Summary - Ensombl on Tour: Growth Series 2

Financial professionals gather at conferences and festivals for various reasons: to hear from industry-leading experts, to discover new ways to serve clients, and to collaborate with peers in the spirit of professional development. In the case of the Future Proof Festival, something more happened. By blending an open-air, music-festival ambiance with deep discussions and practice management insights, participants were encouraged not only to learn about financial innovation but also to engage in a lively, community-oriented atmosphere.

Two Australian advisors, Peita Diamantidis and Adele Martin, attended the festival with a shared mission: to collect forward-thinking ideas on business growth, client engagement, ethics, and professionalism, and then share these insights with their peers back home. What follows is an in-depth examination of the themes they highlighted during their Day Two experience, including the unique structures—like small discussion “Talks” and one-on-one “Meetings”—that shaped the conference, as well as conversations around practice management, communication strategies, and the evolving nature of advice. This article weaves in perspectives on professional and ethical responsibilities, demonstrating that an advisor’s commitment to clients must be grounded in integrity, transparency, and a willingness to innovate responsibly.

1. The Future Proof Format: Talks, One-on-One Meetings, and a Festival Atmosphere

One of the earliest observations from Future Proof Festival was how different it felt compared to a traditional finance conference. Instead of the usual formalities—crowded hotel ballrooms and predictable sponsor booths—the event took place outdoors in a series of large tents, with smaller discussion tables and designated meeting spaces. Attendees could sign up in advance for:

1. Roundtable Talks – Facilitated discussions around specific topics such as AI, marketing, compliance, or practice management. These were designed for small-group collaboration.
2. One-on-One Meetings – Structured “speed meetings,” in which participants pre-selected areas of interest, then were matched with others who shared those interests or expertise.

Peita and Adele both found these formats valuable, if occasionally a little chaotic. The intimate nature of the small-group Talks allowed advisors to hear real-world experiences, struggles, and triumphs from their peers. Meanwhile, the one-on-one speed meetings enabled direct knowledge exchange and quick connections.

1.1 Collaboration and Ethics in Peer Discussions

During the Talks, participants came from a range of backgrounds, skill levels, and comfort with emerging technologies. Adele attended a roundtable on AI and noticed that many attendees were novices. They worried about compliance, recording client interactions, and ensuring the ethical use of client data. This underscoreed a critical point: As new technologies surface, the onus is on financial professionals to fully understand their compliance obligations and to safeguard client data.

Even amidst the excitement of “new toys” like chatbots and predictive analytics, the participants recognized the ethical dimension. How do we securely store transcripts? When is it appropriate to use machine learning to draw inferences about clients’ financial behaviors? These are not trivial questions. Advising clients responsibly means that the drive for efficiency and innovation must always be balanced against regulatory requirements and the moral imperative to protect privacy.

Meanwhile, Peita participated in the one-on-one Meetings. Initially skeptical, she discovered how meaningful and productive these quick sessions could be. A highlight was connecting with a behavioral finance coach from the UK. They found common ground in wanting to elevate how advisors can integrate genuine human coaching—improving financial behaviors and client well-being—into their practices. Once again, the conversation circled around the importance of professionalism and client-centricity: by truly understanding client psychology, advisors can offer tailored guidance that upholds ethical standards.

2. Practice Management Insights: Benchmarking and Growth

A pivotal session Adele attended featured Michael Kitces, widely regarded as one of the go-to thought leaders in financial advice. His talk on the metrics of successful financial advisory firms touched on revenue structures, profitability, and how to gauge true growth beyond mere “assets under management.”

2.1 Shifting from AUM to Value Metrics

Traditionally, many advisory firms in the United States focus on AUM (Assets Under Management) as a measure of success. Kitces challenged this mindset, pointing out that AUM alone can obscure important data about service quality, profitability, and actual client impact. A better set of indicators, he argued, includes:

• Revenue per Advisor: Helps assess whether each advisor is being effectively utilized.
• Revenue per Client: Reveals whether the fees charged align with the depth of service provided and the complexity of client needs.

Crucially, Kitces emphasized that larger firms do not simply become more profitable by adding more clients in an assembly-line fashion. Instead, growth occurs more sustainably and ethically by providing deeper, more specialized services—justifying higher fees while delivering tangible value. This is significant from a professionalism and ethics perspective: if you are scaling your firm primarily by piling on clients without ensuring quality, you risk compromising the fiduciary duty to each individual. Client-first services should always drive your fees and business decisions.

