5 Financial Advisors Winning on YouTube in 2026 (And What You Can Steal)

How Are Financial Advisors Using YouTube to Grow Their Practices?

For decades, the financial advisory industry ran on three growth channels: referrals, seminars, and maybe a radio show if you were ambitious. All three share the same problem. They don't scale. They don't compound. And when you stop doing them, the leads stop coming.

YouTube flips every one of those limitations.

A video you post today can generate leads three years from now. A single video can reach more people than a year's worth of seminars. And unlike a referral, a YouTube viewer has already spent 10 or 15 minutes hearing your perspective on a topic before they ever pick up the phone. They show up to the first meeting pre-sold.

According to research from Broadridge, 49% of advisors don't share educational content because they aren't sure how to execute it. And as reported by Wistia, 58% of companies cite resources as their number one barrier to video creation. The advisors in this article solved both of those problems, and their AUM reflects it.

But here is something I see too many advisors get wrong from the very start: they brand their YouTube channel as their firm instead of branding it personally. People follow people, not companies. A personally branded channel has 100x the reach potential of a company-branded one. James Conole's channel isn't named "Root Financial Partners" (the channel handle is @RootFP, but the publicly-visible name is "James Conole, CFP®" and James' headshot is the channel's profile picture). Devin Carroll's channel isn't called "Carroll Advisory Group." Their names are on the door, and that is a huge reason their content connects.

Let's break down exactly what each of these five advisors did to build what are now some of the most valuable practices in the industry.

1. James Conole, CFP® — Root Financial Partners

The numbers:

• $2.4 billion in AUM as of early 2026, up from zero roughly six years ago
• 208,000+ YouTube subscribers
• 10 million+ views and listens across YouTube and podcast in a 12-month span
• $120 million in new AUM annually driven by YouTube
• 90-97% close rate on prospects who find him through video
• 700+ qualified inbound prospects per year, each with a minimum of $2,000,000 in investable assets

James Conole is probably the clearest case study in the entire financial services industry for what happens when a financial advisor commits to YouTube. As reported by WealthManagement.com, Root Financial grew from zero to $2.4 billion in assets in about six years, and Conole credits video content as the primary engine behind that growth.

What makes Conole's story so instructive is the pivot he made early on. He started by covering broad personal finance topics, the kind of content that racks up views but doesn't necessarily attract high-value clients. When he narrowed his focus to retirement planning content specifically for pre-retirees and retirees with $2 million or more in investable assets, his view counts went down. But his qualified leads went way up.

This is the tension every advisor has to wrestle with. Views and subscribers are vanity metrics. The only thing that matters to you as a financial advisor are business results: leads, calls booked, and clients closed. If you make videos that get millions of views, you are almost certainly not connecting with and building relationships with your actual ideal client. The riches are in the niches. Specific videos covering the pain points experienced by your ideal client build more trust than a broad, viral personal finance video ever could.

I experienced the opposite dynamic myself as an influencer with @nicktalksmoney. I was incentivized to go as broad as possible because I was selling advertising partnerships to consumer-facing fintech companies. My compensation was tied to exposure and signups, so the broader the content, the better. But when I promoted brands with higher-ticket offers that look more like what a financial advisor provides, my results dropped significantly compared to the broad, accessible fintech products. If I had started from day one trying to grow my own advisory firm instead of an audience, I would probably have a quarter of my current following because I never would have made the broad content required to grow to almost 2 million followers.

Conole also did something smart that more advisors should copy: he launched a second, behind-the-scenes YouTube channel showing how Root Financial actually operates. This gives prospective clients (and potential employees) a window into the culture of the firm before they ever have a conversation. It's a trust accelerator.

This is a great example of how to structure a company YouTube strategy: James' main channel is personally branded and generates nearly all of the leads, while this "behind the scenes" company channel is a great way to introduce the rest of the team and create content that is specifically tailored to their existing clients. However, it's not only James that has a personally-branded YouTube channel: Ari Taublieb, another advisor on his team, has a YouTube channel that follows James' same playbook that has 81,500 subscribers.

According to Kitces, Conole's production cost for his entire YouTube operation is roughly $20,000 per year for a Serbia-based video editor. His channel actually generates about $120,000 annually in YouTube ad revenue alone. That means YouTube pays Root Financial to acquire clients. The firm is running at net-negative marketing costs.

What you can steal: Niche down to a specific client profile, even if it costs you views. Post weekly without exception. Build your funnel so that video viewers have a clear next step (Conole uses his podcast and website as bridge steps). And invest in a second channel that humanizes your firm.

