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b'In Episode 117, we welcome entrepreneur and wealth advisor, Steve Lockshin. At Meb\\u2019s request, Steve walks us through his professional background in the financial services industry. It\\u2019s an interesting story, reflecting how wealth management has changed over the decades.\\nMeb picks up on a term Steve used in describing his early years \\u2013 \\u201cproducer\\u201d (referencing an advisor) \\u2013 making the point that if advisors were expected to produce revenue to the degree that \\u201cproducer\\u201d was their name, it pointed toward a potential conflict with the client\\u2019s goals. Steve agrees, noting that the conflicts of interest in the business are challenging. He offers us an example using a mortgage payment scenario. If a client allocated capital toward paying down a high-rate mortgage rather than toward funding his equity portfolio, that debt paydown would benefit him, yet would decrease the advisor\\u2019s AUM, hurting the advisor\\u2019s personal revenue. Given this, the advisor may not be incentivized to make recommendations that are always in the best interest of the client.\\nMeb asks for more details about Steve\\u2019s fee structure at AdvicePeriod, and why it was set up that way. Steve walks us through the details, noting that their fee structure largely emanates from the value they bring. So, their fees are always clear and capped.\\nThis bleeds into a conversation about an advisor\\u2019s biggest value add. Meb wonders if it\\u2019s estate planning and tax issues, or if it varies. Steve answers by first referencing portfolio construction, asking a question \\u2013 if we take the top quartile of advisors, what does Meb think they\\u2019d produce, over a 20-year period, in true alpha above the market? Meb answers, basically 0%. Steve agrees, noting portfolio construction is not the real source of advisor alpha. Instead, he points toward taxes as a huge source of real value. He concludes saying \\u201cTurning that tax dial is a huge return for clients\\u201d and \\u201cWe think the estate planning and tax planning levers are the most important levers to push on for clients\\u201d.\\nThe guys bounce around a bit here, discussing high advisor fees, and how the industry was able to hide them for years\\u2026 the biggest problems Steve sees with new clients when they bring over their portfolios\\u2026 and how the general advisor/client process works. But from here, the conversation turns toward how one might find a great wealth manager. It\\u2019s challenging, as laws prohibit client testimonials, and as Steve says, most clients don\\u2019t know which questions need to be asked. He gives us a few examples of good questions:\\n\\nWhat will your fees be if I tell you that you can\\u2019t use any of your own funds?\\n\\nHow often would we meet?\\n\\nWhat software will you use?\\n\\nHow much access to information will I have?\\n\\nWhat\\u2019s your transparency level?\\n\\nNext, Meb asks how things look going forward on the investment advisor side. Steve tells us that as soon as info becomes accessible and digestible by investors, we\\u2019ll see people behave differently. We\\u2019ll keep seeing fees come down, and transactional fees will go away. And when moving your entire account from one group to another becomes a matter of just a few mouse clicks, we\\u2019ll see a massive shift.\\nMeb asks when we\\u2019ll see an \\u201cautomated Lockshin\\u201d, meaning when will wealth management become automated? Steve thinks it\\u2019s far closer than people think. He references Google Duplex, which is basically a computer speaking to us, yet fooling the human on the other end of the phone into believe he/she is conversing with another real human.\\nThere\\u2019s way more in this episode: Steve\\u2019s favorite private investment right now\\u2026 how tax planning is the biggest alpha generator out there but doesn\\u2019t receive the emphasis is deserves\\u2026 how the industry goes out of its way to complicate things for investors\\u2026 Vanguard Life Strategy Funds\\u2026 and of course, Steve\\u2019s most memorable trade.\\nWhat was it? Find out in Episode 117.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'