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Year-End Planning with Purpose: Becoming the Advisor of the Future

Year-End Planning with Purpose: Becoming the Advisor of the Future
Nov 25
2025

In this episode of The RARE Advisor, Aaron Grady and Duncan MacPherson explore how financial advisors can approach year-end planning with intention and purpose. Rather than focusing solely on metrics and spreadsheets, they discuss the importance of aligning your “why” with your process and practice. Drawing on Japanese philosophies like Ikigai, Kaizen, Kintsugi, and Wabi Sabi, they share insights on creating a more meaningful, resilient, and sustainable business. Learn how embracing continuous improvement, authenticity, and technology can help you become the advisor of the future.

 

SUMMARY

As the year draws to a close, many financial advisors turn their attention to planning for the year ahead. Traditionally, this process has been dominated by metrics, targets, and technical goals. But in this conversation between Aaron Grady and Duncan MacPherson, the focus shifts to something deeper: purpose. They argue that true success for advisors comes not just from what they accomplish, but from why they do it. This episode challenges advisors to reflect on their motivations and to build a strategic plan that balances quantitative results with qualitative meaning.

Duncan begins by sharing a perspective that has shaped his career: it’s not just how much you earn that makes you valuable, it’s who you become. Financial professionals often concentrate on measurable outcomes, but fulfillment comes from aligning those outcomes with a sense of purpose. He introduces the concept of Ikigai, a Japanese philosophy that translates to “reason for being.” Ikigai is represented by a four-circle Venn diagram that combines what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be rewarded for. For advisors, embracing Ikigai means asking deeper questions about why they do what they do and how their work impacts others. It’s a thoughtful exercise in self-awareness that can transform planning from a static document into a dynamic, meaningful process.

Aaron reinforces this idea by noting that the most fulfilled advisors are those whose purpose aligns with their process and practice. These advisors are energized, happy, and excited to work with clients because their work feels less like a job and more like a calling. Yet, as Duncan points out, it’s easy to lose sight of this alignment when you’re caught up in day-to-day operations. Year-end planning offers an opportunity to reset, reflect, and reconnect with the reasons you entered the profession in the first place. When the “why” is clear, the “how” becomes easier—a principle echoed by Jim Rohn and embraced throughout this discussion.

The conversation then turns to Kaizen, another Japanese concept meaning “change is good.” Kaizen emphasizes continuous improvement rather than complete reinvention. Advisors often feel pressure to overhaul their entire business model, but Duncan argues that sustainable growth comes from small, incremental changes. These refinements compound over time, creating resilience and adaptability. Kaizen also helps advisors accept external forces beyond their control. Markets fluctuate, technology evolves, and unexpected challenges arise. Rather than resisting change, advisors should harness it, using adversity as an opportunity for growth. Duncan reminds listeners that circumstances don’t make the person—they reveal them. Advisors who embrace Kaizen remain relevant, innovative, and prepared for the future.

Technology, particularly artificial intelligence, is one area where Kaizen applies directly. Duncan and Aaron discuss how early adopters of AI are leveraging tools to streamline operations, free up time, and focus on what truly matters: nurturing client relationships. For advisors who fear that technology will replace them, Duncan offers reassurance: for the complacent, technology may eliminate, but for the enlightened, it liberates. High tech combined with high touch creates a powerful advantage, enabling advisors to decommoditize their value and deepen their impact. AI can handle the minutiae, allowing advisors to concentrate on their purpose and the human side of their work.

From Kaizen, the discussion moves to Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. This philosophy teaches that fractures can become features, and imperfections can add value. Duncan owns two pieces of Kintsugi and views them as daily reminders that adversity can lead to strength. For advisors, this means reflecting on the cracks in their business—whether caused by market volatility, capacity issues, or external disruptions—and turning them into strategic advantages. Breaking the status quo is essential. Advisors who coast risk obsolescence, while those who crest without addressing capacity constraints face plateaus. The most successful advisors are climbers: self-motivated, innovative, and committed to continuous improvement.

Closely related to Kintsugi is Wabi Sabi, the appreciation of imperfection and impermanence. Aaron interprets this as shifting from the pressure to be perfect toward authenticity and relatability. Advisors often resist new messaging or processes because they fear making mistakes. Wabi Sabi encourages them to embrace imperfection, be conversational, and focus on genuine connections. Done is better than perfect, and authenticity builds trust far more effectively than scripted perfection. Duncan adds that gratitude is another powerful form of energy. Advisors should aspire to growth while appreciating what they have, investing their good fortune into the future without taking anything for granted.

