In the Suite

Ep 95 Navigating Growth and Innovation in Wealth Tech with Vickie Lewin, Chief Growth Officer at Amplify

• Tina Powell • Season 3 • Episode 95

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Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Vickie Lewin, Chief Growth Officer at Amplify, a fast-growing wealthtech platform purpose-built to simplify operations and accelerate growth for wealth management firms. Amplify’s unified, all-in-one technology is helping RIAs and enterprises streamline their tech stacks, reduce inefficiencies, and scale smarter—all while focusing on what matters most: serving clients.

Since joining Amplify, Vickie has been instrumental in driving the firm’s strategic direction, overseeing a high-performing team of sales and marketing professionals, and bringing Amplify’s value proposition to life across the industry. She’s a dynamic leader whose impact can be seen in every corner of the organization—from product development to market expansion.

Before Amplify, Vickie served as Senior Vice President and Chief Success Officer at AssetMark, where she played a critical role in the company’s meteoric rise from a $1 billion TAMP to a $100+ billion industry giant. With more than 30 years of experience spanning financial services, fintech, and asset management, Vickie brings a unique blend of insight, innovation, and execution to everything she does​.

But that’s just the beginning.

In today’s episode, we explore Vickie’s journey from her early days in the industry to her current role helping firms future-proof their businesses through smart, scalable technology. We talk about the forces shaping the future of wealthtech, what advisors can do to stay competitive, and how to navigate growth during times of rapid change and consolidation. Vickie also shares powerful reflections on leadership, mentorship, and what it really takes to succeed in today’s evolving financial landscape—especially as a woman in the C-suite.

Get ready for a thoughtful, empowering, and forward-looking conversation with one of fintech’s most respected voices—right here, In The Suite.


🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • The vision behind Amplify and how it’s redefining operations for wealth management firms
  • Key lessons from helping scale one of the largest TAMPs in the country
  • Vickie’s insights on the future of wealthtech—from AI to advisor enablement
  • Advice for breakaway advisors navigating independence and fee compression
  • Her perspective on RIA consolidation and how technology can be a powerful differentiator
  • Real talk on advancing women in finance and the importance of mentorship and leadership

🔗 Links & Resources



🤩 Thanks for listening, we appreciate your support and 5-star reviews of our show!!!

❤️ Please follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/inthesuitepod/

