Independence
What independence does not fix
It is a real solution to a specific set of problems. Advisors get into trouble when they expect it to solve a different set.
Published
What it does fix
Ownership of the enterprise value. Control over technology, investment approach, pricing, and how the practice runs. The speed at which a decision becomes reality.
Those are genuine and they are why the trend exists.
It does not fix a growth problem
If new client acquisition was hard inside a firm with a recognized brand, it is not easier without one.
Some advisors do grow faster independently, usually because they can finally market the way they want. But the underlying activity is the same activity, and independence does not supply it.
It does not fix a capacity problem
An advisor at capacity who goes independent is an advisor at capacity with additional responsibilities.
Capacity is fixed by delegation, process, or a platform. It is not fixed by ownership.
It does not fix being tired
This is the important one. Burnout inside a large firm is frequently read as a problem with the firm, and the move is expected to resolve it.
The first eighteen months of independence are harder than the job you left. If the underlying issue is exhaustion rather than constraint, the move makes it worse before it makes it better, and sometimes it just makes it worse.
Independence is a cure for constraint. It is not a cure for tiredness, and it is regularly prescribed for the wrong one.
It does not fix a client problem
Difficult clients follow you. So does a book that is concentrated, aging, or unprofitable at the bottom.
Those are practice management problems and they travel intact.
The useful test
Write down the three things you most want to be different. Then ask, for each, whether ownership and control are actually what change it.
If two of the three are yes, go. If none of them are, you have a different problem and going independent will delay finding out what it is.