Clarity on roles, C-suite team is "mission critical" to achieve growth

RFG Advisory has undergone significant growth over the past few years, in both in size and strategy, and leading the charge at the RIA is former president and newly appointed CEO Shannon Spotswood.

Since joining the Alabama-based firm, Spotswood has played a crucial role in doubling RFG's team and revamping its leadership structure to fuel future expansion. RFG’s partnership with growth capital partner Long Ridge in 2022 marked a turning point, allowing RFG to expand its team and focus more aggressively on growth.

"We’ve doubled the size of our team," she notes, highlighting the addition of key leadership roles, including Abby Salameh as Chief Growth Officer and Brendan Frazier as Chief Behavioral Officer.

“Having clarity on roles and responsibilities, and how you build a leadership team and a C-suite, is so mission critical to be able to execute on the broader vision,” she asserts.

This "mission critical" vision has enabled the firm to establish a more strategic approach to growth. She also credits this clarity to the firm's ability to help advisors build their businesses and drive organic growth.

RFG’s growth-focused strategy extends beyond typical advisory services, providing what Spotswood describes as "institutional caliber concierge-level" support. This fully integrated platform includes marketing, technology, compliance, and investment management, all designed to free advisors from non-revenue-generating activities and allow them to focus on growing their businesses.

One of the most significant strategic shifts at RFG has been a renewed focus on advisor retention, which Spotswood sees as a “critical but often overlooked” aspect of firm growth. With founder Bobby White transitioning to executive chairman, he is now more focused on supporting advisors and strengthening retention efforts.

Spotswood also points to a need for operational efficiency, noting that the industry norm sees advisors spending 80 percent of their time on non-revenue-generating activities, noting that organic growth activity typically sees 2 to 3 percent while investment in marketing is running at one to 2 percent.  

That’s why RFG is working to “upend” this, by developing systems that allow advisors to focus on client relationships and business development.

“We want to flip tables and bars and start a little bit of a bar fight here, because we want to flip that equation [to the point] where advisors are spending 50 to 80 percent of their time on revenue generating activity, where their team is aligned around operationalized and professionalized businesses so they're able to serve those clients and prospects,” she says.

“The only way that you can do that is through the delivery of a fully integrated, full platform of services.”

With the average age of an advisor being 46 years old, Spotswood asserts she wants RFG to serve their clients along the multi-generational spectrum.

“Our net promoter score with our advisors has been 85. We want to walk the walk. We want to talk the talk,” she says. “We want to be known as the platform that advisors are seeking out and are partnering with because they want to drive enterprise value, drive organic growth, and because they really want to be able to serve their clients.”

RFG’s growth model is designed to help advisors increase their enterprise value, with the firm setting ambitious targets for advisors to grow from managing $50 million to $300 million in assets. "We’re builders at our core," Spotswood said, underscoring the firm’s commitment to developing scalable, professionalized practices for its advisors.

Cultivating a high-performance culture has been paramount for the firm. RFG embraces "radical candor," providing real-time feedback and leveraging resources like the "Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencion to foster transparency and continuous improvement.

"They've got to want to tell their authentic brand story," Spotswood says. "They want to have a team that's highly operationalized and professionalized."

To attract and retain these advisors, RFG has introduced its "Growth Alignment Program," offering equity opportunities and expertise in deal structuring. Spotswood emphasizes the long-term implications of these decisions, urging advisors to consider the enterprise value impact beyond just the lowest price.

Alongside RFG's growth initiatives, the firm is also launching a women-focused program called "StrongHer Money." This effort aims to “empower women to live financially fearless”, Spotswood says, addressing the statistic that 70 percent of women fire their financial advisor after a life event like death or divorce.

"It's been a long-held dream," shares Spotswood. "We're about to see $30 trillion changing hands, and advisors have got to have an 'A' game and be very intentional to connect with these women.”

RFG Advisory was also recognized as an InvestmentNews Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors in the USA for 2024.

Name: Shannon Spotswood
Position: CEO
Company: RFG Advisory
Founded: 2003
AUM: Approximately $5.5 billion