger vision behind the move: greater control over resources, technology, marketing, staffing, and the client experience. The Storyline For Mike, the idea of independence dates back to 2009. The entrepreneurial instinct was there, but the infrastructure, economics, and timing weren’t. He joined UBS instead and, over the next 16 years, helped build an extraordinarily successful business. Steve had a similar entrepreneurial streak. Together with partners Brian Blackburn and Jeff Allen, they built an integrated team around financial planning, client service, and portfolio management—and a belief that people perform best when they can “soar with their strengths.” Success, however, eventually created a different question: Could the business they wanted to build continue to thrive within the structure of a traditional firm? Their answer did not come quickly or unanimously. The four partners spent roughly a year working toward alignment, at one point turning to an outside counselor to help them navigate differences that threatened a partnership they considered more important than any particular firm or business model. Once aligned, their priority became clear: Any move had to make things better for clients first. With Diamond Consultants helping them understand a rapidly evolving landscape and evaluate the range of available options, the team ultimately chose to build Ox Road Capital through LPL Strategic Wealth Services. Then came the real test. Leaving non-Protocol UBS meant walking out without client information and trusting that years of doing right by clients would matter. The response offered a powerful answer: Ox Road crossed $1B in AUM just 225 days later. The story is ultimately less about how quickly $1B moved than about everything that happened before it could: years of service, transparency, partnership, and trust. Topics Covered Why Mike first considered independence in 2009—and why the timing wasn’t rightThe meaning behind the Ox Road name and its connection to humility, service, sacrifice, hard work, and teamworkHow four partners built an integrated team around complementary strengthsWhy partner alignment became one of the hardest parts of the decisionWhen their successful UBS practice began to outgrow the employee modelWhy serving clients better became the team’s “true north”The economics of choosing long-term ownership over a large recruiting packageHow the independence landscape has evolved for billion-dollar wirehouse teamsDiamond Consultants’ role in helping the team understand and narrow the opportunity setThe risks and realities of leaving a non-Protocol firmHow years of client trust contributed to a 93% retention rateWhy they selected LPL Strategic Wealth ServicesHow greater control is changing staffing, technology, marketing, and the client experienceOx Road’s plans for organic growth and M&A > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why four successful partners weren’t immediately aligned around independence. (12:09)Mike and Steve describe their unusually close partnership, why they make major decisions unanimously, and what happened when the prospect of leaving UBS exposed differences they had never confronted before. When a successful wirehouse practice can begin to outgrow its environment. (17:11)They explain how a desire to build an enduring enterprise, mentor the next generation, and invest more heavily in white-glove service created growing friction with the limitations of the employee model. Why the client had to come first in any decision to move. (26:25)Steve explains the principle that...
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    52 min
  • Deep Research: How Smart Money Evaluates Wealth Management Firms

    Deep Research: How Smart Money Evaluates Wealth Management Firms
    22 Oct 2026
    Steve Chubak, Managing Director at Wolfe Research What can advisors learn from the way institutional investors evaluate wealth management firms? Wolfe Research’s Steve Chubak offers a different lens on growth, recruiting, AI, pricing, M&A, and what separates stronger firms from the rest. In Summary Financial advisors and institutional investors often evaluate the same wealth management firms—but from very different vantage points. Advisors may be asking whether a firm offers the platform, technology, economics, and resources they need to serve clients and grow their businesses. Institutional investors are digging into another set of questions: Is that growth sustainable? What does it cost? How effectively is the firm deploying capital? And what could change its economics over time? Steve Chubak, Managing Director at Wolfe Research, spends his days studying those questions across the wealth management ecosystem. His research covers firms ranging from wirehouses and regional brokerages to custodians, broker dealers, and alternative asset managers. Here, Steve brings that institutional perspective to the issues that matter directly to advisors. He explains why investors increasingly distinguish between growth generated by recruiting and growth generated by existing advisors, how rising transition assistance is changing the economics of recruiting, and why organic growth remains one of the most important measures of a firm’s health. The discussion also explores AI’s potential impact on productivity, advisor fees, and firm pricing; the evolving economics of cash sweeps and platform fees; the Vanguard-Altruist transaction; consolidation across the industry; and why human advice may prove more resilient than some predictions suggest. The result is a different framework for evaluating the firms advisors work for, partner with, or may someday consider joining. The Storyline Steve occupies a unique seat in the wealth management industry. Rather than evaluating firms as an advisor, recruiter, or executive, he studies them on behalf of institutional investors. His team at Wolfe Research looks across the wealth management ecosystem and analyzes how individual firms are positioned, where growth is coming from, what it costs to generate that growth, and what risks could alter the outlook. That distinction drives the conversation. Jason initially asks what institutional investors may see that retail investors and advisors miss. But the discussion reveals something more useful: Both groups are trying to answer many of the same fundamental questions, just for different reasons. An investor may want to know whether a firm’s organic growth can support its stock price. An advisor considering that firm wants to know whether its platform, economics, technology, and strategy can support their business for years to come. The overlap leads into a deeper discussion of advisor movement and recruiting. Steve explains why investors increasingly care not just about net new assets, but about the cost of acquiring them. As transition packages have risen, the market has become more focused on the difference between “new store” growth generated through recruiting and “same store” growth generated by advisors already on the platform. From there, the conversation turns to AI—not simply as a technology story, but as a potential catalyst for broader changes in wealth management economics. Steve sees significant potential for AI to improve advisor productivity and platform efficiency while raising longer-term questions about pricing, cash monetization, and how firms get paid. This naturally connects to cash sweeps, platform fees, consolidation, M&A, and the competitive positions of some of the industry’s largest firms. Ultimately, Steve’s institutional lens offers advisors another way to evaluate a firm: Look beyond the recruiting package or headline growth number and ask whether the business underneath it is durable. Topics Covered How institutional investors evaluate wealth management firmsWhat advisors and institutional investors may learn from one anotherWhy advisor movement matters to investorsOrganic growth, net new assets, and the cost of asset acquisition“Same store” versus recruiting-driven growthRising transition assistance and recruiting economicsAI’s impact on advisor productivity and platform efficiencyPotential long-term pressure on advisor fees and pricingCash sweeps, cash monetization, and platform feesWhy transparent pricing could better align firms, advisors, and clientsThe Vanguard-Altruist transaction and the RIA custody landscapeThe competitive positions of Morgan Stanley, LPL, and SchwabPrivate equity-backed wealth management firms and leverageHow firms should balance recruiting growth with capital disciplineWhy human financial advice may remain resilient in an AI-driven worldThe KPIs Steve uses to evaluate wealth management businessesData ownership, AI, and the potential case for ...
