Partner Value Proposition |
Why should you consider Diversified?
> Ownership Model
Diversified is looking for full acquisitions. For these acquisitions, Diversified does all-cash transactions, but if a partner desires equity, the firm is willing to offer a standard amount in equity depending on the company size. Diversified’s approach to acquisitions is flexible and tailored to each individual deal, priding themself on creating deals that work for each party, as it aims to build enterprise value and align all partners with the firm’s long-term growth strategy.
> Involvement Opportunities
Diversified currently has a board of three members. They are also planning to form a sub-board and are open to partners joining. While there are not currently any vacancies in roles on their executive team, Diversified is open to adding partners to the executive team as they grow and need additional leadership.
> Secure a Path for Your Talent
Most of Diversified’s team is already in the G2 age group. Ways that firm leadership invests in the growing talent of their young team is through the following:
There are sales meetings every week where young advisers can learn from more senior advisers and then develop their own spin and style build on best practices.
> Unique Differentiators
The president and CEO are involved in acquisitions from start to finish. They feel strongly that in this relationship business their involvement should reflect this belief.
Knowing that psychology plays a huge role in financial decisions, Diversified has chosen to use Oechsli Consulting to train advisers and coach them through client scenarios and follow-up activities. This training is optional for new partners, but it is encouraged. The coaching spans client service as well as business development scenarios.
Diversified does not currently have a PE partner. They do, however, have a credit facility in place through Bancorp.
Diversified At A Glance
HQ: Wilmington, DE
AUM: $1.42B RIA & $96M BD
Employees: 37
CEO: Michael Fisher
Office Locations: 6
How We Grow Together
Marketing Strategies
Diversified is committed to helping advisors grow. They have enlisted the support of senior advisors who understand marketing strengths and share best practices across the firm. This sharing fosters an environment of continuous improvement.
Diversified is working on an internal Lead Gen system and also purchases lead generation for the partner office to help growth. The leadership sends out two weekly value-add emails to clients and prospects. There are monthly newsletters, local events, and Zoom educational videos available.
Diversified also has an active social media presence to drive additional business. Diversified handles all of the office marketing efforts on behalf of advisors, including daily-, weekly-, and monthly social posts, email, local events, etc. All of these are lifted off of the advisor.
The firm also utilizes Dave Ramsey’s network for additional leads.
Organic Growth
Diversified has had double-digit growth in four of the last six years. Through their marketing efforts, they aim to continue this growth pattern.
What are the Points of Alignment I need to be aware of should I choose to join the Diversified Team?
> Culture
Diversified is a blend of autonomy and structure and has been established since 1982. The firm aims to provide clients with a one-stop shop for their life and financial goal needs. The firm offers advisers and clients a fully aligned model with a unified approach to the client experience, Investment Management, and firm messaging. While these resources are strongly encouraged to adopt, they aren’t required.
Diversified has the following core values:
- Unwillingness to accept the status quo
- Caring culture
- Clients are our everything
- Accountable
- Have fun, get stuff done
Diversified has been awarded as one of the Top Places To Work for financial planning firms in their size category across the country. Diversified takes work-life balance and employee satisfaction very seriously and it was named Best Place to Work in Philadelphia per the Philadelphia Business Journal in July 2023. Diversified hopes to remove non-core business activities from advisors’ plates so that they can flourish.
Diversified has a saying that they describe as the Why for doing business. It is aimed at the end client and is: “To uncover and achieve your life’s goals, so that we can help as many people as possible live their best lives”. They don’t see their role as solely money management but believe in the wealth, health, and happiness triangle and want to bring that to clients.
> Brand
Diversified requires all partners to embrace the Diversified brand on day one as a reflection of shared values and vision.
> Investment Management
Diversified has built its IM Platform to provide advisors with in-house solutions. Leadership does grant advisers the ability to continue managing client portfolios themselves, should they prefer, as long as trading can be centralized.
Diversified aims to take the best of what advisers offer in portfolio management strategies and then provide greater scale and compliance protection. Often this adds tremendous value to advisers since scalability is often an issue.
Diversified’s investment philosophy is such that they believe financial planning is the starting point to determine the investment portfolio.
Diversified’s Investment Process:
1) Planning
2) Tactical Asset Allocation
3) Investment Selection
4) Continuous Monitoring & Oversight
The investment committee at Diversified has 67 years of combined industry experience and includes five members with relevant credentials, including CFA and CFP designations among others.
Unusually, the investment platform has both an open architecture to accommodate new partners’ models as well as in-house expertise/strategies for new partners to use. There are 12 models/strategies offered. The in-house strategies are built mainly by active and passive ETFs and mutual funds. Alternative funds can be used if needed and span private equity, structured products, real estate, and hedge funds. The firm also offers ESG and SRI strategies if a client desires them.
Diversified also offers all lines of insurance through their Diversified Insurance LLC and an IP brokerage supports them in this endeavor.
