24 people who will shape wealth management in 2024

December 5, 2023 8:00 AM

2024 is just around the corner, and change is in the air.

In addition to an election season that could upend regulations of the financial services industry, FINRA will likely fight on to justify its existence, interest rates may finally come down, the tidal wave of AI will continue rushing into advisors' practices and the face of wealth will grow more diverse.

Below, the staff at Financial Planning has named 24 leaders who have made significant waves in our dynamic industry, and who we believe are poised to bring more change in the new year.

They range from nonprofit leaders and independent financial advisors setting an example for peers, to regulators and wealthtech innovators shaping the infrastructure of firms, to top executives at some of the world's most profitable companies.

Watch out in the new year for big things from the names below. And to see who we've highlighted in past years, check out the lists in 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Aneri Jambusaria, LPL Financial

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Aneri Jambusaria is the recently promoted managing director of LPL Services Group, where she oversees many of the hottest in-demand products and services offered by the giant independent broker-dealer to its army of advisors. That role makes Jambusaria one of the most powerful and highly ranked female executives in the independent broker-dealer world.

Her unit provides outsourced services to help advisors grow their practices. In 2022, it saw a 48% year over year spike in advisor subscriptions to outsourced functions. The firm recently announced a rollout of outsourced tax planning services for advisors, and a new outsourced CFO function. Jambusaria, a CFP, joined the firm in 2020 from Fidelity Investments, where she helped shape strategy for business lines and most recently served as head of the planning office for Enterprise Strategy and Planning, according to her firm bio.

Stacy Francis, Francis Financial and Savvy Ladies

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As both the leader of fee-only New York-based RIA Francis Financial and the founder of nonprofit Savvy Ladies, Stacy Francis has dedicated her career to making a difference for women and helping them improve their financial lives. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Savvy Ladies, whose mission is to help women access free resources to guide them in their personal financial planning and preserve financial security. The group frequently provides assistance to women, including those who may be survivors of domestic violence, via pro bono volunteer advisors who answer their questions on a free helpline. It also provides free online courses to help survivors with financial abuse recovery. Francis, a CFP and CDFA who specializes in working with widows and divorced women, was motivated in her work by watching her own grandmother suffer financial abuse.

Jason Ray and Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, Zenith Wealth Partners

Jason Ray and Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, co-founders of Zenith Wealth Partners. — Jason Ray (L) and Chelsea Ransom-Cooper (R).

As the face of wealth diversifies and Black families climb into the ranks of the high net worth, they remain underrepresented among asset and wealth managers. Jason Ray and Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, co-founders of Philadelphia based fee-only RIA Zenith Wealth Partners, are ready to change that. They launched the firm in 2019 as one of the only Black-owned RIAs in the country. Earlier this year, Zenith was tapped by two deep-pocketed foundations to advise on impact investing and improve asset manager diversity as part of the foundations' commitment to closing racial and gender-based wealth gaps. Ray, as the CEO and investment director of Zenith, leads the firm's investment committee and guides the firm's work with institutional clients who have aligned investing values. He has worked at Carnegie Wealth Management, Lincoln Financial and FS Investments in the past. Ransom-Cooper, a CFP, is the firm's head of wealth management and financial planning and an advisor who helps clients with holistic financial planning.

Sergio Ermotti, UBS

Called back by UBS to become CEO following its March acquisition of Credit Suisse, saving it from collapse, Sergio Ermotti has been hailed as the choice from "Hollywood casting" for overseeing the absorption of one long-standing financial institution into another. Ermotti, who ran UBS from 2011 to 2020, was seen as the perfect person to shepherd the international financial giant through one of the biggest bank mergers in history. Among his current priorities are plans to recapture as much of the $20 billion in assets formerly managed by Credit Suisse, and as many of the 500 former Credit Suisse advisors who had left the firm between the purchase and the third quarter of this year, as possible. And UBS, although already a major player in overseas wealth management, also sees room to expand its advisory business in the U.S.

