Osaic's New Playbook: Betting on Support Staff as the Next Growth Engine

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 31, 2026 – In the competitive arena of wealth management, where firms vie for top advisors and client assets, Osaic is making a calculated bet on a frequently overlooked asset: the support professionals who form the operational backbone of advisory firms. The company’s recent inaugural Service Excellence Staff Symposium in Scottsdale was more than just a professional development event; it was a clear signal of a deeper strategy to redefine growth, efficiency, and the client experience from the ground up.

By gathering the administrative and operational staff who power its nearly 10,000 affiliated financial professionals, Osaic is acknowledging a fundamental truth: the success of an advisory practice hinges on the entire team. The symposium focused on critical areas like productivity, technology adoption, and AI, aiming to arm these professionals with the tools and knowledge to elevate their firms. “Great advisor businesses are built by teams, and support professionals play a critical role in how those teams operate and how well clients are served,” said Shannon Reid, president and head of advisor growth and engagement at Osaic. “As advisors grow, the demands on their staff become more complex. This symposium reflects our commitment to equipping support professionals with the resources, relationships and voice they need to help their firms scale effectively.”

This initiative moves beyond typical training, creating a direct feedback loop between the frontline users of Osaic’s platform and its executive leadership. “Support professionals are the primary users of our platform and processes, making them uniquely positioned to identify what is working and where we can improve,” noted Namita Patel, SVP of the Advisor Experience Center of Excellence. By systematically harnessing these insights, Osaic aims to build a more intuitive and powerful ecosystem, turning grassroots expertise into a strategic advantage.

The Strategic Blueprint: More Than Just a Meeting

Osaic's focus on its support staff is not an isolated tactic but a cornerstone of a meticulously executed long-term strategy. The symposium follows the company's monumental “Journey to One” initiative, which consolidated its multiple legacy broker-dealer brands into a single, unified entity. That complex undertaking was designed to create a more streamlined operating platform and a cohesive data architecture—a foundation now being leveraged to deploy advanced technologies like AI more effectively across the entire organization.

This investment in human capital is further bolstered by significant financial firepower. In April, Osaic announced a recapitalization of over $2 billion, led by its private equity owner Reverence Capital Partners with new investment from Bain Capital. This infusion of capital is earmarked for growth, and events like the staff symposium demonstrate a commitment to investing those funds internally to foster organic expansion. By enhancing the productivity of the entire advisory team, Osaic is building a more attractive platform for recruiting and retaining top-tier financial professionals in a landscape dominated by giants like LPL Financial and Raymond James.

The hiring of Shannon Reid herself, who previously led the independent contractor division at Raymond James, underscores this strategic focus on advisor growth and engagement. The symposium aligns perfectly with her mandate, recognizing that empowering an advisor's team is a powerful tool for retention and a key differentiator in a crowded market.

Empowering the Unsung Heroes of Finance

The symposium's curriculum—centered on simplification, technology adoption, and operational efficiency—directly addresses a pressing industry-wide challenge: a looming talent crisis. With a predicted shortfall of over 100,000 advisors in the next decade, the ability to attract, develop, and retain skilled support staff has become paramount. Firms that treat staffing as a strategic investment rather than a simple cost are positioning themselves to outperform competitors.

This investment is transforming the nature of the support role itself. As technology and AI automate repetitive administrative duties, support professionals are being elevated to more strategic functions. They are becoming technology specialists, operational managers, and key drivers of the client experience. Osaic’s initiative provides a clear career path and the necessary upskilling for these professionals to thrive in this new paradigm.

This company-wide push is evident in recent leadership changes. The appointment of Sayee Bellamkonda as Osaic’s first Chief AI & Technology Officer signals an aggressive strategy to embed advanced technology into every facet of the business. The goal is to enhance advisor and employee productivity, improve client outcomes, and build a more scalable platform. This top-down strategic direction, combined with the bottom-up feedback from the symposium, creates a powerful synergy for innovation.

The AI Revolution and the Client Dividend

Technology, and specifically artificial intelligence, was a central theme of the symposium for good reason. Osaic has declared technology its largest strategic investment, and it is actively integrating AI to enhance efficiency. The firm recently partnered with Zocks to roll out an AI-powered Client Intelligence Platform designed to minimize mundane tasks by summarizing communications and generating client insights, freeing up advisors to focus on high-value relationships.

This mirrors a broader industry trend. Studies suggest AI tools can reduce an advisor's weekly workload by 20-30% by automating routine tasks like categorizing transactions and generating compliance reports. Projections from firms like Deloitte suggest AI could lead to productivity gains of up to 100% by 2032, fundamentally reshaping the financial advisory model. For support staff, this means less time spent on manual data entry and more time dedicated to proactive client service and complex problem-solving.

The ultimate beneficiary of this internal investment is the end client. A more efficient, technologically adept, and empowered support team translates directly into a better client experience. It means faster response times, more accurate processing, and a more seamless, consistent service relationship. When support staff can handle operational complexities with ease, advisors have more time to devote to financial planning and strategic advice. By investing in the operational core of its affiliated firms, Osaic is not just building a more resilient business; it is working to deliver a higher standard of care for the individuals and families whose financial futures are at stake.