Tools & Resources for Independent Advisors

This is a transcript of unscripted speech, rather than written prose, and therefore should not be relied on for grammatical accuracy. This is not a verbatim transcript. Parts have been slightly modified to improve readability.

Berkeley Capital Partners is a registered investment advisor in Atlanta, Georgia.
Chris Eddy, CFP^®, Partner, Investment Officer, Berkeley Capital Partners 
Tony Palazzo, CFA, Berkeley Capital Partners 
Dan Newberg, CFP^®, Partner, Chief Compliance Officer, Berkeley Capital Partners 
Video Transcript

We manage all of the assets of our firm in house. We have grown our business through family, friends and their referrals and we treat everyone as such.

Choosing to go independent was a conscious decision to get away from having mangers manage us.

The day we actually all agreed that this is the path we wanted to pursue, the major pro was the client and you’re able to do what’s in the best interest of the client and there’s nothing that prevents you from doing your job.

Schwab is agnostic as to how you manage assets. They really leave it up to you to do what you think is best for your clients.

Schwab provided a significant amount of resources and had an integral part of our successful transition. Transitioning a business is never easy, it’s never without stress. One of our own fears was us being responsible for our own compliance. When we moved to Schwab they had a team that came in, they helped us identify those issues and it turned out to be very helpful.

Communication with the clients relative to the move ended up being significantly easier than any of us expected. They said, “Well do you really think it’s the right thing for me?” And we could say unequivocally yes.

I have the ability to manage money any way that I see fit.

Clients can sense our passion and our excitement about being able to do things we couldn’t do before.

The clients that were our clients that were entrepreneurs really started referring us more business than they normally had. Business owners respond to other business owners. Our firm’s experienced the best growth rate in our history. I consider this more than just a business, you know we consider it like a large extended family.

It's more of a team feel and less of a competitive feel. The ultimate goal is just serving the client and everybody will do fine, you know if we do that.

There’s tons of freedom being independent, um with the technology you have access to, you can work from anywhere and still get great results.

So the fact that I can do my job wherever I need to be has allowed us to travel more, spend more time. I try to work from home 1 to 2 days, maybe 3 days a month.

Because I now run my own business I have that freedom now to do what I think is best for me and my family.

Don’t focus so much on the fear of the move and the fear of the front end but focus on what you can do on the back end and long-term, you know the trajectory will put you on for your customers and for yourself personally.

We don’t know how it’s gonna all shake out but we do think we’re in a better position to be agile.

Being independent isn’t for everybody, you have to have the right business mix but if you do, I think with the way the industry’s changing, you should look into it and you should probably look into it as soon as possible.

Important Disclosures

Information included during this video is intended to be an overview and is subject to change.

Berkeley Capital Partners, is not owned by or affiliated with Schwab, and its personnel are not employees or agents of Schwab. This video is not a referral to, endorsement or recommendation of, or testimonial for the advisor with respect to its investment advisory or other services.

Schwab does not supervise third-party firms and takes no responsibility to monitor the services they provide to you.

Schwab does not provide legal, regulatory or compliance advice. Consult professionals in these fields to address your specific circumstance.

Schwab Advisor Services™ serves independent investment advisors and includes the custody, trading, and support services of Schwab.

Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with, or supervised by Schwab.

 ©2023 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”). All rights reserved. Member SIPC. (0623-3M6L)

SPEAKER 1:  The RIA space was compelling to us because we felt like we were building something.

SPEAKER 2:  You just know that this is something that you're creating.

You become a firm where you are an advocate for your client.

SPEAKER 1:  We have no constraints because we have ownership.

And to be able to control every aspect of the business was extremely compelling to us.

SPEAKER 3:  Everybody at every level of the firm is focused on client service.

SPEAKER 2:  All you need is an entrepreneurial spirit. The rest of it will come.

SPEAKER 1:  And I have more time to do the things that I want to do.

SPEAKER 4:  Yeah, I think helping people feels good, right?

Disclosures

Ross Singletary, Hank McLarty, Robert Amato and Beau Davis are clients of Schwab and were not compensated for their comments. The experience described may not be the experience of all clients and is not a guarantee of future performance or success.

The information included in this video is intended to be general and is subject to change.

The above-mentioned firms and their employees are not affiliated with or employees of Schwab unless otherwise noted. Mention should not be construed as a recommendation, endorsement of, or sponsorship by Schwab. The views expressed are those of the third party and are provided for informational purposes only. Experiences expressed are no guarantee of future performance or success and may not be representative of you or your experience.

Third party trademarks are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. Third party firms and their employees are not affiliated with or an employee of Schwab.

Schwab does not provide legal, regulatory, tax or compliance advice. Consult professionals in these fields to address your specific circumstances.

Schwab Advisor Services™ provides custody, trading, and the support services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"), member SIPC, to independent investment advisors and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM").

Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with, or supervised by Schwab.