Claudia Cypher Kane, Financial Planning Association

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Claudia Cypher Kane has many certifications, from CPWA (certified private wealth advisor) to CDFA (certified divorce financial analyst). But it's her designation as a CFP (certified financial planner) that she'll be representing across the country in 2024, as she starts her one-year term as president of the Financial Planning Association. Kane has been a financial advisor since 1985, when she became a planner for Merrill Lynch, and from 1997 to 2011 she was a senior vice president at Wells Fargo Advisors. Today she's an advisor at the Raymond James-affiliated Beacon Wealth Strategies in Roseville, California. She also serves at a number of community organizations, including as president of the Court Appointed Special Advocates in El Dorado County. Starting in January, she'll bring that spirit of volunteerism and her decades of experience in wealth management to the FPA's top leadership post.

Danny Werfel, Internal Revenue Service

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With a strong business case for adding or expanding tax services in wealth management, many advisors and their teams may be getting to know IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel better in 2024. With the aid of an influx of tens of billions of dollars in additional budget for the IRS over the next decade, Werfel's agency is striving to crack down on wealthy tax dodgers, boost customer service for professionals and taxpayers, implement a raft of new tax credits for energy efficiency and overhaul the troubled employee retention credit process, among other tasks. But if Republicans retake the Senate and White House and bulk up their slim majority in the U.S. House, the agency's current goals will go right into the dustbin.

Meena Lakdawala-Flynn, Goldman Sachs

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Goldman Sachs' very public retreat from its previous plans to become a serious competitor of the business of retail wealth management banking has garnered plenty of attention over the past year. Perhaps receiving less notice is the Wall Street stalwart's decision to double down on one of its long-standing strengths: Serving high net worth and ultra high net worth clients. Central to that effort is Meena Lakdawala-Flynn, a partner and the co-head of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs. In that position, she and fellow co-head, John Mallory, are in charge of ensuring the firm provides the full range of services that wealthy customers expect. Lakdawala-Flynn put in a year at Morgan Stanley in 1999 before joining Goldman the following year. She is also the co-lead of the firm's One Goldman Sachs Family Office in the Americas, is on the Goldman Sachs Global Inclusion and Diversity Committee and serves as an investment champion for Launch With GS, which invests in firms and portfolio managers with diverse leadership.

Sharon Yeshaya, Morgan Stanley

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With Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman planning to retire by year end, employees of the wealth management giant will no doubt be grateful to anyone who can provide a sense of institutional continuity.For that, they can turn to Sharon Yeshaya, who has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer for a little more than two and a half years. Proving a good fit for a firm that famously rewards loyalty, Yeshaya started at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst in 2001. The many titles she has held since have included vice president in research, managing director of the fixed income division and head of investor relations. Yeshaya's many industry recognitions and honors include being named one of the Most Powerful Women in Finance this year. As Morgan Stanley strives toward $10 trillion in assets under management, Yeshaya will aim to provide the steady hand needed to reach such a lofty goal.

Bill St. Louis, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority welcomed a new head of enforcement in August with its appointment of longtime employee Bill St. Louis to that position. St. Louis is now in charge of the brokerage industry self-regulator's myriad enforcement efforts, from fining and suspending individual brokers and firms to running wider campaigns on stemming elder investor abuse and warning of the risks of cryptocurrencies. Last year, FINRA's regulatory actions resulted in the collection of $54.5 million in fines, the expulsion of seven firms from the industry and the suspension of 328 brokers. St. Louis, who joined FINRA in 1998 and most recently oversaw special investigative units overseeing efforts related to anti-money laundering, cybersecurity and high-risk adults, comes to his new role as various lawsuits question the organization's basic right to exist and exercise its current enforcement powers. He will be at the center of efforts to prove that FINRA remains an essential part of U.S. safeguards for investors and brokerage clients.

Mac Gardner, FinLit Tech

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Mac Gardner will try just about anything to spread financial literacy. In 2019, he founded FinLit Tech, a firm that creates digital tools to educate people about personal finance. But he's also hosted a podcast, written a children's book, designed a curriculum and even founded a fraternity to raise awareness of — and enthusiasm for — wealth management. His 2015 book, "The Four Money Bears," teaches kids (and their parents) about saving, spending, giving and investing. His fraternity, Mu Nu Upsilon (MNY), welcomes students interested in financial planning and raises money for their scholarships. And to top it all off, he's working with the University of South Florida to create a new training program for aspiring financial advisors. In 2024, we can't wait to see what he does next.

