Advisor Talk with Frank LaRosa

Most advisors say they want to exit. What they actually want is to stop doing the parts they hate.

Scott Danner has had this conversation more times than he can count. The advisor says they want to sell. Then the deal falls apart. Not because the numbers were wrong but because nobody asked the right question at the start.

Scott is the Executive Vice President and Head of Legacy at Steward Partners. He founded Freedom Street Partners in 2016, built it to nearly $3.5 billion in AUM, and sold it to Steward Partners in late 2023. He started...

Frank has a story from just yesterday that proves clients do not care what your firm is called.

Frank opens with a principle he has seen play out for years, every firm has its day in the sun and every firm has its day in the darkness. Stacey adds that firms move through natural phases of growth and reputation and that an advisor who assumes their own firm is immune to that cycle is simply not paying attention.

Frank shares a real conversation from the day before recording, an advisor in Texas who had never...

Frank and Stacey recorded this one unscripted, straight from a conversation they were already having.

Frank breaks down why a W2 structure is not automatically the wrong choice, using Dan Sullivan's who not how framework to explain that a branch manager, an administrator and operations support are not overhead, they are people an advisor would otherwise have to hire and manage themselves. He shares a real example of a private banking team that moved to Morgan Stanley and grew from one billion to 2.6 billion dollars inside a structured W2 environment.

Stacey makes the case that...

Michael Brady says he has perfect clients and he means it.

Frank sits down with Michael, founder of Generosity Wealth Management, to unpack how his career took a hard turn away from traditional financial planning. Michael shares the story of a longtime client, one of the first AIDS doctors in Boulder, who retired and went on to train doctors in Uganda, a moment that pushed Michael to eventually take two years off with his wife to travel and volunteer before starting his own firm in 2008.

Michael shares how upfront he was with prospective clients from...

Stacey opens this episode with a hot take before Frank even gets a word in.

Frank breaks down a comment made online by Cheryl Penny, founder and CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, who argued that a financial advisor is only truly independent if they own their own RIA. Frank explains why he disagrees, using real examples of RIAs having their custodial agreements pulled by firms like Schwab and Raymond James, proving that ownership alone does not remove risk or outside control.

Stacey pushes back on the idea of captive independence, pointing out that advisors at...

Most advisors go into a transition focused on the upfront money.

Very few are prepared for everything that happens after they walk out the door.

Some surprises are good ones.

Clients move faster than expected. Assets go up, not down. The income jump is real.

But there are also things advisors consistently underestimate, overlook, and wish they had negotiated differently.

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank do a post transition breakdown of the things advisors wish they had known going in, including what they...

Five of Elite's top producers sat down together in Cancun to talk about what actually makes this job matter.

Frank goes around the table asking each consultant what they enjoy most about the work. Tricia talks about relationships and education, Julie compares every advisor conversation to solving a puzzle, Stacey points to the reward of bringing advisors accurate information in an industry full of misconceptions, Bruce talks about the value of being authentic and getting to know clients on a personal level and Dom shares how twenty-five years as a wholesaler let him rekindle old relationships in...

Frank LaRosa is literally getting a text about this exact scenario while recording this episode.

Frank opens with a real client story, an advisor in his mid to late sixties who has spent a year and a half weighing a full sale against a transition. The multiples sound incredible on paper, ten, twelve, even fourteen times EBITDA but once junior partners, payout structures and sell and stay scenarios come into play, the math gets a lot more complicated than the headline number suggests.

Stacey brings in the psychology most advisors never plan for. She explains...

Frank LaRosa says most financial advisors never notice exception debt building until it's already too late.

Frank opens with a real client story, an advisor on a team who set clear non-negotiables for the business he wanted, then slowly compromised on them one at a time until he wasn't building anything close to his original vision. That same advisor is now telling Frank he isn't sure he wants his team to come with him when he moves firms. Frank explains why that kind of self-awareness is actually a good sign and why the right answer isn't always...

Frank LaRosa says most financial advisors never take the time to find their industry defining goal.

Frank opens by explaining what he calls a workation, time away from the office where real strategic thinking can actually happen. Stacey shares how she caught him working by the pool at five thirty in the morning on their most recent trip and Frank explains how that kind of deliberate space led him to write an entire internal operating playbook after reading eight books in eleven days.

That same thinking space is where Frank landed on his industry defining...

