Summer is a transitional season—routines shift, energy changes, and the structure of your week gets looser. But for top real estate advisors, summer is not a slowdown—it’s a reset. In this episode of Monday Morning Pep Talk, Jim Miller lays out a focused, tactical plan to make this your most intentional, productive summer yet.

Whether you’re closing deals or catching sunsets, this episode is your guide to blending growth with enjoyment—because a purposeful summer builds a sharper fall.

🧠 What You Will Learn in This Episode:
• 5 Essential Books – Curated titles to reshape how you think, lead, and operate.
• 3 Podcasts – Weekly listening to strengthen skills and shift perspective.
• Weekly Check-In Ritual – A Sunday/Monday habit to reset your week with clarity and intention.
• Morning Routine Framework – A 60-minute template to activate your body, mind, and business.
• AI Growth Challenge – Commit to 10 hours of learning and stay ahead of the industry curve.

This is your opportunity to design your growth. Self-development is not about doing more—it’s about becoming more. Let this be the season you upgrade your inputs, sharpen your tools, and build a business that reflects the best version of you.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR WEEKLY COACHING CONTENT
New episodes every week with real estate strategies, systems, and insights to help you grow, lead, and Take Flight.
• Weekly Coaching Email → https://askjimmiller.com/contact/

📚 RESOURCES
• Reading List → https://askjimmiller.com/my-reading-list-2024/
• About Jim + Useful Docs → https://askjimmiller.com/take-flight-2/

📲 CONNECT WITH JIM
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/askjimmiller
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmillerchicago
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@AskJimMiller

📘 Your Summer 2025 Self Development Syllabus | Monday Morning Pep Talk #282

It’s not surprising that tech-native firms see the wealth management industry’s high margins and sticky revenue, even with its notoriously disjointed and sometimes subpar tech stacks, and think, “Good business. But it could be better.” 

At the recent WealthManagement EDGE conference in Boca Raton, Fla., David Armstrong, director of editorial strategy and operations for the Wealth Management Group at Informa Connect, spoke with Taylor Matthews, co-founder and CEO of Farther, to explore how the firm is seeking to improve the advisor experience and increase the operational efficiency of wealth management firms with home-built technology. 

Backed by a handful of well-known venture capitalists, Farther is a “tech-forward” RIA where the user experience improvements are as much for the advisor’s benefit as it is for the client: The goal was to create workflow efficiencies for advisors that translate into increased time spent with more clients than is found at a typical RIA. 

Taylor outlines how Farther also supports advisors with built-in marketing, lead generation and operational support. The conversation touches on the firm’s philosophy, use of AI, Taylor’s thoughts on the business investment environment for RIAs, and what the future may hold for his team’s firm.

David and Taylor discuss:

- How Farther’s technology was built from the ground up to solve daily inefficiencies that advisors face with disconnected tech stacks
- Why returning time to advisors is central to Farther’s strategy, enabling them to focus more on client work and growth
- The four-part growth engine at Farther, including done-for-you marketing and lead generation
- How Farther's internal teams support advisors in areas like estate planning, tax consulting and financial planning
- The firm’s long-term approach to growth without the constraints of private equity and why consolidation is reshaping the industry.

Resources:

Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com: https://bit.ly/3YVhfof 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RFXCPn 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify: https://bit.ly/44Cbwd5 
 
Connect With David Armstrong:
 
WealthManagement.com: http://bit.ly/3RKHvyY 
LinkedIn: WealthManagment.com: https://bit.ly/3YkoRAv 
LinkedIn: David Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djamesarmstrong/ 
Twitter: David Armstrong: https://twitter.com/djamesarmstrong 
LinkedIn: Informa: https://bit.ly/3leEF9g 

Connect With Taylor Matthews:

Website: Farther Finance: http://www.farther.com 
LinkedIn: Farther Finance: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fartherfinance 
LinkedIn: Taylor Matthews: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylormatthews 

About Our Guest:

Taylor leads Farther’s executive team and shapes the overarching strategy for the firm. Prior to founding Farther, Taylor was a member of the leadership team at ForUsAll, where he helped build the fintech retirement advisory firm from $25 million in assets under management to just under $1 billion in his two years there.

Taylor previously co-founded Essmart, a social enterprise distributing tech-for-development products in India, and was an investment banker and management consultant in his early career. He graduated from MIT Sloan with an MBA and Yale with degrees in philosophy and political science.

Taylor lives in San Francisco with his wife, three children, and a very excitable dog. As Victor Hugo wrote, “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”

RIA Edge Podcast: How Taylor Matthews Built Farther to Boost Advisor Efficiency by Removing Platform Friction

Wealthcare Capital Management’s evolution from a software pioneer to a national advisory platform reveals the power of strategic reinvention.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong speaks with Matt Regan, president and CEO of Wealthcare Capital Management, about Wealthcare’s journey from its roots in Richmond, Va., to its sale to Sammons Financial. Matt shares how the firm is blending technology, M&A strategy and advisor support to create growth opportunities for independent advisors nationwide.

Matt and David also discuss the firm’s acquisition approach, the rise of supported independence and the ongoing transformation of the RIA space.

Matt discusses:

- Wealthcare’s beginnings as an investment planning software firm and its evolution into a full-service wealth management enterprise with some 200 affiliated advisors and $10 billion in AUM.
- The recent transaction, which saw ownership of the firm move from private equity investors NewSpring Capital to employee-owned Sammons Financial, a mid-sized financial services firm, and the potential to set up an independent wealth management vertical inside that organization.
- Why Wealthcare still purposefully targets sub-$1 billion firms for acquisitions, and how the war for talent, particularly next-gen, is feeding into Wealthcare’s dealmaking roadmap. (In fact, Wealthcare’s advisors are, overall, younger than the industry average.) 
- Why the firm has a goal to move more affiliated advisors, largely 1099 employees, into Wealthcare’s W-2 channel.
- Regan’s view on most of the digital marketing platforms currently available to advisors, and how AI may be the answer to truly move the needle on organic growth via improved lead generation and prospect nurturing.
- Why Regan is looking for an AI-enhanced small account investment platform for advisors to offer younger prospects who don’t—yet—make profitable full-service clients. 