Amanda Dolan, RBC Wealth Management

Meet RBC's "mastermind" of recruitment. That's what the Canadian firm calls Amanda Dolan, head of advisor recruiting at RBC Wealth Management. Dolan has been at RBC since 2010, but made her mark as its advisor onboarding manager 10 years later. As COVID-19 pushed wealth management toward remote work, Dolan spearheaded the creation of RBC's virtual recruiting platform, which the firm credits with taking its hiring efforts "to a new level." In 2021, Dolan rose to RBC's top recruiting job, and since then the firm has been on a roll. In 2023, RBC reeled in a $1.1 billion team in Columbus, Ohio, a $1 billion team in Newport Beach, California, and a $5.5 billion advisory team in Atlanta — RBC's biggest hire ever. As 2024 begins, we'll see whether Dolan can keep up the hot streak.

Toussaint Bailey, Uplifting Capital

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A year after launching a firm that connects advisory practices to private equity investments for sustainable and socially responsible impact, Toussaint Bailey of Uplifting Capital is surpassing his own expectations for the inflows into his company's products. As of mid-October, the firm's products had drawn more than $38.5 million in combined investments, topping Bailey's initial projections of $20 million to $25 million. With more and especially younger clients expressing interest in aligning their investment portfolios to their principles, Uplifting and other impact managers will be valuable firms for advisors to know next year.

Suzanne van Staveren, Edelman Financial Engines

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Following her move last year from Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management to become the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Edelman Financial Engines, van Staveren is helping the firm ramp up its registered investment advisory firm acquisition strategy. As of October, Edelman had completed four acquisitions in the past 12 months. After that relatively modest start, the firm — with more than $250 billion in assets from 1.3 million clients and the backing of private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus — is poised to keep adding to its stable of advisory offices and wealth management capabilities under van Staveren's leadership.

Louis Barajas and Daniel Guillen, International Private Wealth Advisors

Louis Barajas and Daniel Guillen of International Private Wealth Advisors — Daniel Guillen (L) and Louis Barajas (R).

With fewer than 3% of certified financial planners identifying as Hispanic, two veteran advisors are taking the initiative to create their own pathway for Latino professionals into the industry with the launch of their firm, Irvine, California-based International Private Wealth Advisors, earlier this year. Barajas is also a board member of the CFP Board and one of three financial experts guiding diverse families to boost their wealth as part of the PBS television show, "Opportunity Knock$." An industry with a business and moral imperative to get more young people and career changers of all backgrounds into the industry will be looking to Barajas and Guillen's firm for an example.

Julie Su, U.S. Department of Labor

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Amid the controversy surrounding her position as the Biden administration's secretary of labor without Senate confirmation, Su is leading her agency's effort to enshrine its most significant changes to retirement advice rules in nearly 50 years with the "retirement security rule" proposal. The potential rule has drawn near-immediate industry pushback and calls for much more time to review the proposal ahead of inevitable court challenges by trade groups and business interests. The AARP as well as consumer, union and fiduciary advocates have expressed support for the administration's plans, though. More than five years after an appeals court ruling dumped the agency's last major attempt to alter retirement advice rules in the trash, Su and her team face an uphill climb next year.

Andy Sieg, Citi

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In 2023, Andy Sieg shocked the world of wealth management by jumping from Merrill to Citi. Sieg had been president of Merrill Wealth Management for six years, following seven years as its head of Global Wealth & Retirement Solutions. But in March, he made the surprise announcement that he was leaving the firm to become Citi's new head of wealth, a role he officially began six months later. Sieg is no stranger to his new employer; he served as a senior wealth management executive at Citi from 2004 to 2009. His résumé also includes a stint at the White House from 1990 to 1991, when he was an economic and domestic policy aide under President George H.W. Bush. As Sieg announced his move back to Citi, he declared, "There is a transformation underway at Citi, and I am excited about becoming part of a team that's driven to deliver for clients, colleagues and shareholders." In 2024, we'll see what that transformation looks like under Sieg's leadership.

Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf, Merrill

Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf, credit Bank of America - shortened.jpg — Lindsay Hans (L) and Eric Schimpf (R).

