Deglin Kenealy helped make Ken Fisher into 'Fisher Investments' and -- 19 years later -- he'll take another crack as chief operating officer of wealth management firm Farther

Deglin Kenealy is talking about a revolution after convincing some young Robespierres that he can bring some 1990s Fisher Investments magic to their 2019 startup.

The 56 year-old Palo Alto, Calif. resident is now the chief operating officer at Farther, a San Francisco wealth management firm. He will help drive and manage growth with some retro principles for future disruption. See: Farther struts its startup magic and shows why a $375-million RIA can be worth $50 million -- by getting four advisors to bring books of business just to be part of the enterprise

"We had started a revolution without necessarily knowing it,” Kenealy says of his time at Fisher Investments. 

“I recognized the same commitment to providing an individualized, personal approach to wealth management at Farther – but Farther is taking this advisory style to the next logical step.” 

Farther is hoping the logic of creating a one-umbrella, one-brand RIA with a plethora of choice will draw good advisors and their clients' assets.

Kenealy left Fisher in 2004 but says it wasn't the giant it is today when he first started there. 

“In 1994, when I was the only person working in the private client group at Fisher Investments, Ken Fisher was not the Ken Fisher as he’s known in 2023. His brand and Fisher Investments built itself up over time.”

Empowering advisors

Though Fisher Investments is widely acknowledged as the undisputed RIA superpower, it has attracted virtually no imitators and a limited diaspora for its grand size. See: After Fisher Investments leapt from $65 billion to $200 billion of AUM with him as a lead brand manager, Jim Mocci jumps ship to $15 billion RIA with a playbook to reach $50 billion.

Fisher has proprietary portfolios and highly centralized advisors – mostly in Camas, Wash. and Silicon Valley – who rotate coverage of accounts in a Fisher way. The client relationship at Fisher is very much with the company as opposed to an individual at the firm.

At Farther, advisors can choose who they want as clients, but at Fisher, the advisors don’t have their choice of clients, says Daniel Seivert, CEO and managing partner of ECHELON Partners.

“[Farther's] advisors can focus on the clients they enjoy working with and be directly supported in their efforts to increase their client portfolios," he says. 

A spokesperson at Fisher responded saying, colorfully, “This comment demonstrates Dan Seivert knows no more about Fisher Investments than Pete Davidson spewing apples to oranges to tattoos; we have no comment on Deglin Kenealy or Farther, other than to wish them the best of luck.”

Fisher Investments has one of the biggest financial brands in the world. It was always a rabid junk-mailer and Internet advertisers but now plows the television airwaves with its ‘We-do-better-when-you-do-better’ message.

Vast choices

Kenealy says advisors have more control at Farther to set up practices that they prefer. At Fisher, advisors are often assigned clients and could be paired with executives, professional athletes, or billionaires. 

“At Farther, our advisors are empowered to build their own book of business and specialize in a particular client population," he says. 

 As a result, Farther advisors can provide truly unmatched, individualized investment strategies – because they are able to focus on their client populations’ unique needs, he adds.  

Farther's open architecture starts by giving advisors four custodians to choose from – Pershing, APEX, Schwab and Fidelity. The same technology platform works regardless of the custodian. 

“The technology platform allows investors to see everything they own in one place and transact within the platform.”  says Seivert, ”The investment choices are vast, and each advisor can freely choose which they would like to use. Farther is agnostic in this decision.” 

Farther will need to do something better than Fisher to close the gnat-to-elephant gap that currently exists. Fisher now has $208 billion in assets and Farther has $375 million.

Interesting twist

Technology tends to have its limits in driving RIA growth, says Seivert. But having people on staff with strong track records is a big help. See: Farther hires Ching Tao as 'head of people,' and she discloses three weapons the VC-backed RIA with $250-million of AUM is arming her with to attract gobs of premium talent

“Farther has something others don't, a team of individuals with demonstrable track records for helping others grow their businesses - Deglin from Fisher and Brad Genser from Goldman Sachs. 

Seivert adds: "The interesting twist here is that while Fisher constantly promotes its brand, Farther takes it one step further by helping promote the individual advisors and building their business while also promoting their brand.” 

Genser is a co-founder of Farther along with Taylor Matthews, who founded the firm in 2019 to speed up back-office operations for advisors, allowing them to spend more time with clients. 

The firm aims to open an account in five minutes and transfer assets in 30 seconds. 

Genser has said he wants advisors to spend 90% of their time meeting with clients and prospecting - compared to only 33% at traditional firms. 

Essential leadership

Kenealy is taking his experiences from Fisher and looking to put his energies into Farther, another firm trying to transform the industry, Seivert says.  

While Fisher may be an old-school RIA, it wasn’t always the case, he adds. 

“When Deglin was literally the only person in the firm solely focused on directly serving the high net worth market, Fisher and Deglin were the innovators.” 

While Farther is focused on technology, it's still essential to have strong leadership, says Cecile Munoz, president of U.S. Executive Search and Consulting. 

“Deglin is a wonderful human being. Technology makes humans better. But it has to be about the people. Those who have an edge are those who have successfully brought together multi-generational teams.”

Customizing advice

At Farther, Kenealy recruits the company’s top wealth advisor team among its 83 staffers. Kenealy believes Farther, with its technology, is able to provide more personal and customized advice to clients. 

Farther’s technology makes investment decisions transparent for the client, Kenealy explains. Clients can access one unified view of their family’s financial products and holdings in one place. 

“I started at Fisher, I was employee number 16 – and when I left, we had 800 employees. During my tenure, I learned what it takes to grow a large team and provide them with the resources and support needed to be successful,” he says.

“I learned that it's critical to understand people's individual strengths and interests – and have them in positions where they can succeed. We’re applying this same approach at Farther, because ultimately, when folks are more satisfied in their job, they thrive.”

Reaching scale

When Kenealy left Fisher, he said he wanted more family work-life balance. He has worked for several firms during the past 19 years. 

Most recently, he bounced around new ventures, including Basil Street Cafe, a pizza vending machine company focused on hospitals.

While looking for his next step, he decided to dive into fintech. “I’d been recruited to go to multiple different firms that were traditional RIAs. I’d describe them as vanilla ice cream. They’re all the same. 

"Yes, some flavors taste a little different. But everyone’s doing kind of the same things.” 

Kenealy works from Farther's San Francisco office a few days a week and also works from home. 

His main thrust at Farther is to help the company reach scale. “We’re adding all kinds of advisors on a regular basis. I want to make sure we can provide everything the advisors need.”