The episode concludes with two additional concepts: Omakase and Omotenashi. Omakase, meaning “let the chef choose,” symbolizes trust and openness to new experiences. For advisors, this could mean delegating, embracing new ideas, or allowing technology to guide certain processes. Omotenashi represents selfless hospitality—going above and beyond without expectation of recognition or return. Duncan views this as a personal code of conduct: adding value simply because it’s the right thing to do. In a world increasingly driven by transactions, this mindset fosters deeper relationships and long-term loyalty.

Ultimately, Aaron and Duncan urge advisors to use year-end planning as more than a tactical exercise. It’s an opportunity to reconnect with purpose, embrace continuous improvement, and build a practice that is both resilient and meaningful. Success is not just about accumulating wealth or hitting KPIs; it’s about creating impact—for yourself, your clients, and your community. Advisors who focus on their “why” will rediscover the joy that brought them into this profession and position themselves as the advisor of the future. 

TRANSCRIPT

Aaron Grady, Advisor Consulting Director at USA Financial -   Welcome back to the Rare Advisor. I'm your host, Aaron Grady, and with me again is speaker, author, founder of Pareto Systems, Duncan McPherson. Duncan, thank you again for joining me today. 

Duncan MacPherson, CEO of Pareto Systems -  Always a pleasure Aaron, thanks for inviting me. 

Aaron Grady - I asked you to join me again today. We were, talking about the concept of year-end planning. And as we approach the end of this year and we start looking towards next year, this is the time where historically advisories, advisory practices start looking at what is the next year going to be and reflect on where we've been this past year. You know, there's, there's an art and a science, as you've shared with me, there's an art and science of being the advisor of the future. And it's a balancing act of the technical ability, the targets and the goals that you're setting, but also the deep, meaningful understanding of evolving to something more and something deeper. More meaningful, resilient, sustainable. And so, you know, I know that you're a big believer in Japanese philosophy and I love how you overlay that idea through the planning lens to create a philosophical framework through Ikigai, Kintsugi, Kaizen, Wabi Sabi. And I love how you will take and directly apply that to how advisors continue to develop themselves personally and professionally and build something special into the future. With that, talk about the idea of becoming the advisor of the future through this lens.

Duncan MacPherson - Okay, well first of all, I love the theme. I had a mentor a long time ago who said to me, it's not just how much you earn that makes you valuable, it's who you become. And as a financial professional, I mean, so much about what an advisor does is quantitative, but there's also a qualitative element. In fact, you know, I just will happen to have my book here, The Blue Square Method. The reason why the Q is squared like that is because of the balance that you talk about between the quantitative and the qualitative. So the quantitative is measurable. The qualitative is meaningful. And when you find that sweet spot, the personal fulfillment that is born out of what we do for a living, professionally is very meaningful. So I love this, this theme and Erin, I, I love to travel, traveled all over the world and a very meaningful trip to Japan really opened my eyes. I mean, first of all, just the density of Tokyo, the history. But a spot that really just floored me was Okinawa. And I highly recommend anybody who's thinking about traveling to Asia consider Japan and definitely consider Okinawa because you'll feel it. Okay, so that's the origin of this, but I love this theme, so let's get into this 

Aaron Grady -
Well, and I love the idea, you know, there's kind of a theme there. And you shared this with me earlier. It's not just what you want to accomplish, you know, as advisors kind of plan for the next year. It's not what, not just what they want to accomplish, but why do they want to accomplish it? And so I love peeling the layers back and kind of taking a deeper, more meaningful look at this. so, so let's take the first concept. Let's talk about the advisor's purpose, right? We talk about the why and I always sign off on these rare videos with talking about the why. So let's talk about Ikigai. The idea of aligning what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be rewarded for. So, I guess the question would be is how can an advisor use Ikigai as a framework to design a strategic plan around meaning rather than just metrics?