After Merrill Lynch's one-time president decided to decamp for Citi in March, not one but two executives stepped up to take his place: Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf, serving as co-heads and presidents in charge of working with the firm's more than 19,000 advisors and $3.2 trillion in assets. Despite its enviable headcount, the wealth management giant has struggled to find its footing following its acquisition by Bank of America amid the financial collapse of 2008. Merrill has found itself the target of numerous recruiting raids in recent years, and prominent advisory teams have left after receiving better offers from the likes of RBC and UBS. Merrill has tried to make up for some of the lost ground by reinvesting in its once standard-setting training program for wealth managers. Hans and Schimpf still have a ways to go to prove they can return Merrill to the glories of its past. But there have been some signs of progress: The firm recently reported that it has so far added 31,000 net new households to its wealth management ranks in 2023, putting it on track to set a record.

Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley's Ted Pick And James Gorman Interview

Ted Pick was always the front-runner to take over the top position at Morgan Stanley after CEO James Gorman steps down later this year. More surprising than his appointment this fall was the lengths the firm went to to keep his two fellow co-presidents and contenders for the CEO spot — Andy Saperstein and Dan Simkowitz — happy enough to stay on. All three received a $20 million bonus shortly after the transition plans were announced. That means Pick will be leading Morgan Stanley with a tested leadership team in place. Saperstein will be under him, overseeing the firm's storied wealth and asset management divisions, and Simkowitz will be in charge of investment banking and trading. That should no doubt please Pick, a three-decade Morgan Stanley veteran who has received a great deal of credit for helping to pull the firm from the brink of disaster following the 2008 financial collapse. Well-known for his expectation of loyalty to Morgan Stanley, Pick will no doubt be happy to be surrounded by a couple of other firm stalwarts as he strives to bring $10 trillion under its wealth management belt and hit other goals.

Natalie Wolfsen, Orion Advisor Solutions

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For nearly a decade, Natalie Wolfsen sat atop the depth chart at AssetMark, leading the California-based TAMP on a path to consecutive quarters of record earnings and higher advisor headcounts. But a sudden late summer CEO shakeup saw AssetMark's longtime top executive switch teams and make the jump to Orion Advisor Solutions in 2023. The replacement for Orion founder and outgoing CEO Eric Clarke, Wolfsen is poised to make her mark on the wealthtech provider over the next 12 months. Not only is she stepping into the role with an impressive track record that has contributed to what may end up being the best year in AssetMark company history, her first full year as Orion CEO also coincides with the company's 25th anniversary. It's a big milestone for the wealthtech giant, and it will be interesting to see how Wolfsen's hot hand will guide the celebration throughout 2024.

Dan Zitting, Nitrogen

In a year with nearly as many wealthtech CEO changes as there are wealthtech solutions themselves, few C-suite moves were as shocking as Riskalyze-turned-Nitrogen frontman Aaron Klein stepping down from his post after 12 years as CEO. Klein has made himself a hard to miss figure in the space, and for many, his personality was directly tied to the success of his product. But in 2024, a new leader is taking over — one who fits the company's shift from risk to growth. Dan Zitting, formerly the CEO of SaaS governance, risk and compliance software developer Galvanize, has experience scaling up amid times of change. Over the course of his career with Galvanize, he grew the company to more than 500 employees, 50 worldwide channel partners and $100 million in annual recurring revenue, departing after a $1 billion acquisition by Diligent. In 2024, we will keep an eye on how much bigger he makes Nitrogen, and if his Twitter game is as strong as Klein's.

Maggie Liu, Bordeaux Wealth Advisors

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As 2023 entered its final quarter, Bordeaux Wealth Advisors made a major announcement that is important for a lucrative — yet often overlooked — niche. That announcement was the establishment of Bordeaux's Asian Wealth Advisory, a new unit that focuses on wealthy Asian families and individuals, and will provide them with holistic wealth management and services including investment, tax and estate planning and more. Serving as the unit's director is Maggie Liu, a wealth advisor who joined Bordeaux in July from Empirical Wealth Management. Born and raised in Taiwan, Liu says the unit will head into 2024 with a focus on better serving a community that has become the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S. It will be interesting to see how the unit, which also has plans to hire Indian Americans to cater to wealthy Asians of that background, grows in 2024. Also notable will be whether or not other RIAs follow Liu's lead.