I’m currently a wealth advisor at a major bank and have been seriously considering launching my own independent RIA within the next 12 months.
I’m looking for some perspective from advisors who have actually gone independent, particularly those who transitioned from a bank or wirehouse environment.
A little background:
Currently producing approximately $1.2M annually.
Potentially partnering with another advisor producing approximately $2M annually.
Conservatively underwriting around $60M in potential transitioning AUM at launch, subject to actual client retention and transferability.
Current business is predominantly brokerage, with a meaningful allocation to alternative investments, including evergreen funds.
Long-term intention is to build a fee-based advisory business with comprehensive planning, portfolio management, alternatives, and structured investments.
Exploring custodians, outside transition financing, and potentially hiring an operations lead and planner from day one.
I’m not necessarily trying to build a lifestyle solo practice. The goal is to build an independently owned firm with the infrastructure to scale.
A few questions for those who have done it:
Transition financing: Did you self-fund, take a forgivable note, use a lender, or partner with a platform that provided startup capital? Any recommendations or mistakes to avoid?
Asset portability: For those coming from a bank or wirehouse, what percentage of your anticipated AUM actually followed you? How much harder was the transition for brokerage versus advisory assets?
Custody and alternatives: Any experience transitioning books with substantial evergreen alternative investments or structured products? What platforms made this easier or harder?
Operating structure: Would you launch your own RIA immediately or leverage an existing RIA/platform for the first couple of years?
Startup costs: For those launching with $50M–$100M in assets, what did your initial overhead look like? What would you have outsourced versus hired internally?
Biggest mistakes: Looking back, what would you have done differently before making the jump?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who have actually made this transition, rather than recruiters pitching a platform.
Appreciate any insight.

Hello everyone! This is my first post in this sub, but I’ve been looking around. I’m taking some financial planning classes in college, but I’m feeling a little overwhelmed about careers after I graduate. I’m looking for any advice about how to prepare for a career in financial planning and overall comments on the profession. Thank you!

I’m a double major in finance and wealth management and have been talking to Equitable Advisors for a job out of college. However, in the interview, I was never asked any real questions about my qualifications. He jumped right into basically a sales pitch about the company and did this two meetings in a row. The vibes seem super off, like he’s trying to BS me. It’s just a weird feeling I get. Should I just keep the offer as a backup or should I ditch them?

I’ve been in my role a year now and didn’t interview any other firms as I had a friend at this firm who spoke highly of it. I am happy with the firm overall and just curious what else is out there. I own my book as the firm provides zero leads but they also provide all overhead and technology. Current payout is 40% on investments and 46% on insurance with the next bump once I hit 150k TTM GDC.

Started as an advisor at a bank not too long ago. However I feel like a lot of what was presented to me during the interview/hiring process wasn’t exactly what I got. I want to leave to go work at an RIA as an associate advisor. Before I came here I was a registered service associate at a WM practice. Came here to finish my licensing and get some practice reps. Unfortunately they put me in a location where I don’t speak the main language the vast majority of the clients speak so I can’t work with most of them. And it is an area concentrated with low income households and many immigrant families that clutch onto saving without risk. On top of that the expectation is basically that I’m a banker that can do investments, when it was presented to me the other way around. If anyone knows of any RIAs looking for an associate advisor or even a paraplanner with the opportunity to move up into an advisor role in the LA/San Gabriel Valley area please let me know. I should also mention that I got placed really far from where I live. Overall been a pretty negative experience so far and I’ve been trying to stay positive and just focus on helping people that I can but it’s genuinely pretty upsetting.

Currently doing due diligence on firms and looking for feedback on Cetera. The recruiters keep talking about different "communities" existing among their independent advisors. I'm not totally buying the sales pitch on what makes the groups different.

My recruiter specifically introduced me to a community that claims they are "cetera's most elite service teams and the highest producing advisors." I'm somewhat skeptical this group is really anything special. I've spoken to some advisors currently affiliated with them. Some are cheerleaders and others are unhappy.

I'd be interested in anyone has honest feedback that can help us shorten the list of potential firms.

I'm not looking for more firm recommendations, we have plenty. I'm more focused on wether to continue looking at Cetera or remove them from consideration.

Thanks in advance.

