Marketing got harder in 2025.

Advisors stopped clicking through from LinkedIn to your website. AI went from hype to something firms are using, though not in the ways people predicted. Content saturation hit a point where just producing more doesn’t work anymore. Google started giving AI answers without linking to sources. Marketing automation stopped being a nice-to-have.

I talked with Loren Fox about what firms need to know. Fox is Director of Research at FUSE Research Network. They track how advisors behave and what actually works, and advises asset managers on distribution. He’s been watching these shifts happen through FUSE’s research with firms of all sizes.

Here’s the conversation.

What’s happening with how advisors use LinkedIn?

Advisors are staying on the platform. They’re scrolling through their feeds, engaging with content, but they’re not clicking through to websites the way they did a year ago.

LinkedIn made it easier to get what you need without leaving. Advisors figured out they don’t have to click through. The old model where you post something to drive traffic to your site doesn’t work that way anymore.

If advisors aren’t clicking through, what metrics matter now?

Comments matter more than clicks. The quality of the conversation on your posts tells you if you’re reaching the right people. Shares matter because that’s how content spreads now.

Who’s engaging matters more than how many people see it. Are these advisors in your target market? Right size firm? Working with the kinds of clients your strategy serves? Those signals tell you more than traffic numbers ever did.

How does this change content strategy for smaller firms?

Create content that works on the platform itself. Not content that teases something and makes people click through to get the payoff. Give value right there in the post. Answer the question and make it complete.

Show up consistently. Sporadic posting doesn’t work when the algorithm rewards regular engagement. But consistent doesn’t mean constant. Three solid posts a week beats seven mediocre ones. Quality drives engagement more than volume.

Where are asset managers with AI adoption? There’s so much hype.

Most firms are using basic tools. Note takers that transcribe meetings. ChatGPT for first drafts. Maybe some light automation of routine tasks, summarizing long documents. Very few firms are doing sophisticated implementation. The gap between hype and reality is enormous.

That’s fine. The tools are still changing. The bigger transformations people talk about are still two or more years out. We’re in the experimental phase.

Who’s driving AI adoption when it happens – marketing teams or CEOs?

It depends what you’re talking about. When firms commit to AI at a strategic level, that’s CEO-driven. It takes investment and a clear understanding of what’s possible versus what’s hype. You need leadership buyin.

But getting the most out of marketing technology happens at the CMO level. Senior marketing leadership wakes up every morning thinking about how to do better. The CEO should be thinking about broader strategy and working with marketing leaders, but the blocking and tackling lives with the marketing department.

The best scenario is both. CEO-level commitment to strategic direction and CMO-level ownership of execution. That’s when you see real progress.

What should boutique firms focus on now versus what can wait?

Focus on tools that work with what you’re already using. If you’re on Salesforce, use AgentForce. If you’re using Microsoft tools, Copilot can make sense. You’re more likely to use tools that integrate easily into your existing tech stack. Don’t build custom AI solutions unless you’re making this a huge strategic priority with serious resources behind it.

Start with automating repetitive tasks like meeting notes, first drafts of routine content, and summarizing research. These tools are accessible now and improve productivity quickly. The more complex stuff – custom chatbots, sophisticated personalization engines – you can wait on that. The technology will be better in a year or two anyway. And, importantly, you need to log some smaller wins to build the case for bigger investments in AI initiatives that require serious resources.

How do smaller firms compete when they don’t have resources for big AI investments?

A lot of these tools increase efficiency. You don’t need a massive budget. You need clear thinking about where automation helps and where it doesn’t.

We work with firms under $10 billion that use marketing automation well. They’re using the same tools larger firms use, just being smarter about which problems they’re solving. The advantage isn’t always scale. It’s knowing your strengths and picking your spots.

Every asset manager is pumping out content now. How do you break through?

Content has become commoditized. Everyone’s doing it. Most of it gets ignored. The differentiator now is quality and distinctiveness, not volume.

Content that addresses real situations advisors face in their practice. Not theoretical frameworks or academic concepts. Practical insights they can use.

Voice matters. Most asset manager content sounds identical. Same tone, same structure, same cautious language. The firms that break through have a distinctive point of view. They’re willing to take a position instead of hedging everything.

You need to understand what advisors care about right now. Our research shows advisors want content that helps them serve their clients better. They don’t want product marketing disguised as thought leadership.

How can smaller firms compete against firms with huge content teams?

Smaller can be an advantage. You can move faster. You can take more risks with your point of view. You don’t need six layers of approval before publishing something interesting.

Focus your resources. You don’t need to be everywhere. Pick the channels where your target advisors pay attention and own those. Do fewer things better instead of trying to match larger firms’ volume.

A lot of content from firms with big teams is mediocre. More people doesn’t mean better content. It often means more compromise and more generic output. Small teams with clear thinking can compete.

