One of the great benefits of a career as a financial advisor is that there’s no set career path you need to follow. Depending on the credentialing and certification path you choose, you have a lot of options. From working for a large, full-service wirehouse, to working at a regional firm, to becoming an independent broker-dealer, to establishing your own RIA, you can pretty much establish a career path that is customized to what you want to do. The right recruiter can help you understand your options and pick the best fit for your business.
Sorting through these options, and assessing the right path for you, can be difficult, which is why the expert guidance and mentorship provided by a recruiter can be an essential tool. Choosing the right recruiter is important: do they have the connections, expertise, and flexibility to support your chosen career path? Are they connected both locally and nationally to the types of opportunities that will help you move your career forward? And most importantly, do they have the expertise to help you explore all your options, linking you with the right opportunity? As you get ready to make a change, think about these seven questions to ask your financial advisor recruiter.
1. What Should I Be Thinking About As I Prepare To Make A Move?
For wirehouse advisors preparing to make a move, there’s a lot to consider. Whether you’re pursuing a fee-only RIA practice, an independent broker-dealer (IBD) model, a hybrid model, or something else, there are more options available to advisors than ever before.
Understanding your options is a big part of making the right move. Going independent as an RIA, broker-dealer, or hybrid can seem intimidating if you don’t understand the potential for support and transition services. And if you want to stick to an employee model, being aware of the potential W2 models that give you more flexibility and control can help you make the best move for your work style and business. Consulting with an expert recruiter can help! For over 29 Years, Terrana Group has been involved in over 2000 professional placements for Financial Advisors with client assets transferring to the hiring firm exceeding $67 billion dollars. If you’re thinking about a move, understand more about it by reaching out.
2. Why Should I Go Independent?
In a wirehouse model, a veteran advisor with a large AUM is managed in pretty much the same way as a novice advisor who has never spoken to a client. This “managing to the lowest common denominator,” as it’s known, is a great way to ensure uniformity in the work done at a large wirehouse, but can be frustrating for experienced advisors who want more flexibility to act in their clients’ best interests. An independent model offers the flexibility to structure your practice in the way that works best for your clients — creating opportunities for growth that simply cannot exist in the wirehouse model.
Advisors report higher satisfaction in independent models, in part because of the higher compensation potential and in part because of the increased freedom and better culture that comes with independence. The right recruiter can help you evaluate your options and find the one that’s best for you.
3. Are There Options For Advisors Who Don’t Want An Independent Model?
If you’re not quite ready to make the leap to independence just yet, many regional firms offer employee models that offer advisors a great deal of autonomy and control over their business, while still providing the benefits and security of an employment model. Advisors in the regional space are still regarded as the owners of their business, not the stewards of the firm’s clients. Advisors who pursue opportunities in this space can take advantage of a more flexible and adaptable culture, but don’t have to leave behind the advantages of employment.
4. What Do I Stand To Gain If I Leave My Wirehouse?
For most advisors, the major factor driving a move to independence is culture. The compliance, management, and supervision at a wirehouse is designed to ensure uniformity above all else. The potential for innovation and creativity is stifled in service of creating predictable results. Independent advisors experience more freedom to create plans that are personalized to the goals and tolerances of their clients. Viewing advisors as individuals gives them the freedom to treat their clients as individuals too – this synergy can result in greater returns as well as greater satisfaction on all sides, without sacrificing compensation.
5. How Do I Manage The Nuts And Bolts Of Transitioning?
While many advisors feel ready to make a move, the actual legwork of transitioning can feel intimidating. In addition to reaching out to clients and prospective clients, advisors may not feel equipped to take on the nuts and bolts and actual heavy lifting of transitioning their business to a new RIA or broker-dealer. That’s where the priceless value of an experienced transition consultant from Terrana Group comes in, guiding you through your options, and avoiding missteps while transitioning and onboarding your business. Additionally, many regional and independent firms have transition teams which offer superior support both on and off site, so that the process feels seamless and effortless from the advisor’s perspective, leaving you free to do what you do best — make the right decisions for your clients, and deliver an excellent client experience.
6. What Makes An Advisor Stand Out?
As you’re contemplating a transition, it helps to ask an expert what makes an advisor stand out from the crowd. Some things, like AUM, production and a clean record, are obvious. But others may be less apparent, and a recruiting professional can help you highlight your strengths. Diversity, experience, and business mix are all considered by financial firms, and a great recruiter can help you uncover the right fit for you.
7. How Can You Help Me Get Where I Want To Be?
As you consider which recruiter to use, you want to know what value they’re adding to your search process. Choose a firm that is going to consider you, as an individual, and help you find the best right fit. At Terrana Group, we view advisors as tremendous assets, and we match them with the most suitable firms and managers. Our goal is to put you in a position to exceed your own expectations, in an atmosphere that suits your individual needs and preferences.
Our goal is a complete placement – creating a win-win scenario in which the right advisor is placed with the right firm.
Want to Keep the Conversation Going?
Getting through transitions can be daunting, and the right partner can make all the difference. At Terrana Group, our experienced and knowledgeable professionals welcome the opportunity to consult with you to determine the right platform for you going forward — one that satisfies your long term objectives and is also best for your clients!
Over the course of nearly 30 years, we have helped facilitate thousands of professional placements for Advisors, with client assets transferred exceeding $67 billion dollars. We have completed placements in most every major city throughout the United States, while building deep relationships with the advisory world’s most sophisticated and notable firms — including major Wall Street brokerages, most Regionals, Boutiques, Banks, Independent Broker Dealers, RIAs and Custodians. We have a broad knowledge of the deals that are currently being offered and will ensure that you are being presented with the offer which will be best for you.
Confidentiality, professionalism, and respect are protocol to our practices and beliefs; we handle each and every step of the placement process with complete communication, keeping you informed while making the process smoother from beginning to end.
We are proud to always be considered as a great asset by our clients because of our proven expertise, many years of knowledge, and acute attention to detail. Financial Advisor Recruiting Services are not all created equal; we guarantee that the TG experience for clients and candidates is always world class.
We are based in Chicago, with a nationwide reach. Let us know you are interested by contacting us today. To get the conversation started, email info@terranagroup.com or give us a call at 312.655.8380 today.
