Ken Golding, who rewrote RIA software history only after Greg Friedman got three haircuts, stopped griping and acted on his hair stylist's advice, has died; he was 62
The Junxure legend was in Texas as a code writer for hire when he got a call from a shorn, California startup RIA owner, who was tired of using 'mail-merge' to integrate advice processes.
5 min read- Ken Golding's software expertise transformed Greg Friedman's RIA, Junxure, after a chance meeting.
- Partnership between Golding and Friedman, built on trust, propelled Junxure to industry leadership.
- Junxure's success led to its acquisition by AdvisorEngine and later Franklin Templeton.
- Golding and Friedman's equal partnership defied convention, driving mutual success and respect.
Brooke's Note: Ken Golding died on Jan. 22 at the age of 62. My father died at the same age, so I know it is way too young. I always knew a lot about Mr. Golding though I never really knew him. I never heard anything but the kindest words about him and his abilities. I also knew that he and Greg Friedman had one of those great RIA industry partnerships/ friendships like Bill Crager and Jud Bergman at Envestnet, or Bob Curtis and Tony Leal at MoneyGuidePro. But I never knew how the Golding/Friedman partnership came to be. I'm glad I got to learn the story as a way of paying respects to someone who helped build a foundation so many of us built a life on.
Greg Friedman considered the source and almost made the biggest mistake of his life.
The co-founder of Junxure and Private Ocean [formerly Friedman & Associates] spent three haircut sessions in 1995 at a salon griping about his business predicament -- not having the software he needed to increase the capacity of his young RIA. Friedman & Associates had about $75 million of AUM and two staff at the time.
Mailmerge was the closest thing he had to integration.
After each cut, the hair salon owner in Novato, Calif., quietly told him about a guy he knew in Texas who could solve his problems.
Friedman was unimpressed; the guy, Ken Golding, was being recommended on the basis of software he'd developed to track hair styling appointments.
“I said, 'I'm not putting my clients into the hands of my haircutter. That didn't sound right.'”
Yet between haircuts, Friedman's frustration with conventional CRM [customer relationship management] software products only grew worse.
“Every two months I tried a new product – Goldmine, ProTracker, Billgood – and none of it did what I had in mind,” he says. “I knew there should be technology to serve more people.”
“I finally called [Golding] and, honest to God, we hit it off right away.”
Mutual Trust
Their relationship would become a legendary partnership that propelled both Junxure and Private Ocean to industry leadership. Golding talked the talk and walked the walk.
Greg Friedman pockets maybe $20 million, subtracts one full-time CEO job and goes all in on Private Ocean
“He said: I'll do a prototype and won't charge for any of it,” says Friedman. “If you like it, we can talk.”
The trust came easily for both parties; they were utterly dependent on each other for specialized knowledge and skill.
“It was a handshake deal,” Friedman says. “We didn't have a written agreement until we did a corporate deal with Schwab.”
In fact, the two partners also didn't have a handshake deal involving a handshake – nor did they even know what the other looked like.
They collaborated on building Junxure by talking for hours on the telephone and even worked on separate screens.
“After about a year, I said, ‘You have transformed my business and changed my life. I said I want to help you. I said come on out to California and stay with us. When he showed up at the door, I was completely blown away. The guy was bigger than life.'”
Sharing power
Golding was tall and heavyset and Friedman is shorter and of slighter build.
“He's just big,” Friedman says. “We laughed about it.”
Story Timeline
The spirit carried over to how the two men divvied up what would become a big business that eventually got sold for about $20 million. See: Greg Friedman pockets maybe $20 million, subtracts one full-time CEO job and goes all in on Private Ocean
Each man drove a hard bargain – on the other's behalf – about who should be in charge.
“I said, 'You take 51% and I'll be 49%. He said: All I did was to take your idea.'”
Because they couldn't agree on the power split, each reluctantly agreed to an even 50-50 ownership and equal power.
Forgoing 'crazy' offers, Greg Friedman is -- yes, surprisingly -- selling 100% of Private Ocean to a roll-up that is part old Bronfman Rothschild and part NFP-owned Sontag Advisory
Junxure was acquired by AdvisorEngine in 2018. At the time, it had 12,000 investors with more than $600 billion in assets under adminstration.
Camaraderie
AdvisorEngine was acquired by Franklin Templeton in 2020, and in 2022 the company axed the Junxure brand and renamed it AdvisorEngine CRM.
Franklin Templeton CEO Rich Cancro said in a statement Golding stayed in touch with many of the team at AdvisorEngine while others said he was always willing to help out with advice.
“So many AdvisorEngine employees have very personal stories to tell about Ken. In every anecdote, what comes up again and again is how supportive he was and how much he cared about his colleagues, the product, and the clients,” Cancro said.
“He will be remembered for his camaraderie, and I hope he will be remembered for his contribution to fintech.”
Though their formal ties ended with the Junxure sale in 2018, Friedman says Golding remained his best friend and still spoke multiple times per week. Golding was particularly excited about the possibilities of AI.
Golding, 62, and Friedman, 61, were scheduled to meet up in Florida on Feb. 6. Now Friedman is heading to his best friend's memorial service on Feb. 4.
“We had other plans,” he says.
Golding, a U.S. Navy veteran, is survived by his wife, Shirley, and two sons, Chris and David.
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