September 9, 2021
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Andrew Welsch
For more than a decade, a steady stream of advisors have quit their jobs at wirehouses and other big brokerage firms in order to open independent practices.
A multitude of companies have since sprung up to offer so-called breakaway brokers support in making the transition from employee to owner. Today, there may be just as many ways for advisors to go independent as there are flavors at Baskin-Robbins.
Louis Diamond, president of Diamond Consultants: It takes a lot to be independent. It can take more risk tolerance. You need to know what your real motivators are. And you need to know what your core competencies are so you know what to outsource. Sometimes advisors are frustrated with where they are, and they may think “I need to be independent in order to have control over my business.” But there are other ways to gain more freedom or independence without going fully independent.
Ask yourself, “What do I want to retain in the business vs. what do I want to outsource?” That determines whether you want to hire a platform or service provider, such as LPL Financial or Dynasty Financial Partners or Sanctuary Wealth, or [you can] be a do-it-yourselfer. In that case, you might want to open the RIA and piece it together yourself. There is not a right or wrong way to do it. It’s about knowing yourself.
