Now that the deal with Robinhood has officially closed, the TradePMR team is busy getting ready for the next big thing: our annual Synergy conference!
In 2024, TradePMR celebrated its 25th anniversary with a bash in Las Vegas. Founder and CEO Robb Baldwin urged registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the audience to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit that drove them towards going independent, and a theme of turning RIAs into rainmakers to power organic growth underscored our keynote speakers and panels.
Read More: Robb Baldwin and Joe Duran Share Four Keys for Powering RIAs’ Organic Growth
This year, TradePMR is trading the Vegas Strip for the waters of Tampa Bay as our conference returns to our home state of Florida for what we think will be our biggest event yet.
We recently snagged some time with Chief Revenue Officer Rob Dilbone to ask him about SYNERGY25 and what’s he’s most looking forward to. Here’s what he had to say:
How is SYNERGY25 going to be different from TradePMR events in the past?
Rob Dilbone, TradePMR’s Chief Revenue Officer: “This one is different because attendees are going to get the inside scoop on one of the most disruptive moves our industry has seen in a long time. They’re going to hear why we did it, why Robinhood did it, and our vision for the future of financial advice.
I think it’s an exciting time at TradePMR — we have a lot going on! After celebrating our 25th anniversary in Las Vegas, this year we became a part of Robinhood and are looking forward to showing what that will look like to advisors thinking of joining us.
We feel like this merger is about the way forward and is going to provide advisors with the tools they need to be successful. It’s a long-term play on both Robinhood’s part and for TradePMR. We’re excited to share what we’re working on.
For any advisors still thinking about coming to SYNERGY25 in Tampa, what would you say you’re most excited about?
RD: The first item on my list is the referral program. There’s been a lot in the press about average account size in the Robinhood business, but there are more than 25 million funded accounts1 and many of them have significant assets in them — more than I think many expect. We feel like that’s low hanging fruit for advisors.
We’re excited about that and think it’s an early opportunity, but the long-term prospect is helping RIAs who work with TradePMR crack the code on the next generation of investors who are growing their wealth and net worth and starting to look for an advisor. The next generation, on top of building wealth on their own, is going to inherit significant assets as trillions of dollars change hands from the Baby Boomers2. That’s a significant amount of business, and something that I didn’t hear any solutions for last year.
We realized that whether it’s technology or products, if we’re going to provide that inroad into the next generation going forward, we are going to have to do something different than what we were doing for the last 25 years. It can’t be business as usual.
You mentioned technology, how will that factor in?
RD: Client-facing technology is a huge component of an advisor’s business, but we believe it’s going to become even more important. Younger investors are not going to accept the technology of their parents or the old banks.
At Robinhood, their entire business (up until the acquisition of TradePMR, anyway) is client-facing technology. We believe they’re an ideal partner to work with on providing that next generation of advisor technology.
At Synergy, we’re going to lay out the roadmap and talk about the way forward when it comes to technology, products, and the next generation. I’m excited for our advisors to meet the Robinhood leadership team and hear directly from them about partnering with TradePMR.
Will advisors at Synergy get the chance to discuss the referral program directly with leadership?
RD: We built this business by partnering with and listening to advisors. We’re continuing in that mode. Advisors who are focused on growth are familiar with the other referral programs out there in the market. We invite them to give us feedback about what they’d like to see from us and be engaged as we build out our program.
What about financial advisors who aren’t currently working with TradePMR? Why should they consider coming to Synergy?
RD: If they’re looking for solutions designed to grow their business going forward, to address the great wealth transfer, or if they’re looking for better technology (both advisor-facing and client-facing) and access to a wider variety of investment products, then I think Synergy is going to be a great event for them to come to.
It’s not just going to be TradePMR and Robinhood there, but also the vendors in our network who are focused on the future of technology, advisors, and wealth. It’ll be a great time to come together and see the way forward.
Any thoughts about the event coming back to your home state of Florida this year?
RD: I’m excited about not going to Las Vegas!
Really though, it’s going to be a beautiful time of year to be in Florida. We love welcoming people to our home turf. We have a lot of activities planned and a beautiful venue right on the waters of Tampa Bay. It’s going to be a great time.
Thanks, Rob! Any closing thoughts?
This is the one time of year when we have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a critical mass of the people we work with, and we love the opportunity to do that. We believe it’s valuable for both our current advisors and anyone considering coming to TradePMR to meet the people who help them run their business and provide the level of service that we are known for.
And as I said, this year will be all about the way forward. The world is changing, and it can’t just be business as usual. We’re in it for the long term.
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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1 Robinhood Investor Relations, https://investors.robinhood.com/
2 The Cerulli Report — U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2024, Cerulli Associates, December 5, 2024.