Dan Seder shares Blue Chip Partners’ unique approach to managing human capital and building a growth engine inside a $1 billion AUM firm. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, managing director of editorial and content strategies for the Wealth Management Group at Informa, talks with Dan Seder, managing partner with Blue Chip Partners, about the firm’s rapid, and continuing, trajectory from a modest $300 million firm just a few years ago to one now approaching $1.2 billion. He discusses bringing a structured sales process into the RIA, including a strategic approach to client referrals, and why he feels a focus on growth is something the firm owes to its employees. 

Specifically, David and Dan discuss:

• How Dan brought sales skills from the insurance world to the RIA and quickly grew the client base, and his ownership stake.
• How he and his partner realized early on that rapid growth requires more structure around the business and adopted the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) program; Dan describes what EOS is and how it helped them build a better chassis to support their growth. 
• How they are looking to expand services to include taxes and estate planning to not only provide current clients more services, but as a tool toward more client acquisition.
• The six core values the firm adopted to achieve their goals.
• The firm’s decisions around their investment strategy for clients.
• The rewards of building a strong team culture that fosters a collaborative, vibrant workplace, and why growing the firm is important to ensure employees feel they have opportunities in the business. 

Resources:

• RIA Edge Podcast

Connect With David Armstrong:

• WealthManagement.com
• LinkedIn: WealthManagment.com
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong 
• Twitter/X: @djamesarmstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Dan Seder:

• LinkedIn: Dan Seder
• Blue Chip Partners 

About our Guest:

As Managing Partner of Blue Chip Partners, Dan is a holder of the right to use both the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) and Chartered Market Technician® (CMT®) designations. He is also a Certified  Financial Planner™ professional.

Dan joined Blue Chip Partners in 2005 and became a shareholder in 2010. Dan specializes in addressing the unique needs of corporate executives. This includes demystifying complex compensation packages, maximizing executive benefit platforms, and integrating equity grants (i.e., stock options, restricted stock, performance shares) into a financial plan. In addition, Dan leverages technical analysis when structuring 10b5-1 trading plans for executives interested in reducing their concentration in company stock.

Dan graduated with a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where he was a four-year member of the varsity wrestling team. Dan is the former president of the CFA Society of Detroit, a member of the CFA Institute, and has served as an instructor for the Stalla CFA Exam review program.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Marshberry’s Rob Madore shares strategies for growth, succession and the recent shift in how RIAs are approaching mergers and acquisitions.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, managing director of editorial and content strategies for the Wealth Management Group at Informa, talks with Rob Madore, vice president of financial services for MarshBerry, about the recent RIA Edge research study. Conducted by WMIQ in partnership with MarshBerry, the study uncovers how advisors views on the different levers for organic and inorganic growth are changing. The interview explores the importance of strategic planning, cultural fit and the increasing sophistication of buyers and investors in the business of financial advice.

Specifically, David and Rob discuss:

• How RIA leaders feel overall about growth prospects in 2024. 
• How true organic growth is rare—except among those firms that approach it with an intentional and well-executed strategy.
• What tools and resources have climbed in importance for advisors pursuing growth, and which have declined. 
• How internal succession plans can go awry, given market changes over the course of a multi-year handoff in equity.
• How advisors are thinking about the M&A market, and what distinguishes firms that receive a full valuation in the transaction, versus those that struggle.
• The ever-present, if ill-defined, importance of culture in mergers and acquisitions .
• The crucial step of “getting the house in order” before pursuing a sale.
• Rob’s background as a professional hockey player.

Resources:

RIA Edge Podcast

Connect With David Armstrong:

• WealthManagement.com
• LinkedIn: WealthManagment.com
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong
• Twitter/X: @djamesarmstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Rob Madore:

• LinkedIn: Rob Madore 
• MarshBerry 

About Our Guest: 

As a Vice President on MarshBerry’s Financial Advisory team, Rob helps RIAs develop and implement sustainable growth strategies.

Prior to MarshBerry, Rob held leadership positions at companies like Wise Rhino Group, WebMD and Questis, where he was a sought-after speaker and consultant focused on giving firms the tools to thrive through the convergence of the wealth, retirement and insurance industries.

He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Vermont Grossman School of Business and is a proud supporter of veteran groups like SEALKids.

Previously a collegiate and professional hockey player, most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Rob now lives in Charleston, S.C., with his wife, Allie, and his two sons, Louis and Teddy.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS