Boutique Advisory
Senior-led strategy
and advice, on your terms
Empowering Financial Services Firms to Anticipate Tomorrow's Investor Needs and Deliver Profitable, Meaningful Advice.
What's in a name?
Epok
Inspired by the word epoch, it symbolizes a turning point, a new era on the horizon. We believe in shaping the future, starting today, helping our clients build towards the next defining period in financial services.
Advice
The most enduring and differentiated value in financial services. It's not just about expertise; it's about building trust and relationships that last.
Boutique
By design, we remain small, nimble, and fully dedicated to tailoring our services to meet your unique needs and preferences. High impact support without the overhead of traditional consulting firms.
Who We Work With
Serving the financial services ecosystem
From established wealth managers to emerging wealthtech platforms, we help organizations that believe advice is their competitive advantage.
Wealth Managers
Across all models & asset classes we work with traditional Wealth Management distribution companies and adjacent financial services leaders looking to add advice experiences.
Asset Managers
Firms interested in creating, optimizing and disrupting Investment Management geared to individual investors and mid-sized institutions.
Private Equity
Private Equity and Venture firms investing in RIAs, Wealth Management distribution and FinTech.
WealthTech
Technology firms at any stage of growth looking to deliver or enable the delivery of advice at scale.
Financial Advisors
We have a specialized program for high growth advisors. Learn more about the Epok Strategic Practice Review.
Learn more
"All engagements begin with a shared question."
How We Help
Where can we create the most leverage?
We start by listening. Then we bring structure, experience, and a bias toward action.
Strategic Advisory
Have you bought an RIA or invested in a FinTech and need help realizing returns? Are you starting a firm or looking for stress testing of your strategy? Are you a founder hoping to retire or a sales leader focused on recruitment?
High Performance Sales
Are you looking to better understand what your advisors need to focus on and how to scale great results? Would you like to systematize productivity & remove friction from the field?
Fractional Executive Support
Do you need a CSO, CTO or COO support from a seasoned leader on a part-time basis? Do you have an acute short-term need for sales leadership?
Transformation Support
Do you have a plan to change technology and want experienced support for execution & quality results? Are you in year 2 of a 5 year transformation and struggling to get ROI or adoption?
Facilitation & Training
Board offsites, Executive meetings, Advisor Roadshows. Do you need a speaker or help with facilitating a richer experience for your team?
Value Proposition Design
Do you want to offer an expanded service or enter a new market? How will you win over the next gen? What about Women in Transition or Dementia care planning?
How We Engage
Flexible models, senior attention
Epok Core
Ongoing Advisory
Our retainer model is ideal for teams who want regular access to a trusted thought partner. We work flexibly across your priorities, whether that's refining your positioning, prepping for investor meetings, supporting a product road map, or sharpening your sales narrative.
- •Predictable rhythm, tailored support
- •Strategic support on a recurring basis (typically 6–20 hours/month)
- •Best for leaders who value continuity and access over scope definition
"Clients often start light to test fit, then scale up as priorities unfold, we prefer that too."
Epok Embedded
Fractional Executive Partner
When you need senior strategic support embedded more deeply in your team, this model allows us to function as a fractional head of strategy, innovation, or growth. We become an extension of your leadership bench.
- •Deeper, more immersive engagement
- •Acts as a force multiplier for stretched leadership teams
- •Best for: Scaling organizations, innovation mandates, post-M&A transitions
"We operate as a true extension of your senior team, co-leading where needed, advising where valuable."
Epok Sprint
Project-Based Engagements
Designed for short bursts of strategic work. Whether you're planning a product launch, pressure-testing a go-to-market, preparing for a board meeting or looking for support for an Advisor roadshow.
- •Ideal for tight timelines or fast-moving teams
- •Flexible format, time-boxed engagements
- •Senior attention without long-term commitments
"Sprints are about clarity, not just speed, framing, solving, and delivering with discipline."