2. Ben Felix — PWL Capital

The numbers:

• $5.5 billion in AUM at PWL Capital (grown from $700 million over roughly a decade)
• 531,000+ YouTube subscribers on Common Sense Investing
• 23-25 million total views
• 1,100 annual inbound leads from YouTube (their second-largest lead source, ahead of referrals)
• YouTube was explicitly cited as a strategic asset in PWL's acquisition by OneDigital in January 2025

Ben Felix's YouTube channel, Common Sense Investing, is arguably the most respected financial education channel on the platform. Felix is not a flashy creator. He doesn't use clickbait thumbnails. He doesn't chase trends. He makes deeply researched, evidence-based videos about investing topics, and he has built one of the most valuable advisory practices in Canada because of it.

What separates Felix from most financial advisors on YouTube is the depth of his content. His videos read more like academic papers translated for a general audience than typical advisor marketing. He covers topics like factor investing, the mathematics of portfolio construction, and behavioral finance with a level of rigor that most advisors wouldn't attempt. That depth is exactly what attracts his ideal client: high-net-worth households with an average of $2 million invested with PWL.

When OneDigital acquired PWL Capital in January 2025, the deal wasn't just about the client book. It was about the content machine Felix had built. As the YT Era Advisor Growth Lab Report noted, YouTube was PWL's second-largest source of inbound leads, generating 1,100 leads per year. That is ahead of traditional referrals, which for most advisory firms is the number one growth channel by a wide margin.

Felix also co-hosts The Rational Reminder podcast, which creates a content ecosystem where the YouTube channel, podcast, and PWL's research library all feed into each other. A prospect might discover a YouTube video, listen to a few podcast episodes, read a white paper, and by the time they reach out, they already deeply understand and agree with PWL's investment philosophy.

What you can steal: You don't have to be entertaining to win on YouTube. You have to be genuinely helpful. Felix proves that going deeper than anyone else on your chosen topics is a strategy that compounds over years. His content is a moat: no competitor can easily replicate the trust built by hundreds of carefully researched videos.

3. Troy Sharpe, CFP® — Oak Harvest Financial Group

The numbers:

• $940+ million in AUM (grown from $85 million in roughly five to six years)
• ~1,000 first appointments booked annually through YouTube
• Houston-based RIA with a multi-channel marketing approach
• YouTube + radio show + in-person seminars working together

Troy Sharpe built Oak Harvest Financial Group in Houston, Texas, and his growth story is one of the most impressive in the RIA space. As reported on the Kitces Financial Advisor Success Podcast, the firm grew from $85 million to over $750 million in just five years through a combination of YouTube, a weekly radio show, and in-person seminars. More recent reporting from the YT Era Advisor Growth Lab puts the firm at approximately $940 million in AUM.

Sharpe's YouTube strategy is different from Conole's or Felix's in one important way: he rarely makes a direct call to action in his videos. His philosophy, as shared on the Kitces podcast, is that YouTube is not a platform for advertising. Instead, he treats every video as a seminar delivered to a camera. He educates on retirement planning, tax strategies, and income planning for retirees and pre-retirees in a way that builds trust over time without ever feeling salesy.

The other thing Sharpe does well is integrate channels. His radio show content feeds into YouTube topics. His seminar presentations become the basis for video scripts. A prospect who hears him on the radio might search his name, find his YouTube channel, watch a few videos, and then attend a seminar. By the time they sit down for a first appointment, they've had three or four touchpoints with the brand. According to Sharpe, Oak Harvest aims for roughly a threefold return on marketing investment across all channels, and YouTube is the most scalable piece of that equation.

Sharpe also invests heavily in livestream events on YouTube, where he and his investment team take questions from viewers in real time. These livestreams serve double duty: they create content that lives on the channel permanently, and they simulate the interactive experience of a seminar without the geographic and capacity limitations.

However, this is a case study on the difference between personally branding your YouTube channel, and branding it as your company. Sharpe's YouTube channel is branded as "Oak Harvest Financial Group", with the firm's logo as its profile picture. It also happens to be the YouTube channel with the lowest subscriber count on this list (59,000). Now, they're clearly still successful, but you'd have to think the overall lead volume would be magnitudes higher over the life of this YouTube channel if it was personally branded.

What you can steal: If you already have a radio show, seminar series, or podcast, YouTube is the natural multiplier. Repurpose what you are already doing. Sharpe also proves that you don't need aggressive CTAs to convert. If the content is genuinely helpful, the right people will find their way to your calendar.