📧 Want to get in touch? Email me at tina@growintentionally.com


On this week's episode of in the. Suite with Tina Powell. If you're finding that you're getting squeezed, add more value. Don't lower your fee. Add more value because once you lower your fee, you can't raise it like fight tooth and nail for what you're worth. Hi, this is Tina Powell, host of in the Suite, where I sit down with top women leaders and some of the biggest names in the financial services and the wealth management industry. Together we'll discover some of their best secrets and top strategies to grow great business, build a strong brand, and lead teams in the 21st century. I hope you'll enjoy hearing their amazing personal stories of triumph, trepidation and transformation in hopes of becoming better leaders ourselves. The time for you to lead is now and you're in the sweep Today I'm thrilled to welcome Vicki Lewin, Chief Growth Officer at Amplify, a fast growing wealth tech platform purpose built to simplify operations and accelerate growth for wealth management firms, Amplify's unified all in one technology is helping reas and enterprises streamline their tech stacks, reduce inefficiencies and scale smarter, all while focusing on what matters most serving clients. Since joining Amplify, Vickie has been instrumental in driving the firm's strategic direction, overseeing a high performance team of sales and marketing professionals and bringing Amplify's value proposition to life across the industry. She's a dynamic leader whose impact can be seen in every corner of the organization, from product development to market expansion. Before Amplify, Vicki served as a Senior Vice President and Chief Success Officer at Assetmark, where she played a critical role in the company's meteoric rise from a 1 billion tamp to a 100 plus billion dollar industry giant. With more than 30 years of experience spanning financial services, fintech and asset management, Vicki brings a unique blend of insight, innovation and execution to everything she does. But that's just the beginning. In today's episode, we explore Vicki's journey from her early days in the industry to her current role, helping firms future proof their businesses through smart scalable technology. We also talk about the forces shaping the future of wealth tech, what advisors can do to stay competitive, and how to navigate growth during times of rapid change and consolidation like today. Vicki also shares powerful reflections on leadership, mentorship and what it really takes to succeed in today's evolving financial landscape, especially as a woman in the C Suite. Get ready for a thoughtful, empowering and forward looking conversation with one of Fintech's most most respected voices right here in the suite. Vicki Lewin Wow. Take a seat in the suite. I am so excited to do this with you today. How are you? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm doing great. And you're coming to me from California, right? I'm. I am. I'm in Napa right now. Oh, boy. Oh. I did a bike tour in Napa. We went to Opus. We went to Frogs Leaf. You were in the most exquisite part of the country. Yes, I am. I've got. I have my fireplace going by me because in Napa the temperature swings are pretty extreme. So it's still a little chilly here this morning. Oh, wow. I'll never forget my Mark pulling up in a convertible Mustang as we were touring Napa for the first time. And I was like, oh, anyway, what a dream. Great to be reminded of that. And so today, absolutely thrilled to have you, Vicki. I've been looking forward to this conversation. You are someone. You're happy International Women's Day to. You're definitely a female leader with experience in both asset management and, well, tech. You've been at the forefront in innovation in this space for over two decades, helping your firm scale and adapt to a rapidly evolving environment. So we're going to get into your journey and insights today. We've got a great listenership. Thank. Thank you all you sweeters today for joining us. Let's start at the top here. Let's start with Amplify Technology. Tell us about the platform and how it's helping wealth management firms to, you know, simplify and automate their core operations. You got it. But it's over three decades, I have to confess. Okay, it's over three decades. That's great. You look amazing. It is. We'll see if I make it to 40 years or not, but, but I'm, I'm chipping away at it. So. Amplifier Amplify is what is commonly now being referred to as an all in one platform, really created to try to simplify what has quickly become complex for many registered investment advisors as they're trying to build and grow their businesses. You know, all of this technology was created for raas to simplify things for them so that they could plug out of an RIA or plug out of an independent broker dealer world where they had everything provided to them and then operate on their own. And now there's so much technology that it's difficult. So Amplify is an all in one. We have a client lifecycle management system much like a CRM, Research tools, portfolio construction tools, the ability to build proposals, the ability to trade at all of the custodians, Pershing, Schwab, Fidelity, Goldman, Axos, as well as the ability to do performance reporting, billing, and a client portal. So it's all the stuff, if you will, that a registered investment advisor needs to operate. Our client at Amplify is the registered investment enterprise that supports all of the advisors. And so we have a lot of tools in place as well to help that RIA owner with compliance and oversight and all of the things that they need to do. That's great. And how long have you been with Amplify? You know, it's only been since June of last year. So I guess the answer is almost a year. And I was in my boss's office, the CEO, the founder of Amplify, and I was like, can you believe it's been a year? And he said what I feel. In some ways, it's hard to imagine that it's been so long, but in other ways, I feel like I've always been there. So I'm weaving my way into the fabric of the organization, which feels good. And I mean, part of the reason that they put what I think is a sure bet on you, Vicki, is the fact that you've got a very fascinating background with a lot of accomplishment here. You played a pivotal role in Assetmark's transformation from the 1 billion tamp that they started at to over 100 billion. So what were some of the key drivers? I'm sure that Amplify looked at you. What were some of the key factors of that, of that growth? We've got a lot of women who are listening, and a lot of us in executive leadership here are tasked with some sort of digital transformation project right now. Wouldn't you agree? