To My Fellow WSR Community Members:
Do you remember the days of the “Kodak moment?” Eastman Kodak once towered over the American landscape, held a coveted spot in the Dow Jones Industrial average and – more importantly – in popular culture both in the United States and abroad.
Then digital photography arrived, and Kodak was slow on the uptake. After bankruptcy and reorganization, selling off business lines and patents, the once mighty giant isn’t what it used to be – as financial advisors well know.
Sometimes the world shifts around us, and we must evolve or face extinction, as is ongoing on numerous levels in wealth management today. This includes the possibility that alternative investments might be carving out a permanent space in the advisory landscape and talent management overcoming the effects of COVID, both topics we explore for you.
In addition, we bring you our Recruitment Roundup, a wealthtech company’s new CEO, sagely advice about finding the right attorney and communicating with “non-financial” clients, and coverage of a new potentially annual wealthtech conference.
This Week’s Issue
Here’s what we have for you this week:
- In our Newsmakers & Roundups section, this edition of Weekly Recruitments covers four deals in the lower-middle to upper-middle size range. Kansas City-based Cramer Capital Management affiliated with Cetera Financial Group. Merit Financial Advisors acquired Ceponis Financial Group and Brook Wealth Management in Connecticut. Advisors at Broadway Wealth Management left Merrill Lynch to affiliate with the Linsco by LPL Financial employee model. And Perigon Wealth Management announced a merger with PM Wealth Management as well as a strategic alliance with Prager Metis.
- Although where the S&P 500 is headed next is anyone’s guess, history shows that alternative investments tend to perform well during stock market downturns. So will the next bull market kill alts, or have they become a permanent fixture for advisors? In Investment Solutions & Gatekeepers, we get insights from Steven Brod, CEO and CIO of Crystal Capital Partners; David Hou, a Managing Partner and co-founder at Evoke Advisors; Christopher Zook, Chairman and CIO of CAZ Investments; and Francois Schramek, Managing Director at Manhattan West.
- How do you find the right lawyer? In our Beltway & Beyond section, securities and financial advisory attorney Scott Matasar, of Matasar Jacobs, answers that question and gives his views on the case to an anonymous reader who is facing arbitration because the heirs of their recently deceased clients claimed that the investments didn’t grow enough.
- Do you only communicate with half your clients? In ourUpmarket section, Lumiant CEO Santiago Burridge describes how in many client relationships the advisor communicates only with the “financial” spouse, and how the industry can improve and advisors can grow their business by reaching the “non-financial” spouse.
- In Digital Domain, we connected with the organizer of the inaugural Future Proof wealth technology festival, and three participating financial advisor-focused wealthtech providers on what to expect at the event: Matt Middleton, CEO and Co-Founder of Advisor Circle; Sindhu Joseph, CEO and Co-Founder of CogniCor; Ryan George; Chief Marketing Officer at Docupace; and Glenn Elliott, CEO & Co-Founder of Practifi.
- In Newsmakers & Roundups, we update you on wealthtech firm Vestmark’s appointment of former E*TRADE CEO Karl Roessner as its new CEO and the move offormer CEO Mike Blundin, to serve in the newly created role of President & COO.
In case you missed it, in our Words in Edgewise section last week we covered DeVoe & Company’s annual RIA Talent Management Survey. It explored the effects of the pandemic on the wealth management workplace, talent management and retention; concluded that negative effects have taken hold in various areas including culture, attrition and succession planning; then offered solutions to overcome these setbacks.
As always, we’re here to provide the best coverage, insights and commentary for you, so please send us your questions, thoughts and suggestions.
We’ve grown rapidly on LinkedIn! Thank you for sharing!
Have a great week!
Cheers!
Larry Roth
CEO
Wealth Solutions Report
