Episode
The Hidden Infrastructure Powering Modern Advisory Firms with Aaron Wormus
- Podcast
- Next Mile
- Published
- May 19, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2053
- Processing state
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- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODRYL9696380090.mp3
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Summary
Episode 145: This week, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Aaron Wormus, Chief Technology Officer at SMArtX Advisory Solutions. Aaron has spent years building technology infrastructure for the financial services industry, from hedge fund platforms to enterprise-grade advisory systems. At SMArtX, he focuses on solving the operational and data challenges that prevent advisory firms from scaling efficiently while helping advisors access institutional-quality tools once reserved for large enterprises. Kyle and Aaron explore the growing shift from fragmented advisory technology toward unified enterprise infrastructure. Aaron breaks down how UMA architecture changes the advisor experience, why portfolio accounting engines power real-time innovation, and how firms can build modern “advisor-built enterprise platforms” using best-of-breed technology. They also discuss AI, data orchestration, operational toil, and why the firms most open to technology and experimentation will have a major advantage in the years ahead. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:13) - Aaron’s money moment and the early days of SMArtX (03:15) - Is SMArtX a TAMP, a fintech platform, or something else entirely? (04:37) - What actually makes technology “enterprise-grade” (06:24) - Why UMA architecture changes everything (09:26) - The hidden infrastructure powering modern advisory platforms (12:20) - The rise of the advisor-built enterprise platform (15:15) - Why portfolio accounting engines matter so much (19:05) - How SMArtX and Milemarker fit together (21:00) - Why the entire industry is moving toward unified infrastructure (22:24) - AI, orchestration layers, and the future of connected systems (25:51) - Turning hand-drawn ideas into live AI-powered workflows (27:31) - AI guardrails, security, and enterprise data p…