Bilal Little:

Welcome to another edition of ETF Central. I'm your host, Bilal Little. I'm a director here at the New York Stock Exchange. On today's episode, we have Devon Drew. He is the Founder and CEO of AssetLink. This particular platform is unique in the sense that they have leveraged AI to help with sales and distribution. With that, Devon, welcome to the show.

Devon Drew:

Always good to be back at the stock exchange.

Bilal Little:

I appreciate you coming down, man. How was your trip, man?

Devon Drew:

Know what? It's a little cold tonight than I would like it, but it's a good trip in. Good to see you as always.

Bilal Little:

Oh, New York, man. You got to love New York.

Devon Drew:

Sometimes.

Bilal Little:

You got to love New York. Look, Devon, man, you and I, we go back for nearly 20 years. Many people don't know this, but Devon, Drew and I, we took our series seven together. And there's a funny story behind that, that we'll tell another time. But for today's conversation, Devon, for the people that don't know you, tell a little bit about your background and what is AssetLink and the platform that you've built.

Devon Drew:

Yeah. Not to date myself, but we are coming up in 20 years in the industry. It's crazy thinking about where we all came from. Cold calling from chop shops to firms like Merrill Lynch and getting into this beautiful world of distribution. So, been in distribution space, selling mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs to financial advisors, better part of 15 years. But what I learned is it didn't matter whether I was at a $10 trillion firm like Vanguard or $20 billion firm like Alger, it was still the same pain points around distribution. Every Monday, I was coming in, figuring out who the heck I'm trying to target, when do I engage with them, and how do I win with those advisors. And still, doesn't matter when I started till now, there was not a scalable way to figure that out.

Now taking a step back, all the homework I did, I realized that the answers are in the data. And it's all in the data. The hard part is how do you extract that intelligence out of the data in a way where you as a salesperson or a wholesale, or a business developer can easily extract that intelligence for business development to achieve your AUM goals. And that's really what AssetLink is about. Think about it this way: We're trying to be that modern day navigation system for distribution. So, if we could correlate all of these data points that is germane to you to do your job, selling, trying to raise capital from financial advisors.

If we could do that in a way that brings you that intelligence, so all you got to do is really just build a relationship, then that is going to be a repeatable process for you to raise capital. And obviously, that leads to potentially billions of dollars to the company's bottom line and potentially hundreds of thousands, potentially million dollars in your pocket.

Bilal Little:

So, talk a little bit about what is AssetLink and what exactly do you guys do?

Devon Drew:

Right. So, when you think about, when I say modern day distribution, all we're trying to do is correlate data, so surface advisor intelligence. So, we're bridging the gap between high level financial advisor intelligence and AI infrastructure. And the combination of that is what AssetLink is. Being able to take data from all these fragmented sources, put them together, normalize them, build the infrastructure so we could power distribution for wholesales and business developers, so they don't need to spend their time tiggling from five, six different systems, doing a homework or advisors.

Since everything is unified, you have it at your leisure in a way that you can retrieve it just by talking to it. As an example, I believe in 2026 and going forward, if you can't go to a unified system and say, show me the advisors over $100 million that are allocating 25 to 30% of their portfolio in active buffer ETFs in Dallas, Texas, and stack rank them. How do I relate to them and send a personalized email out to them? If you can't do that in seconds, in 2026 and beyond, going to be a dinosaur, because these organizations are investing millions into AI infrastructure.

Now, we haven't really yet seen a lot of the downstream applications to make that relevant, but it's coming and it's coming sooner than we think. So, if I'm putting myself in, let's call it a wholesaler's shoes, and not just wholesalers. It could be M&A advisors. It could be recruiting advisors over to your firm. If you're not thinking in the terms of how do I leverage data and technology to make myself that much more efficient, you'll be out of a job in 2027, or maybe it's 2028.

But the person that is able to leverage technology like an AssetLink and there's others out there, you're putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage on the flip side, folks that are able to really spend this time to harness their efforts to be that much more efficient, are going to be the one holding the torch up with the medals around. And that's the type of game we're in right now.

