Episodes

A conversation with Kurt Miscinski, President, Cerity Partners What do you get when you cross a successful wealth management executive with a New York billionaire? You get a spectacular $31B firm. For Kurt Miscinski, his meeting with New York-based billionaire and entrepreneur Howard Milstein could possibly be called serendipitous. Because at that time, Kurt was considering leaving his management role at Deutsche Bank and Howard was looking to make long-term strategic investments in the weal...

With Avy Stein, Founder and Co-Chairman of Cresset Advisors and clients have been the beneficiaries of a more than decade-long evolution—with changes impacting both the landscape as well as the mindsets of advisors and their clients. In this new world order, advisors have come to the realization that the status quo need not be something they settle for. And for their high net worth clients, they too have recognized that wanting more from their advisors and the firms they work for is a right th...

A conversation with Matt Kilgroe, President/CEO, Cyndeo Wealth Partners Most independent advisors start out by building strong practices in traditional firms. While plenty of them continue to build mega-businesses as employees, for some, there comes a point when the desire to do more for their clients is hindered by the limitations of their firms. It’s this combined force of pushes and pulls that often motivates an advisor to explore the potential that independence offers. And one of the prim...

A conversation with Louis Diamond One of the major motivations for advisors who choose independence is the desire to build an enterprise through recruitment of other advisors and the opportunity to participate in a frothy M&A marketplace. And even non-enterprise builders are drawn to the ability to selectively deepen their bench via recruitment plus having the ultimate flexibility over who they hire. But inorganic growth opportunities are not exclusive to independent firms. Although wirehouse...

A conversation with Andy Schwartz, CFP®, Principal, Bleakley Financial Group As a college student selling insurance, Andy Schwartz didn’t envision that someday he’d be at the helm of an $8B RIA—but he did know he was on to something. Growing up in a lower middle-class family in New Jersey who didn’t “have much” but worked hard for all that they did have, Andy learned early on that success isn’t necessarily about “where you go to college or where you grow up.” Andy went from selling just insur...

A conversation with Steven Tenney, Founding Partner and CEO, Great Diamond Partners In all of the conversations we have with breakaway advisors, we hear a consistent theme around the motivation to make the leap: To improve the ability to serve clients. And, ultimately, enhancing service delivery – such as improvements in platform and technology, and the ability to freely communicate – typically leads in one direction: Business growth. But while many advisors are building their businesses in t...

A conversation with Christopher Winn, CEO and Lead Consultant, AdvisorAssist There are few words in wealth management’s lexicon that draw greater consternation amongst advisors. And that word is “compliance.” Yet it’s the very fabric by which financial advisory businesses operate, serving as the proverbial guard rails that all advisors work within—whether they are seated in big brokerage firms, are independent business owners or somewhere in between. But for all that power that compliance wields...

With Louis Diamond It might seem odd for a show called Mindy Diamond on Independence to have an episode discussing the reasons why independence might not be right for you. But the truth of the matter is, there are plenty of reasons why independence isn’t for everyone. And it’s the mission of this series to be honest and balanced—and share what we’re hearing and seeing from advisors and firms in every corner of the landscape. So, regardless of how often we share success stories from breakaway...

A conversation with the industry thought-leader, financial planner and host of the popular blog and podcast series It was almost 2 years ago when Michael Kitces last visited this show. And much has changed since that conversation. Even his own business life took a new turn, having joined Buckingham Wealth Partners in March of 2020—right when the pandemic shut the world down and the market tanked. In this episode, Michael shares the story of his transition, and weighs in on the changes this i...

A conversation with Ahmie Baum, Founder and CEO, Interchange Capital Partners What if we all had the chance to take a “mulligan” at least once in our business lives? That is, use the proverbial golf do-over rule as a way to reset our goals and expectations—and take that shot one more time, but this time from a whole new perspective. That’s exactly the way Ahmie Baum describes his transition to independence. While he was perfectly comfortable at UBS a decade ago, he started to see things a bi...

A conversation with Robert Thornton, Executive Vice President & President of Private Wealth Management This is a story that truly exemplifies how much the wealth management landscape – and advisor mindset – has changed in recent years. Because even in a world where “choice” has become the new norm, there are only a few firms that have captured the attention of advisors like First Republic Private Wealth Management has. In this rare interview, Robert “Bob” Thornton, Executive Vice President an...

A conversation with Louis Diamond We talk a lot about the expanded industry landscape—and how, ultimately, an advisor has much more to consider than ever before. As such, there is tremendous value in periodically conducting due diligence – whether you’re thinking of moving or not – if for nothing more than to become familiar with a host of options that likely did not exist even just a few years ago. Yet with optionality often comes added confusion—leaving the potential for those who embark up...

