Podcast
The Trusted Adviser
Hosted by Rob Pyne · EN
The Trusted Adviser is a podcast for financial planners who want to learn from the best in the profession. Hosted by Rob Pyne, founder and CEO of HPH Solutions, each episode features in-depth conversations with leading financial planners and experts from businesses that support the advice community.
Guests share practical insights, lessons learned, and ideas for building better advice businesses, from technology and pricing to succession and client experience.
Whether you’re an experienced adviser or growing your practice, The Trusted Adviser offers thought-provoking conversations to help you, and your business thrive.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Beyond Referrals: David Newson (XNW Atelier) on the Future of Marketing for Independent Advisers
2w ago01:09:30Tap to summarizeWhat does it actually take to attract your next best client — before they've been referred to you? Most advice firms are excellent at converting a warm referral. But in a world where affluent consumers increasingly search before they ask a friend, the ability to earn trust from scratch is an entirely different skill. In this episode, Rob is joined by David Newson, founder of XNW Atelier and a marketing strategist with over two decades of experience inside the independent advisory world. David brings a rare combination: deep expertise in consumer behaviour, a background in business development at a San Francisco-based RIA, and a genuine understanding of what makes affluent clients choose — and stay with — a financial advice firm. Together, Rob and David unpack why most advice firm websites look and sound the same, the critical difference between communications and true marketing strategy, and what it means to build genuine magnetism rather than just push content into the world. They explore the psychology of the affluent consumer, how to design trust signals that actually hold water, and why positioning is a business decision long before it becomes a marketing one. David also shares a perspective on AI and the future of advice that is worth the listen alone — and it has nothing to do with out-teching the technology. Whether you're a principal thinking about organic growth or a leader wondering why your digital presence isn't converting, this conversation will reframe how you think about marketing your firm.
Transcribe →Building a Modern Advice Firm: Terry Dillon on the Evolution of Shadforth Financial Group
4w ago00:46:07Tap to summarizeWhat happens when 13 of the most successful independent advice firms in Australia decide to put their egos aside and build something together? That's the modern origin story of Shadforth Financial Group — and it's the backdrop for one of the most compelling conversations we've had on this show. Terry Dillon has been with Shadforth for 34 years. He spent the first two decades as an adviser before stepping into the CEO role in 2018 — right in the middle of the Royal Commission. Rather than retreating from the scrutiny that came with institutional ownership, he walked into the boardroom and told the parent company: if we can't make each other better every day, you should probably sell us. That moment set the tone for everything that followed. In this episode, Terry and Rob cover the decisions that transformed Shadforth from a business built for sale into one built to lead — now close to 100 advisers, 270 staff, 11,000 families, and around $20 billion under stewardship. They get into Shadforth's evidence-based investment philosophy, the family advice guarantee that addresses intergenerational wealth transfer in a way Rob hadn't heard before, and their technology roadmap — including a client app that takes advice from a static document to something closer to a live financial plan on your phone. They also talk acquisitions. Shadforth is growing strongly — double digits, organically — and now has its sights set on inorganic growth to match. But it's the way Terry frames the ambition that really lands. He's not talking about incremental targets. He's asked his leadership team to think about what Shadforth looks like at ten times its current size — and what that forces you to do differently today. Stick around for the moment near the end where Terry names the kind of firm he believes Shadforth can become — and the professional services names he wants spoken in the same breath. It's the kind of ambition that reframes how you think about what's possible in advice.