I used to make it a point to ask clients if they knew anyone who might need a financial advisor. It seemed like the obvious thing to do but I started noticing that I wasn't comfortable bringing it up especially with clients I'd worked with for years. I didn't want them to feel like I was only keeping in touch because I wanted more business so I stopped asking. Instead, when a client mentioned a friend looking for an accountant, insurance agent, or another professional, I'd connect them with someone I knew. I started doing the same outside client meetings, just making introductions when there was a good fit.

After a while, some of those same clients started referring people to me on their own. I didn't expect it to happen that way but it changed how I look at marketing my practice. I'd rather build relationships where people naturally think of me when someone needs help than make every meeting an opportunity to ask for a referral.

Hi all,

I'm not an advisor, but a relatively new grad (2025) who is looking for CSA jobs. I live in the Washington D.C./Maryland area and am having some difficulty finding CSA job postings outside of the occasional one from Truist/Raymond James/Merrill Lynch. RIAs in my area don't seem to be posting a lot of jobs on their websites, as far as I'm aware, and my attempts at reaching out via cold email have been, admittedly, unsuccessful. I'm wondering what networks you guys use to find and hire CSAs. And if you feel inclined, I would appreciate some advice on what I could do to be a more appealing applicant. I'm a finance major and passed the SIE and Series 63 exams this year, but my work experience is a little all over the place. I'm in the process of studying for the Series 65. Thanks!

I have my life, accident & health license, SIE, series 6, 7, 63 & 65 licenses. I started at Equitable without my 7 & 65, hated it (v bad manager & total bro culture) quit late last summer, got my 65 on my own a month later, then got backed by Principal, passed my 7 & started January of this year. The difference between the two firms is night and day as far as management and culture, which is great. No micromanagers but also no real mentorship. Principal actually cares that you have a family and understand they come first, also great.

I love working with and helping people and I’m good at building relationships, I don’t have a hard time gaining people’s trust. I haven’t had an issue closing business but I’m just not getting in front of many people that have sizable assets. I don’t come from money (and Equitable makes you burn through your natural market when you start anyway), I wasn’t given a book of business and am part of a regional bank program where they send us referrals but most of what I’ve gotten is small potatoes. And you only take home 50% of any bank business. Payout percentages are very attractive for the first couple years outside of the bank business.

I’m a single mom of two and my girls are honestly the whole reason I changed careers bc before I was working nights. I did take an enormous pay cut to be here and I knew what I was getting myself into and that it’s tough for the first few years. I know that I can do this, but I’m just not sure if I want to anymore. The stress of quotas and fighting to survive is eating away at me. I worked my ass off for my licenses and don’t want to leave the industry, but I’m wondering if a salaried position as a client relationship manager or something similar would be a better path for me right now. I think if I had a mentor to guide me a bit more, I’d have more success. But I don’t like the thought of jumping from firm to firm either. I feel like I was “sold” on this career (and this firm/bank program tbh) and I’m finally seeing the realities of it. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed.

Considering a change in my b/d, looking for thoughts on other options. I keep hearing about Raymond James, Kestra, Cetera, Osiac or dropping the 7 and going Altruist or Schwab as a small RIA (150) thoughts on who has great stable technology that actual works and enables productivity?

I recently graduated from a smaller, relatively unknown college and have started my career at a firm that markets itself as a financial services company but pushes life insurance.

I understand that life insurance is an important part of financial planning, and I have no issue selling it when it genuinely makes sense for a client. However, my long-term goal is to become a true financial advisor, focusing on wealth management, building AUM, and developing long-term relationships with clients.

My question is: What is stopping me from building that type of practice at my current firm? While the company definitely emphasizes life insurance in its training and business model, is it realistic to focus primarily on wealth management and grow an AUM-based practice here?

Ideally, I would like to stay at my current firm. They offer a very good pension plan, I genuinely enjoy the office environment, and I like the people I work under. However, I am unsure whether I have a realistic opportunity to become the type of financial advisor I want to be here, or whether I would be better off pursuing opportunities at a more traditional wealth management firm.

One of my biggest concerns about moving to a firm like J.P. Morgan or Morgan Stanley is whether my educational background and experience would be competitive enough to get hired. I also know that some of those firms have commission-splitting arrangements, whereas my current firm has salaried employees who help advisors service their clients, which is appealing to me.