Duncan MacPherson - Well, coincidentally, on the back of the Blue Square Method, that is an Ikegai, that four circle Venn diagram, and that's our own little version. You know, it's interesting. We call the book the Blue Square Method. Ironically, recently there's a show on Netflix called The Blue Zone. And it's the study of areas in the world where there happens to be extended longevity amongst the people in these blue zones. And it starts in Okinawa. And Okinawa apparently is where the Ikigai was developed. Now it's interesting in business, I think everybody listening in has at a minimum heard of the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. And in that book he has this premise he calls the hedgehog concept. I think I'm getting that right. You know, it's the questions that he asks of you to make sure you're in the right place. And I'm pretty sure that was inspired by the Ikigai. Well, the premise of the way we framed the Ikigai, and by the way, Ikigai by definition basically means our reason for being. Like that's our why. Like why do I do what I do? Why is it important? You know, all of these different... It's just a very thoughtful exercise to know thyself, right? The Temet Noske. Know thyself. Like, okay, why do you do what you do? Why is it important? What impact does it have? It's just a very good exercise. And the thing I'll say, just to tie it into being a financial professional, you know... Undoubtedly for your really complex clients, you create a financial plan. It's a document, right? Very important. But the moment any material change occurs to that client, that document's now obsolete. Plans are important, but planning, the fluid and dynamic planning, that's incredibly powerful. And when a financial advisor embraces the Ikegai mentality and mindset and worldview, it permeates and clients take it on and it adds a deeper sense of meaning. So I would encourage at a minimum, you know, watch the Blue Zone, watch the first episode and then watch a YouTube video on the concept of Iki Gai. Go on to AI and ask for the salient points of the hedgehog concept and the premises of good to great and then just consider adding that as an energy into your planning strategy for your business and just watch how that grabs on in terms of like a meaningful purposeful qualitative aspect to your approach and you know purpose is just as important as process and we're process maniacs but I know you like to quote Jim Rohn when the why is clear, the how pretty much takes care of itself. That in and of itself is balance.

Aaron Grady - It's amazing how often when you work with an advisory team, you can see a true alignment in the advisor's purpose with their process and their practice, how they're some of the most fulfilled advisors you work with. They're happy, they're energized, they get excited about going to work and working with their client relationships because it's less work and more fulfillment that they're receiving from it. So I love as we reflect towards next year, the idea of realigning yourself to, I think sometimes people get so, it's one of the things we do when we did the work with advisory teams. It's the idea of working on the business, not just working in it. I think sometimes advisors get so far down the road that sometimes they lose sight of why they're doing what they're doing at all and they have to have kind of a level set, kind of a reset, come back and reflect, say, why did I start doing this at all? And then when they can pull themselves back to that, I think true happiness can come out of it. 

Duncan MacPherson - 
Well, and I think, and I'm probably jumping ahead on you here, but I think that's why the premise of Kai Zen is so important. So Kai Zen loosely defined, Kai is change, Zen is good, change is good. It just helps people be at peace with external dependencies, things that are out of our control. I mean, we've all heard the mantra. It's not the wind, it's the set of the sail. know, winds blow pretty much the same for a lot of us, but what separates the best from the rest is not the wind, it's how we harness the wind. So change is good and it helps us be at peace with things that are maybe occurring that aren't so favorable at the time, but potentially revealing. mean, there's purpose in adversity. It's revealing, like when the resilience is revealed and when a client has something that's maybe not so great happening or a hiccup or a speed bump of some kind, just being able to be a sounding board for a client and help them reconcile all of that with an enlightened philosophy. Change is good, Kaizen. That's again another premise that can serve us very well.

Aaron Grady - Well, what I, from the, the, the, I learned of Kaizen, what I, one of the things that really kind of stuck with me was the idea of continuous improvement versus complete reinvention. You know, the idea of, instead of trying to re, you know, reinvent the whole business every single year by making small incremental consistent improvements. That's what really typically leads to more sustainable growth and continues to help build to a more sustainable practice. The other analogy I've heard is small hinges swing big doors, right? So it's those little things, it's those small tweaks that you can make. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater if I'm just gonna continue to use all the analogies that I can, but the idea of continuing to work to get better. And it doesn't have to be wholesale changes. It can be small, small changes that make the difference.

Duncan MacPherson - Well, and I'll just go right back to Jim Rohn on that. said, it's not what it gets you, it's what it makes of you. It's kind of, you want to ride the cliche-o-matic here, mean, right? Circumstances don't make the man, they reveal him. You know, you look at the markets in general, it's unprecedented. You look at the markets from 08 to today. That line we've never seen before in that form. And I'm bringing this up because...You know, lot of advisors, the safety net of continual market progressions like this, I mean, obviously there's been some stumbles there, but that safety net has become a bit of a hammock of complacency. And the clay is hard for the complacent. It's soft for the enlightened. They keep shaping it. They keep working out. They're not set in their ways. They don't have the inertia confidence. They embrace Kaizen. And again, for what it makes of them to be an early adopter of technology and AI, to not get set in their ways to always be looking for refinements and opportunities and not just what it does for them, what it does for their team, what it does for their clients, their own longevity, their own impact and relevance. It's just a great mindset. 

