The independent RIA life: Unscripted
What's going independent really like?
Two advisors discuss their transition.
Eric Rosel
Founding Partner
Morgan Rosel Wealth Management
ERIC ROSEL: So during a transition, we're reliant on... when you leave, you're relying on some of these other folks for help right?
SARAH KEYS: Yes.
ERIC: So can you speak to that feeling of loneliness as you leave, as well as the people that came in to help in your experience with the various folks that you chose to help you launch your new business?
Sarah Keys, J.D.
Founding Partner
Cardan Capital Partners
SARAH: Yeah. You know, there was a lot of adrenaline going that day and while we sat anxiously waiting for Legal to call us and tell us that we were okay and we could start making phone calls, and some clients were already reaching out and telling us they had received an email from the broker-dealer that we were at, and… you know, there were a lot of things going on, and what really helped us kind of just stay grounded and focused and start doing what we needed to do, which was mostly just calling clients, and then for the next, you know, month, calling, meeting, completing paperwork was that people from Schwab that we had helping us organize our paperwork so that we could present it to clients in an efficient way, because, right, we weren't familiar with all of the paperwork, and having them there to compile it, make sure that we had gotten everything we needed to do so that it was just a matter of submitting it once to get the accounts opened and the assets transferred. They just really helped kind of keep us sane, help us process the paperwork and in those first few day… not even few days, few weeks. That's all you're thinking about, right, is talking to your clients and… and making them feel reassured that they're in good hands. And Schwab went really... I think they went really far to give our clients that reassurance that they needed, and us, because there was a… there was a lot of nerves going on.
So you made the transition in three days?
ERIC: Yeah, we did.
SARAH: Can you tell me a little bit more about that? What was going on?
ERIC: Sure. So we had made the decision that we were going to do this several months prior just from a timing perspective. It decided… it was fate, whatever you want to call it, it was decided that it wasn't going to be on our timeline, which such is life, right?
SARAH: Yeah.
ERIC: Such is life. And we got the notice that if we're going leave, under the existing rules of the industry, the protocol so to speak, that that was mainstay in our industry, we needed to leave. So the very first phone call was to my representative over at Charles Schwab, and the feeling in that moment of… the loneliness associated with I've got three days and I know I'm leaving and starting my career, you know, immediately that representative at Schwab, I'll forever be grateful to him and the entire rest of Charles Schwab for what they executed on over the next 48 hours. They get on the phone and they… we picked our compliance consulting company, got on the phone with them and they orchestrated... it's no short of a miracle what they orchestrated to get us out in three days and off on our own. And was a flawless? It was not flawless. It was… there were certainly some bumps, you know, over that… not just those three days…
SARAH: Sure.
ERIC: …but weeks to follow because of that, but they got it done.