The Trend Towards Tailored Career Paths for Individual Advisors and Businesses; Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Demonstrates Progress and Shares Advice
To My Fellow WSR Community Members:
What’s the difference between a house and a dream home? You find a house already standing and attempt to fit your desires into the existing floorplan and landscape, while a dream home is custom built for your exact needs and wants – from soundproofing the teens’ video game room to designing the kitchen to match your cooking style.
If we can customize a dream home, why should advisors settle for a cookie-cutter career? Financial advisors – the backbone of our industry – face a wide variety of scenarios in work and life that drive different preferences.
Advisors want the capability to direct and design a future meeting their desires and needs, including family needs and client needs, and increasingly find firms designing and offering tailored career paths.
Several of our offerings this week touch on different aspects of this trend towards firm and career optimization for individual advisors, small practices and RIAs through flexible and innovative solutions in succession planning, M&A and recruitment options.
Is this trend towards increased alternatives inevitable? We share with you a warning that Congress currently threatens to remove the highly popular independent contractor model from advisors.
WSR Pathfinder Awards for Women’s History Month
We also feature the tangible successes in diversity achieved by a prominent chief diversity and inclusion officer in the wealth management space, including her advice on women’s advancement in our industry for Women’s History Month.
In addition, as part of our celebration of Women’s History Month, be on the lookout the last three weeks of March as we conduct, on an invitation-only basis, the next set of WSR Pathfinder Awards for Top Women Leaders in Wealth Management focused on the following sub-categories:
- Top Women Dealmakers in Wealth Management – M&A no longer fits the old Hollywood stereotypes of Wall Street as women have risen to prominence in this arena – forging transactions as bankers, private equity professionals and on behalf of their firms.
- Top Women CMOs in Wealth Management – Often considered the brain of an enterprise, marketing integrates capabilities, products, budgets, clients, stakeholders and partners to ensure the value of the enterprise flows seamlessly – and it comes as no surprise that many women have risen to the top here.
- Top Women Leaders in Wealth Management – Women now helm many of the firms in our industry, including large, independent broker-dealers, fintech firms, RIAs and other service providers.
- Top Women COOs in Wealth Management – Many women now fill these roles that demand the organization, skill and quick thinking to manage the pulse of an enterprise on a daily basis.
Of course, this is not to say that our industry’s work is done – we have many miles left on this journey – and we will explore next steps over the course of this month.
This Week’s Issue
Here’s what we have on tap for you this week:
- In the On the Rise section, Commonwealth Financial Network’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Scarlett Abraham Clarke, shares her firm’s remarkable progress in the past 18 months since Commonwealth placed her in this newly-created position. Clarke relates personal stories, Commonwealth’s methods for success and her view on women in the industry for Women’s History Month.
- David Grau, Sr., President & Founder of FP Transitions, tells us about the latest succession planning trend in the Capital Connections section – junior partners buying into the equity of their firms – including the causes behind the trend, advice to junior partners considering buy-ins and common pitfalls to avoid.
- Also in Capital Connections, independent RIA and wealth management firm Perigon Wealth Management acquires Matthai Capital Management, allowing heightened aggressive expansion into the multifamily office and ultra-high net worth space, as well as reinforcing its management team and expanding its Atlanta footprint. The story behind the story: Perigon’s recruitment flexibility across M&A, employee and independent contractor models yields results.
- The Financial Services Institute raises an alarm in the Beltway & Beyond section, as President & CEO Dale Brown responds to President Biden’s State of the Union mention of the PRO Act, which threatens to remove independent financial advisors’ ability to work as independent contractors, forcing them into reclassification as employees.
Final Call! – WSR Growth & Innovation Awards
Before the deadline closes on March 15, consider submitting an application for the first of the WSR Growth & Innovation Awards – the Hybrid RIA / Independent Financial Advisor Group of the Year.
The form is on the website and your firm may nominate itself. We look forward to your submission!
If your friend is exploring how to successfully increase diversity in their firm or considering succession planning or career-changing moves, or is an independent contractor advisor who needs to know about Congress’ latest threat to that business model, please share with them. Social media sharing, including LinkedIn, only takes a few seconds!
As always, please send your questions, ideas and feedback on these stories or any other topics you’d like us to cover.
Have a wonderful week!
Cheers!
Larry Roth, CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