Aaron Grady - 
I think probably what's very topical and you've mentioned it a couple of times, leveraging AI, you the small, you know, so many advisors were kind of standoffish when it came to it, but the idea of even leveraging technology as a tool inside to continue to help push forward, continue to look for opportunities to continue to develop the practice into the future, that continuous improvement, I think is a little underutilized at this point, but I think it's going to be a big piece of it going well into the future as well.

Duncan MacPherson -  Well, Aaron, I just want to say, mean, for some advisors who are complacent, technology is going to eliminate a certain segment. But for the enlightened, it's going to liberate. mean, high tech, high touch, you find that sweet spot when it liberates you to go deeper into what makes you fee worthy, what makes you referable, enables you to decommoditize your value. 

Aaron Grady - He he he.

Duncan MacPherson - 
those early adopters, it's going to serve them incredibly well. And it's, we're still in the second inning here. I mean, it is not too late to be an early adopter of AI. So be a serious student. We've got this white paper that we put out as you know, and we've gone all in, but not because I think it's going to replace something. I think it's actually going to amplify the impact of being that enlightened advisor of the future.

Aaron Grady - Well, and to kind of step back to the concept of e-Guy, what I've seen is advisors who've really embraced technology, AI, it goes hand in glove with also building out their team and their structure to offload all of the things that don't give purpose to the advisor or joy, but allow them to focus on those things. The nurturing of relationships, the developing of those personal experiences with their best client relationships, because they can offload so much of the other mundane minutiae or the things that have to be done to either others or leverage technology to shorten the turnaround on some of those things. So now they can focus more on their why and their purpose. So I've seen that a lot with teams that I've been working with recently, and they were a little apprehensive at first, but once they jump in with both feet you know, some of the best things. Something even as simple as the AI note takers, the freedom and the time that it provides back into their lives to focus on these other things I think is very important.

Duncan MacPherson - Yeah, agreed.

Aaron Grady - 
So let's talk about a couple of the other philosophical concepts that they kind of go a little bit hand in glove. The idea of Kintsugi and Wabi Sabi. But let's start with Kintsugi. The idea of turning breaks into strengths. So, you know, Kintsugi teaches that fractures can become features. You know, I think everybody, or I guess anyone who's familiar with this, they've probably seen the pottery that has the gold inlay where they've actually put broken pottery back together and they've used gold to actually be the piece that holds it together where the repair now becomes part of the story. In your mind, how can advisors reflect on the cracks in their business over the past few years, back into COVID and even more recently, and how can they turn those into strategic advantages?

Duncan MacPherson - Well, first of all, the symbolism of this metaphor is so powerful. Like I own two pieces of Kintsugi. I look at them pretty much on a daily basis. And for me, it's kind of grounding because the finished product of what's repaired becomes more valuable than the original. And not just because there's gold in the glue that creates the scar of the repaired pottery, but what it represents.You give meaning to adversity. The resilience and what it revealed, so incredibly powerful, it transports somebody back to reminding them about their progression and personal and professional growth. Now here's the thing. Ultimately, what we want a financial advisor to break is the status quo. I mean this industry moves at such an incredible speed. And, you know, in the blue square method, we talk about the three types of advisors that are either coasting, cresting or climbing. Coasting, minimal adaptation, fair enough, but they're on a collision course of obsolescence. It's going to be merciless. Cresting, those advisors are still growing, but they haven't gotten out in front of their capacity issues. And they're in a collision course with a plateau. They're going to max out. They've got to break the status quo. And that comes in many forms, you know, growing down the number of relationships they manage to grow further up market, to grow their AUM. That's not for everybody, but there's all kinds of variations of what addressing the cresting dynamic means. And then of course climbing. Those are the advisors that keep working on themselves, on their business, on everything. And they're not waiting for the nudge. Nobody wants it more than they do. They're incredibly self-motivated, innovative, and which by the way is a great segue to the Wabi Sabi. It's just being at peace with cause and effect and knowing that not everything falls into place beautifully. Sometimes there's, you know, things that collide or get in the way. But it's just having a sense of perspective. And, you know, you've heard me say this before. It's one of my favorite quotes, like literally in my backpack I put in For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. He's got such a great quote and I'll paraphrase it, but it's basically the goal is not to be superior to someone else, the goal is to be superior to your former self. And just being at peace with the fact that rarely does it all fall into place perfectly. There's drifting and lightning strikes that happen and just having a perspective on what all that is. That's my version of Wabi Sabi.

