Paul Allen, CEO, Wealth Strategies Partners

July 2026 — Paul Allen, CEO of Wealth Strategies Partners, spoke with Invest: about providing the total package of financial planning to clients to keep their financial house in order. “We want to be the best in the world in every room of the house,” said Allen. He also shared WSP’s focus on empowering female investors as a cornerstone of the firm’s culture. “We want to be a firm where the female investor feels safe, heard, and valued,” noted Allen.

What recent changes have most impacted WSP, and how are you building on that momentum?

2025 was a year of intentional growth in two forms, growing the Tampa Bay market as well as our Music & Entertainment division in Nashville, which works with many bands, musicians, and artists. We have entered 2026 with two focuses. The first is that Wealth Strategies Partners has become totally independent, now functioning as a multi-custodian firm.

Previously, we only worked with Raymond James as a custodian. But now we can work off of five different platforms: Raymond James, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Schwab, and LPL. The other intentional focus, which we’ve made a cornerstone of our culture, is being a firm where we value the female investor. We want to be a firm where the female investor feels safe, heard, and valued.

The industry has historically done a poor job relating to and doing good work for female investors. In the United States, the Great Wealth Transfer is taking place, a transfer of trillions of dollars to the next generation. Baby boomers are aging, and as they pass away, their wealth is being transferred to their heirs. Wealth transfers first to the surviving spouse, often a woman. There is an 80% probability that when the surviving female spouse inherits this wealth, she will fire her husband’s financial advisor within the first 12 months. We want to ensure that our firm is a place where the female investor feels valued and will be taken care of. 

How are you evaluating community and overall economic sentiment in Tampa Bay?

The firm is deeply involved in regional philanthropy. We believe in supporting the community. The general economic sentiment in the region remains optimistic, despite a slowdown in the real estate market due to recent hurricanes. Even though the real estate market has been weak, most people are optimistic that it will rebound.

As far as financial assets, the stock market is at all-time highs. From a wealth standpoint, most people are happy where they are — sometimes they might be too optimistic. I remind people that the stock market doesn’t go up every day and will have a correction at some point. We need to focus on the long term and remember that there will be ups and downs in the economy. 

Are you seeing any changes in the financial profiles or planning needs of new clients?

Tampa and Nashville are both beautiful, in-vogue cities that people want to move to. There will continue to be a demand from wealthy people moving to places with no state income tax. From a wealth management standpoint, relocating is a major life change that often leads to financial reevaluation. People want to work with someone close to where they live. We have benefited from the continued growth of the Tampa region.

How is your team adapting to clients’ evolving financial priorities?

I have nearly 30 years of experience across firms of all sizes and have owned my own for 12 years. In our industry, everyone says they do financial planning and generational wealth management. The reality is that most firms focus on investment planning, and many do it well, but financial planning is an entirely different dynamic. Keeping your financial house in order means the investment room is just one room in that house. At Wealth Strategies Partners, we take a comprehensive approach, addressing estate planning, healthcare directives, philanthropic goals, and tax strategies. We want to be the best in the world in every room of the house.

You’ve emphasized the importance of culture in sustaining your firm’s mission. How does that translate to team development and leadership priorities?

As CEO, I see two main responsibilities. The first is putting my employees in a position to maximize their abilities and happiness. The second, and most important, is fiercely protecting the culture we’ve built. Our culture rests on four cornerstones: empowering female investors, a passion for financial planning, a family-like team atmosphere, and delivering a white-glove, Ritz-Carlton level of service. In my business, the top reason clients leave their financial advisor is poor communication and customer service.

Where do you see the boundary between technology and personal advice, and how do you maintain relationships?

I view technology in two key ways. The first is compliance and supervision, ensuring anti-money laundering measures and firewalls are in place to protect our clients’ assets. AI has been instrumental in reducing risk and will only continue to accelerate those safeguards.

The second is client service. It’s essential to have innovative financial planning tools that help clients achieve their goals, along with top-tier performance reporting technology. Our custodians invest hundreds of millions of dollars in their financial planning and reporting platforms, which directly benefits our clients. Equally important is maintaining a world-class contact management system. Delivering white-glove service requires robust systems that keep our team organized and responsive.

If there’s one way the wealth management industry needs to evolve to better serve today’s clients, what would it be, and how are you leading that change?

I’ve released a book on this very topic, titled A Guidebook for Surviving the Great Wealth Transfer. It’s aimed at helping financial advisors become better at serving female clients during wealth transitions. The industry needs to do a much better job supporting and engaging female investors.