By Deborah Aronson – As a trusted advisor, you’re always thinking three steps ahead in order to ensure that your clients’ needs are met and their expectations exceeded. It would stand to reason that you should do the same for yourself when it comes to your business. So, while you may be running on all cylinders and you worry about getting distracted, conducting due diligence at a time of relative calm is often the most opportune.
By Barbara Herman – There was a time when the prevailing belief amongst advisors was that the corporate name on your business card defined your potential to attract and retain clients via the presumption of irrefutable prestige. Names like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan created an aura of professionalism and platform superiority that superseded an advisor’s own persona.
By Wendy Leung – The migration to independence has huge momentum and has prompted many advisors to look inward and ask themselves whether they have the entrepreneurial DNA and the mindset to make the leap to independence. In the end, there is no one size fits all answer to this question but here is some food for thought to help you determine whether independence is right for you.
By Barbara Herman – The good news is you don’t “have to”—independence can be as “independent” as you want it to be.
By Mindy Diamond – Who are the independent firms that have the greatest enterprise value—the ultimate worth of one’s life work? They are the ones that have solved for predictability of revenue, profitability, growth, streamlined operations, have a solid return on assets, achieved scale, and probably most important, solved for succession by broadening equity ownership beyond the original founder(s).
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 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.”
