4 Things You Didn’t Know About Kestra Private Wealth Services: A Conversation With Our COO
2020 is shaping up to be our biggest year yet. Almost ten years ago, my colleague Scott Wilson and I, along with a few other partners, set Kestra Private Wealth Services in motion, quite literally, as we mapped out our business plan on a plane.
Scott’s our COO, and is someone you want by your side when you’re working towards a transition to independence. The best COO in the business, he has a strong handle on our industry and knows what it takes to run a business in part because he’s also been very successful as a financial professional, and as a complex manager in the wirehouse world. He knows the standard, and he helps us to exceed it.
We’ve come a long way over the last decade. Some didn’t think we’d make it. Sometimes we didn’t either. But we learned a lot in ten years, and we want to share these lessons with you -- our partners -- who we know are fueled by the same entrepreneurial spirit that inspired us way back when.
We recently sat down to revisit our journey on Kestra PWS Out Loud. Here are four fun, and little-known facts about our team:
- Scott and I are former wirehouse employees - As some say, “If you don’t like it, change it.” This was very much the case for us as we spent the first decades of our careers in client-facing roles, managing portfolios and driving investment decisions at our respective firms. We knew there was more outside of the wirehouse and we wanted to help others find paths to business ownership as we did.
- Kestra PWS teams oversee $4 billion in assets, collectively - We joked early on that we’d reach $4 billion in assets during our first year of business. Boy, were we wrong! It’s been a slow but steady climb. We speak from experience when we tell breakaway teams to practice patience.
- Scott opened upwards of 30 offices during his time in the wirehouse - Like I said, he’s a pro. Now, Scott has helped open just as many Kestra PWS offices for our firms as he did in his wirehouse career.
- We “met” Kestra Financial, Inc. back in 2013 - James Poer and his team were the only people in our industry to give us sound and honest feedback on the direction of our firm. This connection came at a critical time and it established the trust that built the foundation for our future success.
The journey to business ownership is not an easy one. There will be blood, sweat, and tears along the way, which will make your success all the more rewarding. Hey, we’re two guys who’ve been there. Sat where you sit, working with clients but wanting to own the business, not just the relationships. We know that feeling. Since we launched it’s been early mornings, late nights and cross-country travel on the weekends. But we love it. Let us give you the benefit of that decade’s worth of experience out here to help you navigate the challenges of moving away from a captive environment and setting sail on your own.
Listen to my full conversation with Scott here.