Frank LaRosa says the problem with young financial advisors is not work ethic, it is training.

Frank opens with a story about a young advisor he has been mentoring, a twenty-three-year-old working on the asset management side at a wirehouse who was outperforming his targets but getting dinged for small administrative mistakes. Frank explains the advice he gave him and why building your own book of business might be the harder but more rewarding path compared to joining an established team.

Stacey widens the conversation into something bigger, the age gap opening up in the...

Frank LaRosa has been in this business for thirty-two years and he says he has never seen deals like this.

Frank opens by explaining why he cannot see how financial advisor transition deals get any more lucrative than they are right now. Stacey backs that up with the numbers, pointing out that deals sitting at 100 percent of trailing twelve or 100 basis points today were only 40 or 50 just four or five years ago. That is not an opinion, it is math.

From there, the conversation turns personal. Frank talks candidly about being in his mid-fifties and...

A client once told Stacey Frank he was losing $20,000 a day by doing nothing. That number changed the whole conversation.

Frank and Stacey open by unpacking a real story from one of Stacey's clients, a junior partner at an independent firm stuck with outdated technology, a flat payout and a senior partner unwilling to change. When Stacey ran the math with him, the true cost of staying became impossible to ignore and complacency became the real competitor in the room.

From there, the conversation shifts into something more personal. Frank references a recent story about...

Building an OSJ sounds like the obvious move if you want a bigger valuation. Frank LaRosa says that logic is exactly what's costing advisors their multiple.

Frank and Stacey open with a question most advisors never actually ask themselves before recruiting other advisors into their practice. What is your unique ability and is managing people part of it?

Frank shares a story from a coaching client who built out an OSJ, then found himself spending his day solving other people's problems instead of doing the work that made him successful in the first place. That...

Some decisions get more expensive the longer you wait to make them.

Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank open up about the cost of holding on to people too long, whether that is an employee, a junior partner or even a client who drains more energy than they are worth. Frank breaks down how his firm used data to identify which new hires were likely to succeed and which ones were not, a process that ended up saving the company over $400,000 in a single year.

They walk through the honeymoon phase every new hire goes through...

Key topics include:

-The core differences between direct affiliation and OSJ / enterprise models.

-Why payout percentages don’t tell the full financial story.

-How scale, support, and service models impact long-term net income.

-When outsourcing operations can accelerate growth - and when it doesn’t.

-How larger teams and solo practitioners should think differently about affiliation.

-Why affiliation decisions are business decisions, not just platform decisions.

Whether you’re considering independence for the first time, reassessing your current setup, or planning your next stage of growth...

Scaling sounds great until you find out what it costs you.

Every advisor wants the high multiple. Far fewer want the version of themselves required to earn it.

Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank tackle the transition that trips up most advisors, the move from doing the work to owning the business to leading it as a CEO. The dream is an enterprise level practice. The obstacle is that the advisor is still the one holding every relationship and refusing to let go.

In this conversation they get into why advisors resist building real...

Your firm name is not just a label.

It is the brand people search for, refer and remember.

And most advisors get it wrong.

In this solo episode, Frank LaRosa pulls back the curtain on the naming conversations he has with breakaway advisors every week. Many default to their last name without realizing it can scare off the very advisors they hope to recruit. Others fall for a name that sounds great until a quick search turns up an identical practice down the street.

Frank explains why your name carries far...

Four days. Twenty-four firms. $4.5 trillion in controlled assets. Here is what Frank and Stacey took away from Elite Ignite 2026.

Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank are back in the studio for the first time in about six weeks and they are using this episode to do something they have never done quite like this before: open up the room. Elite Ignite started five years ago as an internal team meeting. It grew into a broker dealer and RIA conference unlike anything else in the industry. No deals discussed. No transition packages on the table. Just firms coming in...

Key Highlights from the Episode:

0:00 – Introduction

1:02 – Should I stay or should I go next year?  

2:27 – Why Q4 is often the best time to transition  

3:59 – How holidays and client schedules factor into timing  

5:35 – Deferred comp considerations for advisors  

10:23 – Why firms sweeten deals in Q4 to hit quotas  

12:48 – The myth of the “perfect” time to move  

14:42 – Leveraging holiday parties and events for client communication  

17:08 – Why every advisor’s timing decision is unique  

23:12 – Emotional readiness vs. waiting too long  

25:27 – Rip the Band-Aid off: once you decide, ju...

