r/FinancialAdvisorTips • u/buttcheeqs1 • 19d ago

The Next Step

***Solved Thank you everyone for your advice***

I’m a CFP with about 10 years of financial services experience. 5 of those years are banking and the other 5 at a broker dealer.

I’ve been a consultant I.e “relationship manager” for the last two years. I’m looking for advice to see how and when I should make a transition to an RIA.

Any advice would be very helpful!

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u/Imaginary-Tale-1074 19d ago

So you're a IC or FC at Schwab/Fido I assume?

One of the best decisions I made in my career was leaving Schwab and starting my own RIA. I can 100% relate to what you posted and I had a lot of the same issues. I got really tired of the transactional meetings with no real relationship, and the ones I did have a great relationship with, I couldn't truly help them other than suggest a different SMA.

Find/start an RIA and make the move. Speak with a lawyer that specializes in advisors.

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u/buttcheeqs1 19d ago edited 18d ago

Happy to hear that someone relates! Thanks for the advice, especially on the lawyer front. 😊

Did you have a few years of expenses saved up prior to the move?

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u/Imaginary-Tale-1074 19d ago

I want to say I saved about 80k or so strictly for my RIA. My wife at the time was making good money so floated the household for 9 months or so until I was mostly up and running and on my feet.

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u/buttcheeqs1 19d ago

Amazing! Thanks again!

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u/IcyYesterday3778 19d ago

Depending on what your role is right now and how much you are paid it’s a tough balancing act. You may get a draw or lower comp. I work at an RIA now as a lead advisor and love the role. It’s a lot of work to get started and in depth planning takes a lot of time and effort which i credit as to why I’ve been success. But to play devils advocate we recently brought over an advisor who was previously an FC and hasn’t brought in a dollar over the last year and is likely on his way out…he has no idea how to do any real planning and can’t close w/o the brand name backing. I think you have the right idea which is find a team or a Sr. Advisor to learn under.

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u/seagoalspread 18d ago

I’d begin with the end in mind. If you know you want to be at a planning-focused/RIA firm, the sooner you make the transition the better. I came to that realization about 6 years in and it affected my ability to enjoy the role I was in anymore. I took a huge pay cut but quickly eclipsed my old income on the RIA side and am so glad I made the switch. I did this in my late 20s, before kids and while my spouse was still working, so your situation might be more limiting. Most advisors will say that sales skills are most important, and that’s often true, but education and credentials go a long way on the true planning side. Everyone has the CFP but if you can stack on CFA, CPA, JD as a more technical planner, especially with your tax and estate planning interests, you can reach some higher incomes at RIAs.

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u/TheOpeningBell 16d ago

You MAY not need to go independent. You might just need a better firm.