In the Press
Media & Appearances
The Globe and Mail
Orchestration is becoming the advisor's job
May 25, 2026
The Globe and Mail
When overwhelmed clients stack decisions, it's up to advisors to restore order
March 30, 2026
The Globe and Mail
2026 Wealth Leadership Forum, Featured Speaker, June 8th, 2026
June 8, 2026
The Globe and Mail
How advice from online brokerages could affect advisors
July 17, 2025
The Globe and Mail
How asset-allocation funds have changed financial advice
July 29, 2025
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Marla Sofer
The future belongs to incumbents who modernize
May 27, 2025
Synpulse PULSEPoint
Empowering Women, Redefining Success in Wealth Management
March 6, 2025
The Globe and Mail
Why advisors need to focus their technology lens on data integration, automation
Feb 9, 2024
The Globe and Mail
How advisors can use technology to provide advice at all times
October 25, 2024
The Globe and Mail
Why pricing fits the family tree for some wealth management firms
Nov 5, 2025
Investment Executive
Retaining advisors is a balancing act
Nov 9, 2022
WealthTech 2026
AI will expose which firms built for scale, and which built for show
February 19, 2026
The WealthTech Podcast
What is the Future of Advice: AI, Data, and Democratization, guest: Kendra Thompson
September 29, 2025
Advice Architects
Using Data to Power Client Advisor Partnerships, guest: Kendra Thompson
May 18, 2023
Why Epok
In our own words
What led us to found Epok Advice?
After decades advising global firms, we founded a boutique to deliver hands-on strategy, facilitation, and fractional leadership for the future of advice.
Wealth in Canada vs the US
Unique cross-border edge: deep Canada–US investor insight across wealthtech, distribution, and PE.
Unlock Organic Growth
At Epok, we help wealth firms unlock organic growth, lift advisor productivity, remove friction, plug revenue leaks, and capture key opportunities.
Epok Insider, The Podcast
Candid conversations with leaders shaping advice
Hosted by Kendra Thompson. New episodes with founders, CEOs, and industry veterans across wealth, advice, and WealthTech.
Our Team
Meet the leaders
Kendra Thompson
Principal, Founder
Kendra Thompson is a 25 year veteran of the Wealth Management Industry with a track record for helping the largest global players with their biggest transformations. Her passion is Advice and the power it has to help individuals and communities gain access to a better future.
She has led diverse teams at Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Raymond James, Accenture & Deloitte all in service of the Future of Advice & Investing. Her research aims to better understand the needs of tomorrow's investors and how the financial services industry can meet those needs for a profit.
Acting as consultant to the executive teams and boards, Kendra advises on strategy topics including M&A, Growth, High Performance Sales and Operational Excellence. She also leads teams delivering on AI, digital technology & organizational change.
Carrie Nelson
Strategic Advisor
Carrie Nelson is a corporate executive-turned-entrepreneur. She is a strategic advisor with EPOK as well as the founder and CEO of Atlas Point, a behavioral science firm providing financial firms and their professionals with an organic growth system that drives fast results.
She gained much of her expertise as a data strategy leader at Experian, Principal at EY leading wealth management, and General Partner and head of Firm Strategy for Edward Jones.
Carrie is skilled in digital technology (and AI), finance, supply chain, behavioral science, data science, strategy and business transformation. She was recently recognized as a top 10 leader to watch by wealthmanagement.com.
Sue MacDonald
Strategic Partner
Sue MacDonald is a growth executive turned strategic advisor. She brings 20+ years of experience leading organic growth, commercial transformation, and large-scale integration inside some of Canada's largest financial services businesses.
Sue gained much of her expertise as VP of Retail Customer Growth at Scotiabank, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at People Corporation (Goldman Sachs backed), and across 14 years at TD Bank and TD Asset Management.
Most recently, Sue developed enterprise growth strategy for Wellington Altus, Canada's largest private wealth management firm, including a proprietary AI-enabled direct-to-client advisory program.
Latest
News & Postings
Kendra Thompson, Featured Speaker, April 20th, 2026
Federation Conference 2026Kendra Thompson, Master of Ceremonies, June 8th, 2026
Wealth Leadership Forum 2026Kendra Thompson, Featured Speaker, Jan 28th, 2026
Navigating Regulatory Expectations Under CFRs
Ready to shape your next epoch?
Whether you're exploring a strategic question or ready to engage, we'd love to start a conversation.
Contact Us