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And we will be forever for the foreseeable future. Yes, absolutely. So I think what Amplify liked about my background is that I joined Assetmark in 2001 when they were just about a billion in assets under management. They were at the time still owned by the founders. And what mad respect I have for those guys. I loved working for them. And, you know, the early days at Asset Market was just find another advisor and help them open another account. And really, early days at Assetmark, we built the firm brick by brick. You know, just one. One win at a time. And then obviously, the story of the evolution of Assetmark is really awesome, and it was really great to get to be a part of it. From a billion to. I think there were about 110, actually, technically, when I left. Nice. And Amplify is looking for the same thing. You know, their Amplify was 20, real close to 20 billion in AUM when I joined. So much further along in their, in their growth cycle than the 1 billion. But I think what they saw in me is somebody who understands how to grow, how to lean in, how to fight. Someone who's not afraid to make a mistake and you know, and fix it quickly. Someone who certainly knows the story of our industry, the evolution of our industry and what a complex ecosystem it has become. And quite honestly, it's becoming even, you know, even more complicated. So I think that's what Amplify saw in me that they're asking me to lean into. It is fun. The building part of a business, which is what Amplify is in, is a really fun stage. And so I should also mention that you're chief growth officer. So what kind of trends, what do you attribute that growth to? Why do you think the tamp industry. We could either take this question, Vicki, general or specific. Why has there been such adoption? Rapid adoption, I would call of tamps and if you will, all in one platforms. Yeah, it started like a lot of things, it started slowly and then certainly it accelerated. I started talking to financial advisors about the trend from commissions to fees in the early 90s and I think people thought I was a little bit crazy at the time. So there are a couple of trends at play that certainly are helping turnkey asset managed providers, all in one platforms. The first one is the trend from commissions to fees that started, you know, I want to say it started in the 90s and when it started, you'll laugh, we were, I was selling 3% a year separately managed accounts at the time and trying to convince advisors, trying to teach, really not convince, that that 3% separately managed account was cheaper than a mutual fund after they paid the 4,5% load. A few bought what I was selling, but not a lot. But that trend from commissions to fees that started quite a long time ago has certainly accelerate and we don't even call it that now. We call it the trend to fiduciary, which is what it is and it's certainly a wonderful trend. It's the way that I believe that all financial advisors should operate with their clients regardless of how they're paid. And obviously that fiduciary standard of putting your clients interests ahead of your own is what that trend is all about. The second trend that is in play right now is the trend of breaking away from wirehouses and independent broker dealers. The trend to independence. We'll call it, which is absolutely what it is, is financial advisors. Most of them, I'll say maybe not, I won't say most, many of them, we'll go with that. They don't want to be told what to do. They don't want to be told how to operate their business. They don't want to be told what products they can and can't use. They don't want to be told how they can and can't charge. So many are choosing independents and they're choosing the RIA model. And as that trend now is accelerating, that's the trend of all of this technology to support that breakaway advisor. Right? The Michael Kitzy's map. What a. What a. Oh my God. It's so funny that you just said that, Vicki, because I literally just saw him last week at T. At T3. So I said to him, it was the first thing I said. I was like, michael, the map is like blowing up. And he's like, I know, I know. You know? Well, it's. It was genius for him to, to think, to put it together. And I've seen some other industries do something similar. And if you go back and you look at his map from, you know, 20 or 2018, you can actually read the logos that are on the page. There was space, there was white space. And if you look at it now, he's down to this tiniest little picture, so he can still fit it all on one page. So the trend of the breakaways created all of this great technology and all of these companies to support RIAs, but now there's so many that it's become too complicated. And so all of these breakaways are saying, help me make this easier. And so Amplify is benefiting from all those trends, that trend to fiduciary, the trend to independence and the trend towards simplicity. I'm going to call it in. In structuring a business model. So we have listeners in over 82 countries right now. So what Vickie's talking about, everyone, this idea of fiduciary, and we've discussed it in the suite before, but it was something that I had to learn, Vicki, as I came here as a second career person. I've been in marketing for 30 years. If you count cheerleading high school. I count cheerleading in high school as marketing. Anyway, so fiduciary means that an advisor is charged on the advice that they're giving. So it's product, what we call like product or investment agnostic. The advisor is not making any more money if they put you into one mutual fund or ETF over another, there is a suitability standard that other companies use that actually the advisor does get paid commission. So for anyone listening here right now, especially women, we love financial advisors and the registered investment advisory market, I will say that we definitely have a bias. I, I came from that world, Vicki. So as you were explaining the trends, you're, you're spot on. And I was in the field during that time of like independence. And it was the first thing that, when I joined a registered investment advisor that they explained to me what fiduciary meant. And it's really like, it's an oath, it's a, it's a promise to the client. One of the