--- title: "Building Legacies That Last with Rick Simonetti" description: "This week, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Rick Simonetti, CEO and Head of Wealth Planning of Fidelis Capital Partners, to explore what it takes to serve…" url: https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/building-legacies-that-last-with-rick-simonetti updated: 2025-04-01 --- [Now playing](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast) [Podcast**Next Mile**](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast) [Episodes](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast)[Guests](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/guests) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@milemarkerinc) [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-connected-advisor/id1691759257) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lw8kHGnS1JJBMZLPYxc9S) Episode 87 · Apr 1, 2025 · 54 min # Building Legacies That Last with Rick Simonetti [**Rick Simonetti***CEO, Fidelis Capital Partners*](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/guests/rick-simonetti) [Apple Podcasts ↗](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-connected-advisor/id1691759257) [Spotify ↗](https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lw8kHGnS1JJBMZLPYxc9S) ## About this episode This week, Kyle Van Pelt talks with Rick Simonetti, CEO and Head of Wealth Planning of Fidelis Capital Partners, to explore what it takes to serve ultra-high-net-worth families with excellence. Rick shares how Fidelis was built on the foundation of faithfulness—delivering on promises through deep collaboration, proactive planning, and personalized service. They discuss the importance of mentorship, family meetings, interdisciplinary teams, and how true success lies in preparing future generations. From structuring internal teams to navigating external partnerships, Rick offers practical wisdom for firms looking to elevate their service model and create lasting impact for their clients. In this episode: - (00:00) - Intro - (02:54) - Rick's money moment - (05:50) - CPA firms vs. wealth management: business model breakdown - \[10:45\] - Building collaborative relationships with experts - (16:35) - Why “faithfulness” became the foundation of Fidelis - (19:40) - Succession by design: mentorship and developing next-gen advisors - (26:55) - Crafting custom solutions for ultra-high-net-worth families - (32:24) - The power of integration: inside Fidelis’ team-based model - (36:30) - How Fidelis earns trust and referrals from ultra-high-net-worth clients - (42:32) - Rick's outlook on the future of serving ultra-high-net-worth clients - (46:29) - Milemarker Minute **Key Takeaways** - Financial plans don’t fail because they were poorly designed—they fail because they weren’t maintained, optimized, or passed on well. Advisors should prioritize family meetings and mentorship to ensure heirs are ready to step into leadership when the time comes. - Wealth managers don’t have to do it all in-house. In fact, creating strong, collaborative relationships with attorneys and CPAs leads to better outcomes for clients and smoother execution. The key is showing you’re there to make everyone’s job easier—not replace them. - At Fidelis, planning and investment professionals sit in the same meetings with clients. This integrated approach allows for real-time problem-solving, clearer communication, and a seamless experience for families. It’s a model built on visibility, not silos. - Mentorship creates real succession—not disruption. Fidelis intentionally develops “next-up” advisors by embedding them in client relationships long before a transition is needed. It’s a model that preserves institutional knowledge, builds trust, and gives clients peace of mind about who’s carrying the torch next. **Quotes** "One of the foundational elements of our firm was that we wanted to be faithful to the promise of serving multiple generations." ~ Rick Simonetti “There's just no better endorsement, nothing more humbling and nothing for which we're more grateful than being able to serve families the way that we do, which results in them being thrilled to the point of saying, ‘Hey, I'm going to entrust someone I care deeply about to you.’” ~ Rick Simonetti "Nothing replaces sitting with clients and talking through issues, hosting family meetings, having all these questions come up and then figuring out how to explain them in a way that makes the complex simple or understandable." ~ Rick Simonetti **Links** - [Rick Simonetti on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/) - [Fidelis Capital Partners](https://www.fideliscapital.com/) - [Wells Fargo](https://www.wellsfargo.com/) - [Joe Diffley](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-diffley/) - [Merrill Lynch](https://www.ml.com/) - [Christopher Gunster](https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gunster-cfa-4114455/) - [Neale Ellis](https://www.linkedin.com/in/neale-ellis-cfa-cpwa%C2%AE-5195018/) **Connect with our hosts** - [Milemarker.co](https://www.milemarker.co/) - [Kyle on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylevanpelt/) - [Jud on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/judmackrill/) **Subscribe and stay in touch** - [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/connected/id1691759257) - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lw8kHGnS1JJBMZLPYxc9S) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@milemarkerinc) ## **Produce game-changing content with Turncast** Turncast helps your company grow by producing top-quality content and fostering transformative conversations. We specialize in