Aaron Grady - And I always, when I think of Wabi Sabi, the idea of embracing imperfections, finding beauty in it, but it's also the idea for me, when I think about it, through the conversations we've had, the shifting from the pressure of trying to be perfect to instead being authentic and approachable and relatable. think I think that's important. I think it's important as I've tried to apply that through some of the conversations I've had with advisors. It's, I think sometimes advisors get so caught up in, a simple example in this, and I may be drawing some causality that's not there, but when we try to give them new messaging to, know, whether it's the fit conversation or trying to connect with their clients in a different way that maybe they've, you know, last 20 years they've done it one way and we're trying to teach something else and they're resistant because they don't want to say the wrong thing. They don't want to and the idea of, hey, look, you know what? Just be authentic, be approachable, be conversational, have the concept there, but understand that, look, the imperfection is that it's, there's beauty in it in the sense that, look, you're being real with people and you're being open and honest and so I love the whole transparency element of it and to release yourself from the pressure of having to be perfect to, what do always say? It's, you know, done is better than perfect in these situations. So leaning into the imperfection. 

Duncan MacPherson - Yeah, well

Aaron Grady - Go ahead.

Duncan MacPherson - 
I was just going to say, mean, one of the most powerful forms of energy in my opinion is gratitude. You know, an element of balance is being incredibly happy and appreciating what you've got while you aspire to what you want. Like we all have aspirations, but we can't take anything for granted. And I think if we invest the past and our good fortune into the future, take nothing for granted. There's just a powerful energy there and it just helps us again, be at peace. You talk about authentic and faith. Okay, so I'm forcing this a little bit, but there's another element of the Japanese philosophy and it's called Omakase. And so basically what it means is let the chef choose. So, okay, often when I go to a good sushi restaurant, I'll say, makase. Which basically means I'm not gonna order anything from the menu. The chef's gonna decide what I'm gonna eat. There's a risk. I might get something I'm not well, but guess how many times it hasn't worked out beautifully. 

Aaron Grady - Roll the dice.

Duncan MacPherson - 
It's worked out beautifully. Yeah, every single time because I think. Because you can often see the chef over there. I don't know if it just basically is encouraging. To him or her OK, I I'm going to step it up. I'll tell you so I know my case and then last one I'll throw at you. Maybe this is on your list. I'm not sure, but. Oma Tanashi.

Aaron Grady - Probably rarely.

Duncan MacPherson - 
Omotenashi is going above and beyond with zero expectation for any recognition or reciprocity or return on investment. It's value added that somebody values with zero expectation that I might be able to monetize or even get a pat on the back. I'm just doing it because of what it means to me. It's how I roll. It's part of my personal code of conduct and my rules of engagement. This is how I'm going to do it. Now, of course, based on the law of attraction, giving often activates the receiving process. But when you detach yourself from an expectation of an outcome, it's not me being opportunistic or anything like that. I could tell you some stories where he... and Aaron, I know you're wired this way too, like... I know some people who are philanthropic, but they need you to know they're philanthropic. They need you to know. Like, it's... and I think the purest form of benevolence is anonymous.

Aaron Grady - Mm. Right?

Duncan MacPherson - 
I don't know. It's just, there's just a mindset there too. It's just so, so cool. And I think this is really grabbing hold of the world. And I think we're heading into a time where there's going to be such a spectacular Renaissance for humanity. Because there's this philosophical awakening happening where I don't know, there's just an energy. It's very, very powerful. It's hard to put your finger on sometimes, but I'm quite excited.

Aaron Grady - Well, and I, it's great that you kind of pointed that one out as kind of the, kind of the bow on the conversation, the idea that if you, if you building your practice, if you're taking this time as we circle towards the end of the year and we're looking at where are we going? You know, it's not, you know, what are we building, but why are we building it? If you build process, if you build with intention, if you build towards getting back to fulfillment and purpose and creating order and structure, there's opportunity for you to then become, know, the idea of being able to give just for giving sake or, and giving isn't necessarily just tangible gifts, it's investing in others and giving of yourself. And I love that it's shifting that whole focus and getting back to, you know, I have a really close friend of mine that, and he genuinely says this, his whole goal, and he does very well for himself, he's very successful. His whole purpose has been about accumulating wealth, has not about been accumulating wealth for himself. It's so that he could do more with it. And I always admire when I hear him talk about it because he doesn't talk about it unless you prompt him. It's something that he just does, but those of us who know him know that everything he's done and built is because he wants to give back. He's just, that's how he's wired. And so I just, that is, you know, we know so many advisors who are so successful that have this ability to touch so many people, including not just their clients, but their community. And so this final concept, I think really kind of speaks to the genuineness of that. So that's,

Duncan MacPherson - 
Well, you remind me of something there. Yeah, you remind me of something there because, you know, we're both fans of the philosophy of Jim Rohn. he said to me a long time ago, he said, in your pursuit,

Aaron Grady - I'm glad we kind of hit.