things that came up, and I did ask Michael this question too. Could we spend a minute talking about AI? Because it's 2025, it's a beautiful day in March and everything and everywhere we look right now. Vickie, with AI and automation becoming more prevalent, what do you think that advisors should be doing to future proof their businesses? Yeah, AI is really exciting. I was at a conference, I want to say, 2ish years ago, it's time, you know, it's kind of, kind of, kind of blurry, but 2ish years ago, it was an MMI conference and it was the first time that I heard a speaker on AI. So you think back, you know, two years ago, we were still just, you know, learning how to spell ChatGPT. And the speaker at the time said that AI was going to be as transformative to our personal and professional lives as the creation of the Internet was. And that really like stopped me in that moment because I didn't get it. I didn't get it until that moment what a big deal this was. And so I'm not surprised that we are all talking about AI and we're talking about how do we use it, how do we learn it, how do we implement it, how do we make sure we don't get behind? Because you can get behind fast when technology, innovation and change is happening so fast. I think about technology and I think about people in their 70s and 80s that are trying to keep up. And I want to make sure that that doesn't become me because it can happen quickly. So I'm not surprised that we're talking about AI, but I do believe we are only scratching the surface right now on what AI is going to do to transform our businesses and our personal. I'm on ChatGPT almost every day now instead of some of the other places that I used to go. I will confess that it does help to write some of the LinkedIn posts that may find themselves on Amplify's website. And I know many journalists lean on them for writing prompts. It's easier to start with something than a blank sheet of paper. Innovation in asset management right now I think people are cautious, understandably so, and are leaning in heavily to the productivity tools, the note takers, they're just fabulous the way they can action item. What people need to do are just fabulous. So I would encourage people to start to think about and use the easy AI applications. And then the most important thing as it relates to being able to lean into all of the AI integrations in the future is data. The most important thing is data and the consolidation of data all in one place. The AI tools will be very hard to use if data is in six or seven different systems and your business can't really understand what's happening in the disparate systems. And so the all in one platforms where data is all in one place, we really believe are going to be able to lean into these AI tools and implement and use these AI tools, the ones we know about today and the ones that we haven't even dreamed are being created, that are being created and will be real to us in, you know, less than a year, I imagine. Yeah. So a couple of things here is again coming back from the T3 conference. Zox gave a really incredible presentation. They are an AI product in the wealth management space. So for anybody who's looking for note taker recommend, that number two is Vicki. I'm back in school so I am taking Google AI certification right now. It's a Coursera course. I spent $49 for it. I'm halfway through the course and then that AI certification I obviously plan to do a lot more. It's a badge that you can incorporate on your LinkedIn. You could put it in an email signature. And the final thing I want to say is because I saw again at T3 Financial Planning for Advisors. Any advisor listening here? Financial planning just started an event, new conference last year. Michael talked about it, Michael Kitces and all his recommendations. It's called Advise AI. And this year it will be October 28th, 8th to the 29th at the Wynn in Las Vegas. So it's a conference for advisors that focused on AI. So like the concepts that Vickie's talking about about innovation and seeing AI product adoption in various systems and all in one tools and all of that, it might be a great place for people to go. Yeah, I'm. I tell you, I'm excited about what this new technology, this new innovation is going to, is going to do for all of us. And I'm going to, I'm so that I get to be a part of building and implementing and incorporating this into Amplify's ecosystem and then figuring out what the heck it'll do for all of us. Personally, it's an exciting chapter. Another trend, fee compression. Right now, the industry has been talking about it, and that also has been a major challenge. And I feel that there is some alpha that could be earned or created by virtue of just making sure that you have the right tech stack. What are you seeing in terms of, what are you seeing at Amplify technology about like fee compression? So when you say feet compression, it's another one of those that just, it, it's, it's, it makes me smile. Not because we like it, but because it's a trend that's been going on for decades. For financial advisors who were selling products, recommending products. In the 80s, mutual fund loads were eight to eight and a half percent. Wow. Right? That is crazy. And now, now, you know, granted, that was a commission and then there was a trail on. Now that was people were earning eight and a half percent. Now we talk in terms of basis points. So this trend towards fee compression has been going on for a long time. We do find that fee compression is less the closer one is to the end client. So financial advisors feel fee compression a little bit less than product providers who feel fee compression a little bit less than custodians. Right. The further away in the financial services ecosystem you get from the client, the more you feel the fee compression. So yes, fee compression is here and it is real. And I'm just gonna do this. The bit of advice that I give financial advisors about fee compression is if you're finding that you're getting squeezed, add more value. Don't lower your fee. Add more value. Because once you lower your fee, you can't raise it like, fight tooth and nail for what you're worth. So just a little advice that you didn't ask me for. That's huge advice though. Could you go, could we just spend just one more time in terms of value? And here you are. Vicki, a prominent female leader in financial services for many years, helped to take a tamp in its early beginning years to unimaginable growth. Where's that value add for