Transcribe →Scaling Advice: Jeff Thurecht on Talent, Technology and Growth
Apr 900:41:47Tap to summarizeWhat does it actually take to build a financial planning firm that wins Company of the Year? Jeff Thurecht is the co-founder and CEO of Evalesco Financial Services, a Sydney-based firm he built alongside business partner Marshall Brentnall nearly two decades ago. The name says it all: Evalesco is Latin for "to grow strong, prevail and add value." In 2025, the industry agreed, awarding Evalesco both the Holistic Advice Firm of the Year and the overall Company of the Year at the IFA Excellence Awards. In this conversation, Jeff opens up about the deliberate decisions behind that recognition. He shares how Evalesco built demographic-specific advice pods, from wealth accumulators and pre-retirees through to a genuine high net worth, multi-family office offering via the Principal Edge acquisition. He explains how a team of nine in the Philippines became one of the most valued parts of the business, not as outsourced support but as genuinely embedded team members. Jeff is also candid about what it really meant to win a company award rather than an individual one, and why building a team without "rock stars" has always been the goal. We also cover: The acquisition of Principal Edge: what made it the right move, what made it hard, and what's still being worked through The identity shift from adviser to CEO, and the surprisingly difficult task of measuring your own progress when client appointments no longer fill your diary Evalesco's bold 3k 30 vision: 3,000 ideal clients by 2030, and exactly how they plan to get there How technology is being used to free up adviser face time, including a new CRM build on Microsoft Dynamics and a purpose-built Technology and Advice Delivery Manager role Jeff's answer to the final question, what single thing would move the needle most right now, is one of the clearest articulations of great advice leadership you'll hear.
Transcribe →Turning Your Team into Owners: The HPH Employee Ownership Model with Nick Bordi
Mar 2600:46:42Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Trusted Adviser, I sit down with our Chief Operating Officer, Nick Bordi, to unpack one of the most talked-about topics in financial planning businesses: employee ownership. At HPH Solutions, what started as a simple idea to reward and retain great people has evolved into something far more powerful. Our Team Equity Trust now plays a central role in ownership transition, long-term incentives, and what we’ve come to think of as an “internal private equity” model. Nick and I go deep into how the structure actually works – from eligibility and valuation through to funding mechanisms for younger team members and the governance required when you have dozens of employee owners. We also share the lessons we’ve learned along the way, including mistakes, structural changes, and the thinking behind key decisions like not discounting equity. If you’re a business owner thinking about succession, culture, or how to align your team to long-term growth, this conversation offers a practical and transparent look at what’s worked for us – and what we’d do differently.
Transcribe →Reinventing the SOA: Corey Wastle's Journey Towards Video-First Advice
Mar 1200:51:41Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob sits down with Corey Wastle, founder of Verse Wealth, to unpack how his firm has reimagined advice delivery, replacing the traditional SOA model with a streamlined video-first approach that has dramatically reduced paraplanning time, and elevated client clarity. Corey shares: How recording advice meetings can meet SOA compliance requirements Why Verse reduced its advice document from 15,000 words to 3,500 How they cut paraplanning time from 8 hours to 2.5 hours The structure of their 3-meeting advice process How tracking financial wellbeing strengthens long-term relationships Why the future may lie in a “CXM” — a Client Experience Manager This is a practical, behind-the-scenes look at how one firm is modernising advice delivery, without waiting for regulatory reform. If you’re thinking about efficiency, client clarity, AI integration, or the future of advice, this episode is essential listening.
Transcribe →You Can’t Scale Trust — 2025 IFA Excellence Award Winner Xan Kitchin on Building Wealth Connexion
Feb 2600:52:24Tap to summarizeAlexander “Xan” Kitchin, Managing Director of Wealth Connexion and 2025 IFA Excellence Award – Individual winner, joins Rob Pyne to share how a corporate mindset, disciplined systems, and a strong team culture are reshaping modern financial advice. In this episode, Xan explains why “you can’t scale trust,” and what that means for adviser capacity, AI, and the future of professional advice businesses. A thoughtful conversation for practice owners and advisers thinking about sustainable growth and long-term impact.
