2026: 3 Resolutions for the New Year at Aurora Financial Strategies
Looking back over the last 12 months, 2025 was the best year yet for Aurora Financial Strategies. Total assets with our firm, the number of households served, and the total number of meetings all reached new highs. I’m incredibly proud of our team—the long hours, the tough conversations, and becoming increasingly comfortable being uncomfortable have led to countless success stories for both our clients and our firm.
When I started the firm in 2016, we had only an idea of how our industry should interact with clients. That idea revolved around putting the client first and allowing word of mouth to drive our growth. We set goals to reach a certain size within a certain number of years. With my background in creating financial plans, we believed we could deliver an exceptional client experience to our community and the people we wanted to see succeed.
In the early days, every “win” felt monumental, and every “no” or “not yet” made me question whether I made the right choice. To this day, every successful onboarding feels wonderful—but the “not yet” still stings.
That drive to grow and expand our reach has brought us to where we are today. The last 10 years of running Aurora Financial Strategies have exceeded any expectations I had going in. And knowing that, I can confidently say the next 10 years will look dramatically different. Quite frankly, I’m excited to see where we go from here.
As the founder of the firm, here are my New Year’s Resolutions for Aurora Financial Strategies in 2026:
1. Don’t Forget How You Got Here
We must never lose the recipe that allowed us to succeed. Delivering custom financial advice that meets clients where they are—and doing so in a way they understand—has always been our foundation. Once we know what to do for each family, implementing those recommendations effectively and simply is key to helping them reach their goals.
Resolution #1:
Continue to see our existing clients succeed, continue delivering a client experience we are proud of, and continue reaching new households.
2. Become More Efficient
To accomplish Resolution #1, we need to understand that there are only so many hours in a day. As we continue to grow, the volume of appointments and daily service tasks means we cannot simply “do the same thing, but more.”
Hire New Staff
From the beginning, we embraced the philosophy of growing our staff before reaching mission-critical capacity. That strategy has kept us positioned to expand our reach. Early on, it was just me and one staff member, Anna. I created financial plans, ran meetings, marketed our services, checked billing, traded accounts, ran payroll, monitored the books, and forecasted the future of the firm. Anna covered everything else—opening accounts, scheduling appointments, and keeping me focused.
Looking back, taking on that many roles now seems crazy. Today, we have designated team members for asset management, financial planning, account processing, marketing, operations, a robust internship program, and two additional financial advisers. This year, we plan to add three or more new team members.
Continue to Embrace Technology
Leveraging technology has allowed us to serve more relationships efficiently. With nearly 1,100 client accounts, trading and allocating correctly would require multiple full-time roles without automation. Other tasks—tracking client review cycles, creating plans by hand, or opening accounts—would consume more hours than the day provides. The more we embrace technology, the easier scalable growth becomes.
Resolution #2:
Continue growing our team and using our resources to remain as efficient as possible.
3. Be Open to and Continue Expanding New Ideas
Our Asset Management Team, led by Austin Crites, does an outstanding job positioning clients for success. Our return profile, combined with our ability to avoid major drawdowns, has prompted other firms to ask how we do it—and whether we could do it for them.
Not every firm can structure their operations like ours, but we believe our approach works. Last year, we launched a new solution for firms seeking support: a fractional Chief Investment Officer (CIO) program that allows Austin and his team to manage assets held at other firms. This program can be executed in multiple ways, and working with other firms expands Aurora’s ability to help more people reach their financial goals. The sky is truly the limit.
While we will always prioritize organic growth—through marketing, community relationships, and word of mouth—we must remain open to partnering with other firms via acquisition, hiring existing advisors, or other methods. The future of our industry, and our success in it, hinges on continued growth. Bringing the right people onto our team—through expansion or strategic partnerships—allows us to serve even more households.
Resolution #3:
Expand the Aurora Asset Management CIO program and continue exploring partnership opportunities with other firms.
No matter where you are, it’s important to remember where you came from. I am as excited as ever to be leading Aurora Financial Strategies and wish you the very best in the year ahead.