RIABiz introduces a section dedicated to breakaway brokers

Last week, RIABiz launched its new breakaway stories section, a collection of stories about brokerage teams that have jumped to independence. This is the beginning of a collection that we will continually add to.

Originally, when RIABiz founder Brooke Southall envisioned this web site, he considered focusing it purely on the breakaway movement. Over time, the scope of coverage broadened, as he and the rest of the team considered how fragmented the entire independent space was, and how much opportunity lay in serving that space.

Like the RIA business itself, the breakaway movement is fragmented. The people who execute breakaways are largely cut off from each other and there is no one-stop shop for information.

Certain law firms, consultants, recruiters, technology providers and asset custodians will provide a big helping hand. But to some extent each one is guiding the prospective breakaway in their direction. The other huge help in the process are RIAs who have already made the leap. The latter group is perhaps the biggest source of help because they can issue the clear signal that breaking away often is a positive experience.

Collating all of them

We’ve written approximately a story a week about breakaways. Sometime in the first quarter, we woke up to the idea that collating all of them into the section was a good idea.

These are some of our most dramatic and popular stories — tales of survival, and eventually, prosperity and transformation. We plan to keep a steady stream of them that capture dozens if not hundreds of circumstances.
We also hope to — over time — create a repository of all the resources needed to contemplate a break to independence.

Schwab stepped forward as a sponsor, which will help us build out the section going forward. So, what you’ll find on the page now is the beginning.

Each story includes what we’ve nicknamed the baseball card – a set of information including the size of the team that’s the subject of the story, where they made the break from, and a few of their key decisions. The baseball cards are designed to enable you to quickly figure out which stories are most relevant or interesting to you.

Breakaway resources section

Along with links to our most e-mailed stories and our directory, the breakaway section’s right hand column includes a new breakaway resources section, where you will find some of our top stories and guest columns offering advice on breaking away.

Let us know what aspects of this sections are useful and interesting and what would be helpful in your quest. And please drop us a line if you hear of a breakaway with an interesting story to tell.