By Mindy Diamond, Forbes.com – With all that’s been going on in the world, it’s hard to imagine that the first half of 2020 would be an active one for advisor movement. Yet, by our count, 23 teams managing a billion dollars or more – representing almost $50B in assets – transitioned to another firm or model.
Louis Diamond Quoted – By Jeff Benjamin, InvestmentNews – Mariner Wealth Advisors, with support from Dynasty Financial Partners, has launched a platform to attract breakaway reps from wirehouses, independent broker-dealers and even other advisory firms. Louis Diamond, executive vice president at Diamond Consultants, said MPS gives Mariner an access point that it was missing.
By Mindy Diamond – In the last two years, we’ve seen more of the industry’s top teams than ever before head for the exits in search of opportunities that will allow them to better serve clients, have greater investment flexibility and more freedom to customize the way they run their businesses. Still, the absolute biggest producers are often reluctant to disrupt the status quo even when they are terribly frustrated and know there could be a better way to grow their empire.
By Mindy Diamond – As firms cut back on recruiting and amp up their retention efforts, the balance of power shifts further and further away from the advisors—diminishing leverage, business value and opportunity, and leading down a path that advisors fear most.
By Mindy Diamond – The formation of teams within big brokerage firms is often seen as a win-win scenario. For advisors, there is strength in numbers when serving clients and building their businesses. For the firms they work for, teams represent an even bigger advantage and a hidden retention agenda: That is, it’s harder to recruit away a group of advisors than it is an individual because solving for varied risk tolerances and divergent sensibilities amongst multiple constituents can be far more challenging.
By Mindy Diamond – There’s a certain level of awe that accompanies a review of the names that appear on lists like the Forbes Top Wealth Advisors and Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisors. Many of these individuals and others like them have broken through the proverbial billion-dollar ceiling—representing a pinnacle of achievement in the wealth management industry.
By Mindy Diamond – While the byproduct of changing firms could be enhanced client service, control and growth, it could also deliver the really nice perk of allowing the advisor to monetize his/her business twice – yet moving only once.
By Mindy Diamond – There was a time in the not-too-distant past when advisors and firms alike thought independence was only for those whose clients were “regular folks” of average wealth—that is, with respectable assets, yet limited needs beyond “plain vanilla” financial management. And top advisors who served the ultra-wealthy would never have considered leaving behind the big brand name upon which they built their businesses to strike out on their own—certain that no firm but the biggest could support their clients’ unique needs.
By Mindy Diamond – Advisor movement amongst top-producers in the industry – that is, those from traditional brokerage firms and banks who are managing a billion dollars or more in client assets – is on the rise, with over a dozen of these uber-teams having moved since the start of the year (including a $7mm Merrill team managing $1B in assets that jumped ship just last week to set up their own RIA). And while the biggest of the wealth management world seek greener pastures to grow their businesses, there’s much the rest of the industry can learn from this wave of movement.
By Mindy Diamond – We hear it from advisors all the time: “Sure, things are far from perfect, but we’re keeping our heads down and waiting it out to see what happens next.” And it’s a perfectly fine response, provided that while you have your head down, your eyes and ears are open and you stay aware of what’s going on around you.
