My Fourth Anniversary as an Independent Advisor: Lessons Learned, Next Steps

Commentary April 04, 2011 at 03:55 AM
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As I write this blog, Integrity Wealth Management has just marked its fourth anniversary. It was on April Fool's Day 2007 when I officially opened the doors and joined the ranks of the independent advisor. I can state with absolute certainty that I have no regrets.

As I reflect back on the early days, I spent numerous hours deciding what to offer, what to charge, as well as addressing many other important issues. Today, most of these are set. Even though the basic issues are settled, I was reminded recently of some things I had forgotten.

When I began my career as a financial advisor I was with Merrill Lynch. Merrill had one of the best training programs and facilities in the industry which was located in Princeton, NJ. As with any training, you ingest the good stuff and spit out the bones. In any event, my recent reminder came by way of a gentleman from Alabama; a coach for people like you and I. As we talked strategy, I realized I had heard many of the things he mentioned. You see, I have been fortunate to have been exposed to a lot of great teaching over the years. Moreover, I've never had a problem with thinking up ideas. In fact, I have notebooks full of ideas. What I need is someone to help me pull them together. Do any of you relate to this? You have brainstorms and great ideas, but with the business of life, you only get to a few. With his help, I am confident that a growth spurt is in the offing. I'll keep you posted.

Custodian Update

My custodian, TradePMR, invited me to attend a meeting last week with eight other advisors for a roundtable discussion. The goal of the meeting was to solicit feedback on a number of topics to increase TradePMR's value to their advisors. I've always appreciated Trade's willingness to listen and adopt new ideas. However, I think the surprise was on me this time. Though I cannot reveal what was discussed at the meeting, I can say that I have never been more excited about what TradePMR is about to do. Soon, Trade's advisors will be able to compete at any level with anyone. Therefore, if you are an advisor looking for an RIA custodian, if you choose TradePMR, I promise you will be very happy, very soon.

NOTE: This is an unpaid, unsolicited, endorsement. I'm just extremely excited about what is coming. There, did I pique your interest?

Have a great week and thanks for reading!

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