4. Eric Sajdak — Safeguard Wealth Management (Now Merit Financial)

The numbers:

• $597 million in AUM built in just five years
• 72,500+ YouTube subscribers
• 86% compound annual growth rate in AUM
• Acquired by Merit Financial in April 2025, with YouTube explicitly cited as the deal driver
• Sajdak named Director of Content at Merit, tasked with scaling the YouTube strategy across 40 offices and converting his YouTube channel to a Merit-branded page that he leads content production for

Eric Sajdak's story is the one that should make every financial advisor sit up and pay attention. He and co-founder Anthony Hellenbrand built Safeguard Wealth Management as a fully virtual firm focused on retirement planning. Their YouTube channel was the primary client acquisition channel, and it worked so well that Merit Financial, a national firm managing over $12 billion in assets, acquired Safeguard specifically to get the YouTube operation.

As reported by WealthManagement.com, Merit's managing principal Josh Mersberger was direct about the motivation behind the acquisition. The firm had its own YouTube channel, but it was nothing compared to what Sajdak had built. The acquisition wasn't primarily about Safeguard's client book. It was about the content system and the person behind it.

What makes this case study especially relevant is what happened after the deal closed. Sajdak didn't get a "marketing consultant" title and a corner office. He became Director of Content with a mandate to replicate the Safeguard YouTube strategy across Merit's entire 40-office national network. That tells you everything you need to know about how the industry is valuing YouTube expertise in 2026.

Sajdak's content strategy was focused and repeatable. He published a few videos per month covering the impact of current events on portfolio management and addressing topical retirement planning questions from clients and viewers. He wasn't trying to become a YouTube celebrity. He was consistently showing up with useful, timely information for a specific audience: people approaching or already in retirement.

The Safeguard acquisition also highlights an important strategic point for any advisor thinking about an eventual exit. If your channel is built around documented systems and repeatable processes, it's a transferable asset. If it's built entirely around your personality with no systems behind it, acquirers will apply key person discounts that can significantly reduce your valuation.

What you can steal: Build your YouTube presence as a system, not a personality cult. Document your workflows. Train team members to appear on camera alongside you. And recognize that every video you post is building equity in a business asset that could someday command an acquisition premium.

5. Devin Carroll — Carroll Advisory Group

The numbers:

• 477,000+ YouTube subscribers on his Social Security Intelligence channel
• 50 million+ total views
• 1 million+ monthly users across YouTube and blog
• Carroll Advisory Group manages over $227 million in AUM for approximately 600 clients
• Flat-fee advisory model
• Featured in Forbes, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and U.S. News

Devin Carroll is the ultimate case study in niche domination. While most advisors try to cover every financial planning topic under the sun, Carroll built his entire YouTube presence around one subject: Social Security (though he has since expanded to more retirement planning topics). And it turned him into one of the most recognized financial advisors in the country.

Carroll has been a practicing financial planner since 2003 and launched Carroll Advisory Group in Texarkana, Texas. His Social Security Intelligence YouTube channel and blog have become the go-to resource for Americans trying to understand their benefits. He also co-hosts the Big Picture Retirement podcast, which extends his reach into the broader retirement planning conversation.

The genius of Carroll's approach is specificity. Social Security is one of those topics that nearly every American approaching retirement has questions about, yet very few advisors have taken the time to become a true authority on it. Carroll filled that gap with hundreds of videos covering everything from spousal benefits calculations to the tax implications of filing strategies. Each video answers a specific question that a real person is typing into Google or YouTube search, which means his content has incredible organic discovery potential.

Carroll's firm operates on a flat annual fee model rather than the typical AUM-based pricing, which aligns with the educational, trust-first brand he's built through his content. His viewers come to him already understanding his philosophy and fee structure. By the time they become clients, the sales conversation is almost a formality.

His platform also reaches over 1 million monthly users, which he's leveraged into speaking engagements, media appearances, and his book, Social Security Basics. The YouTube channel isn't just a client acquisition tool. It's a platform that creates authority, and that authority compounds across every area of his business.

What you can steal: Pick the one topic your ideal clients ask about most. Go deeper on that topic than anyone else on the internet. Carroll didn't try to compete with every financial advisor on YouTube. He competed with the Social Security Administration's own website, and he won because his content is clearer and more actionable.

What Do These Financial Advisors Have in Common on YouTube?

When you line up these five advisors side by side, clear patterns emerge.

