Named to InvestmentNews Rising Stars 2026, Akers brings a uniquely human perspective to fintech, shaped by an unconventional journey from international teacher to financial advisor to product leader. He currently leads development across Orion Planning, the Redtail CRM, and Orion’s AI intelligence layer, Denali. His work at the intersection of behavioral finance and artificial intelligence reflects a firm conviction that technology’s greatest opportunity lies in deepening empathy, not replacing it.
Watch the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfbf0u1WasA&feature=youtu.be
[00:00] Gregg Greenberg: Welcome to InvestmentNews Rising Stars 2026, celebrating the next generation of standout professionals under 40 who are redefining leadership in wealth management across the United States. I'm joined today by Cade DeNazario Akers, senior product manager at Orion Advisor Technology where he leads product development across Orion Planning, the Redtail CRM, and the firm's broader AI capabilities through Orion's intelligence layer Denali. Cade, congratulations on this recognition and welcome.
[00:40] Cade DeNazario Akers: Thank you for having me and I appreciate the intro and good job on the pronunciation. I think it's better than I could have said it myself.
[00:47] Gregg Greenberg: That's great. Let's get to a few questions. Being named to the InvestmentNews Rising Stars 2026 list, it's a meaningful achievement, especially for someone who took a non-traditional path into financial services. What does this recognition mean to you personally and how does it reflect the broader mission you and your team at Orion are working toward?
[01:07] Cade DeNazario Akers: So, I guess the first thing is that I'm just totally humbled and flattered and then in terms of how this reflects the overall strategic mission, I'm just really excited about the work that I'm currently doing, all the projects that I'm on. It's very AI focused. It's very futuristic and of course that reflects my interests and also Orion's interests at large. So, it's really exciting times ahead.
[01:32] Gregg Greenberg: Well, your path into fintech, it's a pretty unusual one from teaching internationally to becoming a financial advisor and then moving into product. So, how much does that mix of experience shape the way you think about the tools advisors actually need?
[01:47] Cade DeNazario Akers: Yeah, a lot. I mean, it really shapes not just the way that I think advisors interface with the tools, but the way that advisors interface with clients. My personal philosophy has been to try to, from a product perspective, start with the conversations that I think advisors are having and I know that of course from experience when I was an advisor, but also talking to advisors from the product seat. I like to start there first and kind of work my way backward.
[02:17] I think my experience from teaching internationally to being an advisor myself has really helped what they call my client empathy or user empathy and so I feel really, really good about the experience that I have and how it's been able to shape the products that we've been able to build.
[02:37] Gregg Greenberg: And you've been closely involved in bringing behavioral finance tools into the financial planning context. So how do you see behavioral finance changing the way advisors engage with clients and what role does technology play in making those insights actionable at scale?
[02:53] Cade DeNazario Akers: Yeah, great question. I really think it's everything. I think in the age of AI this will sort of be the revenge of the humanities. I think the days of the hyper-specialized tool, not that it won't be useful in a certain context, but it will just get narrower and narrower. I think we're going to have to just raise the floor on some of the softer skills that I think were sort of left behind in the last couple decades or sort of dismissed.
[03:20] So in terms of behavioral finance, people crave connection. The tools that we've been able to build alongside Dr. Daniel Crosby and the practice management team here at Orion I think have really enabled advisors to have the best conversations with their clients, full stop.
[03:36] Gregg Greenberg: You've been working pretty closely on how AI is showing up across Orion from Redtail's AI-first CRM to the newer capabilities built on Denali. As these tools become more embedded in financial advice, what do you think the industry needs to be most careful about and how is Orion thinking about that as you build?
[03:56] Cade DeNazario Akers: That's a great question. So I think we can frame care in a couple of different ways. First would be just making sure that everything is built within guardrails. I talk to clients a lot. One of the first questions they ask me is, "How's my information protected? How are my clients, how's their information protected?" We're being really strategic and smart about that.
[04:19] We've got all kinds of certifications that are too long to list here, but I think anybody listening can take heart that Orion is taking all the right steps and making all the right investments in information security. And then I think we just kind of need to protect the client experience. AI has allowed us to accelerate. And anyone who's used a generative tool knows this. You can produce content way faster than people can consume it.
[04:42] And so we just need to be really mindful about curating an experience that people feel comfortable in and it's not overwhelming. So we're thinking a lot about the client experience, how to merge all the great bits of tech that we've built over the years at Orion into a seamless experience and using AI to our advantage really is a good tailwind.
[05:01] Gregg Greenberg: And finally, looking a few years ahead, how do you see the advisor's job changing, evolving? And where do you think technology will need to do more to keep up with what clients and the professional are asking of them?
[05:14] Cade DeNazario Akers: Yeah, there was a McKinsey study. I know this is already going to sound ancient, but in 2020 where they looked ahead at the wealth management industry and I'm going to paraphrase and probably butcher it, but they said something to the effect that the role of the advisor is going to become more like an integrated life coach that deals with investments and banking and debt and kind of the general holistic picture instead of just having specialized financial planning knowledge or tax knowledge.
[05:46] Not that those specialized knowledge areas are not going to be relied upon. They certainly will, but we'll just use specialized tools more and more. So I think, as I mentioned before, I really think it is kind of the revenge of the humanities. I think we're going to care about being in a culture where people have really good taste. People know how to provide empathy and validation and they do it often in conversation.
[06:13] I think advisors are probably already naturally good at that. They have a flair for that. That's why they're in the job that they're in. But we will just lean into that and I think continue to build tech that enables that kind of client experience.
[06:19] Gregg Greenberg: Cade, thanks so much for sharing your story and giving us a look at how you're thinking about the work at Orion. It's interesting how much of your background from teaching to advising to product still shows up in the way you think about what advisors actually need from their technology. Congratulations again on being named to InvestmentNews Rising Stars 2026, a recognition you've truly earned.
[06:40] Cade DeNazario Akers: Thanks for having me, Gregg.
[06:41] Gregg Greenberg: And thanks to you all for watching and stay tuned as we continue to celebrate the rising generation of professionals shaping the future of wealth management across the United States. I'm Gregg Greenberg.
