As technology and talent strategies converge, advisors are rethinking how to build smarter, more efficient firms. Lisa Salvi of Schwab joins Shannon Rosic to discuss key trends shaping practice management, from AI adoption and data readiness to workflow design and leadership development, and why the future of advice will remain profoundly human.

Read the full transcript below: 

Shannon Rosic (Host): What’s driving advisors practice management priorities today? To dive in, I’m joined by Lisa Salvi of Schwab to learn more. Lisa, thanks so much.

Lisa Salvi: Thanks for having me.

Shannon Rosic: Absolutely. I’m excited to get into this topic because it’s obviously very top of mind for advisors.

Technology Stack and Practice Management Trends

Shannon Rosic: So what practice management trends are you seeing advisors focusing on, even just beyond the obvious like AI? Anything from a tech standpoint that they’re trying to invest in more, maybe?

Lisa Salvi: Well, first of all, I think they’re really looking at their tech stack and trying to figure out, do I need all of these pieces. Secondly, really important to look at the APIs, and a lot of firms are not even aware of some of the newer APIs that are available to them in their current tech stack.

Third, I would really like firms to be looking at their data and just making sure their data is in really good shape because AI is not going to fix bad data. It’s just going to amplify it. And lastly, workflows. I know that’s not exactly tech, but it’s not always fun, but having really good workflows is gonna set you up for so much less pain down the line.

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AI Adoption and Implementation

Shannon Rosic: I mean, I think that’s an incredible baseline to start with, and I’m glad you mentioned the data piece, because I want to talk about AI a little bit. And as you know, AI is only as good as the data that you input, like you said, and it’s because it’s garbage in, garbage out at the end of the day, but we have to talk about it because it’s an incredibly hot topic right now. So when it comes to AI, what are you seeing in terms of interest in adoption and have you seen a big uptick recently?

Lisa Salvi: Oh, completely. So, our benchmarking study, which we fielded from January to March of this year, so it’s already not going to reflect the latest on AI which is moving so rapidly, but 68% of firms are already using it.

Right over there right now, we have a round table on AI happening. Those sold out instantly. Advisors really want to talk to each other and get best practices. If I could sum up 2025 in one key theme, it was the year of the note taker. That’s, if you haven’t started with note taking yet, that is the first place where you can get a real ROI. At least most firms are getting 30 minutes of savings per client meeting, but I was at a roundtable with a CEO last week that said it’s 2.5 hours per client meeting of time savings for time meeting prep and just getting the action items afterwards. So, if you haven’t started anywhere, not a bad place to start.

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AI Benefits Beyond Note-Taking

Shannon Rosic: That’s what I’ve been saying too. If you’re not dabbling it, you’re probably already behind, unfortunately. And I know there’s a lot of fear behind AI replacing advisor’s job, but I’m very much of the camp that AI is not going to replace you, but somebody utilizing AI has the potential to. So, even beyond just the note takers, I’m curious, what are some of the other benefits advisors can see using AI?

Lisa Salvi: Well, I think you can start to become deeply personalized in a lot of different ways because AI is so quick to see it. I’m a big proponent. Every firm should know their ideal client and tailor to that ideal client. AI is going to help with that.

But beyond that, I would just advise firms, start to have a vision around how you’re gonna use AI. It’s, I don’t think it’s gonna replace jobs quite yet, but tasks. So you’re gonna rethink some of your job descriptions. I would encourage you to be optimistic with your vision statement and encourage learning at all levels within the org so that as things continue to change really rapidly, you’re prepared for it and your team is feeling comfortable and not fearful about the future.

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Balancing Technology and Human Talent

Shannon Rosic: So we’ve talked tech a little bit. Let’s flip it back over to the human side of things and talk about talent. How can advisors best strike the right balance between tech and talent right now?

Lisa Salvi: I think one thing about the future is it will be profoundly human, and I think soft skills are really going to matter. So go ahead and keep investing in things that AI is not going to replace: relationship management, having a great conversation, empathy, leadership is going to be really important in the future. So I would definitely continue to invest in those things.

I am seeing an uptick in firms who are investing in professional development within their firms, so they are thinking about that a lot, and then encouraging learning those new tech skills too. And the one thing that you can just take with you right now that’s very easy to do: if you have attrition or you’re posting a new role, don’t just repost what you already had. Really start thinking about how that’s gonna start shifting and changing and what kind of new skills you’re gonna need in the future.

Closing Thoughts

Shannon Rosic: Well, like you said, at the end of the day, it’s still very much a relationship-based business, and AI is not taking that anytime soon.

Lisa Salvi: The future is going to be profoundly human, and we’re gonna use tech in all new ways.

Shannon Rosic: Well, to quote Schwab, it’s Schwabvious.

Lisa Salvi: I love it.

Shannon Rosic: Well, Lisa, thank you so much for the insights, great advice. Appreciate your time.

Lisa Salvi: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Shannon Rosic: For WealthManagement.com. I’m Shannon Rosic.