Andrew Stavaridis has spent his career building relationships, so when he talks about personalization in wealth management, the conversation stretches far beyond technology. As Chief Relationship Officer at Envestnet, he sits at the intersection of human connection and advanced capabilities across thousands of advisory practices.
In conversation with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Stavaridis discusses how Envestnet seeks to help advisors scale, deepen client relationships, and deliver more customized experiences—without losing the personal touch that defines the profession.
“One of the top things that Envestnet is working on with its advisors and institutions that we work with is: how do you simplify the overall experience with the advisor?” he says.
The need for simplicity becomes clear when advisors try to deliver personalization at scale. An advisor can handcraft a few portfolios on a good day, but managing that level of customization across an entire book requires tools built for efficiency. That’s where technology steps in—not to replace the advisor-client relationship but to make it sustainable.
Building Portfolios One Client at a Time
Over the past several years, Envestnet has expanded its unified managed account (UMA) capabilities to support what Stavaridis describes as custom one-to-one portfolios. Advisors can build discretionary or non-discretionary accounts tailored to each client, incorporating a wide range of asset classes and asset types. The UMA also includes tax overlay functionality that helps advisors and clients spot opportunities to optimize taxes year after year.
“Envestnet has a deep integration of financial planning to our overall ecosystem, and that’s going to be critical for how we’re bringing that personalization to our client base,” Stavaridis says.
Beyond traditional portfolio construction, the platform integrates direct indexing and alternative investments, all overlaid with financial planning capabilities. Rather than manually rebalancing accounts in spreadsheets, advisors can manage multiple individualized portfolios with discretionary trading handled by the technology itself. The goal is flexibility, not automation for its own sake: personalization built around client needs, supported by an ecosystem that makes it manageable.
Closing the Experience Gap
Even with strong client relationships, many firms still struggle with operational friction. Onboarding is a standout pain point, along with the difficulty of quickly accessing client information to uncover new opportunities or expand wallet share. As expectations shift toward seamless digital experiences, the stakes rise for advisors to match what clients now encounter in consumer-facing platforms.
The competitive landscape compounds the pressure. “Envestnet is building capabilities and technology and advancing the ability for advisors to interact with their clients in a more integrated way—whether that’s through a digital engagement or leveraging AI and allowing AI to help move that onboarding process more seamlessly through to complete the overall onboarding for those clients,” Stavaridis explains. “That’s going to be critical going forward.”
He adds that clients accustomed to platforms like Robinhood no longer see intuitive digital experiences as a bonus—they see them as normal.
“Clients are seeing more and more online financial tools that are making it easier for them to access asset management opportunities and vehicles,” notes Stavaridis. Helping advisors meet those expectations has become central to Envestnet’s approach. “It is critical for Envestnet to really help advisors meet clients where they need to be and what they need for their overall goals, and AI is going to be a critical part of that.”
Simplifying the advisor experience while maintaining compliance and oversight requirements necessitates a delicate balance. Stavaridis emphasizes that simplification ranks among the top priorities Envestnet pursues with advisors and institutions. The firm aims to address demands for more tech-forward experiences while navigating the regulatory requirements inherent to advisory work. “It’s going to be critical for firms like Envestnet to help those advisors work through those challenges,” he says.
Planning as a Relationship Multiplier
Financial planning sits at the core of Envestnet’s platform. MoneyGuide, the firm’s planning tool, continues to deepen its role across the ecosystem as more advisors embrace planning-first approaches. Stavaridis sees this shift accelerating within Envestnet’s client base—and for good reason.
“Their relationships with the client become stronger because they understand the client more. They understand their goals. They understand their needs. And ultimately, they uncover more opportunities with those clients to shift business to that advisor and uncover larger wallet share,” he observes.
A robust planning relationship can give advisors clearer visibility into clients’ financial worlds, naturally revealing additional areas where the advisor might help. It also shifts the advisor’s value proposition toward a deeper, more consultative relationship.