Bilal Little:

So, it's safe to say, this is what I'm hearing, that you've taken disparate data sources and unified them, leveraging AI to turn them into actionable ideas.

Devon Drew:

That's exactly, yes. That's fair assessment.

Bilal Little:

Okay. So, with that, who's the ideal client for you that leverages your platform? Is it the asset manager or is it the advisor? Who leverages AssetLink?

Devon Drew:

So, we have three main personas. So, the personas are the business developers at an asset manager, so those would be the end users. So, the end user would be people that are fundraisers, wholesalers or whatever you want to call them. So, that is persona one. Now, the more data we've been able to get in, and surface, and unify and generate insights for, it led to our second persona. Which are these broker dealers, these RIAs, these aggregators that are leveraging the insights derived from the unified data to lift out advisors, to recruit advisors. And if you think about the advisor landscape, when you bring over to advisor, kind of like a mini M&A when you think about these billion dollar books of business.

And then, of course, the third persona, being able to leverage these insights, to be able to acquire different wealth firms that are growing, to be able to put them in a fold. So, that's when you start thinking about private equity and some of these mega aggregators that are the new edges of the world, the [inaudible 00:06:48] of the world, the Mercers of the world that are just gobbling up these firms.

Bilal Little:

Let's talk about the moment we're in right now. AI is the elephant in the room. Everyone's talking about it. It's disrupting every business line. And what I want to know is this great convergence that we're seeing within the wealth advisor and asset management space. Where effectively the wealth advisor is acting as the asset manager and the asset manager is trying to figure out, well, how do I still retain my value or communicate my value in this world where the advisor is saying like, look, I don't necessarily need the asset manager. How are you telling that message or communicating the need for the different personas in that landscape, if that's a fair question?

Devon Drew:

So, that's a fair question. And I think it's getting very spooky out there. The lines are being blurred. But what I would say is this, so you have your legacy, let's call them your legacy firms, where the value proposition is becoming muddy. However, if you look at the data from Q1 alone, so January alone, there was 412 new firms that filed 13Fs. That means these firms have crossed $100 million in AUM for the first time. And all of a sudden, you're kind of flying blind. These are breakaway folks that don't have the infrastructure in place to all of a sudden do their investment diligence anymore. So, there's a divergence of the advisor landscape. I'm calling it legacy versus the agile advisors.

And these agile advisors, if you think about the billion dollar plus advisors that are coming in lean and mean, they're going to be able to really build a relationship with these wholesalers that are coming beyond beta. They're coming beyond the product with value add tools to help them and their practice grow, support around events, et cetera. So, I think it's becoming harder to really be a true bonafide partner in the wire space. There's just a lot of noise out there. But I also think we're not too far away from having an agent on the advisor side that's primary job is to do investment screening and diligence.

The follow on that would be the agent on the asset manager side, that knows all your products, that has ingested all your insights, that know how your portfolio managers think, that could be able to go specifically granularly down into the portfolio, level holdings of top 10, top 100, stress tested. And the asset manager agent that knows all the products and the financial advisor agent that knows the criteria, that knows the client are going to be able to talk to each other, suitability, et cetera. So, when the wholesaler does show up, it's about building the relationship. So, the transferable skills are the relationship. So, if you're trying to future-proof yourself, you're not saying, "Okay, well, I need another product."

That's tough. But being able to have the tangible know how to be that marketer, to be the economist, to have the type of skillset that can go beyond just your product set, knowing the industry. Those type of value adds are going to be the difference between winning and losing, especially if you're an ETF issuer in a very crowded space and another ETF is coming on market. I see you all at the stock exchange. You probably have, I don't know, 60% of all the listings here. Probably, everybody comes talking about distribution because it's hard.

