Transformation in 2025 isn’t just about technology adoption. It’s about communication, culture, and collaboration.
At Osaic ConnectEd 2025, members of the firm's leadership team — Matthew Schlueter, executive vice president of operations and technology solutions; Erinn Ford, executive vice president of advisor engagement; and John DiMonda, co-head of Osaic independent channel — that message has guided the company’s evolution from integration to innovation.
“This [conference] is the ultimate report card on how we’re doing as a firm,” Schleuter told InvestmentNews. Over the past year, his team has rebuilt Osaic’s core technology infrastructure, cutting more than 1,000 redundant servers and retiring over 100 legacy applications. The result: faster deployment, fewer service disruptions, and a renewed sense of credibility among advisors.
“We’re moving at four times the speed,” Schlueter said. “Advisors see the vision now — they get it.”
That sense of restored confidence has allowed the firm to shift from reacting to problems to focusing on growth. “When Matt’s team gets operations and technology right, it frees our people up,” John DiMonda told InvestmentNews. “Instead of being firefighters, they can be business partners and consultants. That changes everything.”
After the firm’s massive “Journey to One” integration, rebuilding trust with advisors required more than technical fixes — it demanded clear, consistent communication. Schlueter’s “service excellence” campaign, launched earlier this year, set out to do exactly that.
His team began releasing weekly tech updates, holding virtual town halls, and delivering short, digestible video and email briefings. “We try to make sure every communication is purposeful,” he said. “It’s about keeping it crisp, clear, and in the channels advisors actually use.”
Just as important, Osaic reengineered its feedback loops so that advisors’ voices directly shape priorities. “I don’t get to set priorities,” Schlueter said. “Advisors tell us what matters, and we act on that.”
A project management team now tracks feedback across all business lines, ensuring that issues identified in the field are resolved — and verified. According to Schlueter, more than 150 advisor-identified pain points have already been fixed.
For Erinn Ford, advisor engagement begins with access. “We call it ‘no advisor left behind,’” she told InvestmentNews. “Every one of our advisors has a relationship manager — whether that’s a service team or a dedicated partner.”
That structure, she said, has been key to retention and rebuilding confidence. “Our business is built on trust and confidence,” Ford said. “We’ve been out visiting offices, having intentional conversations, and winning hearts and minds.”
Those conversations aren’t limited to her team. DiMonda noted that senior leaders, including CEO Jamie Price and Greg Cornick, EVP of wealth management solutions, have taken on direct roles in advisor outreach.
“Jamie always says, ‘I’m your senior-most relationship manager,’ and he means it,” DiMonda said. “Now you’ve got our CFO, our legal counsel, all out talking to advisors. It creates accountability and keeps leadership close to what really matters.”
That accessibility, he said, is critical to culture. “A lot of these advisors came from smaller firms where they could pick up the phone and call the top of the organization,” DiMonda said. “We want to preserve that connection, even at scale.”
Looking ahead, Schlueter’s mandate centers on productivity — freeing advisors from administrative “noise” to spend more time with clients. “If 40% of an advisor’s day is spent on administrivia, that’s time we can give back through automation and AI,” he said.
His team is piloting AI-driven tools to enhance search, streamline workflows, and deliver faster service responses. But the goal isn’t to replace people. “The hardest thing to scale is your time and your personal interactions with clients,” Schlueter said. “Technology should give advisors more of that.”
That balance — between innovation and empathy — defines Osaic’s next chapter. “Just like advisors listen and build trust with their clients,” Ford said, “we’re listening to our advisors. This is about co-creating our future together.”
Chicago-based Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions adds flexPATH's plan-level outsourced fiduciary book, boosting its retirement market reach to $164 billion.
Also, Raymond James's employee advisor channel adds breakaways from Wells Fargo and Stifel, while UBS welcomes an ex-Morgan Stanley duo in Indiana.
It promised guaranteed principal and 10% monthly returns. The SEC says it invested nothing.
Ten years after entering the fee-based annuity market, MassMutual Ascend says nearly half its lifetime sales came in the past two years alone – but barriers remain among fee-only advisors.
Amplify, WealthReach, Zeplyn and Zocks have unveiled partnerships aimed at automating portfolio management, content creation, account opening, and client communication.
Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
