Tag: RIA Growth
RIA Edge Podcast: How James Bogart Grew His Firm to $3B Client-by-Client—And What Comes Next

RIA Edge Podcast: How James Bogart Grew His Firm to $3B Client-by-Client—And What Comes Next

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James Bogart, founder of Bogart Wealth, has created an organic growth machine, going from $526 million to $3 billion in assets in less than 10 years—client by client, no M&A. 

His story shows the benefits of putting in place a strategic, repeatable and intentional growth program (especially for smaller entrepreneurial advisors) and focusing on a distinct niche where those efforts are more easily amplified.

But at $3 billion, and with 40 employees, the growth path starts to look a little different. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, James describes to host David Armstrong what he is doing now to continue the trajectory—from letting go of some operational oversight to a trusted management executive, to building internal training programs and tapping institutional funding to support the business—all while eyeing his first acquisition.

James and David discuss: 

  • His early start as a new advisor focused on ExxonMobil executives, hosting education-only retirement planning lunches and dinners—and the metrics he tracked to fine-tune the strategy.
  • How COVID-inspired digital seminars dramatically accelerated the firm’s growth
  • When, and how, he started to adapt the organization, including departmentalization and multi-point client servicing models. 
  • Solving the human capital problem with home-grown internal training programs 
  • The decision to hire Jeffrey Fuhrman, formerly head of Focus Financial firm Coastal Bridge Advisors, as president
  • Taking on outside capital for the first time with Constellation Partners
  • Why he’s beginning to eye M&A for the first time to continue the growth trajectory. 

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With James Bogart:

About Our Guest:

As CEO of Bogart Wealth, James Bogart focuses on maintaining the highest level of customer service possible and seeking to deliver the most effective technology, reporting tools, and analysis to every Bogart Wealth client. A charismatic visionary and next-gen founder with seemingly endless energy, he surrounds himself with people who complement his skills. James promotes a collaborative environment, leading by example and always exemplifying Bogart Wealth’s core values. He sets a high bar for himself and his employees, encouraging everyone to acquire designations that will help them advance their careers and better serve clients. 

A seasoned wealth advisor and visionary leader, James takes personal pride in assisting executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals in pursuing their dreams through highly customized financial planning strategies. James’s practice spans wealth plan design, investment management, estate planning, family legacy planning, business succession, charitable giving, asset protection, and retirement concerns, with a special insight and focus on multi-generational strategies. He regularly addresses audiences of industry professionals and senior corporate executives on new and upcoming developments in this field.

Educated at the University of Virginia and Georgetown University, James is an Investment Adviser Representative, a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®).

James and his wife, Ashley, enjoy spending time with their children, Makenna, Peyton, and Landon. He serves on the board of directors for local non-profit The Hopkins Society. He is also a proud Eagle Scout, remaining active with the Boy Scouts of America. He enjoys golf, travel, reading, and cooking. 

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RIA Edge: Building a Future-Ready Firm with Brandywine Oak CEO Michael Henley

RIA Edge: Building a Future-Ready Firm with Brandywine Oak CEO Michael Henley

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Join host David Armstrong, fresh off the Wealth Management Edge Conference in Boca Raton, Fla., as he interviews Michael Henley, founder and chief executive officer of Brandywine Oak Private Wealth. Michael talks about the firm’s rapid growth since leaving Merrill Lynch in 2018 with the help of Dynasty Financial Partners and the focus that helped the firm double its AUM to $1.5 billion since breaking away. 

Like many serving HNW and UHNW clients, Henley’s firm takes a tax-centric approach to planning; unlike many similarly sized firms, Brandywine has brought tax preparation in-house, a service enthusiastically embraced by their clients. Henley talks about the conference panel he saw that led him and his firm to dive deep into crypto, educating clients on the technology and, for those who want it, adding a small sleeve to their portfolios. 

A culturally young firm of advisors mostly in their 30s and 40s, Henley and his team believe growing the business is important not just for the principals, but for the clients, arguing scale is needed to bring HNW and UHNW families the range of services they will come to expect. The team is grappling with the best way to make that happen and whether or not to look for a partner or a source of capital to fuel their next chapter. 

David and Michael discuss:

  • Why he and his team left the wirehouse, and how opening their own firm unlocked an ability to serve clients with fewer conflicts and more opportunities.
  • How the firm is “obsessed” with taxes, arguing proper tax planning moves the needle for HNW and UHNW clients like few other strategies.
  • Why bringing tax preparation in-house (unique for a firm of their size) ensures advisors maintain control of the financial plan’s implementation.
  • How the barriers have fallen around alternatives and structured products, and the role illiquid investments can play for clients.
  • The decision to add a sleeve of cryptocurrency to their portfolios, and how clients reacted.
  • He and his partner’s thinking around M&A, “acquihires,” and the possibility of bringing on a capital partner to accelerate the next phase of growth. 