• They all niched down. Conole targets pre-retirees with $2M+. Felix focuses on evidence-based investing. Sharpe serves Houston-area retirees. Sajdak covered retirement planning for virtual clients. Carroll owns Social Security. None of them tried to be the "everything financial advisor" on YouTube. The specificity is what made them findable, trustworthy, and ultimately referable.
• They (almost) all branded personally, not as their firm. Every single one of these channels features the advisor's name and face, not their company logo (except Oak Harvest FG). This is one of the biggest mistakes I see financial advisors make when they launch a YouTube channel. They name it after their firm, use a corporate logo as their profile picture, and wonder why nobody subscribes. People follow people. A personally branded channel has dramatically more reach potential.
• They all played the long game. Felix has been at it since 2017. Conole started 5 years ago. Sharpe has years of content. Carroll has been building since the early days of his blog. None of them went viral overnight. They committed to showing up consistently, week after week, and let the compounding effect of content do its work.
• They all prioritized education over selling. Sharpe explicitly avoids calls to action in his videos. Felix's content is essentially a free university course on investing. Carroll gives away more Social Security knowledge than most paid consultants. The trust that builds from genuine education converts at rates that traditional marketing can only dream of. Conole's 90-97% close rate on YouTube-sourced prospects tells you everything.
• They all built systems. This is the less visible part of their success. None of these advisors are winging it. They have scripting processes, editing workflows, publishing calendars, and clear funnels that move a viewer from "I just watched a video" to "I'm booking a call." The system is what makes the content consistent, and consistency is what makes YouTube work.

How Should Financial Advisors Start a YouTube Channel?

If you're a financial advisor looking at these case studies and thinking "I need to start doing this," here's the practical roadmap.

1. Choose your niche before you choose your camera. Decide who your ideal client is and what specific problems they have. Are you targeting retirees worried about Social Security? Business owners planning a succession? Young professionals trying to invest their first $100,000? The tighter your niche, the faster YouTube's algorithm figures out who to show your videos to.

2. Brand the channel under your name. Not your firm. Not your firm's initials. Your name and your face. You can mention your firm in your about section and video descriptions, but the channel itself should feel like a person, not a corporation.

3. Start with the questions your clients already ask you. You don't need a content strategy consultant. You need a list of the 50 questions your clients and prospects ask most often. Each one of those is a video topic. If clients keep asking you about Roth conversions, that's your first video. If they're confused about Medicare enrollment, that's your second.

4. Script your videos. Every advisor on this list scripts their content. They're not rambling into a camera for 20 minutes and hoping it works. A well-written script keeps you on topic, keeps the video concise, and makes the editing process dramatically faster. Tools like SageContent can generate personalized scripts tailored to your voice and expertise while following the best practices proven by YouTube advisors (like the ones on this list), which cuts the hardest part of the process down to minutes.

5. Commit to a minimum of one year. Video content comes with compounded returns. Advisors who see meaningful results within the first six months are outliers, let alone the first three months. The viral potential of short-form video content is certainly changing the timeline, but you should enter every video engagement with a commitment to try it for at least a full year before deciding whether or not it "works" for you. Spoiler alert: it will work if you put enough time into it. Expecting results from day one is like picking up a basketball for the first time and expecting to go straight to the NBA.

6. Don't neglect the production basics. You don't need a professional studio, but you do need decent lighting, clean audio, and a background that doesn't look like your spare bedroom's junk closet. A ring light, a good USB microphone, and a clean backdrop will put you ahead of 90% of advisor channels.

7. Think about compliance from day one. If you're at a broker-dealer or subject to FINRA regulations, you need an approval workflow for your video content. Build that process before you publish your first video, not after your compliance department comes knocking. Platforms like SageContent have built-in compliance tracking and approval workflows specifically for this reason.

Does YouTube Actually Drive AUM for Financial Advisors?

Yes. The data from the five advisors in this article makes the answer unambiguous.

James Conole generates $120 million in new AUM annually from YouTube at a production cost of roughly $20,000 per year. That's a return on investment that no seminar, radio ad, or direct mail campaign can touch. His firm's YouTube ad revenue alone exceeds his production costs, which means the client acquisition is essentially free.

Ben Felix's YouTube channel helped PWL Capital grow from $700 million to $5.5 billion over a decade and generates 1,100 inbound leads per year, making it the firm's second-largest lead source ahead of traditional referrals.

Troy Sharpe's YouTube strategy contributed to Oak Harvest growing from $85 million to over $940 million in AUM, with approximately 1,000 first appointments booked through the channel annually.

Eric Sajdak built $597 million in AUM in five years with an 86% compound annual growth rate, powered primarily by YouTube.