Transcribe →The Profit Gap in Financial Advice, with Dean Lombardo of Effortless Engagement
Feb 1200:51:17Tap to summarizeMany financial advice businesses are busy, growing, and delivering for clients — yet still fall short of their true commercial potential. In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne is joined by Dean Lombardo, Founder of Effortless Engagement, to explore the insights from Dean’s white paper The Profit Gap and why advice firms often leak profit without realising it. Dean outlines four core sources of profit leakage identified through extensive research and diagnostic work across advice businesses: Organisational misalignment Workflow complexity Capacity misuse Conversion friction The conversation focuses on how these issues quietly compound inside otherwise well-run firms, why they’re hard to see from the inside, and what business owners can do to unlock profit already embedded within their existing model — without cutting service or culture. If you’re an advice business owner who feels busy and commercially disciplined but suspects there’s more potential in your business, this episode offers a clear and practical framework to start closing the Profit Gap.
Transcribe →The Adviser-Led Estate Plan: Inherit Australia's Approach
Jan 2900:51:17Tap to summarizeIn this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne is joined by Chris Hill (lawyer and financial adviser) and Rafael Cohen (fintech founder) from Inherit Australia to explore a smarter, adviser-led approach to estate planning. They unpack why advisers are uniquely positioned to drive estate planning conversations, how structured questioning can surface family dynamics and risks before they become disputes, and how technology can bridge the long-standing gap between advisers and lawyers, without crossing into legal advice. You’ll hear how Inherit Australia enables advisers to: Confidently lead estate planning discussions within a compliant framework Improve client engagement, retention, and intergenerational connections Work more efficiently with lawyers through better upfront information Ensure estate plans are completed, stored, and accessible when they’re needed most A practical, future-focused conversation for advisers looking to deepen client relationships and protect their practice through the coming intergenerational wealth transfer.
Transcribe →Tech Sanity for Advice Firms with Peter Worn of Finura Group
Jan 1500:56:38Tap to summarizeIs your advice tech stack quietly helping your business grow, or quietly driving everyone mad? In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne sits down with Peter Worn, co-founder of Finura Group, to unpack what it really takes to bring tech sanity to a modern advice firm. Drawing on years of experience working with licensees and advice businesses across Australia, Peter lifts the lid on the promises, pitfalls, and hidden costs behind today’s technology and AI solutions. They explore: The difference between a genuine tech stack and a messy tech pile How to spot conflicts of interest with Managed Service Providers (MSPs), vendors, and “AI agencies” A simple ROI lens for deciding which tech or AI project to do next Why duplicating tools for tasks, communication, and storage adds risk (not value) The real trade-offs between industry platforms and enterprise CRMs like Salesforce or Dynamics What good document management and data hygiene actually look like in practice Stay listening right to the end, where Peter shares how buyers really assess your tech when you’re preparing for sale. Why “weird and wonderful” systems can hurt your valuation, how your cyber posture becomes a trust filter for acquirers, and the key signs that your problem isn’t technology at all, but leadership and business model. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re overpaying for tech, under-using what you have, or on the brink of an expensive misstep, this conversation will help you reset, refocus, and get more out of every dollar you invest in technology.
Transcribe →New Year Reflection with Recommended Reading
Jan 100:04:25Tap to summarizeAs we wrap up the year, this short solo episode is part reflection and part recommended reading list. In this episode, Rob steps back to reflect on some of the key ideas that have shaped his thinking as a business owner, drawing on a selection of books that have had a lasting influence on how HPH Solutions has been built. What’s been especially striking is how consistently these same ideas have shown up in the real-world experiences shared by guests on The Trusted Adviser. From Jim Collins’ Flywheel concept and the power of disciplined, compounding progress, to the importance of transparency, execution, culture, and trust, this episode connects enduring business principles with lived experience inside advice firms. It’s a reflection on what really drives sustainable success in professional services businesses, and particularly in financial advice. Not shortcuts or breakthroughs, but clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, strong people, and a long-term mindset. We’re taking a short break over the New Year and will be back in two weeks with a new guest episode. Wishing all trusted advisers a happy and healthy New Year, and every success in 2026.
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