The Trusted Adviser

The Profit Gap in Financial Advice, with Dean Lombardo of Effortless Engagement

Many financial advice businesses are busy, growing, and delivering for clients — yet still fall short of their true commercial potential.
In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne is joined by Dean Lombardo, Founder of Effortless Engagement, to explore the insights from Dean’s white paper The Profit Gap and why advice firms often leak profit without realising it.
Dean outlines four core sources of profit leakage identified through extensive research and diagnostic work across advice businesses:
Organisational misalignment
Workflow complexity
Capacity misuse
Conversion friction
The conversation focuses on how these issues quietly compound inside otherwise well-run firms, why they’re hard to see from the inside, and what business owners can do to unlock profit already embedded within their existing model — without cutting service or culture.
If you’re an advice business owner who feels busy and commercially disciplined but suspects there’s more potential in your business, this episode offers a clear and practical framework to start closing the Profit Gap.

The Adviser-Led Estate Plan: Inherit Australia's Approach

In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne is joined by Chris Hill (lawyer and financial adviser) and Rafael Cohen (fintech founder) from Inherit Australia to explore a smarter, adviser-led approach to estate planning.
They unpack why advisers are uniquely positioned to drive estate planning conversations, how structured questioning can surface family dynamics and risks before they become disputes, and how technology can bridge the long-standing gap between advisers and lawyers, without crossing into legal advice.
You’ll hear how Inherit Australia enables advisers to:
Confidently lead estate planning discussions within a compliant framework
Improve client engagement, retention, and intergenerational connections
Work more efficiently with lawyers through better upfront information
Ensure estate plans are completed, stored, and accessible when they’re needed most
A practical, future-focused conversation for advisers looking to deepen client relationships and protect their practice through the coming intergenerational wealth transfer. 
 

Tech Sanity for Advice Firms with Peter Worn of Finura Group

 
Is your advice tech stack quietly helping your business grow, or quietly driving everyone mad?
In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne sits down with Peter Worn, co-founder of Finura Group, to unpack what it really takes to bring tech sanity to a modern advice firm. Drawing on years of experience working with licensees and advice businesses across Australia, Peter lifts the lid on the promises, pitfalls, and hidden costs behind today’s technology and AI solutions.
They explore:
The difference between a genuine tech stack and a messy tech pile
How to spot conflicts of interest with Managed Service Providers (MSPs), vendors, and “AI agencies”
A simple ROI lens for deciding which tech or AI project to do next
Why duplicating tools for tasks, communication, and storage adds risk (not value)
The real trade-offs between industry platforms and enterprise CRMs like Salesforce or Dynamics
What good document management and data hygiene actually look like in practice
Stay listening right to the end, where Peter shares how buyers really assess your tech when you’re preparing for sale. Why “weird and wonderful” systems can hurt your valuation, how your cyber posture becomes a trust filter for acquirers, and the key signs that your problem isn’t technology at all, but leadership and business model.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re overpaying for tech, under-using what you have, or on the brink of an expensive misstep, this conversation will help you reset, refocus, and get more out of every dollar you invest in technology.

New Year Reflection with Recommended Reading

As we wrap up the year, this short solo episode is part reflection and part recommended reading list.
In this episode, Rob steps back to reflect on some of the key ideas that have shaped his thinking as a business owner, drawing on a selection of books that have had a lasting influence on how HPH Solutions has been built. What’s been especially striking is how consistently these same ideas have shown up in the real-world experiences shared by guests on The Trusted Adviser.
From Jim Collins’ Flywheel concept and the power of disciplined, compounding progress, to the importance of transparency, execution, culture, and trust, this episode connects enduring business principles with lived experience inside advice firms.
It’s a reflection on what really drives sustainable success in professional services businesses, and particularly in financial advice. Not shortcuts or breakthroughs, but clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, strong people, and a long-term mindset.
We’re taking a short break over the New Year and will be back in two weeks with a new guest episode.
Wishing all trusted advisers a happy and healthy New Year, and every success in 2026.