2.2 Specializing and Upskilling

Another key insight from Kitces’s research was the preference for specialization. Firms that evolve to handle more intricate scenarios and offer specialized services—tax optimization, business succession planning, family estate strategies—tend to grow profitably. This approach demands that advisors continually invest in advanced training and credentials. Such ongoing professional development is part of ethical best practices as well: clients deserve advisors who stay current with regulations, academic research, and innovative strategies.

3. Growing (Not “Small”) Practices: Niche and Nimbleness

Peita and Adele also attended a panel of smaller practice owners—referred to as “small RIAs” in the U.S. context—talking about how they remain competitive amidst rampant industry consolidation. The conversation highlighted that these nimble firms often do two things extremely well:

1. Turn Like a Jet Ski, Not a Cruise Ship – Being small (or “growing”) means these businesses can rapidly adapt to industry or regulatory changes. This flexibility confers a competitive advantage, as they can pivot service models or adopt new technology faster than larger counterparts, who might be weighed down by extensive bureaucracy.
2. Embrace a Clear Niche – Each panelist had a distinct client specialization. This ranged from focusing on certain professional industries to targeting specific ethnic or socioeconomic communities. By honing in on a niche, these firms could refine their communication, service offerings, and marketing in ways that truly resonate with their target audience.

From an ethical viewpoint, niching can be powerful. When an advisor dedicates themselves to fully understanding the needs, concerns, and cultural nuances of a specific group, they are better positioned to act in their clients’ best interests. It also allows for more transparency in disclosing possible conflicts of interest or biases. Conversely, broad, one-size-fits-all approaches risk overlooking specific client needs.

4. Communicating to Build Trust and Retain Clients

Several of the day’s sessions focused on communication strategies—both external (marketing) and internal (ongoing client service). A unifying thread was that effective, regular communication fosters transparency and trust, core pillars of professional ethics.

4.1 Frequency and Personalization

In one panel, the startling statistic came up that only 62% of clients interviewed felt comfortable with their financial plan, while 75% were considering moving to a different advisor. Communication gaps were identified as a leading cause. The solution? A consistent “touchpoint strategy.” Some advisors recommended weekly communication in one form or another—though that includes meeting follow-ups, event invites, quick text updates, and short blog posts or newsletters. The key is to ensure your content is relevant and succinct, respecting the client’s time and attention.

Personalization emerged as a critical element. Segmenting clients by demographic, interests, financial goals, and risk profiles helps deliver communications that resonate. An ethically minded practice commits to relevant, accurate messaging—rather than flooding everyone with uniform market updates that may not apply. Personalization also enhances the trust factor, demonstrating you are truly listening to each client’s needs.

4.2 Events and Creating Community

Some advisors used small online workshops (webinars) or in-person meetups to keep in touch with their client base. These events serve two main purposes:

1. Educate existing clients – Provide deeper dives into pertinent topics: retirement strategies, college funding, charitable giving, or whatever the audience has expressed interest in.
2. Encourage referrals – A clever approach was sending a follow-up email encouraging clients to invite friends or family who might be curious about the topic. This respects ethical boundaries because the friend or relative elects to participate without feeling coerced.

For compliance-minded professionals, these workshops are a chance to showcase the rigor of their process. By highlighting how they comply with regulations, use factual data, and disclose conflicts of interest or fees, advisors reinforce ethical business standards.

5. Managing Decisions and Changes: Human Elements in Tech

Two other sessions delved deeper into decision-making, both at the client level (behavioral finance) and within the practice itself (operations and technology adoption).

5.1 Effective Decision-Making for Clients and Teams

One speaker, Matthew Confer, introduced a three-step framework for better decisions:

1. Challenge the Constraints: Before launching a new initiative or advising a client to undertake a particular action, ask whether the premises are correct. Is a new website essential, or is there an alternative channel? Is purchasing a rental property truly the best route for a client, or might there be other strategies?
2. Use a Pre-Mortem: Instead of waiting for a project to fail, imagine every possible way it could go awry. Identifying potential pitfalls in advance helps shape contingency plans and fosters realism over blind optimism.
3. Strengthen Communication: Ensure all stakeholders—team members, clients, external partners—understand the rationale behind decisions. Clarity mitigates misunderstanding and promotes ethical transparency.

