William Crager on emotional finance
From "Money is emotion." Will wealth management clients trust technology more or humans? · · Alt Goes Mainstream (AGM)
“Money is emotion. When you have conversations with people about money, it will go back to this moment in their life and it usually is a very stressful moment and you're formed that way. And then you're reacting to your financial life in a way that's been formed in a period of uncertainty or difficulty or whatever that moment is.”
On , William Crager, Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor at ENVESTNET INC, spoke about emotional finance during "Money is emotion." Will wealth management clients trust technology more or humans? on Alt Goes Mainstream (AGM).
About William Crager
William Crager, co-founder and former CEO of Envestnet, has been speaking about the wealth management industry's transition toward more integrated, data-driven advice. In November 2025, Crager, now a founding partner at iAltA, described a "mismatch" between the industry's verticalized structure and the "horizontal, integrated, holistic advice" he said clients increasingly demand. He stated that he is working on building a "horizontal solution" to address this gap, comparing the challenge to his earlier work at Envestnet. Crager has also described the current period as a "transformational moment" for wealth management, similar to the early days of technology adoption in the industry. Crager has emphasized the enduring role of human financial advisors, stating that "money is emotion" and that a "caring fiduciary" who understands clients' emotional experiences with money will remain essential. He has argued that technology, including artificial intelligence, will scale advisors' capabilities rather than replace them, and that firms that successfully cycle between innovation and operationalization will be best positioned for growth. Looking ahead, Crager has predicted the industry is moving into a "household era" of global advice, with future developments including tokenization and a "personal ledger" that will serve as a comprehensive financial record.