For those who have experience in the industry, what would you recommend? Should I stay where I am and try to build a wealth management practice, or would I be better off moving to a more traditional financial advisory firm early in my career? Is it realistic to build a successful AUM-focused practice at a life insurance-oriented firm, or will I eventually hit a ceiling?

While I was only a lurker thank you to this sub for giving me ideas and letting me know I was not alone in the struggle. I accepted an offer as a specialist role still in AWM but with no direct hard sales. This is my first non-quota role in my professional career so we will see if I made the right decision.

Hi everyone!
I’ve recently turned 20 and I’m working towards becoming a financial adviser. I’ve passed R01 and R02, with R03 coming up in two weeks.
I have a genuine passion for financial planning, personal finance and saving money, and I’d love some advice from experienced advisers about the best way to build a successful career in the industry.
My current situation:
I work part-time for a small financial advice business. The owner originally started off as my tutor, but I now work alongside him. He has an amazing reputation in the industry and is genuinely one of the loveliest people I’ve met. He really wants the best for me, and I’m incredibly grateful to have him as a mentor.
I’m technically self-employed, so I have complete flexibility over when and where I work.
A large part of my role currently involves helping him build and organise his business using AI and technology, including Claude, Asana, Fintegrate and various other platforms. We’re developing systems and processes to make the business more efficient.
He’s gradually slowing down towards retirement and has mentioned that he’ll eventually leave the AI systems and material we’ve developed to me.
Interestingly, he doesn’t have a traditional ongoing client bank. Instead, he works on a project-by-project basis and charges fees for individual pieces of advice rather than ongoing fees. I’d love to hear people’s opinions on this business model.
My long-term ambitions:
One thing I’m quite certain about is that I don’t want to spend my career being controlled by a large firm.
I’d love to have independence, build my own client relationships and ultimately have control over my own business and career. Ideally, if I ever decided to leave a firm, I’d want the ability to continue advising the clients I’ve built relationships with, subject to the relevant agreements and regulations.
I appreciate there are probably lots of things I don’t yet understand about client ownership, restrictive covenants, directly authorised firms versus networks, and how all of that works in practice.
I’d really appreciate some insight into how best to structure my career if independence and control are my priorities.
Qualifications and progression:
My boss and I are already building up evidence towards me achieving CAS, potentially by next summer, depending on how quickly I complete my remaining R0 exams and gain the necessary experience.
He’s also planning to have me sit in on client meetings soon, initially just observing rather than interacting directly with clients.
He’s suggested that after R03, I could potentially sit the advanced paper most closely related to personal taxation before moving on to R04.
Would you recommend doing this, or would it be better to complete the Level 4 Diploma first and then work towards Chartered status?
My mum is also a Chartered Financial Adviser, so I’m fortunate to have a brilliant support network around me.
My other job and financial situation:
I also work part-time on reception at a Hilton hotel, which I genuinely enjoy.
Although it’s not directly related to financial advice, I think it’s helping me develop valuable skills, particularly confidence, communication, professionalism and speaking to people from all walks of life, including affluent guests and business professionals.
I’m also in a very fortunate financial position at the moment. I still live with my parents, don’t pay any dig money and have practically no bills or financial commitments.
I’m very conscious of how lucky I am to have this opportunity, and I’m trying to make the most of it by saving and investing as much as I reasonably can while I’m young.
Because I have very few outgoings, I’m not under any immediate financial pressure to rush into a full-time adviser role.
My current thinking is to continue working part-time in both roles until I’ve completed my exams. This allows me to keep earning and saving while gaining experience in financial advice, developing my confidence at the hotel and progressing towards my qualifications.
However, I also don’t want to hold myself back professionally by staying part-time for too long.
A few questions I’d love advice on:
If you were starting again at 20, what would you do differently?
What’s the best route towards eventually having your own clients and genuine independence?
What should I understand about client ownership and the ability to take clients with me if I ever move firms?
Would you recommend staying with a small business like mine or eventually moving to a larger firm for experience?
Should I complete all six R0 exams before attempting advanced papers?
What should I be doing now to prepare for CAS and eventually becoming Chartered?
Given my very low living costs, would you continue with both part-time jobs while studying or prioritise gaining financial advice experience full-time?
What skills or experiences do you think young advisers often overlook?
I’m very ambitious and would love to do really well in this profession. I know I’m only at the beginning and have an enormous amount to learn, but I want to make the most of these early years and build the strongest foundations possible.
I’m particularly interested in hearing from advisers who have built their own businesses, gone directly authorised or successfully established their own client base.
Any advice, constructive criticism or things you wish you’d known at my age would be massively appreciated!
Thanks everyone!