“We continue to integrate that deeply into our overall platform, but as advisors think about the future and advisors think about their overall practice and how they can best serve their clients, financial planning is going to be key,” says Stavaridis.
Enterprise firms working with Envestnet increasingly position planning as a central consideration. “When we think about a lot of our enterprise firms that we work with, they’re starting to make sure that planning becomes central to the overall sales motion that advisors are doing,” he notes. “It helps with the overall, I would say, compliance and oversight and value proposition that those advisors bring, and those institutions are really leaning into financial planning as a core part of the overall offering.”
Fee compression and competition from digital tools heighten the stakes. Advisors compete not only with other advisors but also with the array of online financial planning and investment tools available directly to investors. Building a compelling value proposition requires demonstrating expertise in navigating financial complexity. While direct-to-consumer tools provide access, they don’t necessarily guide optimal decision-making.
“And these advisors need to be able to have a better value prop to be able to help clients navigate the complex financial industry because I think we all know that even if you have these capabilities direct online, you’re not always making the best decisions with those tools as an individual investor,” Stavaridis says. “And advisors can play a big part in educating clients and making sure that they reach their goals through financial planning and just overall relationship building with those clients.”
Capturing Generational Wealth Transfer
Industry discussions about generational wealth transfer often feel theoretical, but Stavaridis sees the shift happening in real time across Envestnet’s advisor base. The impact is visible at both ends of the advisor spectrum. Veteran advisors with long-standing relationships are watching assets move to younger family members. Serving one client is no longer enough—advisors must now serve entire households.
“They’re starting to have to figure out how they engage with the whole family versus just their existing client,” explains Stavaridis. “It’s helping them with being able to get new clients, and it’s helping them grab more wallet share.”
Meanwhile, advisors that focus on the next generation and women are seeing significant inflows as newly wealthy investors seek professional guidance. “New investors with significant assets are starting to need help from advisors, help to navigate those financial goals,” he adds. The dual dynamic creates a moment of industry transformation where both experienced and emerging advisors can capture assets in motion.
Envestnet is responding by dedicating more than $1 billion for investment over the next five years in product development and technology enhancements that will allow advisors to deliver solutions meeting next-generation needs.
“That’s going to be significant in terms of advancing our capabilities to meet those advisors where they need to deliver solutions and products to those clients,” Stavaridis says, adding that the commitment spans technology development and go-to-market support for advisors and home offices.
The shift toward multigenerational advising reshapes how advisors define their client relationships. Instead of serving an individual, advisors increasingly serve the entire family—a structure that plays naturally to platform-based advisory practices. Integrated technology can help maintain continuity across generations, a critical factor in client retention and succession planning.
Building the Infrastructure for Growth
Envestnet’s long-term strategy extends beyond technology upgrades. Stavaridis highlights the firm’s broader push to help advisors grow and manage their businesses through new tools, resources, and support.
“We’re going to be rolling out ways that we can help advisors grow their practice, manage their practice, and support them as they need to continue to grow overall,” he notes.
The focus is clear: help advisors deliver the personalized, integrated experiences clients expect while building scalable, efficient practices. Personalization, financial planning, and platform capabilities work together to support both goals, reinforcing the role of the advisor even as the competitive landscape evolves.
Envestnet’s approach recognizes the pressures advisory firms face—operational complexity, competition from digital platforms, generational turnover, and rising client demands—while positioning technology as a way to strengthen, rather than replace, the advisor-client relationship.
For more information, go to www.envestnet.com.
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Disclosures
This is a paid advertisement. Envestnet has multiple paid engagements with The Wealth Advisor including payment for participation in America’s Best TAMPs, an annual directory of investment outsourcing organizations, with a minimum asset level of $200 million, catering to financial intermediaries.
The information, analysis, and opinions expressed herein are for general information only. Nothing contained in this video is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. Investing carries certain risks and there is no assurance that investing in accordance with the portfolios or strategies mentioned will provide positive performance over any period of time. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
