May 5, 2023
Louis Diamond Quoted
by Patrick Donachie
Many First Republic advisors will tell you they left a wirehouse or large brokerage for the bank’s more entrepreneurial, boutique model. Many will cite their desire for more autonomy and a community-based culture. The firm’s robust recruiting deals probably didn’t hurt either.
But now the firm’s 229 advisors (by JPMorgan’s latest calculation) will find themselves, in a sense, right back where they started, with JPMorgan Chase announcing its acquisition of First Republic earlier this week.
The deal with JPMorgan was likely the best available option compared to PNC, according to Louis Diamond, the president of Diamond Consultants and a contributor to WealthManagement.com. He considered it the best possible news for advisors, and the deal’s speed gave JPMorgan a leg up on retaining advisors.
“It’s an amazing brand; it’s stability; and it got them out of limbo,” Diamond said. “If it took as long as SVB did from receivership to being sold, it would have been ‘game over.’”
But the cultural mismatch could be a real concern; many advisors at First Republic came from large wirehouses and other large institutions, and opted for First Republic to escape those confines, according to Max Schatzow, a partner with RIA Lawyers.
