Going Beyond Money to Help Your Family Live Better
You already know that technology and AI are reshaping the financial industry…but what does this mean to you personally? To your business as a wealth manager? What will improve? How will you feel a difference? On the latest episode of *Knowing Me Knowing You,* Marla Sofer sits down with fintech visionary Theodora Lau to unpack how the industry will change to support you today and in the future.
The Financial System Is Designed to Sell, Not to Understand
One of my favorite theories says that if you want to understand outcomes, look at incentives. The industry today is not incentivized to help you solve problems. Rather, it’s incentivized to sell you products. Of course there are stand up wealth managers who absolutely want what’s best for clients. I’ve met many of them. One advisor shared, “I can’t do what my client wants because it breaks rules and assumptions made by decision makers further up the management chain.” The system creates friction, making it hard to make client-centric decisions. Theodora shares that as clients, we all want the same things: financial security, a sense of control, and trust. To address these needs, clients need some bearing on the incentive model. Their voices need to be heard and their desires understood.
Instead of focusing on transactions and wallet share, the focus needs to shift to relationships. This requires a fundamental change in our use case for emerging technologies. Rather than viewing technology as a tool to automate existing processes, reimagine it to derive real client insights. Going beyond money means helping clients feel better about their futures and enabling them to live better lives today.
AI & Data Ownership: The Tools to Rebuild Trust
AI isn’t new in financial services—it has been running backend processes for decades. But now, it’s in the hands of everyday people, creating an opportunity to democratize financial decision-making. The question is, will the industry use AI to empower clients, delivering new horizons of value,or to reinforce outdated sales-driven models in the same restrictive frameworks?
Data ownership is at the heart of this shift. When clients communicate exactly how they want money to serve their interests, they find financial control, a path to aligning their money with their values, and value in trusted relationships. Yet, many wealth managers don’t understand their clients. They don’t ask the right questions. They don’t go deep enough. They don’t have standards to capture rich personally relevant data, analyze it, and surface insights to help clients when they need it most..
The Longevity Economy: A Multi-Trillion-Dollar Blind Spot
Financial planning isn’t just about retirement. It’s about creating opportunities, intergenerational wealth transfer, long-term care, and making money decisions that reflect real life—not a generic “life stage” model. AI-driven personalization can change this, but only if firms start listening to what clients actually need.
Reframing the Role of Financial Services
Relationship building demands a shift in the client engagement model:
From data collection to data-driven empowerment—helping clients gain clarity, not just gathering information.
From transactions to trust—building relationships that go beyond one-time sales.
From generic products to personalized solutions—leveraging AI and behavioral insights to serve real human needs.
With the average American juggling 40 financial providers, the demand for a true financial co-pilot is growing. People don’t need another app to track spending—they need a system that understands their priorities and guides them accordingly.
What’s Next? The Industry’s Crossroads
The financial industry has two choices: continue the status quo or embrace a client-centric revolution. The companies that succeed won’t be the ones pushing more accounts—they’ll be the ones aligning financial services with people’s lives.
Theodora makes it clear: technology alone won’t fix financial services. But used correctly, it can redefine how trust is built, how relationships are strengthened, and how money is managed with purpose.
Join the Conversation
How can financial services better serve you? Share your thoughts, and let’s challenge the industry to do better. Subscribe, rate, and review *Knowing Me Knowing You* for more insights on the future of finance.
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