Looking past Covid-19 pandemic, Louisiana RIA buys $1-million building after hitting $1 billion in AUM and hiring the town's mayor
Summit Financial Wealth Advisors was sold to Focus Financial in 2014, growing its assets by $400 million since then but keeping staffing about the same
5 min read
Brooke's Note: People ask me all the time why RIAs continue to be a killer business model in a digital era. This article lets me count the ways that Wall Street and Main Street fuse symphonically. You see a home town firm get to $1 billion of AUM then buying a convenient, looked-over location and hiring key locals -- all while having Rudy Adolf on speed dial for capital. When you buy a building during a pandemic, when it's not totally clear when you'll be able to breathe safely and ethically inside one, you are feeling a bright future in your bones and acting on it. It's also all being done with the mayor's blessing in an area affectionately known as The Oil Center.
Summit Financial Wealth Advisors needed the space to grow, socially distance and live in one bubble. But when commercial choices failed, it bought a building, and the high-end pet groomers are out the door.
The $1 billion AUM RIA in Lafayette, La. purchased a 10,700-square-foot edifice at 1021 E. St. Mary Boulevard -- a rare move for a financial advisory firm but one that made sense in unprecedented times.
The price tag was about $1.1 million, according to an online listing. The firm did not disclose what it paid and the pet groomer, Bark Avenue, that occupies a portion of the space will move.
“Summit Financial was looking for a facility with room to grow and our focus was to stay in the Oil Center itself," says Summit Financial Partner Todd Lambert. "Most of the available spaces in our city were larger office towers with shared access points."
"Before COVID, this was not a big deal. Once COVID began to impact in-person operations, we realized our clients may be adverse to visiting these type of locations. This brought us back to looking for a standalone building in the Oil Center."
Expanding the team
Some RIAs are gearing up to reopen in bigger, better offices-- some at 'Covid' rates--to go face-to-face with clients with one big caveat: vaccinations mandatory
The acquisition follows key hires -- also with a down-home wrinkle.
Summit this year hired former Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux, a CPA. He'll work as an investment advisor representative (IAR). Corporate finance executive Wes Gautreaux was named to the new position of managing director to expand its team.
Their current office is around 3,750 square feet. Summit will occupy around 5,000 square feet of the new space, initially. Summit has 10 employees in Lafayette and 16 across Louisiana, serving clients across state and the Gulf South region.
“We’ve spent 14 years at our current Lafayette office, but we’re out of space with the recent additions and we need more room to grow," said Founder and Managing Partner David Daniel.
"The new building is close to our existing headquarters, which is convenient for our clients and it will support us for greater long-term potential.”
Open environment
Story Timeline
Daniel followed a long road to reach this landmark purchase.
Born in Baton Rouge, he went to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on a football scholarship and graduated in 1978. He started in the investment business with E F Hutton in 1987.
He started Summit Financial in 2003 within Legg Mason Wood Walker. In 2006, Summit Financial became a registered investment advisory firm.
The firm first got national attention when Focus Financial Partners acquired it in 2014. At the time, Summit had eight total employees and four advisors and just $600 million of AUM.
“At Summit Financial, we have always wanted our staff and clients to be comfortable in our office and have had an open space work environment," Lambert says.
"It allows for staff interaction, but also provides greater flexibility for social distancing. When looking for a new space, we wanted to keep this work environment for a post-COVID world.
"This new building will allow us to be in the office and keep our employees and clients safe,” he adds.
Decorum, respect
Many of the qualities that make for a good mayor carry over in financial advice.
Robideaux, a 58 year-old Republican won the Hudson Cup, the "Gentleman of the House" award for the legislator who “most exemplifies the qualities of decorum, respect, humor and leadership” during the 2013 legislative session."
He initiated the conversion of the Parish Animal Control Center to a “No-Kill Shelter” for domestic pets during his tenure as mayor.
He has been an adjunct faculty member at UL and an instructor for Junior Achievement. As a fan of youth sports, he also coached for Lafayette Little League Baseball and Lafayette Youth Soccer.
Summit plans to move into its new office space in 2021.
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