The path used to be predictable for successful financial advisors building a practice inside a bank or wirehouse.
A successful financial advisor built a practice inside a bank or wirehouse. The institution provided the office, technology, compliance oversight and brand name. In exchange, the advisor operated within the firm’s framework.
Meet the new kid on the block. Genesis Wealth, a fast-growing wealth management platform affiliated with LPL Financial, announced this week that veteran advisor Alan Feutz has joined the firm. Feutz previously oversaw approximately $725 million in client assets and spent more than two decades serving affluent clients.
Infastructure-as-a-service for financial advisors
Instead of building a standalone registered investment advisor from scratch, at Genesis Wealth advisors plug into an existing platform that provides compliance, technology, operations, real estate, marketing and transition support. Advisors gain more control over how they serve clients without having to become experts in every back-office function.
The model is attracting advisors who want entrepreneurial freedom without entrepreneurial isolation, according to Genesis.
The company said Feutz will operate from a newly opened 10,000-square-foot office in Deerfield, Ill., marking the firm’s expansion into Chicago’s North Shore. The facility is designed to support more than 20 advisors and staff and includes hybrid meeting technology, collaboration spaces and dedicated client-service infrastructure.
Wealth management is increasingly becoming a platform business. Firms compete not only on investment performance but also on workflow design, technology integration and advisor experience. The goal is to make advisors more productive while reducing the operational burdens that traditionally come with independence.
Genesis Wealth currently services more than $3 billion in client assets. As firms like it expand, the future of wealth management may look less like a bank branch and more like a technology-enabled network built around independence.
