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Diamond Consultants: Financial Advisor Recruiting FirmDiamond Consultants: Financial Advisor Recruiting Firm
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Mindy Diamond

CEO

Consultant. Recruiter. Thought leader. Coach. Trainer. Champion for personal growth and a life of congruence.

These words describe a woman with the personal drive to succeed – and a willingness to share that enthusiasm – like few others you will meet.

Mindy started Diamond Consultants in 1998 with nothing more than a pad, pen and phone, working from the bedroom floor in her home. The business became a “third child” that she nurtured and developed into one of the leading consulting and recruiting firms for financial advisors in the country.

Drawing from her own entrepreneurial experience, Mindy developed an organization that employs a unique relationship-driven approach that helps individuals and organizations achieve what she calls their “Best Business Life.” By counseling advisors on how to ask the right questions and “dig deep,” she helps them look at all of the opportunities available to find the one that allows them to reach their full potential. That is, to best serve their clients and live a life that is in sync with their own beliefs and values.

Knowing full well that no single solution works for every advisor or every team, her personal, consultative style has been described as “selfless and objective,” and has transformed many careers in the advisory world. So when the industry’s most sophisticated advisors and teams are surveying the landscape, they call upon Mindy, who has guided some of the biggest and brightest to new levels of success. And when multi-generational teams with complex businesses are ready to outline the best path for the next phase of their business, they rely upon Mindy’s vast experience and understanding of how to manage the often disparate sensibilities of all parties involved.

Considered by the industry as one of the top thought-leaders, she is regularly quoted by national media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and CNBC, as well as industry publications including On Wall Street, Financial Advisor magazine, Investment News, and RIABiz. In addition to her weekly blog posts for financial advisors and active social media presence, she has shared her expertise on recruiting and career trends since 2004 in a monthly column for WealthManagement.com and is a contributor to Forbes.com.

Her appearance schedule includes webinars and keynotes at many of the industry’s top events, such as RIA Institute Forums, Pershing’s INSITE, Schwab IMPACT, Fidelity Executive Forum, InvestmentNews Roundtable, Fidelity Investments Practice Management and Recruiters Summit, MarketCounsel Summit, InvestinWomen, and Women Advisors Forum.

Mindy hosts an industry-leading podcast series for financial advisors and independent business owners with “inside access” to knowledge and resources—thoughtfully curated unique content and perspectives, including insights on the ever-changing landscape and candid conversations with a slate of visionaries and top advisors. “Mindy Diamond on Independence” is available on this website, as well as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other podcast platforms and media outlets.

Among her accolades, Mindy was recognized as “One of the Top Financial Advisor Recruiters You Should Know” by Business Insider and also one of “New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business” by NJBIZ magazine. Mindy also sits on the board of Invest in Others, an organization that recognizes and honors financial professionals and firms who give back in their community.

The 1984 graduate from the George Washington University holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree.

Mindy strives to “unplug” from Diamond Consultants when she can (“this is the one thing I really need to work on”) and live her own Best Business Life, which includes spending quality time with her family, travel, golf, reading and exercise. A lifelong learner, Mindy’s passion for excellence and desire to help others are qualities that many say are not learned, just part of her DNA.


