When Joe Duran sold his investment management firm to General Electric's GE Financial for nine figures in 2001, he believed his big payday would signal an end to a perpetual fear of failure.
Instead, he says, "I was more petrified after putting all this money in the bank than before. It wasn't giving me the comfort or happiness I thought I'd find. I realized I was a slave to my fears. And I thought of the thousands of clients I'd had who, just like me, had sacrificed many aspects of their daily lives in a quest for something that would not give them a richer life. I felt I had to fix that."
Duran's solution? United Capital, a wealth consulting firm he founded just over seven years ago to help people live more fulfilling financial lives. With 41 offices and over $15 billion in assets under advisement, United Capital has built what Duran calls "a better mousetrap" with its "Honest Conversations" exercise that helps clients understand their money minds and why they make the decisions they do.
To raise the visibility of the firm and its take on smart financial decision-making, Duran, 45, wrote his third book, The Money Code, a parable that has been wildly popular with women bloggers. Earlier this year, it became almost instantly a New York Times bestseller and Duran—energetic and passionate—became a staple on TV talk shows.
"When you first meet him you think: How much of this is hype and how much of this is real? When I think about Joe there's one word that sticks out and that is authenticity. He really cares. He is committed to delivering a better quality advisory experience to the end investor," says Spenser Segal, who heads ActiFi, a strategic partner of United Capital. "He's one of the leaders in this industry who is really reshaping what that looks like. He's raising the bar quite vividly."
While United Capital's retail push with The Money Code made headlines in the consumer press, the Newport Beach, Calif.-based firm is shaking things up in the independent sector for an altogether different reason: an innovative business model that aims to do for advisory firms what Starbucks did for coffee.
"We have systematized the client experience by building really unique client experience tools. I compare it to a local coffee shop and a Starbucks. You can go to a local shop and get a good cup of coffee and if the owner is having a good hair day, you can have a great time," says Duran, who grew up in Zimbabwe. "With Starbucks, you can go anywhere in the world and you know what you are going to get—exactly."
In his bid to build "the" dominant national wealth counseling firm, Duran has created a brand that even includes a United Capital look. Artwork, furniture, brochures—all offices no matter where they are located will have the same look and feel.
