Why Do Independent Advisors Grow Faster Than Their Wirehouse Counterparts?

Drilling down to what’s behind the turbo-charged growth in the independent space, and how those same factors help improve client service

Employee advisors are often limited to organic growth alone—that is, adding one client at a time, one brick at a time. For those who want to meaningfully accelerate their growth and use multiple initiatives to do so, organic growth alone can feel limited. It’s these advisors often feel the greatest pull towards independence.

We’ve talked plenty in the past about the greater freedom, flexibility, control and customization that independence allows. But in this episode, Mindy will drill down on the specific things that really contribute to the turbo-charged growth of an independent firm, including:

The option to market their personal brand and communicate with less limitations.

The opportunity to customize technology platforms to best address the needs of clients.

The ability to service clients more holistically, acting as their “buy-side advocates”.

The freedom to charge for additional services and establish referral and fee sharing arrangements with third party centers of influence.

The chance to achieve inorganic growth through M&A.

Plus, Mindy answers the question: Why are the clients of independent firms necessarily better off than the clients of a wirehouse firm?

Related: The Sophisticated Independent Model that Offers the Best of All Worlds

So while there’s no doubt that advisors benefit from independence, they are also able to service clients in ways they couldn’t as employees. The ability to expand services, capabilities, pricing flexibility and even communications are all things that benefit both sides of the table—advisor and client.