Advisors spend years earning credentials and almost no time showing people who they actually are. Wade Shields thinks that is the whole problem.

Wade came to Elite Consulting Partners after ten years in New York City making documentary and branded content for Google, Ernst and Young and the American Cancer Society. The process he used there and the one he uses now starts the same way: figure out what the real story is before you make anything. He calls it brand forensics and it is the foundation every advisor skips.

The first half of the...

In this Greatest Hits episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank take a grounded, advisor-first look at how AI is actually changing the profession - and why the future of advice is still fundamentally human.

Rather than fearing AI, Frank explains why this moment closely mirrors the rise of online trading in the early 2000s - a shift that many believed would eliminate advisors, but ultimately made great advisors even more valuable.

This conversation centers on a critical idea:

Technology can provide data. Only humans can provide wisdom.

Frank...

She helped advisors make the move for two decades. Then she had to make it herself.

A headhunter called. Shannon said she would do a five minute call just to give a name. Several months later she was the new president of Ozark.

This is not a story about being unhappy. Shannon loved Raymond James, still does and is still a shareholder. This is a story about a harder kind of decision: the one where everything is fine and something still pulls you toward more.

The turning point came from advice she had...

Most advisors say they want to exit. What they actually want is to stop doing the parts they hate.

Scott Danner has had this conversation more times than he can count. The advisor says they want to sell. Then the deal falls apart. Not because the numbers were wrong but because nobody asked the right question at the start.

Scott is the Executive Vice President and Head of Legacy at Steward Partners. He founded Freedom Street Partners in 2016, built it to nearly $3.5 billion in AUM, and sold it to Steward Partners in late 2023. He started...

The firm advisors think they know is not the firm that exists today.

And if you are going to say NO, at least know what you are saying no to.

Frank LaRosa goes one on one with Brian Mora of Ameriprise for a candid conversation that challenges some of the most common misconceptions advisors carry about one of the largest and most innovative firms in the industry.

Frank and Brian break down what $1.7 trillion in assets actually means for an advisor looking for stability in a consolidating market, why Fortune named Ameriprise one...

Every firm says they have great culture.

Very few can back it up.

Raymond James can. And in this episode, they explain exactly how.

Frank LaRosa sits down with Jodi Perry, Head of Advisor Recruitment and Business Development and Todd Ferguson, Chief Information and Security Officer at Raymond James, for a wide ranging conversation recorded live at the Ignite Conference.

The group breaks down what it really means to put the advisor in the driver's seat, why the freedom versus independence distinction matters more than most advisors realize and how Raymond...

Sometimes the money IS the right reason.

And pretending otherwise might be the most expensive mistake you ever make.

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank challenge the conventional wisdom around advisor transitions and make the case that when the difference between two firms is not a few thousand dollars but millions, the economics have to come into play.

Frank breaks down the unicorn recruit concept, how asset based transition deals are creating massive opportunities for advisors whose AUM far outpaces their revenue, and why the transition window right...

Most advisors go into a transition focused on the upfront money.

Very few are prepared for everything that happens after they walk out the door.

Some surprises are good ones.

Clients move faster than expected. Assets go up, not down. The income jump is real.

But there are also things advisors consistently underestimate, overlook, and wish they had negotiated differently.

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank do a post transition breakdown of the things advisors wish they had known going in, including what they...

Waiting sounds reasonable. Until you run the numbers.

Protect what you have built. Let the deferred comp vest. Move when the timing is right.

But is waiting actually costing you more than you realize?

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank break down why 2026 may be the most opportune time in recent memory for financial advisors to evaluate a firm transition and why deciding not to decide is still a decision with real financial consequences.

Frank walks through why transition packages have reached historic highs, what is...

The truth is, most financial advisors know they should be using AI.

Very few know where to actually start.

Too many tools. Too many platforms. Too much noise.

But the advisors who take the time to learn it now will have a significant edge over those who wait.

In this special edition of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa is joined by Chief Information Officer Sue Cheema, Chief Marketing Officer Brian Lutz, Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy Wade Shields, and co-host Stacey Frank for a wide-ranging roundtable on what AI actually means...

At first glance, these offers can seem attractive.

Gain liquidity.

Access growth capital or strategic support.

Remain with your current firm.

Continue building your business.

But are these deals really as straightforward as they sound?

