Running an independent advisory firm means wearing a lot of hats, and few people can successfully wear them all, says Carolyn Armitage, Founder and CEO of RIA Circle and Carolyn Armitage Consulting.
Many financial advisors are finding that the growth strategies that served them well in the past are not necessarily going to help them in the future.
Everything seems to be changing so fast in both our everyday lives as well as at work. On top of the existing challenges of running and growing a business, how an advisor adapts to this evolving landscape could determine their ability to stay relevant and competitive.
TradePMR believes that leadership can help successfully navigate these obstacles, but identifying the right leader isn’t always easy. Being a successful financial advisor doesn’t necessarily mean someone will also be a successful executive.
Running an independent advisory firm often means wearing a lot of hats, and, it seems, few people can successfully wear them all, says Carolyn Armitage, Founder and CEO of RIA Circle and Carolyn Armitage Consulting.
In this edited excerpt from the Synergize podcast, Armitage explains how this can potentially create pain points for RIAs seeking to grow
Carolyn Armitage, Founder and CEO and Carolyn Armitage Consulting: “I think sometimes advisors forget the core fundamentals, which are managing yourself first, managing your team, and then executing or managing the projects.
In my experience, that lack of focus can make the business not operate like a team and not operate optimally. For example, a lot of advisors become CEOs. They start off as very successful individual producers, and their success attracted others to them and their organization, which is terrific. That can lead to early hockey-stick growth.
As you add more people, that successful individual advisor may struggle to maintain the control that they had in the beginning. And let's face it, most of the advisors in our industry are a driver-type personality who seem to really appreciate having some of that control.
As the firm grows, you need to recognize that you will go through different stages throughout your career and that you'll need to be able to manage yourself and your own expectations and limits; recognize the value of others and how they play into your success; and have that awareness of yourself and that appreciation and acceptance that you can't do it alone.
You can't control everything and be all-knowing in all of your different departments and firms. You need to rely on others. When you can accept and adapt, that's when you'll be able to get through each one of the growth cycles that you find yourself in.”
The Synergize podcast explores the evolving role of the financial advisor in an emerging AI-driven world. TradePMR Chief Client Growth Officer Bill Coppel and co-host Senior Editor Ryan Neal bring together thought leaders and industry experts across a range of disciplines, sharing insights designed to help registered investment advisors thrive in the industry of tomorrow. Listen and subscribe for free on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
About TradePMR
For more than two decades, TradePMR has worked with growth-minded independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), providing innovative technology tools and support designed to transform their businesses. The privately-held brokerage and custodian services provider (Member FINRA/SIPC), based in Gainesville, Fla., works to streamline investment advisors' operations through comprehensive custodial, operational, and trading support. For more information, visit www.TradePMR.com.
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