Page 35 - Investment Advisor June 2021

In today’s industry

born in response to a gap in the landscape, the great MINDY While they’re each fill-
industry. They were born to fill ing their own version of a gap, it’s
the needs of something that didn’t news for those who are all done mindfully and thought-
exist before. uber entrepreneurial fully. Most of the leaders who’ve
If you take a firm like Sanctuary innovated in this space took the
Wealth Partners, there was a need is that they can go out time to do a listening tour, meet
for advisors who wanted to go with advisors and get an under-
independent to have a shared sup- and build their own standing of what’s most important
port model and still get paid some firm. For those that to them, what they’re limited by or
nice transition money. And the fact lacking where they are and what
that it’s run by two Merrill insiders are entrepreneurial they’re looking for.
just means that the leaders really in thinking, who want That really is in direct contrast
connect, speak wirehouse and have to what it’s historically been like to
done extraordinarily well. more control and work for a wirehouse. If you work
If you look at most models for a major firm, they give you
— Rockefeller, First Republic, ownership over how the platform. For most people, that
Snowden Lane, LPL’s new they serve the clients platform is robust and more than
Strategic Wealth Services, Dynasty good enough.
Financial Partners, Hightower, or how they creatively They tend to limit you in terms
Focus — they were all born to solve conduct themselves of how you can conduct yourself;
for something. Some smart leader there are very narrow guardrails,
identified a hole and built a model but don’t want to be a if you will, in terms of the ability
to fill it. to self-brand and self-publish and
business owner, they what you can say on social media
How would you characterize all can get those needs or things like that. They’ve tended
these options? to create technology based upon
LOUIS It’s filling holes. At the met as well. what’s going to be most profitable
same time, each new business for the firm and good for the firm.
model that comes out improves or —Mindy Diamond Thus, there’s a breath of fresh air
innovates upon what someone else that advisors often find when they
did before. None of these models begin to do due diligence and consid-
are necessarily groundbreaking or er leaving a world where it’s not all
100% original or unique. about them … and going to a world where it’s all about them. These
For example, when Dynasty started out it didn’t invent the firms tell them: “We’re building this for you. We work with you.”
RIA model. Advisors could always start an RIA with Schwab,
Fidelity or Pershing. It was just cumbersome and a lot of work. What’s new for advisors focused on being
Dynasty’s innovation was helping advisors launch businesses entrepreneurial?
but in a very turnkey and supported fashion. MINDY In today’s industry landscape, the great news for
Hightower, Focus Financial Partners and others provide those who are über entrepreneurial is that they can go out
capital to advisors looking to get a deal. And there are newer and build their own firms. For those that are entrepreneurial
entrants like Rockefeller that came in by taking something that in thinking, who want more control and ownership over how
wasn’t really there and saying: “Let’s build an RIA platform or they serve the clients or how they creatively conduct them-
a multi-family office. By leveraging an impeccable brand, we’ll selves but don’t want to be a business owner, they can get those
give advisors really competitive economics to join. And let’s needs met as well.
bet on the fact that advisors are looking for a lot more freedom That’s the cool thing. There are many different iterations of
and flexibility.” entrepreneurial spirit, and an advisor is more likely to find the
It’s worked in an RIA environment, but some of these advi- one they want today.
sors aren’t looking to necessarily start their own businesses. Even with a $10 million team we moved recently from
These newer firms have all come in by filling a hole and also by one wirehouse to another, the advisor found a much more
improving upon something that was already there. entrepreneurial spirit with the move and could create a niche

JUNE 2021 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 33