This approach resonates with the professional requirement to act in the client’s best interest, as mandated by many regulators worldwide. By rigorously challenging initial assumptions and anticipating mistakes, advisors elevate both the process and outcomes for the people they serve.

5.2 Humanizing with Technology

The final session examined how to integrate new technology while keeping the “human” dimension front and center. AI-based meeting tools, for instance, can process transcripts and highlight recurring questions clients raise. This data can then feed into marketing, newsletters, or one-on-one follow-ups. The ethical benefit is twofold:

• Better Service: Advisors can detect patterns—perhaps multiple clients are anxious about market volatility—and proactively address these concerns in client communications.
• Client Autonomy: By using aggregated data ethically (stripping out personal identifiers, for example), you respect privacy while enhancing overall client experiences.

A recurring motif was that technology should free up advisors’ time to engage in meaningful human interactions, rather than replacing them. That is an ethical stance, ensuring that while efficiency is gained, the profession’s hallmark—relationship-driven trust—remains intact.

6. Demographic Shifts and the Evolving Nature of Advice

A discussion by demographer Megan Kelly brought critical forward-looking insights on how changing social norms will impact the financial planning landscape. Fewer children, delayed or bypassed marriages, multi-stage careers, and “mini-retirements” are just a few of the emerging patterns.

6.1 Planning for Non-Traditional Life Paths

Today’s advisors must discard the assumption of a linear life plan—go to university, start a career, marry, buy a home, retire at 65. Whether it’s single professionals with no kids, couples who adopt later in life, or digital nomads who value experiences over property, the financial plan’s shape changes. Advisors, therefore, must learn to craft creative, individualized strategies that respect each client’s goals and values.

Ethically, this demands humility and cultural competence: no single blueprint suffices. Advisors must be willing to say, “I don’t have personal experience with that life path, but I’ll do the research and collaborate with colleagues or specialists who do.” A readiness to collaborate, refer, or upskill is a sign of professional integrity.

6.2 “Wealth” as Time, Experiences, and Health

As Kelly noted, clients increasingly define “wealth” more broadly than net worth. Many are prioritizing experiences, flexible lifestyles, and personal well-being. For advisors, it becomes imperative to address those areas—helping clients budget for extended travel, philanthropic endeavors, or sabbaticals. This mindset reframes the conversation away from simplistic return-on-investment metrics, toward a richer understanding of life satisfaction.

From an ethical standpoint, advisors who embrace these broader definitions of wealth can align more authentically with clients’ values. They avoid pushing cookie-cutter products and instead measure success in terms of client happiness, security, and personal fulfillment—an approach that resonates with best-interest or fiduciary standards.

7. Marketing, LinkedIn, and Thought Leadership

One intriguing session featured a representative from LinkedIn, who discussed how Fortune 500 CEOs craft their LinkedIn presences to effectively reach stakeholders. Her advice extended naturally to financial advisors, highlighting a few universal tips:

1. Concise, Actionable Takeaways: Whether in text posts or videos, quick-hitting tips gain the most traction. This approach helps clients and prospects learn something immediately, showcasing the advisor’s expertise without requiring a large time commitment.
2. Strong Openers and Closers: The opening line of a post should grab attention, while the final line should prompt a question or call to action (“Contact me if you want more detail” or “Share your thoughts in the comments!”).
3. Short-Form Vertical Video: Brief (under 90 seconds) videos in vertical format, ideally with captions, can boost engagement. Advisors should remain mindful that any reference to financial products or performance includes appropriate disclosures. Balancing the compliance dimension with compelling content is part of the ethical duty to be both transparent and accurate.

The link between marketing competence and professional ethics may not be obvious at first, but it becomes clearer upon reflection: when marketing or communicating publicly, advisors must avoid misleading claims, oversimplifications of risk, or unrealistic promises. Tools like LinkedIn are powerful platforms that, if used responsibly, enable advisors to distribute high-quality, compliance-friendly information to both clients and prospective audiences.

