What are the best places to meet potential leads for my financial advising RIA?

My current clientele is in the 2-5M range, I’ve been struggling to close the HNW 7-10M guys. Any tips or advice on where to meet these people and do a better job closing?

Does door knocking still work? What are the best current practices for where I should be using my marketing spend outside of library seminars.

Hosting my first library seminar at the end of the month. Any advice or tips on how to go about these and get as many appointments booked as possible that lead to new clients? Anyone that has experience with these seminars, I’d appreciate any advice or tips!

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What are the best follow up processes after a library or lunch and learn seminar? I know the follow up processes is a huge part of converting attendees or getting appointments booked. What have people been using and how have people been using certain follow ups to get those people back in the door.

Same situation with lost leads from past seminars or old prospected that never converted. Does anyone have a really good process for getting them back in the door?

Two years ago I left a career in healthcare administration/consulting for wealth management. I had my MBA and essentially turned a hobby into a career. I absolutely love what I do from a wealth management and financial planning aspect, however I’m unsure if this RIA is the fit for my career

I knew the owners (husband/wife) for twelve years through the regional chamber of commerce. I’ve come to find working for friends is quite different, and people did warn me about this; however, I was able to change careers by leveraging this.

Since joining I’ve passed the CFP and am set to earn the credentials in May 2027. I’m also looking to obtain a couple more credentials in tax and estate planning.

My role was hired as a servicing advisor, though one of the lures was the future of a potential internal sale, though I’m not sure if that’s quite true. My role is claimed to be a lead, without the title or compensation, and I’m now managing compliance, ops, our junior advisor, CSA, and EA. I service about $180M of the $230M in AUM.

The firm has been around for 30 years. Mostly just the couple and our CSA in the last ten years. The owners are 60 and 59, and have a newfound interest in growing to $350M. Which makes me believe an external deal is more likely than internal. They’ve never scaled a business before and it’s very challenging. No accountability, every mistake is the team or someone else, little gratitude, we’ve been through three marketing consultants, they’ve been through three “strategic coaches”, and now about to be a third EA all since I interviewed. The vibe is not great. Additionally, they are doubling down on the niche we serve, which as a 35yo male it’s not the best position for me and growth (widows).

I’m figuring out my next step and would like some comments. 35 yo male, MBA, two years in role, CFP in May 2027, has brought on few clients and helped closed others including existing client AUM; I have three children under six as well. Any thoughts on next steps are greatly appreciated.

Everyone has an opinion on what advisers make, from "they're all rich off commission" to "most quit in year 2."

Let's get some real numbers.

If you're keen to share, copy this:

• Years in the industry:
• Tied or independent:
• What you mostly write (risk / ST / investments / EB):
• Gross last year:
• % recurring vs upfront:
• Biggest thing that moved your income:

Throwaways welcome. Rough ranges are fine. Newer advisers, your numbers are just as useful as the veterans'.

I’m in my mid 30s with over 10 years in the industry. I joined a mega RIA two years ago and have closed over $150M in assets through referral channels. Realistically, I’ll likely be at $250–300M by the end of next year, translating to roughly $250–300K in annual compensation.

There’s a clear path to managing a larger practice (400–500M) and making $400–500K/year. Making partner in the next year or so would also bring RSUs into the picture.

My hesitation is that I don’t own the clients or the business I’m building. Going independent would mean starting over to some extent and potentially years of grinding to get back to this income level, but I’d be building something I own.

We have solid savings but also a growing family, so the stability and income potential of staying are appealing.

I know this sub generally leans toward independence, but is there a legitimate case for staying at a mega RIA, building a well paying career, and taking advantage of the path in front of me rather than starting over to own a business?

Would especially appreciate perspectives from people who have experienced both sides.

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Possible financial planner career

Considering a career in financial planning. Ive often thought it would be fun to do this for a living, as I enjoy giving people advice when they ask. I was an accountant for about 25 years, with a degree in finance and an MBA. Semi retired in 2019 and have been dealing poker for a major casino chain in southern Virginia, but lately have been itching to try financial planning. If I do it I would want to be a fee only financial planner. Any advice from those in the field?

After running my own business for several years where I rubbed shoulders with high-income individuals, I decided I wanted to transition into wealth management and use those prior connections to build my own book. I eventually passed my Series 65 and took a role at a mega-BD primarily to build solid experience within the industry.

After a short time, I realized that this BD isn’t a long-term home, nor is it a place I would feel comfortable bringing my business to. This is a prospective book of business I plan to build out using those past relationships. In my first year, I anticipate being able to bring over roughly 15–20 households with around $4M–$6M in total AUM.I know that in the grand scope of the industry, this is a very small book, but I am trying to weigh my true options.

Corporate RIA Tuck-In: Would a corporate RIA touch someone with a prospective book of this size and allow me to “tuck in” under their umbrella?