advisors right now who are struggling with this equation? Sure, sure. So, you know, first of all, it's in financial problem solving. Right. It's not in Portfolio construction. It's not in all the time that somebody spends researching to decide how much in growth and how much in value and this ETF or that ETF and how much in fixed income. Which is why there is a massive trend to outsourcing, outsourcing the models, which is again the reason that you have tamps growing. The value that a financial advisor provides is in coaching and counseling and financial problem solving. Being a friend and a listener and a mentor, keeping people calm when the markets aren't calm. Like right now. Like exactly right now, right now. Like keeping people from making the mistake of getting out of the market at the exact wrong time. People forget that when you go out of the. You have to make two, you have to get two decisions right to succeed as an investor. Both the time to exit and the time to re enter and many people who panic and get out now. So the real value of a financial advisor is all of that facetime. And it can be zoom face to face with clients, helping them solve financial problems, talking to them about their hopes and dreams for their retirement and what they can do for their kids. So it's really in financial planning, which is why you're seeing obviously a massive growth in planning and planning technology. I had one advisor I worked with years and years ago who used to people talk about, well, what do you get paid per hour as a financial planner? And her answer was, I don't get paid by the hour. I get paid for the years, for the years that I've been doing this and all the things that I've seen and people that I've talked to. So that's what I think financial advisors really need to lean into is financial problem solving. Coaching, counseling, mentoring, being there. It's interesting, everybody, Vicki and I are recording on Tuesday, March 11, Monday, March 10 was not such a great day in the market. So The Nasdaq fell 4%, the Dow plunged a thousand this morning. Things are red, red, red. Good buying opportunity. But yeah, I think a lot of the things you were saying in terms of value add from an agency perspective, right now we are building marketing campaigns for clients to be proactive and not reactive, to be in touch with the client. Because the number one reason why clients leave an advisory firm is because of lack of communication. And if you get out in front of it, it like everything in life, if you get out in front of it, I feel that you have a better chance at success, especially for clients. They want to learn, they want to understand. You have to coach them behaviorally. So some really, really good points that you just mentioned there, Vicki. Yeah, Financial education is often cited as the. Financial literacy is often cited as one of the most important things that investors want from their financial advisor. This is a great time to be giving it to them. The plan didn't change. The markets are going to be volatile. We know. We know that to be true. If your plan didn't change, then don't change anything. Hi friends, it's Tina. Just popping in for a quick moment. If you've been enjoying these conversations in the suite, the stories, the insights, the incredible guests, I'd be so grateful if you took a minute to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your reviews help more amazing people just like you find the show. Okay, back to the episode. Can we talk a little bit about M and A? Some breakaway advisors coming from a wirehouse all of a sudden find themselves having to build a tech stack and buy technology for the first time. Do you have any advice because you've seen this from so many different lense. Do you have any advice for firms navigating M and A and having to go from one system to another? It might actually be beneficial, right? Might be advantageous that you join a firm that has a more modern tech stack to begin with, that is a business builder. Yeah. You know when you were, when we were talking about thinking about tech stack earlier in terms of reducing cost. Reducing cost shouldn't be the only thing that people think about when making all of those decisions. Those decisions should also be made about ease of use and integration and not just for the advisor, but also for their staff. So you're talking about those things as advisors are being recruited to join other firms. The advice that I would give is do your homework. The person offering the most money may not be the best fit for the advisor and for their client. The decisions that advisors and business owners make, I mean, it's massive. Financial advisors, many of them built a career so that they could support their families. And then what they quickly many of them learned is that their business was the largest asset on their balance sheet and they deserve to be able to monetize that. But they need to ask themselves a lot of questions like how long am I, who is taking over my book of business? Do I, I feel good, you know, do I feel good about the, the person and the individuals that are going to take care of my clients? Is it a sale where the, the business owner is going to leave suddenly or, or are they leaving over some number of years? How is the payout structured? Is the payout Structured over some number of years. That's and structured based on growth. And so and, and for many it is, it's a, you know, an initial payout and then it's structured for growth. So I would say do your homework. Make sure you like where you live. Make sure your clients are going to be happy. Make sure your client service associate is happy. Make sure you understand the technology. Make sure that the technology and the office infrastructure set you up for growth. Because what you don't want to get, you don't want to go somewhere and have that asset, your business that you've worked so hard to create over so many of years deteriorate because you found yourself in the wrong home. I love what you just said. I can't wait that we're going to make a nice video on that and put that on replay. I do want to mention for our listening audience and our visual audience as well too because this will be on YouTube as well. The address is amplify platform.com I want to say, I mean this revolves. This whole technology piece really either solidifies your practice or it doesn't. So kudos to you. And Amplify Amplify.$18.6 billion of assets under management, 566 advisors again at the time of this March 11,

