The Convergence Era: Advancing Advisor Technology and Client Experience with Bradley Kellum

Jack Sharry: Hello everyone. Welcome to WealthTech on Deck, our weekly podcast all about how technology and human beings together are transforming financial advice. In each episode, we speak with leaders from wealth management, insurance, retirement, consulting, and fintech who share their insights on innovation and collaboration to help investors, advisors, and firms achieve better outcomes. Over the past five years and more than 70,000 downloads later, we continue to highlight professionals who are pushing the boundaries of digital and human advice. Today I’m pleased to speak with Bradley Kellum. Bradley serves as Partner and Head of Wealth Management in North America at Oliver Wyman. Oliver Wyman is a global management consulting firm known for delivering deep industry expertise and strategic insights to help organizations solve complex business challenges through rigorous analytical approaches. Bradley leads Oliver Wyman’s wealth business in North America and works closely with retail and business banking, as well as private capital practices. Today we’ll focus on a major theme I’ve been observing in the industry for some time—something I call convergence. We’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities tied to coordinating multiple capabilities and elements to build the platform ecosystems of the future, and how pulling these elements together can deliver better results for everyone involved. Bradley, welcome to WealthTech on Deck. It’s great to have you here.

Bradley Kellum: Thank you, Jack. It’s great to be here, and thank you for that very kind introduction.

Jack Sharry: So Bradley, let’s start with you filling our audience in on Oliver Wyman and your role. As you know, our audience is largely made up of wealth and asset management executives, along with folks from fintech and retirement. Tell us where you fit and what you do.

Bradley Kellum: Thanks, Jack. Next month will mark 20 years with the firm, which is hard to believe. I joined Oliver Wyman from the industry, drawn to front‑office work helping clients solve complex problems. Over the last two decades, I’ve had the privilege of working across capital markets, retail banking, wealth management, asset management, and insurance. Today, I lead our wealth business in North America, working with firms as they navigate growth, modernization, and strategic change.

Jack Sharry: One thing I mentioned in the introduction—and something you and I have discussed—is convergence. There’s a lot coming together across the industry, especially as firms try to coordinate the elements of tomorrow’s technology platform ecosystems. From a strategy and business perspective, how are firms doing, and where are they struggling?

Bradley Kellum: Let’s start with definitions, because convergence can mean different things to different people. When I think about convergence, I’m referring to the financial landscape coming together across investments, insurance, banking, and trust services. Within investments specifically, we’re seeing convergence between traditional and alternative assets, retirement and non‑retirement, and personal trust solutions. This backdrop is shaped by increased personal responsibility, the growth of financial assets, and the modernization of technology. Those forces have democratized wealth management. Capabilities that were once reserved for ultra‑high‑net‑worth clients at private banks are now being pushed down‑market, and firms are working to deliver that promise credibly. How are they doing? I’d say it’s a work in progress. There’s a lot to stitch together, and it’s a bit like changing the wheels on a bus while it’s moving. The common thread throughout all of this is trust. Clients don’t want firms learning at their expense. The challenge is building credible offerings that deepen trust while also expanding share of wallet.

Jack Sharry: As you know, the ecosystem we have today was stitched together over decades with a single‑account, single‑product mindset. Pulling everything together when systems weren’t designed to work that way is the challenge. From your seat, how do firms set priorities amid all this complexity?

Bradley Kellum: I think about it through the lens of the target operating model—people, process, and technology. Each layer presents challenges. Starting with technology, data is foundational. Where does it live? Is it permissioned? Is it accessible by APIs? Is it reliable? The next layer is architecture—how do digital marketing, CRM, onboarding, planning, portfolio management, trading, and reporting connect and share data seamlessly? Then there’s the people challenge. Advisors are being asked to carry an enormous amount of knowledge while maintaining trust with clients. Whether it’s individual advisors, teams, or specialist‑led models, firms have to define the playbooks for advice interactions and ensure the operating model supports consistent, high‑quality client outcomes.

Jack Sharry: That all sounds right, but it’s incredibly hard to execute. When you work with large firms, where do you start?

Bradley Kellum: A few years ago, we wrote a paper on goals‑based wealth management that asked a simple question: how do you execute on a strategy that everyone agrees with? The answer was a customer‑first approach. Instead of implementing capabilities one by one, you start with the client and the job to be done—onboarding, planning, portfolio construction. You define the journeys required to deliver that experience and work backward to determine which capabilities truly matter, where you differentiate, and where “good enough” technology is sufficient. The final piece is execution. Rather than a waterfall approach, firms need integrated, cross‑functional teams that can make tradeoffs quickly and deliver viable end‑to‑end experiences, not just individual tools.

Jack Sharry: Let’s touch briefly on public and private investments, since it’s such a top‑of‑mind topic. The industry understands the opportunity, but execution is challenging—especially across multiple accounts and tax considerations.

Bradley Kellum: Our research shows that advised relationships currently hold around six percent in private assets, versus CIO targets closer to 15 to 20 percent. Much of today’s demand is income‑driven—private credit, structured notes—but longer‑term interest will broaden. The complexity isn’t just product design. It’s portfolio integration, reporting, trading, rebalancing, and helping advisors explain outcomes simply. Advisors are increasingly relationship managers, not portfolio engineers, so these solutions have to be easy to deliver and easy to explain.

Jack Sharry: Let’s talk briefly about AI—no modern conversation is complete without it. How do you see AI fitting into all of this?

Bradley Kellum: We’ve been studying AI in financial services for several years. Most firms aren’t trying to replace advisors; trust remains paramount. The focus is on making advisors more productive—supporting digital marketing, identifying next‑best actions, improving onboarding, and streamlining middle‑ and back‑office processes. The real value isn’t generic AI tools on desktops. It’s embedded AI focused on specific use cases, often delivered through vendors and platforms that support advisors behind the scenes.

Jack Sharry: As we wrap up, any key messages you want to leave with our audience?

Bradley Kellum: We’re still in the building phase. Eventually, firms will have similar capabilities, and differentiation will come down to brand authenticity, customer‑first execution, and choosing where to be great. Trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for mediocrity.

Jack Sharry: And finally, what do you do outside of work that might surprise our listeners?

Bradley Kellum: Like many people, my children have taken up much of my time, but that phase is changing. I’m rediscovering hobbies like photography and enjoying the creative process. I also love cooking and entertaining—though I won’t be opening a restaurant anytime soon.

Jack Sharry: Bradley, thank you. This has been a terrific conversation. I appreciate your clarity and insight.

Bradley Kellum: Thank you, Jack. It’s been a pleasure.