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For years, wealth management firms have looked for ways to unlock wealth management growth, become more valuable to their clients, and differentiate themselves beyond traditional investment management.
Financial planning, estate planning, insurance, and other services have become increasingly important pieces of the client relationship. But one area continues to stand out as both a major opportunity for financial advisor tax planning and a major operational challenge for advisory firms: tax.
Many advisors understand the value of financial advisor tax planning. The problem is execution. Building an in-house tax practice can require finding and retaining talent, integrating outdated technology, managing a seasonal workload, and creating systems that connect tax professionals with the broader wealth management team.
In this episode of The Model FA Podcast, David DeCelle sits down with Raj Doshi, President and COO of April, to discuss how embedded tax technology is changing the way financial advisors and wealth management firms serve their clients.
Raj explains why tax returns represent one of the most comprehensive sources of financial information available, and how firms can leverage embedded tax technology to uncover opportunities, deepen client relationships, and drive tax-driven client acquisition.
David and Raj also explore the growing demand for family office-style services, why clients increasingly expect their financial professionals to work together, and how technology can help advisors offer tax services without necessarily building a traditional tax department from scratch.
The conversation also covers Raj's career journey through McKinsey, Google, growth-stage companies, TaxAct, Avantax, and eventually April. Drawing from his experience participating in multiple business exits, Raj shares an important lesson for entrepreneurs and firm owners: the best way to prepare a business for an eventual exit is to stay focused on building a great business.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
• Why embedded tax technology is becoming a major competitive advantage for wealth management growth
• How the tax return can provide one of the most comprehensive views into a client's financial life
• Why advisors are increasingly looking to financial advisor tax planning to create alpha outside of portfolio management
• How tax services can help advisors uncover held-away assets and new planning opportunities
• Why clients often think about investments, taxes, insurance, and estate planning as part of one financial relationship
• How April helps firms offer tax filing, tax planning, and tax data insights
• Why advisors do not necessarily need to build or acquire a tax practice to offer tax services
• How a three-way collaboration between the client, advisor, and tax professional can create a more connected experience
• Why legacy tax software and disconnected systems can create major operational bottlenecks
• How automation and AI can help tax professionals operate more efficiently
• Why tax season creates a natural opportunity for advisors to engage clients and identify changes in their financial lives
• How tax-driven client acquisition strategies improve prospect conversion, onboarding, and asset gathering
• Why outsourcing tax work does not have to mean losing visibility into the client relationship
• Raj's biggest lessons from participating in multiple business exits
• Why entrepreneurs should keep operating and growing the business through the finish line, even during a sale process
Raj also shares how his career has evolved across consulting, technology, financial services, and entrepreneurship. After starting at McKinsey and later working at Google, Raj developed experience in corporate finance, wealth management, growth strategy, and building businesses. His time at Blucora, which owned both TaxAct and Avantax, gave him firsthand experience with embedded tax technology and financial advisor tax planning, ultimately shaping his path to April.
If you're a financial advisor or wealth management firm exploring how tax-driven client acquisition fits into your long-term wealth management growth strategy, this conversation offers a practical look at the opportunities and operational challenges involved. Whether you're considering tax filing, tax planning, better use of client data, or an embedded tax technology service model, Raj provides a useful framework for thinking about where the industry is headed.
Connect with Raj Doshi and April
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Connect with Raj Doshi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajrdoshi
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Learn more about April: https://www.getapril.com/
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Connect with April on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getapril/
About the Model FA Podcast
The Model FA podcast is a show for fiduciary financial advisors. In each episode, our host David DeCelle sits down with industry experts, strategic thinkers, and advisors to explore what it takes to build a successful practice — and have an abundant life in the process. We believe in continuous learning, tactical advice, and strategies that work — no "gotchas" or BS. Join us to hear stories from successful financial advisors, get actionable ideas from experts, and re-discover your drive to build the practice of your dreams.
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Our Team: President of Model FA, David DeCelle
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