From Merrill to Hightower to $3B RIA: How Verdence Doubled Twice

A conversation with Leo Kelly, Founder and CEO, Verdence Capital Advisors??

“Happy, but not satisfied.”

It’s a common refrain we hear from top advisors and their teams who are ultimately driven to change not because they are unhappy with the status quo. But, instead, because they feel a pull toward something better.

Such was the case of Leo Kelly and his team at Merrill, The Kelly Group. Having built the business to some $600mm in assets under management, the pull of entrepreneurialism and being a true fiduciary to their clients was too strong to ignore.

So in 2012 they made the leap to Hightower Advisors and in 5 years doubled their business.

But by 2017, Leo felt Hightower was going in a different direction than they were. That motivated them to make yet another leap, this time to full-on independence, launching Verdence Capital Advisors.

5 years later, the firm is now managing $3B in client assets—more than doubling the business once again.

So what’s driving all of this incredible success? Leo shares that and more with Mindy Diamond, including:

• The initial pull toward independence—and why they opted to make the leap from Merrill with Hightower instead of launching their own RIA.
• The choice to leave Hightower 5 years later—and what they are able to do differently as Verdence Capital Advisors.
• The firm’s hyper-focus on culture—and why descriptors like “collaborative” and “family” are not just terms in a value proposition but a way of life.
• The value of designing the firm “as if the client is the architect”—and how that has translated to enhanced growth.
• Their platform-based business—and how providing access to client resources helps the advisors who join them deepen connections with clients, create new relationships, and grow their businesses.
• Plus, Leo talks about the strategic minority investment from prominent capital backer, Emigrant Partners—and the value of taking on the right partner at the right time, and much more.

Leo has built an extraordinary firm—one based on taking culture beyond a cliché and making it a part of every facet of Verdence. It’s an episode with valuable advice for any advisor or business owner who is looking to enhance their own practice model and growth opportunities.

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