Our weekly insights for advisors: Articles authored by our team designed to broaden your perspective and arm you with knowledge—because knowledge is power.
By Mindy Diamond – Ask any Business Development Officer from any custodian or service provider to the RIA space and they will tell you that the vast majority of their new business is coming from those in the Independent Broker Dealer (IBD) world. I was surprised to hear this too—until I realized that a large percentage of the advisors we are working with are independent with broker-dealers and looking to us to help them assess whether a move to the hybrid/RIA space makes sense.
By Deborah Aronson – Over the past several years, movement among advisors has risen to record levels and as a result, most firms have the onboarding and transition process down to a science. That said, a change in employment for a financial advisor is unlike a career move in any other industry—there’s no 2-week notice given to your employer and no exit interview to be had.
By Mindy Diamond – You’ve spent a professional lifetime building a thriving business. You worked hard for your clients – many of whom are friends and family – to both protect and build their assets. Now it’s time to think about the legacy you want to leave; not only who will replace you as steward and who will go on to serve your clients, but also how you will monetize your life’s work.
By Mindy Diamond – There’s no doubt we have seen a dramatic shift in the industry – the transference of power from the firm to the advisor – yet many advisors still complain of feeling “stuck”. Their concern: facing unforgiven retention deals or recruiting packages that have not yet fully amortized. After all, many advisors jumped from one firm to another some 7 or 8 years ago when the industry was in free fall and the landscape looked very, very different.
By Barbara Herman – What happens when partners no longer share the same vision? Does a lack of consensus about the future mean the end of the relationship? Advisors are seeing more value in partnerships than ever before, acknowledging that it has become extremely challenging to be a sole practitioner and motivating many to join forces with other like-minded professionals.
By Wendy Leung – Taking the time to step back from the day-to-day demands of the business to assess personal and professional goals is a critical yet often overlooked exercise that can help financial advisors define and achieve their best business life. “But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
By Mindy Diamond – “I am incredibly frustrated about my firm’s change in advisor compensation and the fact that it will cost me $XXX a year in take home pay.” Sound familiar? It does to us because the beginning of the year is a time when we see a significant rise in the number of conversations we have with FAs about this topic.
By Barbara Herman – Roger has been a financial advisor for more than 20 years, the past 12 of which he has spent as an independent business owner with a broker dealer. In that time, he has built a thriving business as a sole practitioner with over $180mm in AUM. “I love what I do, my clients are happy, and I’m adding assets at a healthy rate of 25% per year,” Roger shared. When he attended his BD’s most recent national conference, he was reminded how much he likes and respects the leadership team and how good it feels to be one of the top advisors under their umbrella.
By Mindy Diamond – With 2014 almost in the bag – and 2015 only days away – it’s that time again to reflect on what’s behind us and project about the year that lies ahead. 2014 was a good year in a lot of ways. The markets cooperated and are up just over 7% as of this writing. The price of oil dropped significantly, and retail and housing sales are up. And, while there weren’t a great number of financial advisors that changed jerseys this year, the ones who did were paid huge premiums to do so, signaling the beginning of a real “seller’s market.”
By Mindy Diamond – Last week’s MSUM14 brought together some of the biggest names and brightest minds in the independent financial advisor world – and many that you will recognize from outside of our space – to share knowledge and insights on the future. The energy was greater than I have ever seen, and – unfortunately – an energy that is rarely experienced in the broker dealer world.
