September 2026 – Beacon 1% Better Every Day

Can AI Solve Wealth Management’s Technology and Succession Challenges? Ft. Ferian Nickelson (Ep. 23)

By Beacon 1% Better Everyday | September 29, 2026

How can wealth management leaders prepare for advisor retirements without losing the client relationships their firms have spent decades building?

In this episode, Chip Kispert speaks with Ferian Nickelson, chief operating officer at VestGen Wealth Partners, about financial advisor succession planning and the people, data, and technology firms need to support advisor retirements and client transitions. Ferian explains why clean, reliable client data must come before AI, how disconnected technology can create operational complexity, and why traditional CRM systems may need to evolve. They also discuss how VestGen acquires retiring advisors’ practices and prepares next-generation advisors to serve clients through the transition as more advisors retire and leave the industry.

Listen in as they explore:

How AI could or can give financial advisors more time to serve clients
What wealth management firms need before adopting AI
Where simplifying technology can improve firm operations
How next-generation advisors can build trust during an advisor transition
What financial advisor succession planning requires beyond transferring a practice
And more!

Resources:

Beacon Strategies, LLC Podcast

Connect with Chip Kispert

Connect with Ferian Nickelson:

About Our Guest:

Ferian Nickelson is the chief operating officer of VestGen Wealth Partners. Her career spans the wirehouse, independent, broker-dealer, and trust sectors, including experience with Morgan Stanley, Hightower, Northern Trust, BNY, and LPL. At VestGen, she helps build the people, processes, technology, and advisor development systems needed to acquire retiring advisors’ practices and guide client relationships through matchmaking and transitioning to the next generation.

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How Merit Financial Advisors Integrates Growth, AI, and Client Experience with Chrissy Lee (Ep. 22)

By Beacon 1% Better Everyday | September 22, 2026

Growth through acquisition can look impressive from the outside, but the harder work begins when people, systems, and cultures have to come together. How can firms grow without losing trust or the human side of the business?

In this episode, Chip Kispert speaks with Chrissy Lee, Chief Operating Officer at Merit Financial Advisors, about integrating acquired firms with care. Chrissy explains how transition teams, training, culture, and communication help new employees and clients feel supported from day one. She also shares how Merit develops early-career and new-career professionals, uses AI to improve efficiency, and keeps the client experience central as the firm grows.

The conversation closes with a simple idea: technology can support the work, but trust is still earned person-to-person, not machine-to-person.

Chrissy discusses:

How transition and integration teams help acquired firms adapt to new systems, processes, and expectations
Why culture, communication, and job clarity can reduce uncertainty for employees joining a larger organization
How Young Professionals of Merit builds career skills, mentoring relationships, and reverse mentoring opportunities with senior leaders
How Merit is using AI, Copilot, and digital tools to save time while keeping people focused on client relationships
Why client experience, servant leadership, and person-to-person trust remain central as wealth management firms grow
And more!

Resources:

Beacon Strategies, LLC Podcast

Connect with Chip Kispert

Connect with Chrissy Lee:

About Our Guest:

Chrissy Lee serves as Chief Operating Officer at Merit Financial Advisors. Chrissy has over 15 years of experience in the Wealth Management and Broker Dealer channel, having started her career in Operations and eventually rising to the role of COO and President at her previous firm. She previously served as a board member for IPA, served on the Advisory Council of Docupace, a technology provider for wealth management firms, created the Women Advisor Network, and served as a committee member for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force.

At Merit, Chrissy is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the firm, working within the executive leadership team and each department within the organization to create efficiencies and streamline the client service experience. She is also responsible for operational strategy, driving strategic growth through mergers and acquisitions, and overseeing the onboarding process, business development, and technology implementations to create a best-in-class experience for the Merit community.

As a member of Merit’s Executive Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team, Chrissy’s goal is to create a bridge between firm initiatives and working with the entire Merit team to bring open communication, a forum to gather new ideas to make the client experience evergreen, and to empower every team member to make decisions and help to execute goals together. This aligns with Merit’s belief that servant leadership comes above all else.

Chrissy enjoys spending time with her husband of 25+ years and their grown children. She loves reading classic literature, going to Disney, and watching classic movies. She has a heart for helping underprivileged families and considers this a lifelong stewardship.

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Why Advisors Still Don’t Use Their CRM with Willie Mullen (Ep. 21)

By Beacon 1% Better Everyday | September 9, 2026

Is your CRM helping advisors serve clients and complete work, or is your team still relying on workarounds?

In this episode of Beacon 1% Better Every Day, Chip Kispert speaks with Willie Mullen, Senior Vice President of Sales at Wealthbox, about CRM adoption, AI, and operational efficiency in wealth management. Willie explains why a CRM for financial advisors must be intuitive enough for the entire team to use, how AI-powered workflows could improve advisor productivity and collaboration, and why CRM migration is an operating model decision, not simply a technology replacement. They also examine automation, compliance controls, audit trails, and what advisory firms should expect from the next generation of wealth management technology.

Listen in to learn:

Why usability can determine whether a wealth management CRM is adopted
How CRM can become a system of action, not only a system of record
What firms should evaluate before starting a CRM migration
How AI could support team collaboration while meeting compliance requirements
And more!

Resources:

Beacon Strategies, LLC Podcast

Connect with Chip Kispert

Connect with Willie Mullen:

About Our Guest:

Willie Mullen is Senior Vice President of Sales at Wealthbox, a CRM platform designed for financial advisors, enterprise wealth management firms, and broker-dealers. He works with advisory firms to improve CRM adoption, simplify technology transitions, and build more efficient operating models. Willie brings a practical perspective to conversations about advisor technology, artificial intelligence, workflow automation, team collaboration, and compliance. His work focuses on helping firms use CRM technology as more than a system of record, turning it into a platform that supports action, productivity, and growth.

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