Duncan MacPherson - 
of trying to make a profit. Focus also on leaving a profit, which means everything you touch, you leave better than you found it. And, your point about financial independence and the why, like that whole mantra of strong positions lead to good decisions. Like you cannot pour from an empty cup. Like I'm not saying you can't be benevolent and without being financially independent because obviously the other currency is your time. Giving of your time, investing of your time in somebody else or another cause, that's a massive currency. But having financial independence to leave a profit somewhere else is incredibly powerful. But just doing it, you know, the purpose of it, not for the kudos or the praise, but just doing it because you know what? It's a really good thing to do.

Aaron Grady - You know, the simple idea of the purpose-driven life, right?

Duncan MacPherson - There it is.

Aaron Grady - 
Well, we've covered a lot of ground. but I think the, I think the big takeaway I would say, Duncan, as we, as we put a bow on this conversation is for those advisors that are watching today, that as they start their plan, as they're starting to build that strategic plan, don't focus simply on the spreadsheets, the metrics, the KPIs. But use this as an opportunity to reflect back on the why and take an opportunity to say, I want to be purposeful about getting back to or building as an advisor the future that's focused not just on the numbers, but on the impact that I can have to myself, to my clients, to my community and really get back to having joy. I hear that from lot of advisors. want to get back to the joy that I found in this business. And I think it can start with just simply reflecting on what I'm not what I'm building, but why am I building it? Any final thoughts for you before we close out for today, Duncan? 

Duncan MacPherson - Wow. And this is ultimately applicable for sort of year-end planning to kickstart momentum into the following year. But I think it is a mindset, a philosophy that can serve you all year long. And it's like a client. mean, obviously at the end of the year, there's tax planning and there's decisions that need to be made. applying the fluid and dynamic and panoramic and all-encompassing process and philosophy year-round as part of your client experience. I think it's so incredibly well received by clients. just is competitor proofing. It gets out in front of evolving needs and captures money in motion and just adds another dimension to your referability. And I think it's a learned skill. So I hope this resonates with everyone and the world needs this. Like there's so much emphasis on the qualitative and technology and that bedside manner I think has become such an unmet need that somebody who can fill that as part of their approach, they're going to propel themselves to another level.

Aaron Grady - That's great. Getting back to the fundamentals and the basic human communication and human relations that sometimes people get lost sight of when they start developing transactional relationships in this business. I love that. I love it. Absolutely love it. Well, 

Duncan MacPherson - Mm-hmm.

Aaron Grady - 
Thank you again Duncan for joining us today. For those of you that are joining us again, if you like these type of conversations, if you like what you've seen, please like and subscribe. And as we always say on the Rare Advisor, when the why is known, the how becomes easy. So never lose sight of your why. Have a great day guys.

Duncan MacPherson -  Good stuff Aaron, thanks. 

-- 

The RARE Advisor is a business model supercharged by Recurring And Repeatable Events. With decades of experience coaching successful advisors, your host, along with other leaders in the industry, discusses what it takes to grow a successful practice. With the aim of helping financial professionals and financial advisors take their business to the next level, this podcast shares insights and success stories that will make a real impact. Regardless of the stage of your practice, The RARE Advisor will provide thoughtful guidance, suggestions for developing systems and processes that work, and ideas for creating an authentic experience for your clients.

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Marketing

From SEO to AEO: How Financial Advisors Can Rank in ChatGPT & Google AI

In this episode of The Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook, Mark Mersman explores the fast-emerging concept of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)—how advisors can adapt their websites and content strategies for the AI-driven search era. As traditional SEO gives way to AI search tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews, Mark explains what this shift means for financial advisors and how to stay visible in a world where consumers ask questions directly to AI instead of clicking through search results. He shares practical, actionable steps—like writing with user intent in mind, expanding website depth and breadth, structuring Q&A sections, and earning external credibility—to help advisors ensure their content is surfaced in AI-powered search results. If you want your firm to show up when prospects ask financial questions to AI, this episode is a must-watch.