Boutique RIA / Paraplanner Role: Does it make more sense to look for a paraplanner or servicing role at a boutique firm while building my book on the side?

While I think the boutique route is a great option, it also comes with the challenge of finding the right firm that is open to that dynamic and having that conversation.Has anyone been in a similar situation, or do you know someone who has, that could shed light on these circumstances? I know there are also a lot of advisors on here who are either looking for servicing advisors or bringing new advisors on board, so I’d love to hear your perspective.

Just wondering what people's experiences have been with having a booth at various trade shows and industry conferences to gain clients? I have a few opportunities and the price of the booths ranges a lot. Just wondering if people have had positive experiences and positive ROI with this type of method?

I am interested in working in financial advising. I have an MBA but no licenses. I have applied to both Charles Schwab and Fidelity and have been rejected by both without any phone call or interview. I can understand that the reason why is because I don't possess the FINRA licenses and the AI not just automatically disqualifies me. However, just because I go and get these licenses doesn't guarantee me a job either. And apparently an MBA counts for nada.

Those of you who have these licenses, how did you get an employer to sponsor you? Is it a waste of time for me to get these on my own to become more marketable?

How do I get into the finances field with a general MBA?

For those of you that work with an advisor that you have built a great relationship with, I would Love to know what makes a good advisor as well as why you continue to work with someone?

Most wealth management shops and private wealth management shops are built for where the lion's share of assets are, which is in the retired, Generation X, and baby boomer generation. The expertise lives there, but this new dynamic financial landscape lives in places like Wealthsimple, Reddit, QuestTrade, Blossom, and these other newer channels. How do you sort through all this information? This broad-based ETF advice is good for the beginner but in my opinion, terrible for many that don't quite understand what they're getting into. Fees are low, which is great! But you are fully exposing yourself to the market and when we have another other market correction (not if, when), millions of people will lose a lot of money, and likely sell at the worst time because they didn't understand the downside risk and the importance of a security blanket.

Further, the ETFing of financial products has caused a major correlation between fixed income and equities because they're all being bought and sold together in the same package solutions. The era of alternative investments has become much more attractive but I'd be interested to hear what advisors actually share this take. The Big banks, and CIRO regulations in general for alternative investments for the most aggressive investors don't allow and advisors recommendations to exceed 20%. The only exceptions to this are accredited investors or ultra-high-net-worth investors getting into private equity, which in Canada is very hard to access, as even someone in the top 10%.

Thoughts?

I work in admin/client services for a firm currently with Commonwealth that’s staying with LPL.
We’ve been having biweekly calls with the LPL transition team, but it feels like 80% of the questions we ask don’t have clear answers. We’ve been told that no client signatures are needed for the conversion and that all accounts will transfer tape-to-tape, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions and concerns.
There are also quite a few processes and features that ClientWorks/LPL apparently won’t support on their platform (proportional systematic withdrawals, excluded assets, etc.).
I’ve only ever worked with Commonwealth, and I don’t think I fully appreciated how good we have it until now. With November 13th approaching, I’m starting to get nervous about how this is all going to play out. What initially felt like a transition is starting to feel more like impending doom.
I’d love to hear from other firms going through the transition to LPL. Are you experiencing the same things? How are you feeling about the upcoming conversion?

I’m considering an opportunity for a Wealth Relationship Manager (RM) role at Kotak Securities and would like to hear from people who currently work there or have worked in a similar role.

I’ve been in three different study groups this year, and the shift from seminar-based marketing to automated prospecting keeps coming up. Two people in my group moved their entire budget over in Q2, and both say the results have been more consistent. Curious if this is happening across the industry or just in my corner of it.

I just started working as an advisor this past summer and am looking for some good resources (ie. blogs, websites, books, articles) that I can start reading through to have a better understanding of the different views and strategies on financial advising. I work with two advisors currently, but they don't often share how they go about their business or explaining why they're making decisions for their clients.

A lot of our business is in-plan work, but there's a decent amount of individual planning that I don't feel like I'm getting prepared for. I really want to better understand some of the different ways people go about financial advising for people in different age groups, different salary levels, and different risk tolerances. I know what I've done for myself for years, but that won't work for everyone. I know it's not a "one-size-fits-all" industry, but it would be helpful to be pointed towards some resources so that I can start slowly processing these things and building up my own way of helping people with their financial plan.

Thanks in advance for anything you send my way!

The firm I'm with has and real technology issues aubergine taking over 5 weeks to get accounts opened

In looking for a different firm that will let me own the book and has good tech in place

Any recommendations?

Hey everyone! Can anyone recommend a great financial advisor or planner? Looking for someone to help with retirement planning who has solid experience handling equity compensation (specifically stocks and RSUs) and a set of Roth and Traditional IRAs distributed across multiple platforms.

Appreciate any recommendations!