Jason Lahita ends four-month exile with mission to turn 127 OSJ reps into small media brands by pulling rabbits out of his hat

Jason Lahita is living the dream which is freedom of choice. Why have life mapped out? After meeting with Jason and some of the IFP team, I can see the allure of working with great people who are eager for more visibility and value expertise. Bravo to Jason for embracing entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship! Why plan your end game when the middle is so much fun?

The term "RIA marketing" will continue to be an oxymoron as long as firms view tactics like publicity and social media placements as end goals, rather than starting points. When a prospective client asks me, "Can you get my company into Forbes magazine?", I ask them what they intend to do with the Forbes story if I get it for them. Most don't understand the question, but I ask it to make a point. They've been taught (mostly by PR firms) that publicity is a trophy to be hung on your website; not a credibility tool to be applied in the marketplace...ideally, to initiate conversations with prospects. Firms produce tidal waves of "thought leadership" content on social media platforms that's not materially different from their (other highly regulated) competitors, that rarely gets read, and is measured by "Likes." They create incomprehensible marketing collateral, and often communicate poorly with existing clients. But the fundamental shortcoming is that RIA firms, along with other types of asset managers, do not view marketing as an important business discipline that requires the same level of serious, strategic, long-term commitment as investment, operations, legal, regulatory and IT functions. As long as RIAs view marketing as a tool box of tactics, and expect those tactics to produce immediate results, the industry will continue to be viewed as a marketing Neanderthal. Changing that RIA mindset will be Jason Lahita's toughest task.