By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – Top breakaways say the move to independence was far less about a desire to have their own businesses and more about doing better for their clients and careers.
By Allison Brunwasser – An advisor’s choice to go independent is typically driven by a strong desire for greater freedom, flexibility and ownership. Yet with that desire comes what is for many the biggest hurdle in making the leap: Choosing between building your own firm with complete control and 100% equity, or joining an established firm with turnkey operations, infrastructure and an opportunity to gain an equity stake in a more mature business.
By Mindy Diamond – While you don’t need to have Jeff Bezos’ or Mark Zuckerberg’s level of entrepreneurial spirit, there are some key characteristics that most successful independent firm owners possess. The reality is that many independent firm owners will tell you that they weren’t compelled to leave their brokerage firm by some burning desire to be entrepreneurs.
By Mindy Diamond – While the momentum towards independence seems to have increasing traction, the independent world is definitively not for everyone. To be sure, there are plenty of risks and roadblocks that would deter most advisors from leaving the security of their brokerage firms—and in many cases, far more than what might make them actually make the leap.
After exploring the origins of independence in the first episode of this series on independence for financial advisors, in this episode Mindy Diamond walks advisors through a process to help them determine if the model is right for them. She’ll share a story of 2 advisors who, after asking themselves a series of questions, identified that independence was not right for them.
In the first episode of her podcast on independence, Mindy Diamond explores the origins of the space, the backstory of its explosive growth, and introduces key players behind the momentum. She discusses key trends to be aware of, why so many advisors find independence attractive, and defines the profile of a typical independent advisor.
Howard Diamond and Louis Diamond Quoted – By Lisa Shidler, RIABiz – Bank of America made the second major move of an emerging master plan to recast Merrill Lynch as more of a bank subsidiary and less of a renegade satellite.
By Wendy Leung – Regional firms may be the answer for advisors seeking to minimize bureaucracy and gain greater control over their business.
By Louis Diamond – R-I-A: These three letters are dotted across industry publications and conference agendas, and on the minds of most advisors (especially post-DOL ruling), but why all the hype? And, why are we watching so many long tenured top advisors and teams moving in that direction?
By Mindy Diamond – Every day, I talk with financial advisors who finish the sentence “in a perfect world” with the words “go independent” because they yearn for greater freedom, flexibility and control, and want to eliminate bureaucracy from their life’s work. These are the folks that have entrepreneurial DNA, love the idea of creating a legacy and building a sustainable enterprise. And so, they begin to explore what going independent really means by looking at different models and getting educated about what it takes to be a successful business owner.