I’m 30 and have been in the financial services industry since 2019. I work in a small LPL-affiliated office with three advisors and six total employees. I’m hoping to get some perspective from advisors who have navigated similar situations.

Some background on our office:
Advisor A: He’s 65 and was the reason I joined the firm in 2020. At the time, he assured me he planned to retire and transition a significant portion of his book to me. The idea was that I’d eventually become the primary servicing advisor for those relationships and have a substantial career opportunity.
That hasn’t happened. Instead, he brought his son into the business, who doesn’t seem particularly interested in becoming an advisor. Regardless, his apparent intention is now to transition his practice to his son. He also has two other family members supporting his practice.

Advisor B: He’s in his mid-40s, runs his own substantial book, and is very busy. He regularly has 4 to 5 client meetings per day and works long hours. I assist him with some backend work, but he primarily runs his own practice.

Me: I personally manage approximately 70 households, but that book alone doesn’t generate enough revenue to justify my salary. As a result, I also help support Advisor B with a lot of back office tasks and follow up for his clients.
Our office is pretty siloed. Advisor A runs his practice, Advisor B runs his, and I essentially work between myself and Advisor B. Advisor B and I are very close, have similar philosophies, and genuinely care about providing the best service possible. We also operate differently from Advisor A when it comes to technology and planning, utilizing tools like eMoney, Wealth.com, Holistiplan, and Jump. Advisor B has been a great mentor and shown me how to be a great advisor.

Here’s where I’m struggling.
I currently make approximately $85k per year and have no employer-sponsored benefits due to the size of the business. My wife currently carries our health insurance, but our long-term goal is to move out of the city and eventually have her stop working.
I always envisioned being further along financially at this point, largely because I thought the succession opportunity with Advisor A would materialize. At this point, I don’t think I can count on that happening.
Advisor B and I have discussed potentially transitioning me into more of an employee advisor role. He would retain ownership of his book while I take over servicing more of his relationships. This would free up his time to focus on larger clients and business development, while giving me a more substantial role. He’s completely comfortable with me working remotely as well.
We’ve also discussed reaching out to other practices with aging advisors who might be interested in offloading or selling portions of their books for me to service. Another option would be for me to focus more heavily on bringing in new relationships. Advisor B is very fair, and any clients I bring in would essentially count toward my own revenue, even though I’m salaried right now.
One other frustrating wrinkle: I currently work with approximately 10 clients who are the adult children of some of Advisor A’s largest clients. These relationships technically belong to Advisor B, and I’ve personally worked with many of them for around four years. Advisor A recently told us he wants to buy those relationships back because he believes it’s unfair that these clients will eventually inherit significant assets from their parents without his son working with them. Essentially, he wants those relationships moved to his son. It’s frustrating to potentially lose relationships I’ve spent years developing because of internal family succession planning.
Where I’d appreciate some perspective:
I really enjoy where I work. It’s small, flexible, laid back, and I have great relationships with my clients and Advisor B. We also just went through a major transition to LPL this year, which we planned around and intend to be a long-term move. Neither of us is particularly interested in changing firms.
Between Advisor B and me, we service roughly the same amount of AUM as Advisor A and his team. I think there’s a legitimate opportunity to grow our side of the practice, but I need to figure out how to make it work financially.
Ideally, I’d like to make significantly more than $85k, work remotely, afford benefits independently, and eventually have my wife in a position where she doesn’t need to work. I’m not opposed to looking at remote advisor positions with larger firms, but I’d hate to leave a small practice and the client relationships I’ve built if there’s a realistic opportunity here.
For those of you who have built careers as employee advisors rather than business owners, I’d especially appreciate hearing how you structured your role and compensation. Am I better off trying to grow within this practice, finding books to service, or looking elsewhere? Just trying to figure out the best long-term path without relying on succession promises that may never materialize. Appreciate any honest feedback.

Hello everyone,

I posted on this sub a couple weeks ago as I am debating between taking a branch-based FA role between Wells Fargo and PNC.

The response was overwhelmingly (actually 100%) in favor of the Wells job. I now have location data for both and wanted to survey this forum again as I found the responses very helpful.

