Going independent

Northwestern Mutual’s practices raise difficult questions about the nature of retail advice just as wealth management faces greater scrutiny under new rules.

After 30 years in the wirehouse world, we found an unlooked-for opportunity for our practice amid devastation.

Billion-dollar teams are voting with their feet. Here’s where they are going.

After logging 27 years at the firm, the advisor is starting his “next 25-year chapter” as an independent.

LPL has reeled in about half of the reps changing their BDs so far this year, but the full RIA channel is also reaping big gains. Plus, other news in the indie space.

The 30-year industry vet launched a firm on the Dynasty platform citing better technology and “freedom” as reason for the move.

Everything from compliance to admin work is part of the job, and advisors have to “figure this out by themselves or find a third party,” a planner says.

A former craft brewer and an ex-rugby star went indie with Gladstone Financial Resources Group.

Advisors typically take most of their clients with them when they go independent, but not all of them do.

“I’d say independence is resonating with advisors now more than ever,” says recruiter Jodie Papike.

Three things to focus on when you’re starting an RIA.

Recruiting is likely to accelerate as the pandemic abates, writes Mark Elzweig.

An RIA platform launched by compliance professionals is growing by offering a smaller home for wirehouse and reverse breakaways, Advisory Services Network COO Cindy Halpern explains in an episode of Financial Planning’s Podcast.

Phased succession plans that stagger the amount of equity changing hands can help usher in the next generation of financial advisors, PPC Loan Managing Partner Dustin Mangone says in an episode of Financial Planning’s Invest Podcast.

A lull due to the coronavirus appears to be over, according to the No. 1 IBD’s top recruiter. The firm is still competing against a slew of rivals for ex-wirehouse reps.

The amount of financial advisors changing firms doesn’t capture the breadth of the challenge broker-dealers face to retain them, recruiter Jodie Papike says in an episode of Financial Planning’s podcast.

A chance phone call and breakfast changed these advisors’ career trajectories.

Advisors can use the information to build custom, values-based portfolios for their clients.

The recent moves display the stakes of the competitive recruiting fight, which has led to firms like AmeriFlex seeking to give advisors greater flexibility and resources.

If these black financial advisors meet the goal, it will defy the industry's stark racial disparities: early career growth at that level just “doesn't happen in our demographic,” one partner says.