For the most successful CPA financial planners in the country, there's an issue that's even more important than growing their clients' wealth — and that's managing the growth of their own wealth management practices.
Accounting Today's Top Firms by Assets Under Management routinely face many of the issues you'd expect, from navigating volatile markets and even-more volatile clients, to figuring out how to leverage technology and artificial intelligence, to the perennial concern of finding the right staff to do all the work.
But a surprising number of this year's class of Wealth Magnets highlighted an unusual issue.
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"It's growth — which is a great problem to have," said Kellie Masters, director of operations and chief compliance officer at Wealth Advisors of Iowa, in West Des Moines. "Our small team of six has been firing on all cylinders for the past couple of years. We are excited to be adding two new team members to our firm in the next 30 days to help lessen everyone's load and to allow us to continue to grow."
Any time a firm adds more clients and offers them more services — to say nothing of opening new offices or expanding into new geographies — it will naturally experience new stresses and strains, but the unique character of a wealth management practice makes it susceptible to a particular kind of growing pain.
"One of the biggest challenges is scaling a highly personalized client experience while managing increasing complexity across investments, tax planning, estate planning, and family advisory services," explained Stephanie Hughes, CEO of Wiss Family Office in Florham Park, N.J.
Andrew Paoni, CEO of Sikich Financial, in Naperville, Illinois, agreed: "One of our biggest ongoing challenges is maintaining operational efficiency while continuing to deliver highly personalized service. We're constantly refining our internal processes so our team can spend more time in meaningful conversations with clients, rather than on administrative tasks."
Scaling up in a way that is sustainable for the long-term is also a concern for Lucas Group Financial Advisors in Freeport, Illinois, according to partner Kate Downing: "In recent years, we have purchased another practice and grown in both number of staff and clients," she explained. "This has forced us to add additional systems to make sure that client service requests move smoothly between advisors and staff, that our response times are reasonable, and that everything is well-documented."
Having more clients and more staff can often lead to the kind of variability that makes growing a practice difficult, she added: "Different advisors have sometimes used different systems or offered different services, so we are working hard to put a service model in place so the client experience does not vary greatly from advisor to advisor. Clients are always looking for more services to add additional value, so we've been determining which services (and technologies) are worth adopting and how to implement it into our existing systems."
There is, of course, no single solution to the challenges posed by growth; instead, there are a range of tactics that firms can put in place to make sure that an expanding wealth management practice doesn't lose the crucial human connection. "RKL Private Wealth has experienced rapid and sustained growth over the past several years, and one of our key areas of focus is scaling the practice to keep pace with rising assets under management and increasing client complexity," said Laurie Peer, the president of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based practice. "That includes attracting and developing top talent, expanding capacity, and leveraging technology in ways that support growth without losing the high-touch experience our clients expect."
"Over the past year, we have made meaningful investments in both people and technology," she noted. "We have added a strong mix of emerging talent and seasoned professionals to deepen our bench. At the same time, we are evaluating and modernizing elements of our technology stack to improve efficiency and give our advisors more time to focus on strategic advisory work."
Savant Wealth Management in Rockford, Illinois, is pursuing a similar array of tactics. "Many firms hit a point where growth outpaces their operating model," said Jackie Keener, a senior business intelligence analyst at the firm. "We are proactively addressing this by focusing on three areas. First, refining our operating model so advisors are supported by the right advisors, specialists, and service structures. Second, investing in data and technology to reduce manual work and give advisors better visibility into client needs and opportunities. Third, strengthening how we connect strategy to execution, ensuring our growth initiatives are clearly tied to measurable outcomes, and that progress is transparent across the firm."
"The goal is not just to grow, but to build a platform that allows us to absorb that growth while improving both advisor productivity and the client experience," she concluded.
Playing nicely together
One specific aspect of growth that this year's Wealth Magnets found challenging was successfully integrating their services with those offered by the rest of their firm, or their CPA firm affiliate.
