Episode 1
How did Facet grow from $2 million to $40 million in revenue while changing the wealth management industry along the way? This episode of the Growth Leaders of Wealth Management podcast delves deep into the journey of trailblazing wealth management firm, Facet. Facet's CEO and Co-Founder, Anders Jones, and the company's President and COO, Shruti Joshi, join Meg Carpenter to share the innovative strategies propelling Facet into a league of its own.
Key Takeaways:
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What problem was Facet built to solve? The traditional wealth management model is expensive, riddled with conflicts of interest, and scoped too narrowly for most people. Facet set out to fix all three by serving the mass affluent with a flat fee model and tech-driven efficiency. They now serve 14,000 households and have their sights set on reaching 20 million underserved Americans by 2030.
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Why did Facet pivot to direct-to-consumer? Anders and Shruti discuss the initial vision and the critical moment when they realized a direct-to-consumer approach would unlock the scale they were after. That pivot changed everything about how they acquire, onboard, and serve clients.
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Why did Facet separate advisors from sales? Because asking the same person to close new business and deliver financial planning creates a tug-of-war that usually hurts both. By splitting those roles, Facet lets advisors focus entirely on client interactions and planning while a dedicated sales team handles onboarding. That division of labor lets both sides build process, iterate fast, and get better at what they do.
Meet Facet
Traditional wealth management has a few well-known problems: high costs, baked-in conflicts of interest, and a service scope that doesn't stretch far enough for most people.
Facet looked at all three and decided to start over. Their flat fee model and tech-driven efficiency opened the door to a market most firms were ignoring: the mass affluent. This episode is an insider's look at how they made that bet, pivoted to direct-to-consumer, and learned some unexpected lessons along the way.
Targeting the Market Everyone Else Overlooked
Anders and Shruti walk through the original vision and the critical pivot that changed Facet's trajectory. Going direct-to-consumer wasn't the initial plan, but it turned out to be the unlock. Today, Facet serves 14,000 households with a goal of reaching 20 million underserved Americans by 2030.
Scaling Without Breaking the Model
When Shruti joined the team, she brought a data-driven focus that reshaped how Facet thought about growth. She zeroed in on building a mass affluent brand, defining the ideal client profile, and tightening the connection between client expectations and the actual service experience. Anders shares how the firm moved away from rigid meeting schedules and toward a flexible, as-needed model supported by dedicated service teams.
The sweet spot? Mass affluent clients aged 35 to 60 with busy lives who don't want to be locked into quarterly reviews they didn't ask for.
Separating Sales from Advice
One of Facet's smartest structural decisions was splitting the advisor and sales roles entirely. Advisors focus on client relationships and planning. The sales team focuses on onboarding. Nobody's doing both, which means both sides can build process, iterate quickly, and actually get better at the thing they're responsible for. It sounds simple. Most firms still don't do it.
Knowing Exactly Who You Serve
Shruti's approach to the ideal client profile wasn't a branding exercise; it was a growth lever. By getting specific about who Facet could serve best, they started onboarding clients whose expectations aligned with what the firm actually delivers. That alignment shows up in loyalty, satisfaction, and retention, the metrics that matter most when you're scaling a subscription-based service.
Shruti also recognized early that relying on a single lead source is a vulnerability, not a strategy. Facet now generates leads from over 40 different channels. That kind of diversification means no single slowdown can stall momentum, and the team always has fresh data on what's converting and what's not.
Facet's Willingness to Rethink Everything
Here's the part most firms skip: admitting when something isn't working.
Facet's first attempt to replicate the traditional advisor experience didn't land with their clients. Instead of doubling down, they redesigned the model. Flexible scheduling, team-based service, and the freedom for clients to engage a planner when a big decision comes up, not on some arbitrary calendar. The result is a service that fits the client, not the other way around.
Growth starts with the willingness to question the model you're running. FiComm Partners helps RIAs and wealth management firms build marketing strategies that match the way their clients actually want to be served. Book a consultation to start rethinking yours.
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About Ficomm Partners
Ficomm Partners is the embedded growth partner for results-driven RIAs, and wealth management platforms. With a track record of helping over 250 clients achieve their growth goals, Ficomm understands that while industry patterns may repeat, each firm's growth challenges are unique. Ficomm prioritizes strategy and finds the most impactful ways to move you toward your goals. We align all your marketing activities with your business objectives, acting as your dedicated growth partner with our human-first approach, strategy-first methodology, and unrivaled team of industry marketing experts.
Last updated April 2026