Recent Articles

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  • Celebrating Independence: Different Perspectives on How to Achieve Greater Freedom and Control Independence in the wealth management industry is much like your local ice cream shop: There are many different flavors to choose from. By Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond Each year around July 4th, we pause to reflect on the tremendous progress that our industry has made in transitioning, supporting, and fostering independent advisors. But independence in the wealth management industry is a lot like your local ice cream shop: There are many different flavors to choose from. The central tenets are the same regardless of the path you take, such as ownership over equity and data, the freedom and control to grow and serve clients without limitation, autonomy over the day-to-day running of the business, etc. But going from A to B (that is, from a captive employee model to independence) takes on many different shapes and sizes. And that’s what is so exciting (and perhaps daunting) about the current landscape. Every advisor, regardless of firm or model, wants more freedom and control—but there is no “one size fits all” solution to satisfy this desire. In other words, independence means different things to each advisor. Illustrating those differences requires looking only as far as the many advisors we have interviewed on our podcast over the years. A proverbial front-row seat to the first-hand stories of some of the best advisors in our industry: No two are the same, each extraordinary in their own right. And we’ve called upon the wise words of our founding fathers to help introduce each: Group 1: “Give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry These are the purists: Those who believe that true independence means having your own RIA and working directly with a third-party asset custodian to set it up. These advisors might outsource some compliance or back-office functions, but for the most part, they handle everything in-house—from the tech stack to marketing to investments. Dan Katz, Managing Partner of Revolve Wealth Partners, and Terry Cook, Managing Partner of Parcion Private Wealth, explain why they opted to forgo a support platform or service partner in favor of the “DIY” model. Said Dan, “We felt that we were business-oriented enough that we would be remiss if we didn’t get so far into the details to really understand what was under the hood… We felt that if we didn’t, we would’ve looked back and wished we had tried to do it on our own….So it felt very natural for us to take on the heavy-lift, uncover every stone, really do the diligence.” Added Terry, “At the end of the day, we really wanted to do it on our own. That’s not for everybody.” Terry is spot on. The advisors in this bucket typically know early on that they possess an entrepreneurial spirit and are undaunted by owning and operating a business. Group 2: “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Ben Franklin These are the advisors who enjoy many of the elements of owning and running a business but feel true DIY independence is a bridge too far. They have no interest in managing compliance, middle- and back-office functions, or putting toner in the copy machine. They want to focus exclusively on client service, prospecting, and growth. And what is perhaps most exciting about the modern landscape is the proliferation of service providers and platforms that were born to support the breakaway advisor. Firms like Sanctuary Wealth Partners, LPL Strategic Wealth Services, and Dynasty Financial Partners are examples of these. They provide varying degrees of transition and ongoing support in exchange for a fee or revenue override. However, at the end of the day, the advisor still owns their equity and data and operates their own independent business. One such advisor is Josh Brown, Managing Partner of NorthEnd Private Wealth. Josh and his team opted to break away from Merrill with the support of LPL Strategic Wealth Services. Said Josh, “[What really resonated is the idea] that we build it and they run it… The thing that stuck with us the most was the support that they could provide on that platform. In return for [the fee we pay to LPL], we get, in my opinion, a lot of stuff… We have a virtual admin, a CMO, a CTO, CFO, Compliance Officer, Operations manager.” Lizzie Evans, Managing Partner of Evans May Wealth, is another who chose the supported independence route. She and her team launched their independent business with the support of Sanctuary Wealth Partners. Lizzie describes her decision: “Ultimately, Sanctuary was undeniably the right fit for us. I think from our standpoint, going fully independent would have been a huge lift. I think you don’t know what you don’t know. And while our size would lend itself to being our own RIA, we really believed a fully independent model would dilute our client experience and investment discipline, and that was something we weren’t willing to sacrifice.” Group 3: “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people” – John Adams These are the advisors for whom the RIA world is too great a leap. For them, the world of the independent broker dealer is a much better fit. They value the community, scaffolding, and support that comes with having everything under one roof. One such advisor is John Kuttin, CEO of Kuttin Wealth Management (one of the largest independent businesses on the Ameriprise Financial platform). John explains why he opted to stay with Ameriprise rather than establish his own RIA, stating, “There is absolutely everything on the shelves and in the ecosystem to do an unbelievably good job for your clients. [And] Most importantly, to me, the culture is amazing.” Chip Munn, Managing Partner at Signature Wealth Strategies, is another excellent example of the independent broker deal advisor. Chip and his team went independent with Raymond James Financial Services in 2016. Said Chip, “Things like the ability to market, the ability to have inorganic growth, a solid technology platform, and one that we felt like there was a commitment to investing in that would allow for continuing improvement.” To be sure, these advisors still have the independent spirit and desire to run their own business. Still, they recognize the benefits of the added scaffolding and support that a broker dealer provides. Of course, there are countless other flavors of independence; the above case studies are illustrative examples of just some of the exciting possibilities out there. If greater independence is your goal, there is likely a path to achieve it that will feel soulful, authentic, and most suitable for you and your pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.
    Read More
    Celebrating Independence: Different Perspectives on How to Achieve Greater Freedom and Control

Mindy Diamond

CEO

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