One-Way Street to Independence

During a Webcast on June 1, Schwab Institutional joined with Moss Adams in leading a discussion with advisors who are considering transitioning to independence. Discussed were the benefits, risks, and possibilities of making the switch to an existing RIA firm.

“There’s one statistic I think about and one statistic I never see,” said Philip Palaveev, of Moss Adams. “That’s the number of advisors who actually abandon their own firm to go back into the wirehouse, I’ve spoken with a lot of independent advisors. I just never have the conversation, ‘Oh, I really miss the compliance department and the branch manager and the product people.’ It just doesn’t happen. The migration of advisors is a one-way street.”

One advisor who left a major firm, Patrick Sizemore, now the president and CEO of Strategic Wealth Management Inc., based in Kirkland, Washington, said his firm looks for client-oriented advisors in evaluating an advisor switching to independence.