Steve Lockshin has been doing things differently since before "going independent" was a trend. He founded his first RIA in the 1990s, co-founded Advice Period, and is now chairman of Vanilla — an AI-powered estate planning platform built specifically for advisors.
In this conversation with Shelby, Steve gets direct about the things most advisors won't say out loud: that AUM fees create a structural conflict of interest, that asset management is largely commoditized, and that the biggest gap in most advisory practices isn't investments — it's estate planning.
They also get into how AI is reshaping what advisors can deliver, where the real differentiators will be in five to ten years, and why Steve keeps building new things even when he tells himself he's going to stop.
Whether you're running a growing practice or just getting started, this episode will challenge how you think about your value and your model.
Hosted by Shelby Nicholl. Produced and edited by Aaron Sherman. Operations and Guest Coordination by Shelly Hadel.
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