The underlying theme of Wealth Management EDGE, hosted by Informa, was a deceptively simple question: what does money mean to you — and what should it mean to your clients?
I'll admit, that question caught me off guard. I had always assumed money meant the same thing to everyone: freedom. But the truth is more nuanced. For one person, money might mean an extra decade of life through a surgery they can finally afford. For another, it's the bridge to a college education. For a retired couple, it might be the thing that lets them travel together and grow closer in the years they have left.
The conference brought together financial advisors, vendors, and wealth management CEOs to exchange perspectives on everything from investment strategy to the art of advising — and, ultimately, to the meaning of money itself.
Shawn Wooden, former NFL player for the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears and CEO of Associated Financial Consultants and Investor Services (AFC-AIS), made the case for a client-first approach rooted in holistic problem-solving. The job of an advisor, he argued, is centered around helping people, with managing their portfolios as an extension of that.
This framing showed up in the specifics, too. A client-centered approach requires advisors to understand the person before discussing possible strategies. Health concerns, family responsibilities, time horizons, financial obligations, and comfort with risk can all affect what may be appropriate for an individual client.
Day one centered on growth and what growth realistically looks like in 2026. Michael Kosoff, Senior Research Analyst at Mariner, and James McConaghy, Managing Director at Eaglebrook, examined digital assets, namely crypto’s evolving role in client portfolios. The discussion was less about predicting cryptocurrency prices and more about how advisors should respond when clients already own or are considering crypto. The session reinforced the importance of education, due diligence, tax awareness, estate planning, and understanding how any emerging asset fits within a client’s broader circumstances.
These circumstances largely depend on the same underlying question: what does money mean to you, and how can money affect your situation?
What Does Money Mean to You?
June 26, 2026