Resources:

Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com: https://bit.ly/3YVhfof 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RFXCPn 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify: https://bit.ly/44Cbwd5 
 
Connect With David Armstrong:
 
WealthManagement.com: http://bit.ly/3RKHvyY 
LinkedIn: WealthManagement.com: https://bit.ly/3YkoRAv 
LinkedIn: David Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djamesarmstrong/ 
Twitter: David Armstrong: https://twitter.com/djamesarmstrong 
LinkedIn: Informa: https://bit.ly/3leEF9g 

Connect With Matt Regan:

Wealthcare - https://www.wealthcaregdx.com 
LinkedIn: Wealthcare - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wealthcare-capital-management 
LinkedIn: Matt Regan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-regan-17ab64/ 

About Our Guest:

Matt Regan serves as Wealthcare’s President. Most recently and prior to Wealthcare, Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer of Wescott Financial, a $2 billion RIA based in Philadelphia. With more than two decades in the financial services industry, Matt has been involved in a number of transformative business models and has remained focused on building world-class organizations with a focus on the client. As a founding partner of WR Hambrecht+Co, Matt launched the retail brokerage offering and helped to design and launch the auction-based OpenIPO system. As a consultant to Vanguard, Matt was involved in the technology and business transformation that created the infrastructure that underlies the firm’s Personal Advisor Services offering. Matt is a graduate of the University of Toronto and resides outside Philadelphia with his wife and three children.

RIA Edge Podcast: CEO Matt Regan on Wealthcare’s New Owners, Future M&A and AI’s Organic Growth Potential

Balefire Wealth’s transformation from two thriving RIAs into a unified enterprise business with national ambitions showcases the strength of shared vision and cultural alignment.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, host David Armstrong chats with Jason Hester and John Hoffman, co-CEOs of Balefire Wealth—a new RIA formed from the merger of their two firms. They discuss combining their complementary businesses—one serving ultra-high-net-worth clients, the other focused on mass affluent and corporate retirement plans—to build an integrated wealth management platform. The conversation covers their collaborative leadership approach, focus on client and advisor growth, and plans to accelerate expansion in 2026.

They discuss:

- Why it took two years to merge their firms, yet only “32 seconds” to decide on co-CEO roles—and how they make the partnership work.
- How they built a team-based model serving clients from mass affluent to UHNW, with a unique planning process, client segmentation, and evolving family wealth services.
- How they launched with 16 advisor-owners, offering a path to ownership and no outside capital.
- Why they believe hybrid advisors focused beyond AUM will define the future and strengthen client relationships.
- Their 2026 plan to shift from recruiting to M&A growth, and how they view partnering with “smart money” investors.
- How their retirement plan business positions the firm as an HR partner helping companies tackle talent and retention challenges.

Resources:

Listen to the RIA Edge Podcast on WealthManagement.com: https://bit.ly/3YVhfof 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3RFXCPn 
Listen and Subscribe to the RIA Edge Podcast on Spotify: https://bit.ly/44Cbwd5 
 
Connect With David Armstrong:

WealthManagement.com: http://bit.ly/3RKHvyY 
LinkedIn: WealthManagement.com: https://bit.ly/3YkoRAv 
LinkedIn: David Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/djamesarmstrong/ 
Twitter: David Armstrong: https://twitter.com/djamesarmstrong 
LinkedIn: Informa: https://bit.ly/3leEF9g 

Connect With Balefire Wealth:

Website: Balefire Wealth - https://balefirewealth.com/ 
LinkedIn: Balefire Wealth - https://www.linkedin.com/company/balefire-wealth/ 
LinkedIn: Jason Hester - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jhesterbalefire/ 

About Jason Hester:

As Managing Partner and Co-CEO of Balefire Wealth, Jason Hester leads the firm’s strategic vision and oversees its multi-division growth across a national footprint. With 25 years of experience in organic growth, strategic leadership, and private wealth frameworks, he guides the development of holistic planning solutions for affluent families and corporate clients. Jason is deeply involved in capital strategy, advisor acquisition, post-merger integration, and platform optimization, while mentoring leadership and cultivating a culture of clarity, accountability, and innovation. He works closely with the Executive and Organic Growth Teams to ensure Balefire continues to set a new standard for enterprise advisory firms.

About John Hoffman:

For 20 years at Principal Financial, he excelled as an Advisor, Managing Director, and ultimately Regional Managing Director—roles where he shaped strategy, developed high-performing teams, and attracted top talent. Now, as Managing Partner of Balefire, John is responsible for the firm’s inorganic growth and has built a “one-team” culture in an industry that often operates in silos. He has created team-based values aligned with a bold new vision, ensuring talent thrives in an authentic and collaborative environment. His leadership centers on finding the right team players, creating alignment, and scaling the organization as a unified company.

RIA Edge Podcast: The Balefire Wealth Journey with Jason Hester and John Hoffman

Jim Miller is a success mentor and life coach who guides top real estate brokers from around the country while managing 2.3B+ in sales production as Designated Managing Broker with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty in Chicago, Illinois.  He is also recognized as a top real estate coach to top Sotheby's International Realty brokers in 35 luxury markets.

New tracks tagged #AdvisorGrowth