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    50 min
  • AI for Financial Advisors: An Expert’s Advice on How and Where to Start

    AI for Financial Advisors: An Expert’s Advice on How and Where to Start
    29 Oct 2026
    John O’Connell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Oasis Group With hundreds of AI solutions entering wealth management, how can financial advisors determine which tools are worth adopting? John O’Connell, Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, shares practical guidance on AI implementation, technology selection, data integration, and risk management—and explains why solving the right business problem matters more than adopting the latest technology. In Summary Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities for financial advisors to improve efficiency, strengthen client relationships, and build more scalable businesses. But with AI capabilities evolving almost daily, determining where to start – and which solutions will deliver meaningful results – has become increasingly complicated. John O’Connell, Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, works with RIAs, broker dealers, trust companies, and family offices to evaluate, implement, and integrate technology. His firm’s AI WealthTech Map has grown from 17 to 135 companies in approximately 18 months, offering a revealing look at the expanding universe of AI solutions available to advisors. In this conversation with Louis Diamond, John explains how firms can identify valuable AI use cases, evaluate vendors, establish appropriate safeguards, and prepare for a future in which clients are becoming increasingly sophisticated users of AI themselves. His central message: Start with the business problem, become an educated buyer, and remember that human judgment remains essential. The Storyline The challenge isn’t finding AI. It’s knowing what to do with it. A new AI tool launches, an existing wealth management platform announces additional capabilities, or a colleague shares an impressive demonstration. For advisors eager to improve efficiency and stay competitive, the temptation to adopt the latest technology is understandable. But John O’Connell believes that approach often puts the technology ahead of the business need. As Founder and CEO of The Oasis Group, John helps wealth management firms make smarter technology decisions, from selecting and implementing platforms to integrating data and developing effective workflows. His experience offers a perspective on both the opportunities AI creates and the practical challenges firms encounter when putting it to work. And those challenges are becoming more complicated. The Oasis Group’s AI WealthTech Map now includes 135 individual companies, representing approximately 550 variations of capabilities and licensing options. That doesn’t include established wealth management technology providers that are incorporating AI into their existing platforms. For advisors, the sheer number of choices makes it increasingly important to understand what they’re buying, what their existing technology can accomplish, and whether a new solution will actually solve a problem. John’s advice is to start small, but think strategically. He shares a surprisingly simple first use case: Ask AI to interview the employee who knows how to perform an undocumented business process. The result can be a documented workflow that reduces operational risk while helping employees learn how to use AI effectively. From there, firms can begin identifying opportunities with greater potential impact, including client acquisition, internal knowledge management, operational efficiency, and business scalability. But successful implementation requires more than identifying promising applications. John explains why advisors should establish detailed requirements before attending vendor demonstrations, understand the limitations of APIs and Model Context Protocols (MCPs), and create AI policies that address data protection, employee training, and accountability. The conversation also examines an important distinction between employee and independent advisors. While large firms have substantial technology resources, independent advisors may have greater flexibility to adopt emerging tools and develop AI capabilities more quickly. John believes that advantage is particularly relevant as clients increasingly use AI to analyze financial plans, evaluate investment costs, and question recommendations. Ultimately, he sees AI as an opportunity to strengthen – not replace – the value of human financial advice. By automating certain tasks and making information more accessible, advisors can spend more time developing relationships, exercising judgment, and helping clients navigate the complex personal decisions that technology alone cannot address. Topics Covered AI adoption in wealth management: Why implementing AI successfully requires more than purchasing software or activating existing features.Identifying the right AI use cases: How to prioritize business problems, operational bottlenecks, and opportunities for meaningful improvement.Practical applications and ROI: From documenting workflows and improving meeting management...
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    57 min
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