Diamond Consultants

06/18/2026

Can an advisor really “over-service” clients?

While at Merrill, Michael Smith was told he was spending too much time helping clients navigate taxes, equity compensation, and other planning issues outside the traditional scope of investment management.

That experience ultimately became one of the catalysts for launching Emerald Advisors.
Today, the firm has grown from roughly $385mm to more than $1B in assets.

The more interesting takeaway isn’t the growth itself. It’s the question underneath it:

What happens when an advisor builds a business around the way they believe clients should be served?

In our latest Diamond Podcast episode, host Jason Diamond and Michael discuss lessons from his Merrill breakaway, the role specialization played in accelerating growth, and why he believes exceptional client service remains one of the industry’s most durable competitive advantages.

Listen here: https://hubs.ly/Q04lX-680

06/01/2026

The best advisor transitions are built years before they happen.
Not when someone decides to move.
Not when a deal is on the table.

The strongest transitions start with quiet preparation long before that moment arrives. Organizing the business. Strengthening portability. Thinking strategically about team structure and long-term optionality.

Because the goal isn’t simply to move.
It’s to build a business that gives you choices.

Our latest guide outlines practical steps advisors can take now to position their practice for greater flexibility and long-term success.

Download the resource:
https://hubs.ly/Q04jyKLn0

Advisors: What’s one step that should happen years before a move that often gets overlooked?

05/28/2026

Most advisor transitions don’t begin with a recruiting deal.
They begin with questions.

Questions about growth.
Questions about flexibility.
Questions about whether the current environment still supports the business an advisor is trying to build.

In part one of this two-part Industry Update series, Jason and Mindy Diamond pull back the curtain on the transition process itself—from due diligence and portability to culture evaluation, client communication, enterprise value, and the evolving independent landscape.

The conversation also draws on lessons from one of the industry’s most significant transitions: the $129B OpenArc breakaway from Merrill.

For advisors considering change or simply trying to better understand today’s landscape, this episode offers a candid look at what thoughtful due diligence actually requires.

Listen in: https://hubs.ly/Q04j9xjj0

05/25/2026

05/21/2026

Most advisors already bring up estate planning with clients.

The problem is what happens after that conversation.

Too often, the process moves outside the advisor relationship, becomes fragmented across providers, and eventually turns into a set of documents that sit untouched for years.

That’s the gap Rafael Loureiro set out to solve with https://hubs.ly/Q04hlQcr0.

In our latest Diamond Podcast episode, Louis Diamond speaks with Rafael about how AI is beginning to reshape estate planning—not by replacing advisors, but by helping them stay more continuously engaged as clients’ lives evolve.

The more interesting implication may be what this means for advisor differentiation.

As investment management and even financial planning become increasingly standardized, firms are searching for new ways to deepen relationships and deliver more integrated advice.

Listen and learn how estate planning may become a much bigger part of that conversation.

🎧 https://hubs.ly/Q04hlGGy0

05/19/2026

Who owns the firm matters more than many advisors realize.

Whether a firm is privately held, publicly traded, or backed by private equity can influence everything from culture and decision-making to long-term growth and enterprise value.

In this latest piece, Allison Brunwasser explores how ownership structure shapes the advisor experience and why the more important question may not be who owns the firm, but how that structure helps advisors build what they ultimately want over time.

Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q04h10w60

05/14/2026

What happens when a highly successful advisor stops thinking like a renter… and starts thinking like an owner?

That’s the thread running through Jason Diamond’s latest conversation with Ricky Smith of Inspired Wealth Planning.

After more than 30 years at Edward Jones, Ricky made the decision to pursue independence—not reactively, but through an extremely deliberate process that included evaluating 12 different firms over the course of a year.

What followed wasn’t just a transition. It was the construction of an entirely different kind of business.
Since launching in 2023 with Kestra Private Wealth Services, Inspired Wealth Planning has grown to more than $1.25B in assets under care across seven locations. And Ricky says the business is now roughly 50% larger than the one he left behind.

A few themes stood out:
• Why alignment mattered more than payout
• The difference between operating inside a system and designing your own
• Why the early stage of independence is more about structure than growth
• How “boutique” unexpectedly became an advantage
• Why advisors today are valued less for information and more for judgment

There’s also a broader point underneath the entire discussion: many advisors don’t lack opportunity. They struggle with the uncertainty that comes with acting on it.

Ricky’s perspective is simple: do the work, understand your options thoroughly, and move before conditions feel perfect.

Listen here: https://hubs.ly/Q04gg1BB0

05/12/2026

When a firm becomes explicit about its priorities, advisors have an opportunity to pause and ask a critical question: Does this direction still align with the future I want to build?

In her latest article, Barbara Herman explores why clarity from firm leadership can be both revealing and consequential, particularly when compensation, growth goals, and advisor control begin to signal a shift in values.

Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q04g8rKL0

05/07/2026

Growth is easy to measure.

Understanding how it actually happens is a different exercise.

In this conversation with Leah Sciabarrasi of Crestwood Advisors, what stands out isn’t the move from $0 to $8B. It’s the way that growth was built—and how intentionally it was managed along the way.

There was no single inflection point. No defining transaction that changed the trajectory overnight.

Instead, the firm expanded gradually. New clients. Broader capabilities. More structure. All layered in over time.
That kind of growth creates a different set of challenges.

At a certain point, the work shifts. It’s no longer just about delivering advice. It’s about building the system that allows that advice to scale—without losing consistency or clarity for the client.

That’s where alignment starts to matter more. Where leadership becomes more visible. Where decisions carry more weight across the organization.

It’s a useful lens for any advisor thinking about what comes next—especially if the goal isn’t just growth, but durability.

Listen here…
https://hubs.ly/Q04frK7p0

04/30/2026

There’s been a shift in how advisors evaluate their options.

Not in whether they explore change, but in what they prioritize when they do.

The traditional drivers are still there. But they’re no longer the full story.

What we’re seeing more of now:
A deeper focus on how firms and advisors are thinking about AI.
More attention on enterprise value—even from advisors who don’t technically “own” their business.

And a growing awareness that stability, ownership structure, and long-term flexibility matter just as much as the upfront economics.

In this latest Industry Update, Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond unpack how those newer considerations are shaping decisions—and what that suggests about where the industry is heading.

Listen here: https://hubs.ly/Q04dWRz_0