10:

32am 33,609 households and congratulations. You were last year's Think Advisor luminary winner. And, and you were wealthy's finalist. So wealthy's right now everybody is get your, get your awards in place. So some really impressive wins here. So to bring it all back to full circle here, technology should account for in addition to the cultural decision, technology needs to really be tuned in to a more modern aesthetic for any firm that any advisor is considering joining it. Is that that important? Yeah. And you know, I'll help you put an exclamation point on that. It's going to be more important because now we have this massive wealth transfer is the new trend that we're going to be talking about. These trillions of dollars that are moving from the boomer generation onto their heirs and their heirs are more tech savvy and they expect better data visualization. They're going to want the information that they want when they want it on, the device that they want it on. And so for advisors, if you haven't thought about modernizing your tech stack, this great generational wealth transfer that is just, just getting started, it really should force you to take a good strong look at this or your client's children won't Stay with you. We even see that from the branding side. I swear to God, Vicki, we see that on the branding side. We had an advisor that came to our firm. He's like, tina, I'm good. I'm good with growth. I got growth in a building where there is an estate attorney feeding me business all the time. So he goes, but. But I'm really embarrassed. I'm embarrassed about how my website looks. And the. This estate attorney sends in family members, multi generational family members, and I am afraid that we don't look relevant and digital enough. So is exactly how you're describing from the practice management perspective we see on the branding front as well. So get great technology, get a great website, make sure you have a great brand. What Vicki's talking about is a, is a wild thing here. But I remember when the studies were just first out and now it's actually happening. It's actually manifesting. Right. That wealth generational transfer is already in play. Let's just spend a little bit of time on your incredible career trajectory again. We've got a lot of women and men who are here in the suite with us because they want to take away some of the leadership lessons that other people have used so that they themselves can get further faster. So if there's one leadership lesson that has stayed with you throughout your career, what would it be? Yeah, don't just show up. And that's. Don't. Don't just show up, but pay attention. Ask questions, raise your hand, get uncomfortable. Hey, speaking up, my business professor in graduate school, Terry Tevis, God bless his soul. Hello, Terry, if you are still listening, he said to our class, he goes, you don't want to be a potted plant in this class. He's like, I expect you to be here. I expect you to show up on time. I expect you to participate and be part of it. So I feel like a lot of what you're saying just brought this Terry Tevis flashback to me, you know, Right. We have to be vocal. And again, you been here for a while here, Vicki. You have to imagine that when you first started your career that there were not as many women as there are right now. Which I think is a opportunity, actually. Has it been an opportunity for you? I'm gonna say yes and no. How's that? That's great. That's brutally honest. Yeah. Yes and no. I'm the middle of three girls and I was raised by two awesome parents who had me believe that I was worthy and I had every right to be in whatever room I wanted to be in. So I was fortunate to be raised that way. And what I will say to everyone listening, male, female, young, old, you have a right to be in the room. When I started in the business, I did notice that there weren't very many women who were doing the job that I wanted to do, which early in my career was be a wholesaler. I wanted to be a wholesaler when I was 23 years old and the owner of the company that I worked for kind of patted me on the head and sent me off, back off to my room and said, oh, honey, they'll eat you. They'll eat you live. And you think that, you know, this is. This is early 90s wholesaling in the wire house panel. So anybody who is around them knows, knows what that was like. But. But you know what? But I found somebody who didn't believe that I found another way. I found a woman who worked at my company who said, if he's not going to help you, I will. And I found somebody who would hire me as a, as a wholesaler in my young 20s to go do it. So you're not. You. Not only do you know, do you have to believe you have a right to be in the room, but if plan A doesn't work, there's a bunch more letters to go. Figure out how to get where you want to go. There's always a way. It just may not be the way that you thought. So, yes, when I started in the business, there weren't very many women. I didn't care. I didn't let it bother me. I don't want