Hoyt Stastney, General Counsel and Head of M&A for Wealthspire Advisors, joined Keith Black, Managing Director of RIA Channel, to discuss how Wealthspire offers the resources of a large firm to advisors seeking succession planning while continuing to offer high-touch service to their clients.
Stastney states that the RIA industry is a great industry, which helps clients to meet their financial dreams, care for their families, and plan their legacies. Succession planning is a big deal in the industry, as many firms started over 20 years ago have grown so large that the younger generation of advisors can’t afford to purchase the firm.
A key trend in the industry is the consolidation of some of the larger RIA firms, which has attracted private equity investors. Increasing firm scale allows firms to offer the best capabilities and range of services to clients.
Wealthspire seeks to partner with and acquire like-minded firms looking to solve their succession issues, which can establish a career path for the next generation of advisors. It can be difficult to attract talent in the industry, so Stastney views M&A as talent aggregation.
Wealthspire aims to remain a boutique, high-touch firm, maintaining a scale that provides the best resources for advisors to serve their clients. As a full integration firm, advisors joining Wealthspire will use all of the firm’s capabilities. The integration process aims to make client transitions as smooth as possible, while offering career opportunities that advisors may not have had at their prior firm. Stastney is encouraged when an advisor joins the firm with a planned five-year retirement timeline but continues as an advisor with Wealthspire for ten years.
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