8. Building Community, Trust, and Ethical Culture

Day Two of Future Proof Festival concluded with reflections on how to integrate new insights into everyday practice. For many participants, the festival’s structure—complete with music performances, social events, and chance encounters—emphasized the human side of financial services. While advanced technology, data analytics, and business metrics are vital, they operate against a backdrop of real relationships: between advisor and client, advisor and team, and among professionals themselves.

8.1 The Importance of Continual Ethical Reflection

As advisors adopt strategies for growth—whether that’s harnessing AI, redefining communication rhythms, or pivoting toward specialization—they should regularly revisit a few core questions:

• Does this change improve or compromise the fiduciary or best-interest duty?
• Are we implementing new technology in a way that respects client privacy?
• How do our communication strategies ensure that clients are well-informed, not just bombarded with marketing?

Professional codes of ethics, continuing education programs, and robust compliance checks all play a role here. But equally important is the internal culture at a firm. By fostering an environment where advisors feel comfortable voicing concerns about ethical dilemmas or potential conflicts, companies enhance trust both internally and externally.

8.2 Looking Ahead: The Evolving Role of Advisors

Today’s advisors do far more than pick investments or allocate assets. They also function as coaches, educators, confidants, and strategists across multiple life stages—some of which do not fit the traditional mold. Conferences like Future Proof, which bring together entrepreneurs, demographers, tech experts, and behavioral finance professionals, highlight how multi-faceted modern advice has become.

Yet with this expanded role comes heightened responsibility. Advisors must remain vigilant about the risk of “scope creep,” where they might overstep their expertise, or inadvertently offer advice that edges into legal or mental-health counseling. Knowing one’s professional boundaries and making referrals to specialists (e.g., estate attorneys, therapists, tax professionals) underscores an ethical approach that puts client welfare above ego or revenue concerns.

9. Conclusion: Ethics, Professionalism, and a Forward-Looking Vision

The second day of the Future Proof Festival illustrated how the financial planning landscape continues to transform. Advisors are exploring fresh approaches to practice management—whether through targeted roundtables, one-on-one meetings with specialists, or robust technology adoption. Throughout these discussions, the themes of professionalism and ethics remained ever-present.

Effective, ethical advising requires:

1. Data-Driven Growth: Relying on metrics that capture real client impact rather than chasing superficial goals like AUM alone.
2. Client-Centric Communication: From segmentation to frequent touchpoints, building trust through transparent, relevant, and respectful messaging.
3. Respect for Privacy and Compliance: Particularly when harnessing AI, meeting-transcript tools, or personalized marketing campaigns.
4. Nimble Adaptation: Embracing new demographic trends and life paths, and being prepared to create flexible, individualized financial plans.
5. Community Engagement: Fostering stronger ties through events, shared experiences, or group coaching can extend an advisor’s positive influence and cultivate a sense of belonging among clients.
6. Ongoing Education and Self-Awareness: Understanding that the professional’s role is continuously evolving and requires perpetual learning and introspection to stay at the forefront ethically and intellectually.

As Peita and Adele discovered, mixing a festival vibe with forward-focused workshops can inspire new ways of thinking about financial services. The energy of live music and casual networking fueled honest conversations about the challenges and triumphs of the profession. For readers who may have never attended an event like Future Proof, the insight is clear: sometimes stepping outside traditional conference norms can open creative opportunities to learn, connect, and grow.

In the face of demographic changes, technological breakthroughs, and shifting client expectations, today’s financial advisors have an opportunity—perhaps even a mandate—to ensure that their evolution remains anchored in ethical practice. By embracing innovative communication tools, exploring new niche markets, and continuously reflecting on professional standards, advisors can deliver the kind of service that truly helps clients navigate increasingly complex and individualized life journeys.

At its heart, financial advising is—and always should be—a deeply human endeavor. While the trappings of festivals, technology, and modern marketing can enhance reach and efficiency, the ethical core remains: providing clients with transparent, honest, and tailored advice that fosters genuine security and prosperity. The Future Proof Festival offers a glimpse of how this mission can be pursued with both boldness and integrity, reminding the profession that progress and professionalism go hand in hand when anchored by a steadfast commitment to doing what is right.

Accreditation Points Allocation:

0.10 Technical Competence

0.10 Client Care and Practice

0.10 Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection

0.10 Professionalism and Ethics

0.40 Total CPD Points