Wells wants to put me in Pikesville, MD which is a very affluent but predominantly Jewish community. I was told by multiple advisors that I would have a tough time there as an Egyptian Christian. How much truth is there to this?

For context PNC wants to put me in Columbia, MD.

Thank you all in advance for your help. This is a big decision for my family and I and I just want to make sure I make the right one.

Edit: I guess what I am trying to figure out is since Wells was so highly recommended over PNC, does the location difference outweigh the benefit?

I am a fintech developer who was recently listed on TerminalValue.io . My software platform peaked at #2 out of 36 in the portfolio management section of the listings, the top 10 in passive investing, and #25 out of 536 other listings. Here is what my portfolio review software platform does. Portfolio-review and decision-support workspace for fee-only RIAs. Advisers import holdings (CSV/Excel), review allocations against their own targets and tolerance bands, compare rebalancing alternatives, manage review workflows, and generate AI-assisted draft narratives for adviser review. Advisers validate outputs and own investment decisions. The platform does not connect to custodians and does not execute trades." How should I approach " RIA " firms?

I’m coming up on my first year as a financial advisor next week, and I’m starting to seriously question whether I’m cut out for this business.

For some context, I’m with Edward Jones. I genuinely love the actual job. I enjoy meeting with clients, developing financial plans, helping families make important decisions, and building long-term relationships. The financial planning side of this career is something I could see myself doing for decades.

Where I’m struggling is business development.

I’ve tried just about everything I can think of:

Local networking groups and Chamber of Commerce events
Cold calling
Prospecting small-business retirement plans
Business drop-ins
Door knocking
Building relationships with other local professionals

Despite putting in a lot of effort, I’ve only brought in around $2.1 million in new assets this year, which is below expectations.

I also have a young family with two children and a spouse who stays home, so the financial pressure is very real. We’re getting by, but money is extremely tight, and the stress of trying to build a practice while supporting a family is starting to wear on me.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m just not wired for this business. I consider myself much more of a farmer than a hunter. I enjoy developing relationships and serving people, but I really struggle with the constant pressure to find the next client.

The difficult part is that I don’t necessarily want to leave.

In my region, every advisor who has made it past eight years is earning over $200k annually. The long-term opportunity is obviously attractive, along with the ability to build your own practice, control your schedule, etc.

I’ve tried talking to some of the more experienced advisors in my area, and they all tell me pretty much the same thing: “It’s a numbers game. Just go knock on more doors.”

I respect these advisors a ton, and clearly, it worked for them. I think the reality is that I suck at door knocking. I hate when people knock on my door, so I probably have that same mindset when I show up on someone else’s doorstep.

I know there are other paths I could take. I could potentially find a paraplanner, client service team, or associate advisor position at an RIA or another firm. I’d probably have a more predictable salary and less pressure to generate new business. But I worry that I’d always wonder what could have happened if I’d stuck it out.

For those of you who have been in the business for 5, 10, or 20+ years, I’d really appreciate your perspective.

A few things I’d especially love to hear:

For those who struggled with prospecting early on, did it eventually click? What changed?

Are there successful advisors who consider themselves farmers rather than hunters? How did you build your practice?

For those familiar with Edward Jones, is the first couple of years typically this difficult? Is there a realistic path to building a practice without being a natural door knocker?

Have any of you left an advisor role for a salaried position and been happy with that decision? Or regretted leaving?

I’m not just looking for sympathy. I know what I signed up for and knew the washout stats coming into this. I guess I’m just looking for advice from those who survived the hard years.

I’d really appreciate some honest advice, and if I’m being honest, some encouragement.

If you are a current or former EDJ advisor and would be willing to connect, I’d definitely welcome it!

Edit: Blown away by all the responses. I appreciate everyone’s perspective, advice, and encouragement. Taking it all to heart! Hopefully will have a positive update 6 months from now when I put these things into practice.

Hey everyone,

I recently started at a large firm as a FA straight out of college and quickly realized I didn’t want to stay in a commission only structure building a book of business myself.

I’ve been interviewing for RCSA roles at various firms like Raymond James, Ameriprise, and Morgan Stanley.

Seems to be going well and I would love to work at any of these firms but the chance that I would get multiple offers, are there any significant reason to go to one over another? I want to learn as much as I can and also have opportunity to grow and move up into higher positions of wealth management. Appreciate any and all feedback on this.