Owners of independent RIAs would gladly face the challenges of breaking away again to secure the benefits they enjoy today.
This is a key takeaway from the 2021 Dynasty Breakaway Survey, the first yearly poll of breakaway advisors in its network of independent RIAs. The 23 independent advisors who took part in the survey have clients throughout the US managing roughly $27 billion in assets.
“We verified what we had long been hearing through the grapevine,” says Shirl Penney, CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners. “That is, our breakaway advisors value their independence for reasons they have no trouble articulating.” Adds Penney: “Bigger picture, given our over 10 years of experience working with many advisors to transition their practices, we felt it was time to start sharing our insights on breakaway-advisor sentiment. We plan to track this sentiment over time as an industry resource.”
Insights from the inaugural Dynasty Breakaway Survey include:
- 91% of advisors agree they have seen an increase in their net worth
- 96% of advisors agree they have better relationships with their clients since transitioning to independence
- 91% of advisors agree they have more freedom to focus on the unique needs of their clients
- 91% of advisors agree their resource partners provide more value than what was available prior to being independent
- 100% of advisors agree they have a greater opportunity to build equity value in their business
- 100% of advisors found independence worth it and would do it all over again
Still, the advisors surveyed were not shy about discussing the obstacles they had to overcome on the road to independence. Among them: a steep learning curve, and the challenges of building a business nearly from scratch.
John Sullivan, Dynasty’s Head of Network Development, says the initial drawbacks of independence do not come close to competing with its benefits. “These breakaway RIAs are helmed by entrepreneurs who know that every transition comes with friction, and that engaging transition experts and keeping the big picture — more customized solutions, better client service, greater equity value — in view is imperative for success.”