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Michael Henley:

About Our Guest:

Michael Henley is the Founder and CEO of Brandywine Oak Private Wealth, a distinguished private wealth management firm headquartered in Kennett Square, Pa. Over the course of his 20-year career, Michael has partnered with wealthy individuals and families to help streamline the complexity associated with significant wealth. Michael built his team with a singular purpose: to provide a preeminent private wealth management experience to executives, retirees, and their family members, founded on exceptional service, transparency, and consistency. A skilled leader, he surrounds each client with a dedicated team of credentialed professionals who are sensitive to that family’s unique needs, values, and goals. Michael resides in Chadds Ford, PA, with his two children and their dogs. He holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM certification, the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) designation, the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM (CRPC®) designation, and the Retirement Management Advisor® (RMA®) designation.

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RIA Edge Podcast: Schwab’s Jalina Kerr on How Resilient RIAs Can Turn Market Volatility Into Growth Engines

RIA Edge Podcast: Schwab’s Jalina Kerr on How Resilient RIAs Can Turn Market Volatility Into Growth Engines

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Economic uncertainty, heightened volatility and on-again, off-again trade policies are challenging for investors. But similar to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, fiduciary advisors can use this opportunity to assert their value and give clients confidence that their broader financial plans aren’t as negatively impacted as they may think, given the daily doom-and-gloom market headlines. Some RIAs can turn volatility into a growth engine.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, Jalina Kerr of Charles Schwab shares how the most adaptive firms are expanding beyond portfolio management, into areas like estate and tax planning, which have far more profound impacts on client outcomes than marginal tweaks to an allocation model or changes in asset managers and investment funds. Top-tier RIAs are also using technology to scale more personalized client experiences, communicating to clients that their personal plans remain resilient, despite the daily ups and downs in the markets.

Kerr discusses:

  • The resilience of RIAs during down markets and how bear markets can be an opportunity for growth
  • The increasing demand for comprehensive wealth management beyond portfolio construction, including estate and tax planning
  • Integration of technology to deliver personalization at scale and the benefits of all-in-one platforms
  • The rising interest in alternative investments and how they’re being integrated into many RIAs practices
  • If the wealth management industry is any closer to solving the talent shortage, and how RIAs are doing in forging career development tracks within firms.

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Jalina Kerr:

About Our Guest:

Jalina Kerr is the Managing Director, Head of Advisor Experience for Schwab Advisor Services. Kerr’s team shapes the constantly evolving client experience with progressive technical and human resources designed to support the custody needs of a diverse advisor base.

Kerr began her career at Schwab in 1994 on the Advisor Services trading desk. During her tenure at Schwab, Kerr has held roles in client service delivery, operations, advisors in transition, strategy, and technology.

In 2016, AZ Business Magazine recognized Kerr as one of Arizona’s Most Influential Women. Kerr also serves on the Board of the Arizona Women’s Leadership Forum. Kerr holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and her Series 7, 9, 10, 24, and 63 registrations.

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RIA Edge Podcast: Redefining Growth in Wealth Management

RIA Edge Podcast: Redefining Growth in Wealth Management

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David Armstrong talks with Jim Gold, CEO of Steward Partners, about the firm’s growth trajectory. Steward Partners, originally founded by wirehouse breakaways, has cultivated a unique approach by tapping experienced advisors with the independence of RIAs. With over $40 billion in assets, Jim shares insights into their robust M&A strategy and the importance of succession planning in an aging industry.

The main takeaways include:

  • Steward Partners’ M&A philosophy and its pivotal role in addressing the “succession crisis.”
  • The changing mix of advisor recruits and firm acquisitions as growth levers.
  • How Steward designs equity and partnership structures to attract and retain advisors.
  • Future growth ambitions and potential needs for additional capital.
  • Strategies for organic growth and how they differentiate Steward.
  • The importance of keeping advisors happy and well-resourced for their own success.

Resources:

Connect With David Armstrong:

Connect With Jim Gold:

About Our Guest:

Jim Gold serves as CEO, is a Founding Partner, a Board Member, and a member of the Executive leadership team at Steward Partners Global Advisory. He has extensive experience in the Financial Services industry, having held several senior-level roles, most recently as Executive Director at Morgan Stanley. Prior to assuming his current role, Mr. Gold ran the Southern Connecticut Complex, headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. Mr. Gold spent 18 years with Smith Barney, beginning in 1995 as a financial advisor. He went on to hold numerous management positions at the firm, including National Training Officer, Assistant Branch Manager, Branch Manager, and Complex Manager. Mr. Gold received numerous accolades from the firm during his tenure, most recently, he was recognized for his accomplishments in Diversity.

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