And for any advisor who says they don't have time? Here is my honest question: Is your firm at capacity with ideal clients? Do you not want to grow? YouTube is the single largest growth lever you can pull for your firm. It doesn't matter what your opinion is about video marketing. The results are a matter of public record. Short-form video takes far less time to create than long-form, and both can drive meaningful lead flow. Good systems create consistently good content, and good content creates clients.

Key Takeaways

• YouTube channels were cited as deal drivers in two major RIA acquisitions in 2025, signaling that video content is now valued as a transferable business asset, not just a marketing tactic.
• James Conole at Root Financial grew from zero to $2.4 billion in AUM in roughly six years with YouTube as his primary growth engine, achieving a 90-97% close rate on prospects who find him through video.
• The riches are in the niches. Every advisor on this list narrowed their focus to a specific audience and topic, and their business results accelerated because of it, not in spite of it.
• Personally branded channels dramatically outperform firm-branded channels. People follow people. Branding your channel as your company instead of yourself limits your reach potential from day one.
• Consistency compounds over time. Expecting meaningful results in the first three months is like picking up a basketball for the first time and expecting to go straight to the NBA.

FAQ

How many subscribers do financial advisors need on YouTube to get clients?

There is no minimum subscriber count that unlocks client acquisition. Devin Carroll built a $227 million advisory practice, but Eric Sajdak built $597 million with fewer subscribers. What matters more is whether your subscribers match your ideal client profile. A channel with 5,000 highly targeted subscribers in your niche will generate more business than a channel with 100,000 followers who will never hire a financial advisor.

How often should financial advisors post on YouTube?

Most of the advisors profiled in this article post at least once per week. James Conole posts weekly. Ben Felix has maintained a consistent weekly or biweekly cadence for years. The key is picking a frequency you can sustain for at least 12 months. One video per week is the most common recommendation, but even two videos per month will compound over time if you stay consistent.

What topics should financial advisors cover on YouTube?

Financial advisors should cover topics that directly answer the questions their clients already ask, such as retirement planning, Social Security strategies, tax-efficient investing, Roth conversions, Medicare enrollment, and estate planning basics. These are consistently high-performing topics for financial advisors on YouTube. The more specific you can get (for example, "Roth conversion strategies for retirees in the 24% tax bracket" instead of just "Roth conversions"), the better your videos will perform with qualified prospects.

Do financial advisors need expensive equipment for YouTube?

No. Many successful advisor channels started with nothing more than a smartphone, a ring light, and a clip-on microphone. James Conole's production cost is roughly $20,000 per year total, and most of that is editing. As you grow, you can invest in a dedicated camera and better audio setup, but the content itself is what drives results, not the production value. Don't let equipment become an excuse not to start.

How do financial advisors handle compliance for YouTube videos?

Financial advisors handle YouTube compliance by implementing a strict review process for video scripts before recording, archiving all published content, and tracking approval dates and reviewers. Compliance requirements vary depending on your registration type: RIAs registered with the SEC have different requirements than advisors working under a broker-dealer with FINRA oversight. Building this workflow from day one will save you significant headaches later. SageContent includes built-in compliance tracking with approval workflows and CSV export specifically designed for financial advisors.

Can YouTube videos help financial advisors get acquired?

Yes, and the evidence from 2025 makes this clear. Ben Felix's YouTube channel was cited as a strategic asset in PWL Capital's acquisition by OneDigital. Eric Sajdak's channel was the explicit reason Merit Financial acquired Safeguard Wealth Management. According to marketplace data from Flippa and Empire Flippers, YouTube channels sell for 20-36x average monthly profit as a standard industry valuation, with premium channels in high-engagement niches commanding 30-40x multiples. If you are building a practice with an eventual exit in mind, a YouTube channel is one of the most valuable transferable assets you can create.

Is short-form video or long-form video better for financial advisors on YouTube?

Both formats can drive lead flow, but they serve different purposes. Long-form videos (10-20 minutes) build deeper trust and tend to attract more qualified prospects who are willing to invest time in learning. Short-form videos (under 60 seconds) have higher viral potential and can grow your audience faster, though the viewers may be less qualified. The ideal strategy uses both: short-form to expand your reach and long-form to convert that reach into relationships and booked calls.

How long does it take for a financial advisor's YouTube channel to start generating leads?

Most advisors should plan for 6 to 12 months of consistent posting before seeing meaningful lead flow. James Conole has described how videos he posted months earlier would suddenly start gaining traction as the YouTube algorithm identified the right audience. The compounding nature of YouTube is both its greatest strength and the reason most advisors quit too early. If you commit to a full year of weekly content targeted at your ideal client, the results will come.