No. 15: Samir Murty
Firm: RBC Wealth
AUM: $1.25 billion
Location: Eau Claire, Wis.
Age: 34
Referring to himself as a "small cog in this larger wheel," RBC financial advisor Samir Murty, who ranks well into the Top 40 Under 40 list for the second time, exemplifies the team spirit of the advisors on this list.
Murtys team, the Mark Orgel Investment Group, consists of seven senior advisors, ten wealth management support staff, three qualified plan support staff and one receptionist.
"Most comments are comments related to the practice as a whole," Murty says at the outset of the interview. "We don't tend to think of ourselves as an individual."
Founded in 1984, the group has a longstanding history of success and manages several billion in assets, but that record is not something they advertise.
"We do very little outward marketing," Murty says.
Instead of luring customers in with a jazzy website, the group has built up a substantial book of business individually and collectively through referrals. "That does not happen without the pillars being stronger [than the individual]," he says.
Giving customers that level of satisfaction has required them to do more than "crunch numbers," Murty says. And he prefers the liberal arts approach.
"There are a lot of people who can crunch numbers, but not a lot of people can combine numeracy with the effective ability to communicate," he explains.
Murty says he has developed that skill in high level conversations with institutional investors and honed it through more intimate conversations with his retail clients, though he prefers to avoid that word.
"In my mind it would be like personal and institutional," he says. "Retail gives the connotation that we're at the mall and we're selling widgets or card games."
Personal is a word he applies to his investment philosophy as well. Murty and his team pride themselves on being able to come up with a finely tailored strategy for each family.
"It sounds like a marketing spiel, but we really do treat the client based on individual circumstances," he says. "Families wealthier than the average American are still able to get a higher degree of service and customization."