Episode 102 · Jul 22, 2025 · 38 min
The Secret to Scaling Without Losing Your Soul with Carrie Delgott
About this episode
Carrie Delgott is the President, COO, and CCO at Wescott Financial Advisory Group. With over 25 years in financial services—including two decades at Vanguard—Carrie brings deep expertise to the evolving RIA landscape. At Wescott, she has helped guide the firm through transformative initiatives like B Corp certification, major acquisitions, and the development of their Life-Minded Wealth framework, all while prioritizing employee engagement, client experience, and sustainable scale.
This week, Kyle talks with Carrie about how values and vision can power meaningful scale. They dive into Wescott’s journey as a B Corp, their involvement in the Net Positive Consortium, and how their Life-Minded Wealth philosophy puts people—not just portfolios—at the center of everything. Carrie shares lessons from integrating a billion-dollar acquisition, insights on the future of the industry, and why technology, culture, and intentionality are key to building a standout firm in a crowded market.
In this episode:
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(00:00) - Intro
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(01:48) - Carrie's money moment
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(04:03) - What B Corp Certification really means
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(07:21) - Why B Corp matters for RIAs
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(09:21) - The Net Positive Consortium and its five pillars
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(11:45) - What sets Wescott apart
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(13:09) - Westcott's Life-Minded Wealth philosophy
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(15:27) - Scaling an RIA with intention
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(20:32) - Lessons from a $1B acquisition
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(26:12) - Consolidating tech stacks for growth
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(29:30) - Carrie’s outlook on the future of wealth management
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(32:57) - Carrie's Milemarker Minute
Key Takeaways
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Growth is about absorption, not just acquisition. Successfully integrating people and culture is just as important as the deal itself. Without alignment, you lose the opportunity for true scale.
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Values attract top talent. Wescott’s B Corp status and purpose-driven approach resonate deeply with next-gen advisors who want to do meaningful work.
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Scale is relative—and evolving. As the industry shifts, even mid-sized firms must rethink what growth looks like and how to build infrastructure that supports it.
Quotes
"We're not looking to have technology replace that human interaction, but we certainly are looking for it to make us more and more efficient." ~ Carrie Delgott
"Acquisitions are not for the faint of heart. Just because you can afford a practice doesn't mean you can absorb a practice." ~ Carrie Delgott
"If you're not going to integrate and you're not going to come to some best practices for how you're going to work on behalf of our clients going forward, then you just lost all of the scale and efficiency opportunities." ~ Carrie Delgott
Links
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The write-up
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Listen to this week’s episode.
Episode 102
On this week’s episode of Next Mile, I speak with Carrie Delgott, President, COO, and CCO at Wescott Financial Advisory Group. With over 25 years in financial services—including two decades at Vanguard—Carrie brings deep expertise to the evolving RIA landscape.
We discuss how values and vision can power meaningful scale. Our conversation explores Wescott’s journey as a B Corp, their involvement in the Net Positive Consortium, and how their Life-Minded Wealth philosophy puts people—not just portfolios—at the center of everything. Carrie shares lessons from integrating a billion-dollar acquisition, insights on the future of the industry, and why technology, culture, and intentionality are key to building a standout firm in a crowded market.
Key Takeaways
Growth is about absorption, not just acquisition. Successfully integrating people and culture is just as important as the deal itself. Without alignment, you lose the opportunity for true scale.
Values attract top talent. Wescott’s B Corp status and purpose-driven approach resonate deeply with next-gen advisors who want to do meaningful work.
Scale is relative—and evolving. As the industry shifts, even mid-sized firms must rethink what growth looks like and how to build infrastructure that supports it.
Quotes
“We’re not looking to have technology replace that human interaction, but we certainly are looking for it to make us more and more efficient.”
— Carrie Delgott
“Acquisitions are not for the faint of heart. Just because you can afford a practice doesn’t mean you can absorb a practice.”
— Carrie Delgott
“If you’re not going to integrate and you’re not going to come to some best practices for how you’re going to work on behalf of our clients going forward, then you just lost all of the scale and efficiency opportunities.”
— Carrie Delgott
Links & Resources
Featured:
Books & Resources Mentioned:
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Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take
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The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Companies Mentioned:
Connect With Our Hosts
Subscribe and Stay in Touch
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
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