Finding Independence in a Big Firm: Top UBS Team on Their Shift to Wells Fargo Advisors

A conversation with Vincent Finney, Managing Director – Investments and Joseph P. Panfil, Managing Director – Investments, Bibler, Finney, Panfil Private Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors

This is yet another milestone for our podcast series—one that illustrates how much the landscape is truly evolving.

Because the original intent of the show was to focus on the independent space, highlighting the different ways that prospective breakaway advisors could satisfy their entrepreneurial spirit.

And then we realized something: Achieving greater freedom and control isn’t limited to independent models. Not everyone wants to be a business owner. It’s more about the ability for advisors to find greater freedom in serving their customers and growing their businesses—regardless of the model they choose.

There are plenty of advisors for whom big firms offer exactly what they are looking for—the scaffolding and turnkey access to serve their clients and grow their businesses.

For example, partners Ryan Bibler, Vince Finney and Joe Panfil of Bibler, Finney, Panfil Private Wealth Management Group in Westerville, Ohio left UBS in 2018 for Wells Fargo Advisors.

Aside from the fact that they are a stellar team of young advisors who built a strong practice with some $800mm in assets under management, there is something that is truly noteworthy about this episode: They are not breakaways who left to launch their own independent entity. It’s instead a candid conversation with a team who are now employees of Wells Fargo Advisors.

So, the sheer fact that Wells has allowed them to participate speaks volumes about how the world has changed. But, more importantly, it demonstrates how Wells is working to differentiate themselves—looking beyond the bureaucracy that often limits big firms from sharing incredible success stories like this.

In this episode, two of the team’s managing partners, Vince Finney and Joe Panfil, join Mindy Diamond to share their story, including:

• The choice not to go independent—and why instead they opted to leave UBS for another wirehouse.
• UBS pulling out of the Broker Protocol—and how that impacted their decision and transition process.
• Building a strong practice at a young age—and why that was an important factor in where they ultimately landed.
• The options they looked at in due diligence—and what made Wells Fargo Advisors the standout amongst others.
• Plus, advice for other advisors who are considering change—and much more.

In a world where choice reigns, advisors can find their version of utopia—whether within the big brokerage firms, regionals, boutiques or by building their own independent firm.

But if you’ve been waiting for an episode of our series that discusses a move from one wirehouse to another, this is the one to listen to.

Related Resources

The Wirehouse World: Why it’s Still the Right Place for Many Advisors - In a landscape with more options than ever before, a move from one big brokerage firm to another is more often the exception than the rule these days. Read ->

If Not Another Wirehouse, Then What? - Advisors considering change want something more than what they have at their current firm. The good news is that there’s plenty to choose from. But that’s the bad news, too. Read ->

The Wealth Management Landscape At A Glance: What Financial Advisors Need to Know - The wealth management landscape offers more optionality than ever before, making it difficult to discern, let alone compare and contrast, models. So we’ve created this “at-a-glance” continuum infographic to serve as your guide to the different models and their relative features. Download ->

You can also listen to the full episode on our?website, as well as on?Apple Podcasts,?Google Podcasts,?Stitcher?or?Spotify