Tag: Data-Driven Growth
EP 24 – Yelena Melamed on Building Data-Driven Growth Engines in Wealth Management

EP 24 – Yelena Melamed on Building Data-Driven Growth Engines in Wealth Management

By |

Partnerships, referrals, and metrics: three core themes shaping the future of organic growth in wealth management.

In this episode of Grow Organically, host Dan Gilmartin sits down with Yelena Melamed, Chief Product Officer at Catchlight, to close out Season Two with a deep dive into how data, trust, and technology are transforming growth strategies. Yelena shares how wealth firms can strengthen partnerships across business lines, optimize referrals with automation, and leverage custom data models to make better, faster decisions.

Key Takeaways:

  • How Catchlight helps firms identify and strengthen cross-business partnerships between advisors, CPAs, and attorneys
  • The importance of understanding each partner’s ideal client profile (ICP) to improve referrals and match quality
  • How “speed to lead” and automation in custodial referral programs can increase meeting set rates and conversion efficiency
  • Why foundational data quality can be key to powering AI, lead routing, and strategic decision-making
  • How firms can build custom data models to optimize advisor-client fit, internal transitions, and long-term client retention
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Yelena Melamed:

About our Guest: 

Yelena Melamed is the Chief Product Officer at Catchlight, where she leads product strategy and innovation focused on helping financial advisors grow organically. She previously spent over 25 years at Fidelity Investments, where she led the design and delivery of data-driven technology solutions for financial services. At Catchlight, she combines her expertise in financial technology and product leadership to create tools that enhance advisor efficiency and client engagement.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More
EP 8 – Tech, Talent, and Experimenting with Mark Bruno

EP 8 – Tech, Talent, and Experimenting with Mark Bruno

By |

Are you ready to learn about some of the highest-performing financial advisory firms? Discover innovative organic growth strategies from industry leader Mark Bruno, exploring crucial topics from growth-oriented compensation to data-driven decision-making.

In this episode of Grow Organically, Dan Gilmartin hosts Mark Bruno, Managing Director and Head of Strategic Advisory for Emigrant Partners, to dive deep into the intertwined nature of organic growth and strategic compensation within financial advisory firms. Learn how closely integrated tech and talent can boost growth, the importance of an experimental mindset, and why advisor-level marketing strategies may trump traditional firm branding. You will gain insights into how aligning compensation plans with growth strategies can create a robust foundation for long-term success by tuning in. 

Dan discusses: 

  • How strategic compensation plans impact organic growth
  • How high-performing firms excel by experimenting with digital strategies, data utilization, and content precision
  • Understanding and leveraging your data can transform your growth strategy and improve client engagement
  • Advisor-level marketing can humanize and build trust more effectively than firm-level branding
  • And more

Resources:

Connect with Dan Gilmartin: 

Connect with Mark Bruno: 

About our Guest: 

Mark Bruno is Managing Director, Head of Strategic Advisory, for Emigrant Partners, where he is primarily responsible for helping its partner firms identify and execute on opportunities to accelerate their growth. Prior to joining Emigrant in October 2023, Mark spent more than 20 years working across the wealth and asset management industries with a particular focus on developing and delivering research, events and consulting platforms to growth-oriented RIAs. Mark most recently served as the Managing Director of the Wealth Management Group at Informa, where he oversaw the group’s media, research and events businesses and launched the unit’s RIA Edge podcast, research studies, and nationwide events.

Before Informa, Mark was a Managing Director at Echelon Partners, a leading investment bank and consulting firm to the wealth management community. Mark also spent more than ten years at InvestmentNews, where he oversaw the company’s digital businesses, RIA events and RIA benchmarking studies. He has been a fixture on the wealth management event circuit for the past decade, and is also the author of Save Now or Die Trying, one of the top-selling retirement planning books shortly after it was published in 2007.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More