By Ric Edelman

At last week's Independent Summit, hosted annually by Barron's, I moderated a panel of four CEOs operating some of the largest and most successful RIAs in the country. It included Brad Knapp of Clearstead Advisors, Rick Kent of Merit Financial Advisors, Rick Hough of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, and Ryan Parker of EP Wealth Advisors. Our fast-paced conversation covered organic growth -- marketing, branding, and differentiation. We discussed the future of firms and keys to productivity: practice management, time management and wellness.

Toward the end, the audience used conference software to post questions or vote on the ones they most wanted panelists to answer. The question they were most interested in? Why my socks don't match.

It's amusing, but the answer is serious and I'd argue, important if you want to build a highly successful advisor practice or firm.

No-tie zone. Yes, I wear colorful socks that don't match. Don't call them mismatched, though. They are match-free.

My focus on fashion started decades ago out of sheer envy. You see, I am thoroughly jealous of the women in our profession. They get to invent their look every day. They can change their hair length, color and style. They can wear dresses, pantsuits, blouses with jackets and skirts, stockings of all designs and fabrics -- and all the above with a dazzling array of colors and blends. Their jewelry options are virtually unlimited, with endless varieties for earrings, necklaces, bracelets and more.

Men? We get to wear navy blue. It's just not fair!

I declared my office a no-tie zone. And with socks, I found a fun way to toss a little color and flair into my otherwise drab wardrobe. It was difficult at first to find colorful socks, but they're now everywhere -- even among the swag that conference exhibitors give away. Free socks!

You're welcome.

But then, George H.W. Bush started wearing colorful socks (even wearing socks with books on them at Barbara's funeral). Colorful socks had become a thing.

Damn. I was wearing colorful socks to be different, but I'm not different if everyone is wearing them. How can I restore that unique element? The answer: Stop wearing socks that match. And it makes sense: Who says our clothing needs to be symmetrical, anyway?

My decision was a lark, but I quickly discovered big benefits. No more agonizing each morning over which pair to wear; just grab two. No more time wasted pairing socks out of the dryer; just toss them all into the drawer. Lose one? It doesn't matter; the other is still wearable. And everyone in my family knows what to get for my birthday -- a cheap, easy-to-order gift that I'm guaranteed to like.

Now, the real reason. The real benefit, I quickly discovered, was that our clients loved it. Visiting offices, hosting seminars, at restaurants, people wanted to see what socks I was wearing. Funny stories always ensued. Clients would often show off their own crazy socks at review meetings. I'd get socks in the mail during the holidays from grateful clients. (When's the last time a client sent you a gift?)

So we made the most of it. We staged Crazy Socks Day at the office, complete with prizes, so everyone could join the fun. We added colorful socks to our logo, dangling them from our brand like Christas stockings over the fireplace. In our client newsletter, colorful socks denoted the end of an article. And we'd send a pair of colorful (yet branded) socks to clients as a holiday gift. They were always more popular than chocolates, which is saying something.

My colorful socks -- and the crazy addition of wearing socks that don't match -- didn't merely become part of our brand. It reflected in a fun way an important message about who we are: We are innovative thinkers, unafraid of bucking trends. If we're willing to do this with socks, imagine how unique and insightful our advice for you will be!

I've even said this on stage: "I'm innovative right down to my socks!" Everyone gets the joke, and they realize that I'm not joking at all.

An answer to AI. In today's fast-changing environment, with everyone worried about how AI is going to alter our practices, I urge you to keep it human. Your clients want and value a deep, meaningful relationship far more than they want nifty charts and to-do lists drafted by a machine. Sure, you'll add AI to your practice, but I challenge you to keep it human while you do so. Otherwise, you really will be replaced by a bot.

So, when I'm asked these days about why I wear colorful socks that don't match, I say it's because wearing them is something that ChatGPT will never be able to do.

Ric Edelman founded the firm that became Edelman Financial Engines, ranked No. 1 among Mega RIAs by Barron's in 2024. He was also ranked the No. 1 independent advisor three times by Barron's and is in the Barron's Advisor Hall of Fame.

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2025 12:41 ET (16:41 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.