A conversation with Tom Lewis, Certified Civil Trial Attorney at Stevens & Lee There’s no doubt that changing firms or models is a complex process. And even the thought of doing so often brings advisors to their knees with concerns over everything from portability to Protocol—and all that lies in between. Yet it’s the contractual obligations advisors may have to their firms that drive the most anxiety—and rightfully so.­ Attorneys tell us they’re getting an “avalanche” of outreach from advisor...

A conversation with Scott Gorham, Vice President of Competitive Intelligence at Fidelity Institutional, and Louis Diamond The conversation around “increased advisor movement” might seem anecdotal and obtuse at times, yet it’s anything but. The proof of such commentary comes from many of the industry’s leading reports—one most commonly referenced is the Fidelity Advisor Movement Study. Conducted by Fidelity regularly since 2014, it’s a cross-industry survey exploring advisor movement within and...

A conversation with John Peluso, President, First Clearing Multi-channel models have become one of the hottest options for advisors considering change in recent years—fueling growth in the channel with some of the biggest names in the business jumping on board. This “choose your path” concept has been around for a while, designed largely to accommodate a firm’s existing advisor force, offering a path to those interested in independence while retaining these advisors as part of their firm’s eco...

A conversation with Louis Diamond Advisors who are considering a change of firms or models often have a lot of questions—and they should. Because the reality is no decision this big should be made without digging deep and looking closely at how one’s goals align with that of either their current firm or another firm or model they might be thinking about. This episode tackles the 10 questions we get most frequently from advisors—and dispels some of the myths and misperceptions that often stop t...

A conversation with Jeff Thomas, Founder/CEO of Archetype Wealth Partners While the ultimate decision to make the leap to independence varies from advisor to advisor, one deciding factor they often share is the desire to “do better” for their clients. As Morgan Stanley breakaway Jeff Thomas put it, he did not want to have his epitaph read, “Here lies Jeff. He made rich people richer.” And no doubt, Jeff knows how to make people richer. He built a business from scratch to over a million dollar...

A conversation with Lisa Salvi, Vice President, Business Consulting & Education, Schwab Advisor Services In an industry driven by numbers, there’s an unquenchable interest in data and key performance indicators (KPIs). While the data gathered has greater significance to the industry as a whole, for an advisor or firm owner, studies that analyze peer performance provide benchmarks to help guide their strategic paths as well as their position relative to others in their space. While several stud...

A conversation with Louis Diamond on next gens, the art of “co-leadership” and future-proofing your firm. The concept of “succession planning” is one that many view only as a means to an end—designed to fill a gap for an outgoing leader to ensure continuity. While that is one outcome of such a plan, there’s much more to it. The real intent of succession planning is to “future-proof” the business—by developing a strategic guide that builds upon the leader’s vision with a focus on sustainable s...

A conversation with Adam Birenbaum, CEO of Buckingham Wealth Partners, and Louis Diamond It may come as a surprise that not every leader in the wealth management industry starts off with a background in the financial space. That said, the role does require a level of innate creativity, along with strategic and critical thinking skills—and it certainly doesn’t hurt to be mentored and nurtured by those who paved a “multi-billion dollar pathway” towards success. For example, Adam Birenbaum, CEO o...

A conversation with Terry Cook, CFP®, CIMA, Managing Partner of Parcion Private Wealth We often talk about how advisors’ mindsets have changed, having evolved to wanting more from their firms. And likewise, clients, too, are looking for more from their advisors. And as such, many advisors – particularly those managing high net worth clients – are coming to realize that the wirehouses cannot answer these changing demands. That is, managing to the lowest common denominator imposes limitations on ...

A culmination of the most relevant commentary on independence—from a year unlike any other. In the wealth management world, there was plenty of good news to come out of 2020. For instance, many advisors have reported that it was one of their best years ever in terms of growth. And from the perspective of recruiting, advisor movement was the strongest ever. Ultimately, advisors forged ahead with the intent of serving their clients and growing their businesses with the best of their abilities. A...

With the end of 2020 in sight, Mindy Diamond takes her annual look back—at the year no one could have ever predicted. In this episode, Mindy shares that despite the pandemic and the disruption to everyone’s lives, there was plenty of good news for the wealth management industry, most notably: Many advisors report having the best years of their careers. Advisor movement has been incredibly robust, with year-end projections estimating 9% of all advisors will change firms or models in 2020—the h...

A conversation with Jon Kuttin, CEO of Kuttin Wealth Management, and Louis Diamond Building a successful business is no easy feat—especially if you are the one leading the charge, as well as working on the day-to-day tasks to move the ball forward. The guest on this episode was once in that same position. Jon Kuttin, CEO of Kuttin Wealth Management, was a junior at SUNY when he entered the financial services industry as an intern with IDS—the precursor to Ameriprise Financial. And by the tim...