> Client Experience
Diversified has a branded client experience called Life Long Planning Process. This process includes a series of steps that guide advisers on what to deliver from onboarding to ongoing relationship management and deliverables. In the first phase of the process, the team covers:
- Offline modeling
- Diagnostics
- Analysis
- Co-planning
- Recommendations
In the second phase, onboarding is complete and advisers focus on the following:
- Integrated planning
- Live Modeling
- Reforecast Models
- Track Progress and Benchmarks
- Confirmation/Validation
- Implementation of Recommendations
- Asset Management
- Estate, Tax & Family Planning
- Unlimited Communication
- Proactive and Reactive Relationship management
- Private client engagements and events
- Co-Planning
- Education
Diversified offers a same day business guarantee. If a client emails, calls, or reaches out, Diversified guarantees to get back to them the same business day. They believe it unfortunate that this practice is unique in the business society today, but that it sets them apart. They also emphasize transparency and client education.
Diversified owns an LLC in Diversified Tax, LLC, (tax services are offered by accountants through the company Diversified Tax) which has 1,400 tax clients and integrates the details from financial planning, investment management, and tax prep, further emphasizing Diversified’s desire to be a one-stop-shop. The tax team is fully integrated and can be apprised of client tax planning and strategies part of clients’ overall financial health. This integration aims to make life easier for clients and, thus, makes the client experience attractive.
> Practice Management
Diversified offers practice management expertise to help partners define staff roles and responsibilities for the local office. In addition, leadership works to help partners with employee review/performance management and recommends a workweek structure model for the local office. Additionally, Diversified assists partners in identifying and implementing strategic growth initiatives and helps define/manage the local offices toward specific KPIs.
> Tech Stack and Custodians
Tech Stack
- CRM: Redtail
- Financial Planning Software: eMoney
- Portfolio Management: Orion, Eclipse & Pontera
- Portfolio Accounting: Orion
- Risk Assessment: Finametrica
- Electronic vault: Azure
- Other: Smart Asset & Wiser Advisor
Custodians
- SEI
- Schwab
Diversified is open to adding custodial relationships as needed by potential partners.
What is Diversified Building?
Growth
Diversified has experienced significant growth in recent years as shown below.
Organic growth historic rates:
- 2022 11.50%
- 2021 12.93%
- 2020 8.41%
- 2019 12.28%
- 2018 12.89%
- 2017 9.42%
Diversified Leadership
Andrew Rosen
President
“Andrew Rosen is the President of Diversified, LLC. In his role as President, he sets the strategic direction, which focuses on providing our clients and employees with everything they need to achieve their goals and dreams.
As a Financial Planner, Andrew forges lifelong relationships with clients, coaching them through all stages of life and guiding them to better achieve their life goals.”
Michael Fisher
CEO
“Michael Fisher joined the Diversified team in 2019. Michael has over 20 years of financial services industry experience. In his role as CEO, Michael focuses on managing the day-to-day functions of our executive team and over 30 staff members across three organizations.
Michael is also the managing partner of Diversified Tax and Diversified Insurance our two sister companies. ”
Disclosure footnote:
The Financial Times: 2020 Top 300 Registered Investment Advisers
The 2020 Financial Times Top 300 Registered Investment Advisers is an independent listing produced by the Financial Times (July 2020). The FT 300 is based on data gathered from RIA firms, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research, and 300 RIA firms were ranked based on data submitted by some 760 qualified RIA firms across the nation. As identified by the FT, the listing reflects each practice’s performance in six primary areas, including assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and accessibility. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to the Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 300. For more information about the ranking, please click here.
FA Magazine
Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2021 RIA Survey & Ranking report is an annual survey that ranks firms based on their total discretionary and nondiscretionary assets reported on their Form ADV and the percentage growth in assets. Diversified did not pay to be included in this list.
The 2021 Financial Advisor Magazine Registered Investment Advisers Ranking and Top 50 Fastest-Growing Registered Investment Advisor Firms Ranking are independent listings produced by Financial Advisor Magazine (July 2021).
The entire list may be viewed at:
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/the-future-is-now-63028.html
Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2022 RIA Survey & Ranking report is an annual survey that ranks firms based on their total discretionary and nondiscretionary assets reported on their Form ADV and the percentage growth in assets. Diversified did not pay to be included in this list.
Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors
To qualify as one of InvestmentNews Best Places to Work for Financial Advisers, an advice firm must have at least 15 employees and have been in business for one year. There is no charge to register.
Use of Third Party Rankings
Neither rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services, publications, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any designation or certification, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if the Registrant is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Rankings published by magazines, and others, generally base their selections exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized adviser. Rankings are generally limited to participating advisers. No ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of the Registrant by any of its clients. The Registrant did not pay a fee to disseminate this information, although these publications have a financial incentive (paid subscriptions) to publish such information, and the Registrant may pay a fee to subscribe to such publications. The Registrant’s Chief Compliance Officer, David Levy, remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including providing the criteria used for any reflected ranking.
Financial planning and Investment advisory services offered through Diversified, LLC. Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC. Headquartered at 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Diversified, LLC are not affiliated companies.