to say that I was gender blind, but it just was never a thing to me that I was the only woman in the room. I was okay when someone underestimated me. And it happened and still happens all the time. I'm okay when someone underestimates me because I like seeing the surprise on their face when they discover differently instead of being insulted by it. So we've made some good progress. When I started, I wanna say it was maybe 10% of women in our industry. And I think the number you may have said is 30. We've come a long way, but we have a long way to go. Today there are now women in financial services organizations. I just came From Women in ETFs, a conference in Seattle that was really great. So there's a lot of stuff being done to help women, especially encourage other women to get into this wonderful, wonderful industry. And we need men to continue to coach and mentor and support so I'll say yes and no. There have been times when I've had male colleagues that didn't support me or didn't endorse me or would interrupt me and then accuse me of interrupting them. And you just have to tolerate in a respectful way and then find another way. Find another way to be heard, find another way to show up. And sometimes it means find somebody else to go work for. Another knowledge bomb from Vicki Lewin. Congratulations. That was really great advice. I'm really glad that you mentioned Women ETFs. I am a member of Women ETFs. Ladies. It's free. Free to join Women in ETFs. If you are in finance, you're a financial advisor, you are a wholesaler, you are working in a back office, join this organization. It's free. They are international. The strength of this organization is incredible. And the size, the last time that I spoke to them, and they were in our offices about a year ago, they were at 10,000 members. I'm sure that they've way surpassed that. A couple of other female industry organizations that I want to shine a light on right now are Cheryl Hickerson's Females and Finance and Sherry Stevens Wealth Leadership Alliance. Those are two incredible organizations. And the women behind those organizations are, again, phenomenal. I think as a woman, you could belong to all three of them if you want. One of the things that I learned, Vicki, and this was a second career for me, is that there was almost a. A time when I wanted to bail. I'll. I'll be brutally honest, where I didn't feel like I was getting the support. I was getting the support from men. I wasn't always getting the support from women. Right. And I wanted to bail. It got so hard. I remember crying over the bathroom. I don't really even. Well, I do remember what, what, what happened to me. It was like slight bullied experience. Like I didn't know what a margin account was. And the person was explaining it to me. Like, I was like, you know, so dumb. And anyway, I was really, like, insulted. I was like, you know, I don't. I don't need people talking down to me like that. I was all attitudinal about it. But I think one of the things that we see is that there are. Is women who get here who leave prematurely because they've been set off by something, and that's being set off by something. Don't you think, Vicki? It's a natural. You could be in manufacturing, you could be in cyber security, you could be in Finance. You could be in medicine, sis. Gonna happen. Because it's human. Yeah. There's jerks everywhere. You know, there's. There's jerks everywhere. But don't. Don't be one. You know, the. There's a Michelle Obama quote that I like, that I use often. They go low, we go high. Oh, her book. Fantastic. Her book was amazing. She reads the audiobook, you guys. It's so good. They go low, we go high. So just outclass people who are jerks and then go find other people to be around. Awesome. So Amplify Platform everybody again, just to remind you. Amplify platform.com. vicki, what can you tell us about what's next for Amplify? Yeah, so we talked earlier about AI and the importance of data. So we are really working on making sure that we are the central hub of data for all of our clients so we can add on all of these great AI applications. Right now we are, I don't want to say rebuilding, although that's the word that's already out there. We are reimagining. I like that better. We are reimagining our product marketplace. Many people think of it as a model marketplace, a place where you can go to get all the different managers and strategies. So we're reimagining our product marketplace so that it includes things like annuities and alternatives in addition to just mutual fund ETF and individual stock portfolios so advisors can see those side by side. We are exploring new ways for advisors and the firms they work for to look at risk in portfolios. Both the risk that the individual may profile to in a risk tolerance questionnaire and the risk that they're taking on. We're looking at new ways to help advisors visualize and talk about that that we'll be leaning into later this year and then, you know, next year for us, it'll be a lot about AI, bolt on