Bilal Little:

Oh, it's the biggest pain point. I mean, look, from a relationship management perspective, this is the biggest pain point that they all have because it's hyper-crowded and you have to build visibility in a hyper-crowded space. The other component of it is data intelligence is the only way that you modernize your outreach, because you want to be effective at the point of engagement. So, with that being said, I want to transition the conversation from the pain point aspect of why AssetLink and how are you so unique. Because what I've read about you is you have this patent that has been passed and now granted to you. Talk a little bit about that without giving too much away and why you guys are so unique.

Devon Drew:

It's really the future. Now, if you think about when we filed IP. I mean, this is back early 2022. Most folks weren't talking about AI.

Bilal Little:

Not at all.

Devon Drew:

Most people didn't know what ChatGPT was or what a GPT was. And when you think about what it took to get to where we are, for us, it's about building a moat and future-proofing our own business. So, if you think about where our IP starts and others will have to end, because we're going to get to a place. We're not saying it's this year, may not even be next year, may not even be five years from now. We're going to remove the human out of the loop with whole data correlation and research. So, if you think about what we're trying to do without giving away the secret sauce, it's how do you connect the dots in a digital room for the use of next best action in an autonomous way? And when you think about how that scales to an industry that spent $50 billion on distribution, you're talking about an industry where almost 70% of that distribution cost comes with headcount.

Bilal Little:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Devon Drew:

So, we think it's where the future of distribution is going. We don't know when. We don't know if it's next year or in 10 years. But eventually, we think that's where the industry's going and that's how we're positioned for when it does come, we'll be ready. And if you're not using us, well, then you run the risk of being obsolete.

Bilal Little:

So, what I'm hearing is you're creating connected tissue amongst these disparate data sources to unify the activity. What's funny is I was reading a report from KPMG. And this is what they wrote down or they had written down for the pain points. One, shelf space for the asset manager. Two, the demand has changed, the demand of the advisor has changed. Three, there's an educational lift and requirement with new product types that they have to meet and service. And then the last point, which is really interesting is demographic. If you can unpack maybe a couple of these, because you talked about these breakaway firms. I want you to talk about the demographic component of this.

Devon Drew:

So, I love talking about this, by the way. And I want to make it relevant, so let's talk Q1 2026. Think about now the next generation of advisor that looks different than these breakaways. So, what you're seeing is these breakaways, billion dollar plus one and three are going down south.

Bilal Little:

What do you mean go down south? Southern part of-

Devon Drew:

Sunbelt. They're going down to the Sunbelt stage. So, they're diversifying where they are, but they're all gravitating towards five new money centers that we haven't thought about before. So, you're thinking about Miami, Austin, Texas, Charlotte, Scottsdale and Nashville. All of those. You think about Miami, you think about the demographic in Miami, more multicultural. Charlotte, multicultural. Austin, Texas, now you have the new wave of tech money coming in. So, there's an argument to be made that that's where the now with the next generation of wealth is being created. Taking it a step further, these new breakaways are investing differently than their legacy counterparts as, an example.

So, if you look at the Q1 numbers so far, and mind you, we're just in February. So, the legacy, let's call it legacy firms allocation alternatives is 3.7% and it grown. It grew from 3%.

Bilal Little:

Absolutely.

Devon Drew:

And that's a meaningful uptick in allocation. These new breakaway firms, so you think about the 412 that just left and broke away, they're approaching 20% in alternatives. And if you think about the now and the next generation investors that are investing three times as much in alternatives in their baby boomer counterpart, that is a substantial directionally challenge for the legacy folks. Taking that a next step, over 600 billion has flown into private credit. So, you're seeing these semi-liquid vehicles, and ETFs will be able to piggyback that with kind of clones of it. But you're seeing these semi-liquid vehicles that are taking market share from traditional fixed income.

On the flip side, sounds very attractive. But if you think about the underlying securities, they're investing in data centers that are necessary. So, while the legacy advisors are investing in the Microsofts of the world and the Googles, these legacy advisors, they're changing how they're investing. And now the big bet is these data centers that now Microsoft and Google have to rent from, if this AI thing is as big as we think we're going to be. So, you're going to have a competitive advantage or disadvantage, depending on the type of advisor you choose.

