Before the ball drops in New York’s Times Square to usher in 2026, InvestmentNews wanted to take a quick look back at the year that was 2025 for advisors. Importantly, we wanted to focus on the good times, because, well, nobody wants to be a drag during the holiday season.
To make it happen, we asked some of our favorite advisors to highlight the best things that happened to their practices in the past year.
Aaron Leak, founder and wealth Manager at ECL Private Wealth Management, told us that "achieving meaningful scale without sacrificing personalization" was the single best thing that happened to his practice in 2025. He said he reached a point where growth, systems, and client experience finally aligned, allowing him to serve higher-net-worth families and business owners more deeply while maintaining the hands-on, relationship-driven approach the firm was built on.
“By integrating advanced planning strategies such as securities-based lending, alternative investments, and more proactive estate and tax coordination, we were able to solve real-world problems for clients beyond traditional portfolio management. That value proposition, combined with targeted referrals and intentional marketing, fueled strong organic growth,” Leak said.
Elsewhere, Peter Obermeyer, founder and portfolio manager with East Face, remarked that successfully completing the registration process with XYPN’s assistance was his practice highlight in 2025. He added that transitioning from a single family office to an RIA structure allowed him to "develop new relationships and help a broader range of people," which he believes has been very rewarding.
“The biggest factor influencing our growth in 2025 was a volatile market and macroeconomic environment, particularly at the beginning of the year. This volatility underscored the usefulness of the diversifying strategies in which we specialize,” Obermeyer said.
Kevin Thompson, founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, meanwhile, says one of his best memories of the past year was hosting a panel at the Future Proof festival. Along similar lines, he also enjoyed offering his opinion in multiple news articles and blogs around the country in 2026.
“It has truly been a blessing for myself and the firm,” Thompson said.
Moving on, Charles Failla, founder and CEO of Sovereign Financial Group, says the single best decision he made in 2025 was to deliberately walk away from private equity interest and instead bring in a NextGen leadership team and offer them real equity ownership. In his view, that choice allowed him to remain fully engaged with Sovereign while shifting more of his day-to-day focus back to serving his personal clients, continuing his work advocating for a fiduciary-first RIA industry through goRIA.com, and protecting Sovereign’s fiduciary culture.
“Transferring equity to the people who are actually building and running the firm is, in my view, the best way to preserve our independence and ensure the culture outlives me as the founder,” Failla said.
THE MOST UNEXPECTED THING IN 2025
As for the most unexpected thing - good or bad - that happened to his practice in 2025, ECL’s Leak was seriously surprised by how quickly market volatility and interest-rate uncertainty reshaped client priorities.
“Rather than reacting emotionally, clients looked for clarity, liquidity, and planning discipline. I leaned into education, transparency, and frequent communication, helping clients stay focused on long-term strategy instead of short-term noise,” Leak said.
For his part, 9i Capital Group’s Thompson says the most unexpected thing in 2025 was something that’s generally expected: the seasonal slowdown.
“The summer lull never really gets easier. You know it’s coming, yet it still tests your patience and discipline every year. Instead of fighting it, we leaned into it. We put our heads down and focused on building and creating short-form webinar content on our YouTube channel to stay top of mind with clients and prospects,” Thompson said.
Emphasized Thompson: “Growth doesn’t stop during slow periods; it just looks different.”
Finally, Sovereign’s Failla says his biggest surprise in 2025 was realizing that saying no to opportunities that looked amazing on paper was actually the biggest catalyst for growth.
“I walked away from checks with more zeros than I ever imagined I’d see, which forced a level of clarity around our values, ownership structure, and long-term vision. Choosing not to pursue private equity ultimately made the firm stronger, more focused, and more aligned with the culture we’re committed to preserving,” Failla said.
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