applications relative to portfolio optimization and the next best call to make to clients and really serving up things to financial advisors that they. That. That the system believes that they should know about that they may not be thinking of. That's great for anyone that wants to follow your work, ask some more questions, maybe even get a demo of Amplify. What's the best way for listeners to get in touch with you? So on LinkedIn, you can find me on LinkedIn under, under Vickie Edwards Lewin. I look at it every day. I respond to almost all of the emails. Unless somebody's trying to sell me something in the first, you know, two seconds of being. Yeah, please don't be that person. You guys. I know. Yes, but I respond there and then amplify platform.com, we just. The website is brand new. We re relaunched it last week. When I got there in June, I didn't like the website. It felt a little old, it felt a little tired. It felt a little ordinary. So I worked with an agency over the last several months and we're proud of the launch of the new website. So spend a little time there and you can find me on LinkedIn. Well, good. Well, your agency looks like it did a great job. So everybody, we will put the link to Vicki's LinkedIn that will be in the show notes. So whether or not you're listening on Apple or Spotify, just go into the description and you'll see Vicki's contact information right there. There. Okay, so our last question, which I'm not changing, it's a forever question. Like I changed the question from season one and season two and this is technically, well, we're really in season four, but still keeping it a season three question. I've had a lot of health challenges in the last couple years. Most people know that. We've been very vocal about it. Yes, there's a In the suite episode on it. But if there's a personal wellness health or tip that has significantly benefited you, again, you explained that you are in this industry for 30 years. You look amazing. Share with us what, what's your secret weapon, Vicki Lewin? Does it have to be just one? No, absolutely not. I love it. Please. The more advice from you. You are, you, you're dropping knowledge bombs today of greatness. So you go girl. Well, so I have a, I have a couple and I love the question. And you look great too, by the way. Surround yourself with people who love and support you. Be around people who lift you up, not people who drag you down. Being filled up from the inside by that as many days as you can. Move, move. I have a couple of rules that people laugh about. I have a no elevator escalator rule. So I'm the person at O'Hare Airport that you'll see walking up the stairs or the person not using the people mover and move as much as you. And then when you threw this out, I'm going to just tell you one that is a little funny. I have a no shot rule. A no shot rule. No shot rule. You know, so I've been on the sales side of financial services for a lot of time, which means I spend a lot of time in bars entertaining and every once in a while people get a little carried away and they bring out the shots. I have a no shot rule. And I have a no shot rule because never in the history of ever have I woke the next day after drinking shots and said, oh, I'm so glad I did that. I love that advice. That is the best. That is the best. Vicki Lewin, you are amazing. I can't wait to put this episode out. And for everyone listening, thank you so much for the time and attention today. And VICKI Lewin, again, 30 years of being in this industry. Thank you. In service to the work that you've done to be a real pioneer and a real female force. Course of and a model for growth. Look, you know, you've got a wonderful opportunity here at Amplify. I know you're going to take this platform. You and your business partners are going to take this platform to a whole nother level. It's really exciting that here. We will be watching in the suite and we thank you so much for the courtesy of your time and amazing discussion. Thank you. I could talk to you all all day. Thank you. I appreciate it. Me too. Thanks, everybody. You're listening to in the Suite, the podcast that brings you inspiring stories of women leading the way in financial services and wealth management, along with the men who champion and empower them. Our producers are Tina Powell and Kevin Horn. Our editor at large is Kevin Horn. Our content writer is Tina Powell. This podcast is sponsored by by Intentionally, the Go to Growth consultancy and marketing agency for the financial services industry. If you want more information, please email me at tina@growintentionally.com and thank you so much for listening. It means the world to me. We've got listeners in over 83 countries and 1,698 cities worldwide. And we are fast approaching our 100th episode with a very special guest. Please, I would love for you to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow in the Suite pod on Instagram. Thank you again for listening and subscribing.

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