A year after announcing it would leave Raymond James and restructure from an OSJ to a hybrid, multi-custodial RIA, Concurrent says it recruited more than $1 billion in assets and added Schwab as a custodian.
Last September, Tampa-based Concurrent announced it would restructure as a multi-custodial, hybrid RIA to create more flexibility and give advisor affiliates access to a broader range of investment strategies, products and technology—calling the move “a crucial next step in the firm’s mission to foster advisor entrepreneurship.”
A year later, Concurrent has relauched and rolled down the office of supervisory jurisdiction structure it formerly operated under Raymond James. After transitioning more than 60 advisor teams, 20,000 accounts and $5 billion in assets to Fidelity’s custodial platform in just three months, Concurrent has added Charles Schwab as its second custodian and recruited more than $1 billion in managed assets. Along with its retirement business, Concurrent now oversees more than $17 billion in total assets.
“Even though we did call it an eight-month timeline, I think that it was still a pretty Herculean undertaking for our team,” said Concurrent CEO Nate Lenz. “When you start to think about things like technology, support and some of the back-end account operations, we had to reorganize our internal team and add headcount to handle those things. Especially now because we are the technology platform. We went and compiled all these different pieces of technology and have integrated them together and we’ve been really intentional in that process.
“I would say that is kind of a difference between us and some of the other firms that are out there,” he added. “We don’t want to be everything to everyone. So, we were very intentional in how we chose the different solutions that we chose. We had an eye on their ability to create a consistent experience for our advisors regardless of what custodian they use.”
With the addition of Schwab, Lenz doesn’t anticipate bringing on another new custodial partner in the near term but said Goldman Sachs Advisor Solutions is the next likely choice.
“We have made good on our pledge to offer our advisors a truly multi-custodial framework with the range and caliber of resources they expect to deliver truly independent, fiduciary service,” Concurrent Managing Director of Platform Solutions Joe McQuaid said in a statement.
Some recent additions to the Concurrent platform include:
- Tidwell-Premock-Basilone Private Wealth Management, a $300 million AUM team serving the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. community, former with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network;
- Cox, Klugh & Co., a $200 million AUM team in the Columbus, S.C. region, founded by two former vice presidents of Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management, Art Klugh and Brandon Cox;
- Former LPL advisor Rodd Newhouse, who joined Wealth Partners Alliance, a Dallas, Texas-based advisor team powered by Concurrent;
- Robert “Rooter” Wareing, formerly affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services, who joined TailorMade Wealth Counsel, an advisor team powered by Concurrent serving The Woodlands, Texas area.
“Concurrent’s transition to an RIA framework has already opened doors for us as we look for top advisor talent to grow,” said Wealth Partners Alliance Founding Partner Brittany Smith. “Rodd [Newhouse] has already proven to be a difference-maker as he expands the segments of clients we serve.”
“We knew from day one that our path wouldn’t be an easy one,” said Lenz. “No change on this scale comes without bruises and scrapes. But the new momentum and success our teams have already earned has validated the effort we put into making the best version of Concurrent yet. And we’re just getting started.”
Concurrent is backed by Merchant Investment Management, which increased its investment in support of the transition. Lenz said the firm is unequivocal about eschewing any other forms of external capital going forward.