FinTech Under the Hood: Xplan, Scale, and the Tyranny of Variation with Matt McGuinty

Most advice firms in Australia run on Xplan, but very few truly understand what’s happening under the hood, how to optimise it, where it breaks, and what it takes to integrate it into a modern tech stack.
In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne sits down with Matt McGuinty (FinTech Strategic Partners), one of the rare people who has worked inside Xplan with the developers themselves, and now helps advice firms lift capacity, consistency, and scale through better systems and smarter workflow design.
Together, Rob and Matt unpack:
Why “the tyranny of variation” quietly destroys efficiency in advice businesses
The red flags Matt looks for in tech due diligence before a merger or acquisition
How to think about dual CRMs (Xplan plus Salesforce/Dynamics), data ownership, and avoiding double entry
What “online SOAs” could look like through a client portal, including digital fact finds and web-style advice presentation
AI in advice: what’s useful now, what’s hype, and why data security and data quality come first
If you’re wrestling with scale, consistency, or tech change (or you’re considering an acquisition), this one will give you a clearer framework for what matters and what to fix first.

Built to Last: Michael Goodman on Multi-Generational Ownership Without Outside Capital

In this episode of The Trusted Adviser, Rob Pyne sits down with Michael Goodman, founder of Wealthstream Advisors and now President of Greenspring Advisors, for an honest and thoughtful conversation about what it really takes to build an advice firm that outlives its founders.
At a time when private equity is reshaping the advice profession, Michael chose a very different path. In 2025, he led Wealthstream into a merger with Greenspring Advisors — not for liquidity, not for scale at any cost, but to strengthen multi-generational employee ownership and build a governance structure designed for the future.
In this candid discussion, Michael shares:
Why remaining independent required broadening the shareholder base
The personal realisations that shaped his decision to avoid outside capital
How his role has evolved from founder to “bench coach” and strategic partner
What it feels like to step into formal governance after years of leading a smaller firm
How two culturally aligned firms blended processes, values, and people
Why the next generation — not external investors — should own the decision-making power
The early surprises, wins, and cultural moments that affirmed the merger
His hopes for the firm he will ultimately hand over, not sell off
This episode offers rare insight into succession planning, governance evolution, and leadership transition from someone who has lived through the complexity — and made deliberate, values-based decisions at every step.
Whether you’re a founder thinking about succession, an adviser stepping into leadership, or simply curious about what the future of independent advice can look like, Michael’s story offers clarity, conviction, and inspiration.

The Trusted Adviser — Reflections from 30 Conversations

This special reflection episode isn’t part of our numbered series. While Rob attends the FAAA Congress in Perth along with over a thousand advisers from across Australia, we’re taking a moment to look back.
Rob narrates a guided recap of the first 30 conversations from The Trusted Adviser — highlighting the ideas, strategies, and insights that have shaped the profession, and this podcast.
Whether you’re new to the series or revisiting a favourite conversation, this retrospective will help you navigate the episodes that matter most to you.
A curated guide. A moment to reflect. A look back at the leaders shaping advice today.

Inside the Numbers with Dan Heckendorf: Lessons from AZ NGA and the Power of a True CFO Function

Former AZ NGA CFO Dan Heckendorf, now founder of Astilla, joins Rob Pyne to discuss what it really takes to scale a professional services firm with strong financial discipline and intent. Dan shares lessons from overseeing 30+ advisory firms during a period of rapid growth and reveals the one mistake business owners make that can cost hundreds of thousands to fix later.

Inside the HPH Client Experience: A Conversation with Zac Leeson

In this episode, Rob Pyne sits down with Zac Leeson, Senior Financial Adviser and HPH Solutions Next-Generation Leader, to explore how the client experience has evolved from being investment-centric to truly life-centred. Zac shares the practical tools, processes, and conversations that help clients connect their financial decisions to what really matters, and reflects on what makes great advice both meaningful and sustainable.

The Technologists: Practical AI, Platforms & Productivity for Advice Firms

In this special roundtable episode of The Trusted Adviser Podcast, Rob Pyne is joined by four technologists who are transforming the way advice firms approach technology and AI:
Pat Gardner (Collins SBA / Rubica) – on avoiding the “Salesforce plus-plus fallacy” and how Whisper Flow is changing the way advisers interact with AI.
Nick Downey (Direct Wealth / Halosoft) – on building Meeting Ally and Advice Ally, the secret to managing 40+ acquisitions, and why process and accountability are the true foundations for AI adoption.
Stephen Bell (Captegra) – on using process mining to cut through “workflow spaghetti” and how Zoom has become a powerful all-in-one hub for communication, documents, and automation.
Glenn Elliott (Meldus) – on using Cursor to accelerate proposals, presentations, and branded content, and the one killer question firms should ask every vendor: “How has AI transformed your own business in the past three years?”
Together, they unpack what’s working, where advice firms are getting stuck, and the practical steps to take when adopting new technology. From AI-powered file notes to full-scale workflow redesigns, this episode is a deep dive into the future of advice tech.