Building the Wealth Management Firm of the Future

Welcome to The Private Markets Playbook, a podcast for wealth advisors and CIOs navigating portfolios beyond the traditional 60/40. Hosted by Allocate, the show features candid conversations with allocators, asset managers, and industry leaders on building modern, programmatic portfolios—spanning private markets, portfolio construction, and the systems required to manage complexity at scale.

In this episode, Samir Kaji sits down with Christine Leong Connors, Co‑Founder and CEO of Verita and former J.P. Morgan and EPIQ Capital Group executive, to discuss how she’s building an AI‑enabled, client‑first wealth management firm from scratch. Christine shares lessons from scaling large institutions, why she and her partner leaned into “last‑mover advantage” to avoid legacy tech debt, and how modern clients are demanding clarity, strategy, and simplicity across their entire balance sheet, not just better investment performance. They also touch on the realities of antiquated custodial infrastructure, the pros and cons of private equity capital, and how to use private markets thoughtfully by sizing and integrating illiquids so they truly fit each client’s overall plan.

Topics in this conversation include:

* Christine’s Background and Building J.P. Morgan NorCal (2:18)

* Leaving J.P. Morgan, Joining EPIQ, and Experiencing True Independence (4:27)

* Founding Verita, Last Mover Advantage, and Clean Tech Stack Vision (9:01)

* Evolving Client Demands: Clarity, Hassle Factor, and Whole Balance Sheet View (13:21)

* Using Technology so a Small Team Can Be More Human and Proactive (18:00)

* AI Orchestration Layer, Agents, and Security/Compliance Considerations (22:14)

* Culture, Private Equity Capital, and Avoiding a Pure Aggregator Model (30:28)

* Alternatives Adoption, Overcomplication, and Portfolio Fit of Privates (34:02)

* Intelligence Layer Across Systems and Proactive Advice Using Data and AI (38:21)