But once again, if I'm an issuer, if I'm in distribution, I'm looking at this. And I'm not going to see changing how I do business, but I'm aligning what's on my shelf and what I talk about to what's in their filings. And that's what this story is telling us and the data's telling us.

Bilal Little:

Did you know there were over 1,100 ETFs launched in 2025? How do you make sense? How do you find the tools and resources to compare contrast strategies? That's why there's etfcentral.com. It's a website where there's tools, resources, and a way to track and monitor your portfolio. Please visit etfcentral.com. Let me ask you a question with this. This is going to come a little bit out of left field. But from my experience with asset managers across the leadership spectrum, I'm getting a very dislocated leadership message, meaning marketing doesn't always talk directly to distribution. Distribution may not always talk directly to product development.

And what's the headline underneath all of that to drive success, is a question that I ask. It's like, why aren't you guys talking to each other? You guys should be talking to each other because it's hyper-competitive out there. So, when you decide to make a move, data platform, partnership, what product we're going to launch, it's got to be aligned for you to have success. Tell me the missing point that you see from your end with these asset managers that come to market with product.

Devon Drew:

Well, when you think about it that way, I'm talking one right now where marketing doesn't talk to sales enablement, that doesn't talk to sales leadership. They all have different managing directors, heads of this, heads of that. None of them really talk to each other. And then you have the national accounts that is driven by what the home office is saying, but that doesn't mean the people in the field are saying the same thing. So, it's all disjointed. However, if you think about the future of distribution, I look towards a firm like Franklin Templeton. I mean, they've been investing a significant amount of resources so that everything is interconnected. And now they're building it through a marketing engine that has sales in mind, that has the distribution partners in mind.

So, when they have a message, they're leveraging AI to have all of these business units flow through a central repository to be able to seize different signals before they happen, funnel it all into marketing, and then have hyper specific outreach based off of the business unit or channel. That's the future. That's the good news. The bad news is it costs a lot of money. I just saw the article. I mean, they built a significant engine with a small firm called Microsoft, right?

Bilal Little:

Yeah.

Devon Drew:

I mean, think about the investment that you have to make in order to have these disjointed leadership teams and everything flowing through a similar type of funnel, so that's one cohesive message and everything is hyper-personalized. Not everybody has that Microsoft money. So, I mentioned that because I believe that, yes, there's a consolidation, but the asset managers that are going to have the most success will be asset managers that are dressed up like FinTechs. And being able to truly embrace the data and technology that is relevant to be able to put all these messages together. Because at the end of the day, think about AI as a mathematical formula, and it all comes down to the data. And the more sophisticated these firms could create the engine that is consuming this data, the more that what you said that the siloed information will be in one central repository and then being able to dive out from there.

Bilal Little:

You bring up an interesting point around job creation and future proofing your career. When I look at the way the ETF has disrupted the mutual fund, and we partner with the ETF Institute, meaning the New York Stock Exchange, to offer the CETF designation. That is one way that people can not only update their education background and understanding of these new innovative products, but more importantly, they kind of can future-proof their career. When I look at businesses at the distribution level, and you talked about, you used the example of Franklin Templeton and their partnership with Microsoft.

They now have to fully introduce a tech-enabled person on their team to really unite this data, to make sure that it's actionable insights, because there are new opportunities that are going to come. I've always believed in cross-functional learning. One of the things I know you have to be challenged with, there are a lot of these teams, they haven't figured out who they even need to hire for these types of roles to have these conversations with people like you.

Devon Drew:

You're seeing it from kind of two fronts. You're seeing the bloated asset managers that hired a significant amount of AI engineers, data scientists, et cetera, but then realize down to the path like, damn, we should've hired more data engineers. There's just too many propensity models going on and so much science went into it, it's not usable for the end user. What the hell are these models and how can I even trust them? Because trust is going to be paramount going forward. But then you have the organizations that are still relying on brute force. And those organizations, it's like, "Hey, I have my spreadsheet, I have my 5,000 advisors in my territory that I'm going to sell this ETF to. I'm good."