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank break down what financial advisors need to consider before agreeing to a minority equity sale - including how these deals can impact control, future valuation, exit flexibility, buyback terms, and the long-term economics of the business.

They also explain...

Frank and Jon unpack:

• Why today's competitive landscape means growth-motivated buyers must approach deals differently.

• The three core reasons advisors pursue acquisitions - and which ones actually lead to long-term success.

• How leverage, bank financing, and EBITDA-based lending really work in practice.

• Why “fixer-upper” books may offer the strongest ROI.

• How elite buyers win deals by understanding the emotional side of selling a practice.

• The art of creating a safe landing place for sellers, their teams, and their clients.

• Why phased buyouts and seller glide paths often create...

Frank and Rob dive into:

• Rob’s path from UBS and Morgan Stanley to launching NewEdge Wealth.

• How NewEdge Wealth and NewEdge Advisors differ and advisor profiles that may fit each platform.

• How multi-custody and open architecture models can offer flexibility.

• Perspectives of some advisors that have experienced business growth after joining the firm.

•  The role of private equity and its innovation in wealth management.

• How advisors may use niche marketing strategies and referral initiatives to identify opportunities.

Whether you’re exploring alternatives to a wirehouse or stay...

In this Greatest Hits episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa sits down with Cetera CEO Mike Durbin for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about ownership structure, affiliation flexibility, M&A strategy, custody decisions, and what it really means to build a “forever home” for advisors.

From private equity misconceptions to succession solutions, this episode explores how advisors can think strategically - not reactively - about their long-term growth.

Mike shares insights from his 35-year career working directly with financial advisors, including leadership roles at Morgan Stanley and Fidelity, and explains why he returned to the independent spac...

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank break down the realities behind minority equity deals in advisory practices - including what advisors often misunderstand about control, exit clauses, valuation multiples, and long-term implications.

Frank explains why even a 10–20% minority stake effectively creates a partner in your business - whether you think of it that way or not - and why advisors must think beyond the upfront check and consider the unwind scenario before signing anything.

They also explain the difference between taking a transition loan versus selling equity - and why on...

In this episode of Advisor Talk, Frank LaRosa and Stacey Frank take a grounded, advisor-first look at how AI is actually changing the profession - and why the future of advice is still fundamentally human.

Rather than fearing AI, Frank explains why this moment closely mirrors the rise of online trading in the early 2000s - a shift that many believed would eliminate advisors, but ultimately made great advisors even more valuable.

This conversation centers on a critical idea:

Technology can provide data. Only humans can provide wisdom.

Frank and Stacey...

Key questions answered in this episode:

What does it mean when financial advisors choose not to decide?

Choosing to stay put - without evaluating alternatives - is still an active decision, often driven by comfort, fear, or overwhelm rather than strategy.

Why do advisors delay firm transitions even when they’re unhappy?

Two major factors show up repeatedly: the path of least resistance and paralysis by analysis. Both create inertia that keeps advisors stuck.

Is transitioning firms as risky as advisors think?

Modern transitions are more automated, ef...

Frank and Stacey break down the critical difference between goals and purpose, why confusing the two leads to burnout, and how advisors who reconnect to their “why” build stronger client relationships, make better transition decisions, and enjoy their careers longer.

Key questions answered in this episode:

What is the difference between a financial advisor’s goals and their purpose?

Goals define outcomes; purpose defines motivation. Advisors who mistake goals for purpose often feel lost after achieving success.

Why do advisors feel unfulfilled after hitting major milestones?

Reaching AUM targets, exit v...

Show highlights include:  

-Why focusing only on upfront payouts can leave money on the table.

-How growth-minded advisors evaluate leadership, technology, and firm culture.

-What truly separates firms that say they help you grow from those that actually do.

-Why due diligence matters more than most advisors realize.

-The importance of viewing your firm as a long-term partner, not a temporary stop.

If you’re considering a move - or even thinking about your future trajectory - this episode will challenge you to rethink what success really loo...

Show highlights include:

-The difference between being a practitioner vs. a true business owner.

-Why growing too fast can break your systems, operations, and culture.

-How to scale without sacrificing your core values.

-Why “making the right move” matters more than making the next move.

-How to define your ideal client avatar beyond just AUM.

-Why more RIAs are exploring M&A - and what’s driving the trend.

If you’re thinking about growth, transitions, acquisitions, or simply want to build a business that still fe...