Barry Glassman is the founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services, a wealth management firm in the Washington D.C. area that has grown to nearly $1.2 billion in assets under management in barely ten years. Now serving about 250 affluent client families, the company’s impressive growth makes sense when you consider the time and energy Barry spends focusing on building the firm as a business, as well as his distinct methods for standing out to clients.
In this episode, he shares his unique approach to differentiating Glassman Wealth by doing what he calls “interrupting the pattern” from what clients and prospects are typically used to. Listen in to learn the uncommon industry practices that have worked to win over clients, advice for sticking out in prospects' minds, and more.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/69
Today’s guest has had quite an unusual career path in the industry. After starting out as a Client Care Associate for SignatureFD—an independent RIA that currently serves more than $3 billion of AUM for nearly 1,000 clients—Heather Fortner is now a partner, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer for the firm. It’s an impressive feat by any standard, but especially in a world where it’s still relatively rare for non-revenue-producing members of a firm to have an opportunity to become a partner (not to mention how rare this is for women).
In this episode, Heather shares how SignatureFD’s unique business model works with their series of various niches under the firm’s umbrella, as well as how their holistic financial design process aims to help clients with all types of wealth, including money, time, and relationships. Listen in to hear what skills she believes are most important for everyone—especially women—to develop in order to climb the career track in an independent advisory firm, how advisors can identify the right firm to stick with in the long run, and what she says are the most understated issues limiting the career growth of women in the industry today.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/68
Elliot Weissbluth is the founder and CEO of HighTower Advisors, a unique back and middle office support platform for independent advisory firms that now oversees more than $50 billion of assets under management, with nearly 600 employees. As if those numbers weren’t impressive enough, HighTower built their own data platform to house all their advisor and client data. With this unique setup, they can not only build deeper integrations between popular software programs, but they also have the option to easily swap out their software solutions if a newer best in class comes along.
In this episode, Elliot shares the details of his company’s one-of-a-kind structure with a subsidiary broker-dealer, including how the HighTower model ultimately produces significant cost savings—even at a cost of as much as 15 - 20% of a firm’s revenue. Listen in to hear Elliot's unique perspective on the industry, having built and grown his company with a very different model, as well as the inspiring story of how he coped with severe dyslexia, and ultimately turned the challenge into skills that allowed him to excel in the business world.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/67
My guest on today’s podcast took over as CEO of Buckingham Strategic Wealth and BAM Advisor Services a little over 10 years ago (at just 32 years old!) and has nearly quintupled its size since then. One of the youngest CEOs of any major advisory firm, Adam Birenbaum leads his organization in serving over 22,000 clients and overseeing more than $30 billion in assets under management.
In this episode, Adam shares the growth strategies that have worked for Buckingham Strategic Wealth and BAM Advisor Services, as well as why the company has chosen to grow offices in multiple locations. Listen in to hear his advice for leaders of large wealth management firms, how he looks at the mergers and acquisitions marketplace today, and what he says will determine the most successful advisory firms in the future.
For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/66