So, it's kind of like two ends of the spectrum. And now you're starting to see the firms with brute force, starting to have some point solutions, but who they're going up against is folks with fully integrated data platform solutions, personalized outreach by the use of AI. So, those firms that are relying on brute force distribution or just essentially cold calling at this point are going to quickly find that their finger just can't dial fast enough. And that's the reality that we are living in.

So, the conversations that I introduced with AssetLink is, "Hey, how do you scale your distribution efforts with the same headcount you have now?" And that's the conversation that we have with those type of firms. You want to stick with 10 people making $100 a day? Fine. How can we make that more efficient? How can we have the 100 calls they're making? Instead of having a 1% pickup rate, we have a 3% pickup rate, because we're being hyper-personalized, interconnecting your data, surfacing the insights from that. It's a conversation that needs to happen, because if you see what's going on at other side with firms like Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, et cetera, then you know that you're in for a dog fight and that's putting it mildly.

I mean, think about firms like BlackRock that hiring finfluencers to get their message out. I mean, that plus the investment in data and technology, I'm like, how do you compete with that? I mean, you really have to start thinking outside the box. Relationships are great, but if you're not taking that data-driven approach to surface, the insights when you need it, so that your call is exactly when the advisor needs you, because you know that advisors are leaving this big digital footprint. If you don't have that precision going forward, you're just not even in the game.

Bilal Little:

Yeah. Yeah. I want to reference the KPMG report again because I thought it was interesting. They said companies will need three things. They will need data-driven decision-making. They need to have tech-enabled sales efficiency and they need to be agile. Do you agree?

Devon Drew:

I agree. And I've actually come up with an entire newsletter on agility in this industry.

Bilal Little:

Wow.

Devon Drew:

It's called the Agile Advisor. So, I was like, I am completely aligned with what KPMG is saying.

Bilal Little:

Okay. Do you think that also translates directly to the advisor as well?

Devon Drew:

Has to.

Bilal Little:

Meaning, for the advisor to have success in this new environment with these new emerging wealth segments?

Devon Drew:

Agility is going to be paramount to the, let's call it a new type of advisor. They're doing more with less. I referenced the breakaway advisors in 2026 so far. What I didn't mention is that they're breaking away with 40% less headcount. And they're going to tech-enabled custodians, looking at a firm like Altruist. Altruist, not a lot of people know about them. They have a 22% spike in Q1 of 2026, of advisors that are joining their organization, because they know they could be lean with an API first-driven custodian, that they don't need the extra headcount. It's just money coming out of their bottom line, so the agility is paramount for this new age of agile advisors.

So, I agree wholeheartedly what you're saying, but the key is being able to be agile in knowing the resources you need to be able to truly scale your business. You can't get bogged down with all this tech debt and just all these tools you don't know how to use.

Bilal Little:

For sure.

Devon Drew:

You got to keep it streamlined. But if you could do it right, I could easily see within the next, I don't know, maybe a year or two, you could have an advisor managing a billion dollars in AUM with a one person firm. And I don't think that is out of the realm of possibility for 2027.

Bilal Little:

Okay. So, Devon, let me hit you with one last question. I think this is important. You've been recognized as the top 25 founder. You've won awards, Illuminary Awards and all these other things. What's next that's going to propel AssetLink to be the household name in distribution?

Devon Drew:

Yeah. So, that question is to be determined. And the reason I say that is because what we think is our use case now could be completely different in three years from now, because of the speed and velocity of technology. Now, what I think propels us is the wave of autonomous agents that are going to sweep the market. I think we will be able to have the first and most credible autonomous agentic experience for investment distribution. So, that is what I think. But in two years, that could be obsolete.

Bilal Little:

Devon, I want to say thank you so much for joining ETF Central. If you enjoyed this conversation, this was a conversation about distribution sales and marketing and how tech is actually completely reshaping what we do, how we do it, and how managers actually stand out from one another. Stay tuned, join more and visit us at etfcentral.com. Thank you, Devon.

Devon Drew:

Thanks for having me, brother.