"Running a practice where tax strategy and wealth management operate as one coordinated team creates real operational complexity," said Carley Mostar, chief marketing officer at Leelyn Smith in Geneva, Illinois. "As a registered investment advisor for several decades, we have spent that time building the infrastructure to support genuine integration, and we continue to invest in it. Keeping CPAs, financial planners, our portfolio team, investment advisors, and CFO-level professionals aligned on every client relationship requires intentional systems. When a client experiences a liquidity event, a business transition, or a significant tax year, the response has to be coordinated in real time across disciplines."
To handle that, Leelyn Smith relies on technology that creates a shared view of a client across different teams; a culture of cross-disciplinary learning; and a cross-functional client services team.
At HBKS Wealth Advisors in Erie, Pennsylvania, the challenge is to make sure clients get the most out of all they have to offer: "As an affiliate of a top 50 independent accounting firm, HBKS leverages our strategic position within the broader HBK ecosystem to provide clients with comprehensive financial solutions," said chief operating officer Scott Cross. "We systematically introduce clients to the extensive range of specialized services available through our parent organization, creating seamless integration between wealth management strategies and complementary professional services."
Withum Wealth Management in New Jersey, meanwhile, is working to keep up with the growth of its affiliated CPA firm, which has recently expanded to new markets through acquisitions. "As the wealth management arm of Withum, we have focused our efforts to ensure we can continue supporting that growth through fostering new client relationships and providing the collaborative advice and high level of service our long-time clients appreciate," said principal, wealth advisor and chief compliance officer Carmine D'Avino. "To address this new demand, we have created dedicated regional teams catering to key growth markets such as Western New York, Houston, and Chicago. This approach is also helping us tackle another challenge simultaneously — which is the generational transition that is naturally occurring on both the client side and the advisory side."
For other Wealth Magnets, it's a question of getting more out of their accounting firm – or looking beyond them. "The biggest challenge for us is finding ways to keep the leads flowing consistently from the CPA firm to the wealth firm," said Steven Guipe, director of wealth management at Maner Wealth, in Lansing, Michigan. "We have explored greater incentives for referrals."
And at Copper Leaf Financial in Williston, Vermont, "We need to expand our source of referrals beyond the CPA firm," explained president John Davis. "We have had some success with social media and we have recently doubled our marketing budget."
In the end, for all the stresses and strains that getting bigger brings, firms are still pursuing it. HBKS, for instance, is looking for accelerate both organic and inorganic growth. "To drive organic growth, we are implementing a comprehensive practice development initiative that includes enhancing our digital marketing capabilities and developing robust training programs to strengthen our advisors' business development skills," Cross said.
For many, that means creating specific functions to lead the charge: At Boulay Wealth in Minneapolis, "We promoted a team member into a head of growth role in order to better organize around our growth strategies," reported president Jay Brown. "We will also be moving team members to align with client needs in the coming months."
Causing, and solving, problems
In a volatile, fast-moving economic environment, wealth management firms need to be able to quickly and accurately turn everything from interest rate changes and new tax legislation to market moves and broader macroeconomic uncertainty into useful advice for their clients — and for many, technology is the solution.
"Our approach has been to meet that challenge head-on, and technology is central to how we do it," said Keith Greenwald, CEO of Aprio Wealth Management in Atlanta. "We have made significant investments in data and analytical capabilities that enable our advisors to model complex financial scenarios with greater speed and precision, identify planning opportunities as conditions evolve, and deliver advice that is grounded in the current environment, rather than yesterday's assumptions."
But while technology solves many of the problems wealth managers face, it's also often a concern itself, both because of the speed at which new tools are being developed, and the complexity of fitting them into a practice.
"Understanding emerging technology (i.e., AI, etc.) and evaluating how it can make an RIA firm more efficient and improve the client experience" is an issue at firms like PYA Waltman Capital in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to CCO Jessica Ott. "Also, crafting firm standards on the proper use of AI tools in client service and deliverables. We have formed an internal working group of professionals who are tasked with crafting firm standards and evaluating new technologies.
