Is It Time To Reevaluate Your Affiliation Partner? What To Look For In A New Affiliation Model
Independence means doing things your way, but it doesn’t mean doing things alone. When you decided to launch out on your own as a Registered Investment Advisor, you likely had an idea in your mind of how you wanted your business to look and wanted to spend your days focusing on what you do best and what you enjoy the most. But getting from point A to point B can be harder than you expect, and the responsibilities and tasks of an independent advisor can keep you from pursuing your business goals.
Thankfully, with the surge of independent advisors on the scene in recent years, multiple affiliation models have cropped up, giving you the opportunity to choose to run your business in a way that will best support your work and your clients. Here are four key factors to consider when deciding which affiliation model is right for you.
Payout Grid
We know that wirehouse advisors can forfeit up to 60% of their earnings (1) and Registered Representatives have flexibility with how they earn their money, increasing their payout to 85-92%. (2) The variation in payout is due to how you run your firm. For example, joining an established Registered Investment Advisor firm will provide you with plenty of support and even maximize your profitability, but provide a lower payout than being fully independent. That’s why you need to analyze your ambitions, needs, strengths, and weaknesses to determine how you should spend your time and what you’re willing to pay for support.
Freedom & Flexibility
Our guess is that one of the main reasons you went independent is because you wanted the flexibility to work when and how you want, with the clients you want, implementing your own vision and ideas so you can serve your clients better. The affiliation model you choose will determine the level of freedom you have in running your business. If you want to focus on your clients without the headache of administrative duties and the pressure of managing a firm, joining forces with another brand might be your ideal definition of freedom. But if you want to take full ownership and self-brand, you will obtain the greatest flexibility but also have the largest time commitment as you deal with technology, marketing, payroll, and other business tasks.
Open Architecture
How much control do you want to customize your services and products? Working for yourself will give you complete control to choose products, services, marketing, and systems to not only fit your personality but also address your clients’ needs. If you want to use high quality strategies but want someone else to handle the details, outsourcing might be your choice. But if your number-one priority is establishing relationships with your clients and focusing on them, plugging into an existing firm and adhering to their processes and systems might be right up your alley.
Support
The more support you want or need, the more attractive certain affiliate models will be. Going independent increases your responsibilities right along with your freedom, but if the pain points of managing a business take you away from the roles you love most, increasing your support will help your days run much smoother. Lay out all the tasks required of compliance, investment management, technology, bookkeeping, marketing, and more, and decide what you want to hold on to and what you want to outsource.
The FWA Solution
At Freedom Wealth Alliance, we are passionate about advisors following their dream of independence and have set up our structure to help advisors remove obstacles in that pursuit. Wherever you are on your career journey, our three affiliation options exist to support you. And the best part is, as your business grows and changes, you can move from one model to another. We don’t believe any advisor should ever feel stuck in their business.
1. Work At The FWA Milwaukee Branch
If you want to help people build and manage their financial lives and grow your client base but want to avoid the headache of running your own business, consider joining us at FWA as we help you do what you do best. With this option, your job is to provide outstanding client service, keep up industry requirements, and maintain an ethical compliance record. That’s it! We do the rest.
2. Go Hybrid
Do you want to be independent without risking everything? Our FWA Hybrid option is our most popular for a reason. You get to own your assets, maximize your time, and hone your skills without long hours spent on non-income-producing tasks. It’s the best of both worlds. FWA provides you with best practices and top-notch support so you can enjoy your independence.
3. Fully Independent
This option gives you the most independence, control, and payout, but also requires the largest time commitment. You pay your bills, own your assets, and handle the running of your firm, and we take care of the compliance oversight and provide you with our low-cost investment management platform.
What’s Your Choice?
Regardless of where you are in your career or how your business currently looks, our three affiliation and branding options allow you to retain your identity and firm branding but gain the credibility of a large established firm. Whatever option you choose, we walk with you through the whole process and help you effectively build the business you’ve envisioned. Use our affiliation calculator to determine which option fits you best and learn more about our firm and its distinctive advantages by visiting www.explorefreedomwealthalliance.com. You can also email us at krozman@freedomwealthalliance.com or call Kurt Rozman at 262-798-7979.
About Freedom Wealth Alliance
Freedom Wealth Alliance is a Registered Investment Advisor providing a home and multiple affiliation options for financial advisors seeking business growth and/or succession planning, operational excellence, and turn-key placement. We created this firm to relieve your stress no matter the stage of your firm. We take the burden of running the business off your back, so you can spend your time doing what you do best and love the most. If that means spending more time with clients and prospects, you can. If that means spending more time with your family, just do it. Visit www.explorefreedomwealthalliance.com and sign up for a free account to access all the tools and resources we have developed to help you transition to true freedom and business ownership.
For Investment Professional Use Only
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
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(1) https://www.ceteraadvisors.com/uploads/00/13/Wirehouse_Independent_Final.pdf
(2) https://www.ceteraadvisors.com/uploads/00/13/Wirehouse_Independent_Final.pdf