--- title: "Rethinking AUM: A Better Way for RIAs to Measure Success with Lacey Shrum" description: "Lacey Shrum, Founder of Smart Kx, is an accomplished professional with a diverse background in law, compliance, and entrepreneurship." url: https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/rethinking-aum-a-better-way-for-rias-to-measure-success-with-lacey-shrum updated: 2025-08-19 --- [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 106 · Aug 19, 2025 · 45 min # Rethinking AUM: A Better Way for RIAs to Measure Success with Lacey Shrum [**Lacey Shrum***Founder, Smart Kx*](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/guests/lacey-shrum) [Apple Podcasts ↗](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-connected-advisor/id1691759257) [Spotify ↗](https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lw8kHGnS1JJBMZLPYxc9S) ## About this episode Lacey Shrum, Founder of Smart Kx, is an accomplished professional with a diverse background in law, compliance, and entrepreneurship. At Smart Kx, Lacey applies her extensive experience to drive strategic initiatives and deliver innovative solutions within the legal and technology sectors. This week, Kyle and Lacey do a deep dive into the metric that truly matters for advisory firms—revenue. Lacey shares why AUM can be a vanity metric, how to calculate and use blended rates, and ways to streamline billing for greater efficiency and profitability. They discuss common challenges during firm growth and acquisitions, how average daily balance reconciliation can smooth out revenue volatility, and why automation reduces friction in advisor operations. In this episode: - (00:00) - Intro - (04:32) - Why protecting revenue matters more than chasing AUM - (08:26) - How Smart Kx gathers the data to power its calculations - (09:55) - The risks of relying on spreadsheets for billing - (14:17) - Why due diligence on revenue metrics is critical in acquisitions - (17:22) - Using Average Daily Balance (ADB) reconciliation for fairer, more transparent billing - (22:13) - Lacey's take on the fee structure debate - (23:39) - What’s holding RIAs back from adopting automation - (27:46) - The key revenue metrics every advisor should track - (32:59) - How Smart Kx is leveraging technology and AI - (36:07) - Lacey’s predictions for the future of the industry - (40:07) - Lacey's Milemarker Minute **Key Takeaways** - Build a true revenue system—not just billing. Go beyond sending invoices. Create a complete revenue framework that combines accurate AUM fee calculations, airtight documentation of every client agreement, and detailed revenue analysis. This holistic view will give you clarity and control over your firm’s financial health. - Ditch the spreadsheets for fee management. Spreadsheets are fragile, error-prone, and a single point of failure. Replace them with specialized technology that automates and validates calculations, ensuring accuracy while freeing your team from time-consuming manual work. - Do real revenue due diligence in acquisitions. Don’t stop at surface-level metrics. Examine a target firm’s actual revenue drivers—average client size, blended rate, and revenue per client. This will reveal hidden gaps or “potholes” in their billing process and help you plan a smooth integration. - Automate to eliminate friction. In a slow-to-adopt industry, actively seek tech that reduces clicks and speeds up payment workflows. The less time you spend chasing revenue, the more time you can invest in serving clients and growing your business. **Quotes** "Revenue is so important to anybody's business. We are trying to make a profit here, provide for ourselves, and build a business." ~ Lacey Shrum "If you are responsible for signing that ADV and representing your firm in that contract, you have to have some orderly system, or you're just kicking the can down the road of a regulatory and probably litigation nightmare." ~ Lacey Shrum "Advisors are not in the billing business. They're in the business of managing money. So, try to get billing down to the least amount of time possible so you can manage money." ~ Lacey Shrum **Links** - [Lacey Shrum on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceyshrum/) - [Smart Kx](https://www.smartkx.io/) - [NFL](https://www.nfl.com/) - [A Tree Grows in Brooklyn](https://www.amazon.com/Tree-Grows-Brooklyn-Novel/dp/0062096958) - [Onboarding New Clients Made Easy with Lacey Shrum](https://podcast.milemarker.co/onboarding-new-clients-made-easy-with-lacey-shrum/) **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/0ikwiRbn3rC8LWkGyAQ867) ## Episode 106 On this week’s episode of Next Mile, I speak with [Lacey Shrum](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceyshrum), Founder of [Smart Kx](https://www.smartkx.com/). An accomplished professional with a diverse background in law, compliance, and entrepreneurship, Lacey applies her extensive experience to drive strategic initiatives and deliver innovative solutions within the legal and technology sectors. We take a deep dive into the metric that truly matters for advisory firms—revenue. Lacey shares why AUM can be a vanity metric, how to calculate and use blended rates, and ways to streamline billing for greater efficiency and profitability. We also discuss common challenges during firm growth and acquisitions, how average daily balance reconciliation can smooth out revenue volatility, and why automation reduces friction in advisor operations. ## Key Takeaways **Build a true revenue system—not just billing.** Go beyond sending invoices. Create a complete revenue framework that combines accurate AUM fee calculations, airtight documentation of every client agreement, and detailed revenue analysis. This holistic view will give you clarity and control over your firm’s financial health. **Ditch the spreadsheets for fee management.** Spreadsheets are fragile, error-prone, and a single point of failure. Replace them with specialized technology that automates and validates calculations, ensuring accuracy while freeing your team from time-consuming manual work. **Automate to eliminate friction.** In a slow-to-adopt industry, actively seek tech that reduces clicks and speeds up payment workflows. The less time you spend chasing revenue, the more time you can invest in serving clients and growing your business. ## Quotes > “Revenue is so important to anybody’s business. We are trying to make a profit here, provide for ourselves, and build a business.” > — Lacey Shrum > “If you are responsible for signing that ADV and representing your firm in that contract, you have to have some orderly system, or you’re just kicking the can down the road of a regulatory and probably litigation nightmare.” > — Lacey Shrum > “Advisors are not in the billing business. They’re in the business of managing money. So, try to get billing down to the least amount of time possible so you can manage money.” > — Lacey Shrum ## Links & Resources **Featured:** - [Lacey Shrum on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceyshrum) - [Smart Kx](https://www.smartkx.com/) - Onboarding New Clients Made Easy with Lacey Shrum ## Connect With Our Hosts - [Milemarker.co](https://www.milemarker.co/) - [Kyle on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylevp) - [Jud on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/judbergman) ## Subscribe and Stay in Touch - Apple Podcasts - [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/nextmile) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@milemarkerinc) If you’d like to schedule a time to talk with me about anything we cover on our podcast or Milemarker, click here for 15 minutes. *— Kyle Van Pelt* [**Lacey Shrum***Founder, Smart Kx*](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/guests/lacey-shrum) 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. 22 · Nov 28, 2023 · 35 min ### [Onboarding New Clients Made Easy with Lacey Shrum](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/onboarding-new-clients-made-easy-with-lacey-shrum) Lacey Shrum, Smart Kx Ep. 169 · Nov 3, 2026 · 45 min ### [How to Turn Client Reviews Into Better Client Experiences with Brendan Frazier](https://www.milemarker.co/podcast/how-to-turn-client-reviews-into-better-client-experiences-with-brendan-frazier) Brendan Frazier, The Human Side of Money Podcast 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