"One of the biggest ongoing challenges is staying current with evolving technology while ensuring data integrity across transitions," added Brad Swinsburg, partner and chief investment officer at Smith + Howard Wealth Management in Atlanta. "As we move from an all-in-one platform approach to a more best-of-breed technology stack, a key focus is maintaining clean, accurate data and minimizing disruption during integrations and system changes. To address this, we are taking a more intentional, phased approach to technology adoption and prioritizing strong data governance throughout each transition."
All of the concerns around technology are multiplied tenfold when it comes to artificial intelligence, which fascinates the Wealth Magnets with its promise of smart automation and major efficiency gains, but worries them because of its untested nature, perceived and actual unreliability, data security issues — and its seeming ubiquity.
"One of the most pressing issues is the proliferation of AI across our tech stack," said Kristy McCullough, managing director and partner at Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management, in Lake Forest, Illinois. "There's significant pressure to adopt these tools, but uncertainty remains around how to use them effectively, how they integrate with existing systems, and whether the investment is truly worth it. Beyond logistics and implementation, there are real concerns around data security, privacy, and compliance, specifically where client information is stored and whether these tools can be trusted within a regulated environment."
"As a result," McCullough concluded, "we're taking a conservative approach, focusing on education, prioritizing security and privacy, and ensuring any adoption aligns with compliance standards, our reputation, and a measurable return on investment."
It's a stance that many members of this year's Wealth Magnets cohort are adopting. "Our focus is not simply on whether to use AI-enabled tools, but on how to implement them responsibly through appropriate governance, supervision and control," said Ryan McEntire, director and CCO of Brown Edwards Wealth Strategies in Lynchburg, Virginia. "To support that objective, we have established formal written policies, data-handling requirements, and employee responsibilities, and we continue to expand training so that our personnel understand both the capabilities and limitations of these tools."
The people problem
These days, no discussion involving accountants would be complete without bringing up staffing problems, and the Wealth Magnets aren't immune — not least because they're growing and trying to serve new clients in a high-touch practice area at a time when talent is hard to find.
"Competition for experienced advisors has intensified significantly, with firms competing for a limited pool of proven professionals who bring established books of business," said Rebecca Sierp, director and CCO at WPWealth in Fort Worth, Texas. "As a result, our firm has been forced to hire younger, less experienced advisors, which introduces significant challenges around training, mentorship, and long ramp-up periods before they become productive — making growth more expensive and less predictable."
Michele Martin, the president of Prosperity, in Owings Mills, Maryland, agreed that competition is strong, and offered some tactics: "We are focused on improving onboarding, role clarity, and career paths to attract and retain high-quality talent." She also noted that the firm is developing a structured training curriculum for new hires, as well as targeted upskilling for its existing team members.
Some are taking a different tack: "At this point we've resorted to going even younger in our recruiting efforts," said Brian Harris, the CEO and principal advisor at Strada Financial Group in Boring, Oregon. "Essentially get them locked in before they think they're too smart for go with a smaller firm. We are balancing letting younger candidates get their initial experience with larger institutions without them getting brainwashed that they should aspire to stay at the larger companies."
Finding staff is just the start — bringing them up to speed and making sure they're ready for the most valuable work is another issue. "Our biggest challenge is developing staff at a fast enough pace to be comfortable leading relationships, as well as long-term succession," explained Joe Pitzl, CEO of Pitzl Financial in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
And Anthony Sandomierski, managing partner and wealth advisor at Oujo Wealth Advisors in Wall, N.J., agreed: "A challenge we have is the learning curve that's just naturally required to develop an advisor into that role," he said. "It doesn't take months, it takes years. If we were able to shorten this learning curve of knowledge needed coupled with business development skills, this would substantially add to our firm's growth."
Of course, growth brings its own problems — but the 2026 Wealth Magnets are more than ready for those.
