Are you a wirehouse advisor that desires greater autonomy?
If so, you are not alone. According to Cerulli's "U.S. RIA Marketplace 2018" report, the desire for greater autonomy is the number one factor that attracts breakaway advisors to the independent channel.
In my last blog for advisors, I discussed three of the biggest challenges of operating at a wirehouse: changes in compensation, insufficient staffing support and firm culture.
Clearly, advisors want freedom from those challenges. The good news is that independence can deliver that freedom. The bad news is that there is no free lunch. The Cerulli report cited this quote from the founder of a billion-dollar hybrid RIA:
"Advisors love the idea of independence, the autonomy and control, but as soon as they get all that out, they really quickly realize that they don't want to deal with payroll, landlord, why is the printer not working?".
I would echo those sentiments. We built Archetype with an intent to scale. Therefore, we went through the considerable effort to build our platform from scratch. We did not use the "easy button" of a Dynasty Financial Partners, that would help establish you using their resources. We picked our own financial planning software, custodian, CRM, performance software, benefits provider, copier and plant service (amongst many other products and services). We wanted to control every piece of the puzzle to build a customized platform that we could scale.
If you are a wirehouse advisor who doesn't intend to scale, I would never recommend this path. Either use someone like Dynasty to help you set up your own, or join an existing firm like ours. When deciding between those two paths, it really boils down to whether you feel called to run a business or not. If your primary desire is to be a business owner, start your own firm with help. If your primary desire is to serve clients with more freedom, join an existing independent firm that shares your values.
How can joining an existing independent firm with shared values creates the freedom that you seek? Find out here.
Sources:
Cerulli, U.S. RIA Marketplace 2018.