Google’s giving AI answers now without sending people to websites. Does that kill traditional SEO?

This is counterintuitive, but SEO is becoming more important, not less. You need to be the source that AI systems pull from when they generate those answers. If your content isn’t structured in a way that AI can use, you’re invisible.

More searches are ending with AI-provided answers. People aren’t clicking through to source websites the way they used to. That makes traditional SEO less effective for driving direct traffic. But it makes it more critical for visibility.

How should firms adapt their SEO strategy?

Structure matters more now. How your content appears on your website is crucial. AI systems like content formatted in ways they can easily parse. FAQ sections, clear headers, and structured data. These things help AI understand what your content says and when to reference it.

You need to pay attention to metadata. The information that describes your content is what AI systems use to decide if your content is relevant. This has always mattered for SEO, but it’s more important now.

And you need dynamic content, not static pages that never change. Sites that get updated regularly signal to both traditional search engines and AI systems that the information is current.

What does this mean for boutique managers who aren’t SEO experts?

Start with the basics if you haven’t already. If you built a website seven years ago and the only updates are quarterly reports in PDF format, you’re already behind. You need solid SEO before you can think about making it work for AI search.

The good news is we’re early enough in this shift that firms still have time to adapt. This isn’t an overnight change. But you need to start taking it seriously in 2026. The firms that wait another year or two will find themselves even further behind.

AI also uses different sources than Google did. AI really likes Reddit, for example. So maybe it makes sense to build a small presence there. These patterns will become clearer over the next year, but the key is staying aware of how things are changing.

Marketing automation keeps coming up. Where does it fit in 2026?

It’s becoming more important. Firms should automate foundational marketing materials as much as possible – fact sheets, brochures, and routine content. There are two kinds of marketing content: table stakes that everyone expects, and the stuff that can lift you into the outstanding category.

Use automation for the table stakes. Whether you’re using in-house tools or working with a vendor, get that stuff off your plate so you don’t have to worry about it. That frees you to spend time on content that can differentiate your firm – white papers, webinars, blogs, and marketing emails that need real thinking and customization.

What should smaller firms prioritize when they can’t automate everything?

We did a marketing technology survey this year. Fifty-two percent of firms are using their marketing automation tools more now than they did a year ago. This is becoming a bigger part of the marketing toolkit for firms of all sizes.

The priority is finding time to customize your outreach to advisors’ interests. General blast emails get far less engagement than customized emails, we’ve found consistently in our research. Smart use of automation is what makes customization possible at scale.

You don’t need to automate everything. You need to automate the right things. The repetitive tasks that consume time but don’t differentiate you. That creates space for the work that matters.

How do you balance automation with the personal touch that matters in this industry?

Automation should make personalization possible, not replace it. Use automation to handle the routine stuff so your team can focus on building real relationships with advisors.

The point of all this is getting out of the trap of producing more and more commoditized content. Automation of the basics lets you focus resources on content and outreach that’s distinctive and valuable.

We’ve covered five major trends. For boutique asset managers heading into 2026, what matters most?

These trends aren’t isolated from each other. The LinkedIn behavior shift connects to content saturation. AI’s impact on SEO connects to automation. You can’t think about one without thinking about the others.

But the underlying theme is the same: identify your strengths and pick your spots. You can’t do everything, especially if you’re a smaller firm. A lot of these tools and strategies increase efficiency, which means they’re within reach for firms under $10 billion.

The important thing is using tools from which you’ll get genuine value.. Not investing in fancy new things that people may have trouble learning or fitting into their workflow. Experiment, figure out what works for your firm, and commit to doing those things well.

One encouraging thing: when we survey firms, a majority now have regular meetings between sales and marketing leaders. Over 70% of firms have their marketing and sales leaders meet at least twice a month to keep everyone aligned on strategy. Marketing is a strategic function. The industry is moving away from viewing marketing as just support for sales. That’s the right direction, but you need structure to make that shift happen. Regular meetings, clear communication, and one unified strategy. That’s what separates firms that adapt successfully from firms that keep falling behind.

Falling Behind on These Trends?

Is your firm still using outdated strategies while advisors have already moved on to consuming content differently?

The longer you wait to adapt, the harder it gets to catch up. Larger firms are already testing AI-optimized content and rethinking their LinkedIn approach. The gap widens every quarter.

You can get clarity on which of these trends matter most for your specific situation and where to start with a complimentary strategy session.

We’ll look at where you are now, what’s realistic given your resources, and what sequence makes sense for your firm.

Schedule a 60-minute strategy call

Dan Sondhelm is the CEO of Sondhelm Partners. He works with boutique asset managers to help them grow AUM, stand out in crowded markets, and create more meaningful conversations with investors.