content generation, podcasting, digital strategy, and audience growth for fintech and financial services companies. Learn more at [Turncast.com](https://www.turncast.com/). ## The write-up [Listen to this week’s episode.](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3JN5ddMzwMTdhm0g32b728) #### Episode 087 On this week’s episode of The Connected Advisor, I speak with [Rick Simonetti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/), CEO and Head of Wealth Planning at [Fidelis Capital Partners](https://www.fideliscapital.com/), to explore what it takes to serve ultra-high-net-worth families with excellence. Rick shares how Fidelis Capital was built on the foundation of faithfulness—delivering on promises through deep collaboration, proactive planning, and personalized service. We discuss the importance of mentorship, family meetings, interdisciplinary teams, and how true success lies in preparing future generations. From structuring internal teams to navigating external partnerships, Rick offers practical wisdom for firms looking to elevate their service model and create lasting impact for their clients. #### **Key Takeaways** Financial plans don’t fail because they were poorly designed—they fail because they weren’t maintained, optimized, or passed on well. Advisors should prioritize family meetings and mentorship to ensure heirs are ready to step into leadership when the time comes. Wealth managers don’t have to do it all in-house. In fact, creating strong, collaborative relationships with attorneys and CPAs leads to better outcomes for clients and smoother execution. The key is showing you’re there to make everyone’s job easier—not replace them. At Fidelis Capital, planning and investment professionals sit in the same meetings with clients. This integrated approach allows for real-time problem-solving, clearer communication, and a seamless experience for families. It’s a model built on visibility, not silos. Mentorship creates real succession—not disruption. Fidelis Capital intentionally develops “next-up” advisors by embedding them in client relationships long before a transition is needed. It’s a model that preserves institutional knowledge, builds trust, and gives clients peace of mind about who’s carrying the torch next. #### **Quotes** “One of the foundational elements of our firm was that we wanted to be faithful to the promise of serving multiple generations.” ~ [Rick Simonetti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/) “There’s just no better endorsement, nothing more humbling and nothing for which we’re more grateful than being able to serve families the way that we do, which results in them being thrilled to the point of saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to entrust someone I care deeply about to you.’” ~ [Rick Simonetti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/) “Nothing replaces sitting with clients and talking through issues, hosting family meetings, having all these questions come up and then figuring out how to explain them in a way that makes the complex simple or understandable.” ~ [Rick Simonetti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/) #### **Links** [Rick Simonetti on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-simonetti/) [Fidelis Capital Partners](https://www.fideliscapital.com/) [Wells Fargo](https://www.wellsfargo.com/) [Joe Diffley](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-diffley/) [Merrill Lynch](https://www.ml.com/) [Christopher Gunster](https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-gunster-cfa-4114455/) [Neale Ellis](https://www.linkedin.com/in/neale-ellis-cfa-cpwa%C2%AE-5195018/) #### **Connect with our hosts** [Milemarker.co](https://www.milemarker.co/) [Kyle on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylevanpelt/) [Jud on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/judmackrill/) #### **Subscribe and stay in touch** [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/connected/id1691759257) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lw8kHGnS1JJBMZLPYxc9S) [YouTube](https://youtu.be/WgMC5rE6q5Y) **While there, please don’t forget to Download, Like, and Subscribe.** If you’d like to schedule a time to talk with me about anything we cover on our podcast or [Milemarker](https://www.milemarker.co/), [click here for 15 minutes](https://meetings.hubspot.com/kyle-van-pelt). Kyle Van Pelt [**Rick Simonetti***CEO, Fidelis Capital Partners*](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/guests/rick-simonetti) Next Mile Conversations with the people building the next era of wealth management, hosted by Kyle Van Pelt. New episodes every Tuesday. [Get the newsletter →](https://www.milemarker.co/resources/newsletter) [Talk to Milemarker →](https://www.milemarker.co/contact) ## Keep listening Ep. 170 · Nov 10, 2026 · 27 min ### [Building a Boutique at Scale with Leah Sciabarrasi](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/building-a-boutique-at-scale-with-leah-sciabarrasi) Leah Sciabarrasi, Crestwood Advisors Ep. 168 · Oct 27, 2026 · 32 min ### [The Difference Between a Family Office and an RIA with More Services with Matt Celenza](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/the-difference-between-a-family-office-and-an-ria-with-more-services-with-matt-celenza) Matt Celenza, Americana Partners Ep. 164 · Sep 29, 2026 · 40 min ### [Why Expertise Alone Isn't Enough for Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families with Kristina Baron](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/why-expertise-alone-isnt-enough-for-ultra-high-net-worth-families-with-kristina-baron) Kristina Baron, Oxford Financial Group