A lot has changed in the wealth management game since Paul Saganey founded Integrated Partners in 1996 – most notably, in his view, the amplified focus on high-net-worth clients (not to mention the personalized service they’ve come to expect), the impact of increased competition on profitability, and the new technologies RIAs have adopted to drive efficiency.
On the flip side, what does the Integrated CEO believe is the hands-down, number-one thing that has remained the same over his past nearly three decades in the financial advisory business?
“The relationship of trust between advisor and client,” said Saganey.
“This has been and will continue to be a relationship-first business,” said Saganey. “No matter what happens with technology and other practice-enhancement tools, the ability to sit across from someone and truly understand their goals, dreams, and fears has been true since the day I started in the industry and will continue to be true long after I’m gone.”
Yes, for all its technological evolution, from trading under a buttonwood tree to the blockchain and beyond, the singular constant in the wealth management industry will always be that it can eventually be distilled into a conversation between individuals.
Oh, and money too. That’s also played a pretty important role in the growth of both Wall Street and Integrated Partners.
Since its four-person founding at the dawn of the internet age, Integrated has grown to more than $13 billion in AUM overseen by 210 advisors and 190-plus CPAs across 116 regional offices in the United States. And in 2023, all those personal conversations and relationships paid off for Integrated with the Boston-headquartered firm having a breakout year in terms of bringing in more assets and personnel.
Last February, Integrated snapped up $2.25 billion Laurel Wealth Advisors in its first-ever acquisition. It enticed Wealthcare Management Services, JMB Financial Services Group, and PRISM Financial Services to its platform. And it teamed up with leading accountancy firm Windes to launch Ovisto Wealth Management, offering a holistic wealth management and financial planning service.
Finally, Integrated launched an insurance division, Integrated Insurance Solutions, to help advisors address the complex insurance needs of high-net-worth clients.
All those moves, according to Saganey, were designed to help the firm thrive in a future where industry changes – technological, regulatory, and otherwise – will be arriving at an ever-quickening pace.
“We will see more changes over the next five years than I saw in the last 35 years of my career,” said Saganey. “As the world continues to get more complex every day, this complexity will impact the wealth and financial security of our clients. I expect that the next five years will see more people reaching out for help as confidence in their financial future gets more uncertain.”
Integrated starts with a holistic planning approach and couples it with an organic growth engine that provides advisors the resources to work with more complex clients (or, in other words, those high-net-worth investors that Saganey was talking about). With this in mind, Integrated’s goal was to build not just a platform but a culture that revolves around providing advisors with coaching and study groups to advance their skillsets while they try and go upmarket.
“Our open-architecture technology platform serves not to change the business model of the team but, rather, amplify it,” said Saganey.
Helping advisors move up that “complexity curve” to attract those HNW dollars is what makes Integrated attractive to new recruits.
That said, Saganey admitted Integrated’s program is “not for everyone.” More precisely, he said, it is designed for those with an “entrepreneurial mindset,” who truly have the will to step up to a wealthier and, as a result of that wealth, more complex level of clientele.
Saganey saids his team spends considerable hours on the due diligence front to ensure this alignment is in place. Typically, the advisory team Integrated recruits has already experienced a great deal of success and are now focused on moving up what he defines as the “complexity curve.”
“We view ourselves as a partner in the advisor’s growth strategy where they look at Integrated as an extension of their business,” said Saganey.
And as private equity-backed RIAs continue to snap up teams across the country, Saganey maintains that organic growth is paramount, and that cultural fit will continue to drive his M&A strategy, not purely AUM. Put simply, the CEO of Integrated Partners believes the best way to make sure his partners succeed is to make sure they are integrated into the greater business.
“Our strategy does not deviate from our disciplined approach regardless of the way in which an advisor chooses to affiliate with Integrated,” said Saganey. “We want to ensure the profile and goals of the team are aligned with our philosophy, culture, and resources. We couple that alignment with the financial component to ensure we work with advisors that want to continue to succeed post-acquisition – if that is the path they choose.”
High-net-worth investors tend to lean heavily on their accountants. Almost as much as their financial advisors even.
Saganey realized early on the importance of that relationship and created the Integrated CPA Alliance to capitalize on it.
“By combining the forces of CPAs and advisors, Integrated seeks to not only enhance their individual capabilities but also aims to boost overall business growth,” commented Saganey.
Saganey said this partnership philosophy creates an environment where “everyone wins” in the end.
Explained Saganey: “By getting in front of wealthier, more complex clients, the advisor wins. The CPA wins because they are seen as a problem solver and financial advocate for their clients. And most importantly, the client wins due to the fact their most important confidants are working together to solve their most pressing needs.”
Discovering what those client needs might be before they become too pressing is part of Saganey’s challenge as he heads into his fourth decade at the helm of Integrated. And he says the firm’s recent growth spurt is making it increasingly difficult for him to find the time to “think, research, and make decisions” on what will be a vastly different industry in 5 to 10 years.
Whatever changes might come, however, there is actually one more thing that will stay the same at Integrated other than those close client-advisor relationships, and that’s Saganey’s optimism.
“We are one of the few organizations that can truly say our future will be much more exciting than our past,” said Saganey.
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