When Forced Change Is Upon You

All M&A brings forced change along with it. The hope is that the acquiring company has enhancements and improvements that the acquired company lacked. However, in other cases, the opposite can be true. The acquiring company may have a reuptation for subpar customer service. The new company may be a behmoth in size while the company that was acquired had more of a boutique feel to it. Personlized attention may be replaced by turnkey processes.

The real question is does this matter to you?

If you’re a financial advisor and the answer is yes, than the next focus needs to be on finding the most consistency with what you and your clients loved from the custodian being acquired.

Having moved clients from multiple firms to others in my quest for finding the best structure and partner for my clients, i know what matters most to them (the clients).

It’s not what matters most to you, as the advisor. The clients simply want to know that the change was made for any reason aside from financial. They want to understand why the advisor feels this next firm is a better fit forboth the advisor and themselves as the client.

So, if you are being forced thorugh M&A to leave a boutique custodian that has always been known to pride itself on it’s exceptional serivce to both its advisors and their clients, then you need to find a custodian or RIA that rivals what you’re accustomed to.

If you have fallen in love with the intricacies of being part of a smaller firm (access to CEO/COO, ability to provide your clients with bespoke and alternative investments, freedom to operate how you feel most aligned with, etc.), then you have a few options . You can start your own RIA firm. Or you can join a firm that already figured out the compliance, technology stack, SEC audit process, and more.

Starting your own RIA firm is great if you intend to recruit others to join your firm. If you just want to manage your own book and be left alone, joining an existing firm may be the better answer. If your priority is maximizing your annual payout, joining an existing RIA may also be your best bet.

For anyone advisor intersted in kicking the tires of Intentional LLC and getting real deliberate about why you do what you do and how, we’d love to chat. Our sweetspot is advisors who treat each client like their famiy member or friend, have a network inclusive of HNW and UHNW clients that you have not felt confident enough to approach, and love the purpose driven side of our industry.

IF that’s you, call us at 866-752-6410.