Mindy Diamond Quoted – By Patrick Graham, The Wall Street Journal – Dynasty Financial Partners, HighTower Advisors and Focus Financial Partners–three of the highest profile destinations for brokers who break away from the biggest retail wirehouses–are ready to mark 2012 as one of their best recruiting years in their short histories, reports Wealth Management at WSJ.com. So what’s behind this momentum? Three factors are in play, industry observers and recruiters say. First, technology advancements have allowed the firms to shrink the gap between themselves and the big brokerages. Also, the broker workforce today is less loyal given the many industry mergers and acquisitions during the past few years. Lastly, the firms have bolstered their credibility by simply poaching top talent. Putting all of this in perspective, top recruiting consultant Mindy Diamond notes that the firms have managed in very short order to develop a model to allow advisers to go independent–and thrive. “Since these firms’ inceptions, they’ve had a powerful impact on the industry,” she says.
By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – There has been a lot of talk in recent years about how the industry has changed—particularly in regards to the breakaway broker trend and the move toward independence. Every industry survey from the likes of Aite Group, Cerulli or Tiburon seems to reinforce the idea the breakaway trend is picking up steam. Tiburon recently found that “fee-based financial advisors have $2 trillion assets under management, up nearly 40 percent since 2005.”
June 5, 2012 – By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – Philip Noble always wanted to create a legacy. After graduating from the College of Wooster in 1976, he spent more than a decade working for Fortune 500 companies in the benefits and pensions field. It was going well, but something was lacking. He wanted to build a business that he could leave behind. With that in mind, in 1990, he opened his own firm called Noble Wealth Management, affiliated with a life insurance company, and quickly attracted small business owners who had pension design and estate planning needs. As a business owner, Phil enjoyed building a culture for his firm and running the day-to-day business, but he began looking around for a b/d that would help him accelerate growth. Soon after, he affiliated with LPL Financial, attracted to the additional products he would be able to access and the extra services and support that he felt would add value for his clients.
By Mindy Diamond, WealthManagement.com – Mitch, a 25-year wirehouse veteran with $500 million in client assets in the Midwest, began considering his options for a move in 2008. He was tired of the bad press about his firm and other wirehouses and decided he was financially prepared to forgo a 300 percent incentive check; he liked the idea of independence. On his own, Mitch began doing due diligence with several custodians to explore partnering with one of their existing RIAs. He had no interest in being distracted from his clients to set up his own firm; he wanted to stay focused on growth. But because of differences over economics, infrastructure, culture, or business mix, none of the firms he talked to seemed the right fit. He also realized he preferred to create his own brand. He then started talking about creating his own firm, but outsourcing the back- and middle- office work like technology, compliance and other operational functions to a third-party platform or service provider.
Mindy Diamond Quoted – By Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes – A seven-person advisory team managing $550 million broke away from Merrill Lynch in Portland, Maine, to join HighTower Advisors on Friday. The team, Simmons Wilkes Investment Advisors, extends HighTower’s reach to the largest city Down East. The advisors declined to be interviewed. HighTower says they are too busy setting up shop to take phone calls.
