I’m sure we’ve all had moments in our careers that made us stop and think about the meaning and impact of our professional pursuits. Such a moment came to me in March of this year, when a close friend and colleague, just five years my senior, died unexpectedly, leaving behind a young family.
Through my grief, I confronted an uncomfortable truth: As a successful marketing executive for some of the most recognizable firms in wealth management, I spent years helping brands tell their stories. And then I realized I hadn’t written my own.
Three years ago, my young son received an autism diagnosis. In the months that followed, I became a reluctant but necessary expert in navigating special needs benefits, educational advocacy and estate planning considerations. I remember thinking: There has to be someone I can call who knows how to navigate all of this. Someone to be the guide I desperately needed.
When I lost my friend, I realized that someone needed to be me.
Rethinking Service: Why Traditional Models Fall Short
Transitioning from financial services marketing to launching a registered investment advisor focused on individuals who are neurodivergent and families with intellectually or developmentally disabled (IDD) loved ones meant confronting an inconvenient truth: The traditional wealth management playbook doesn’t work for this community.
Standardized client onboarding asks about risk tolerance, time horizons and investment objectives. But families facing a new diagnosis or major life transition need something entirely different. They need to understand the benefits of special purpose accounts (called “ABLE” accounts) long before diving into tax strategies. They need a quarterback who can connect them with estate attorneys skilled in special needs trusts well before any discussion of investment products.
This realization pushed me to tear down the traditional advisory model and rebuild it around the real client journey, which, in this case, was my own.
Families facing a new diagnosis or major life transition need something entirely different.
Client onboarding must begin not with a risk questionnaire, but with a family discovery process that maps their current support network, identifies gaps and prioritizes urgent needs. Some families are in crisis mode — a young adult aging out of school services, or a grandparent suddenly becoming a caregiver. The financial plan becomes secondary to the immediate roadmap.
Communication must shift from quarterly portfolio reviews to ongoing, accessible support. Families don’t encounter problems on a schedule, and our industry shouldn’t treat them as such. The model I built gives families access when life actually happens. It’s a framework that builds trust and demonstrates value before a single dollar moves under management.
The service ecosystem must expand beyond investment management to become true life planning. I’m curating a vetted network of therapists, educational advocates, estate attorneys, care coordinators and medical specialists. The warm introduction to a developmental pediatrician without a six-month waitlist and who actually takes new patients? That creates more immediate impact than any short-term portfolio gain.
The Business Case For Mission-Driven Differentiation
When initially sharing my idea with others, skeptics argued this approach is too narrow, operationally complex or emotionally demanding to scale. I respectfully disagree. Pursuing a clearly defined mission in an underserved niche creates sustainable competitive advantages that generalist firms cannot replicate.
Differentiation in a crowded market: There are more than 15,000 RIAs in the United States. Most compete on performance, fees or relationship quality — commoditized factors that sophisticated clients can access anywhere. Specialized expertise in special needs planning is rare, despite millions of families needing it. When you become the obvious choice for a specific community, marketing centers around valuable education rather than persuasion.
Specialized expertise in special needs planning is rare, despite millions of families needing it.
Deeper client relationships: Families don’t usually leave advisors who guided them through their hardest moments. The relationship transcends transactions. You become embedded in their lives — consulted on everything from individualized education program (IEP) meetings to guardianship decisions, trusted with their deepest fears about their child’s future. This creates retention that AUM-focused practices struggle to match.
Actionable Steps For Building Or Adapting Your Practice
Whether you’re considering a specialized niche or adapting your current practice to be more inclusive, here’s where to start:
Identify your authentic connection. Specialization works when it’s genuine. My credibility comes from lived experience as a parent, supplemented by formal credentials like the Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC) designation. Clients know immediately whether you truly understand their world.
Redesign onboarding around client pain points, not your process. Map the actual journey families experience. What keeps them awake at night? Build your intake process to address those specific friction points, even if it means financial planning happens later in the relationship.
Map the actual journey families experience. What keeps them awake at night?
Build your ecosystem before you need it. Start curating your referral network now. Vet estate attorneys who specialize in special needs trusts. Identify advocates and specialists who return calls. Your ability to make warm, qualified introductions becomes a core service offering.
Rethink your messaging and marketing. Families in this niche don’t search for “wealth management.” They search for “special needs trust attorney” or “autism resources” or “what happens to my adult child when I die.” Your content marketing and SEO strategy should address their actual questions and concerns, positioning you as a guide, not a salesperson.
Create value before extracting it. Families navigating major life transitions or new diagnoses need guidance before they need a long-term commitment. By offering meaningful support at that stage — when clarity matters most — advisors lower barriers, build trust through action and create a natural path toward lasting relationships.
The advisor I wish I’d had when my son was diagnosed? I’m becoming that person. And for advisors willing to rethink practice design around authentic mission and underserved needs, there’s room for many more of us.
Ann Hynek is the Founder and CEO of Hestia Wealth & Wellness.
