For experienced advisors serving ultra-high-net-worth families, pricing isn’t a tactical detail—it’s a strategic posture. It signals how seriously you take your role, how clearly you define your value, and whether your business is built to scale alongside the complexity of your clients' lives.

In this episode of Visionary Advisor, host Alex Kirby is joined by Paul Ferguson, a respected leader in the UHNW and family office space with over 30 years of experience advising both elite families and the firms that serve them. Now with Schwab Advisor Family Office, Paul offers rare insight into what the best-run firms are doing to evolve their pricing models, protect their margins, and better align with client complexity.

Paul’s cross-disciplinary background—from tax and estate planning to MFO leadership and private equity—makes him one of the most well-rounded experts in the field. His perspective is deeply practical, rooted in what actually works, and built to help advisors thrive as client expectations rise.

Whether you advise a $30M client—or want to—you’ll walk away with actionable ways to reframe your pricing, deepen client trust, and build a sustainable practice in today’s changing market.

Why This Episode Will Change the Way You Advise Families

• Why margin—not fee—compression is the real threat in today’s advisory business
• How hybrid models (AUM + retainer) are helping firms separate investment work from complex planning
• Real-world language to use when introducing pricing changes with long-standing clients
• A roadmap for reviewing and updating pricing annually—without losing goodwill
• How best-in-class firms scope, price, and adjust for “surprise” projects (like buying a jet mid-year)

Notable Quotes from Paul Ferguson

“We don’t have a fee compression problem. We have a margin compression problem.” (15:40)

“Your client might forget what you did—but your invoice shouldn’t.” (17:07)

"One of the biggest problems in our industry, everybody is using these terms but no one can define them" (36:18)

"If you don't review your fees annually, the scope of work for your clients will still change" (43:09)

Check out the discussed white paper and additional resources from the Schwab Advisor Family Office

Fees and pricing for ultra-high-net-worth client services | Advisor Services

Serving Family Offices | Schwab Advisor Services

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We believe wealth is well-being. Subscribe to the Visionary Advisor Newsletter for practical tools and ideas to serve families across generations.
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In an industry often dominated by spreadsheets, valuations, and portfolio performance, what if the most important question you could ask your client was: What do you value most in life?

In this episode of Visionary Advisor, Glenn Spencer—CEO of Prime Capital—shares the five personal values that have guided his life, leadership, and legacy for over 30 years. From candid family conversations to structuring an ownership model rooted in trust and equality, Glenn offers a rare blueprint for how values can guide everything from business decisions to estate plans.

This episode will help you spark deeper conversations with clients, guide generational legacies with clarity, and reframe your role as more than a financial expert—but as a trusted steward of purpose.

Why This Episode Will Change the Way You Advise Families

• How Glenn's 30-year commitment to living his values offers a blueprint for clarity in leadership and legacy
• Why most estate plans miss the mark—and how values can bring deeper meaning to generational planning
• What to ask clients to move from vague goals to values-based action
• How values influence culture, ownership, and succession decisions—and why alignment matters more than terms
• How to build trust by helping clients articulate what really matters in their lives

Notable Quotes from Glenn Spencer

"If I can live my life according to these five things, I’ll be a more consistent human being—and at the end of the day, that’s what people want. They want consistency."

"Purpose-driven advisors and purpose-driven organizations perform better. Period. That’s what the data says, and it’s what I’ve lived."

"When I’m in a difficult situation—whether it’s about being candid with someone or being transparent when it feels risky—I go back to my values to guide me."

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We believe wealth is well-being. Subscribe to the Visionary Advisor Newsletter for practical tools and ideas to serve families across generations.
Explore more at totalfamily.io | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch episode clips on YouTube

Wealth advising is evolving, and the advisors who thrive are those who think beyond financial capital. In this conversation, James E. Hughes—one of the most influential voices in family wealth—shares a powerful framework that helps advisors guide families toward lasting legacies in a rapidly changing world.
Hughes introduces the Five Forms of Family Capital—a paradigm-shifting approach that places purpose, decision-making, and well-being at the center of wealth conversations. He also explains why 95% of second-generation inheritors change advisors—and what professionals must do to build relationships that endure across generations. If you want to redefine how families think about wealth and deepen your client relationships, this conversation is essential.


Why This Episode Will Change the Way You Advise Families

• Why financial capital alone doesn’t sustain multi-generational wealth
• How great families make decisions that last for centuries
• The hidden challenges inheritors face when receiving wealth—and how to guide them
• How to adopt a well-being-centered approach that transforms your advisory practice

Notable Quotes from James E. Hughes
"When a family understands that its wealth is its well-being, everything changes."
"A family is not an economic system—it’s a social system."
"For an inheritor, financial capital is a meteor from outer space—it has nothing to do with their identity."

Send us feedback

Stay Connected with Visionary Advisor
We believe wealth is well-being. Subscribe to the Visionary Advisor Newsletter for practical tools and ideas to serve families across generations.
Explore more at totalfamily.io | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch episode clips on YouTube