Private Advisor Group has big plans for 2021.
The registered investment advisor and office of supervisory jurisdiction for LPL Financial is rebranding itself around the slogan "Grow With Us," sparked by its patent-pending compliance software that PAG plans to bring to market in the fourth quarter of this year, said Managing Director Berta Aldrich.
“Our goal is to continue to provide a family-like atmosphere at PAG, where independent advisors, investors, and now RIA firms from all across the U.S. will be able to grow successfully and help their clients achieve a level of financial success they’ve always envisioned,” Managing Director and co-founder Pat Sullivan said in a statement.
Founders John Hyland and Sullivan developed the proprietary compliance management system when the two were financial advisors operating as Morristown Financial Group. As the business expanded, the firm became Private Advisor Group, and over the past 10 years, the duo has also built up its compliance technology platform, with the assist of strategic hires with compliance backgrounds, to what PAG advisors know of it today.
Before year’s end, the Morristown, N.J.-based firm will be sharing its as-yet-unnamed compliance software with mid-sized RIAs for a still-to-be-determined price, said Jim Hooks, the executive vice president and chief compliance officer who joined in 2019 from LPL and will lead the effort.
PAG doesn’t expect the new business line to give it a hearty revenue stream. Instead the firm, managing $21 billion in assets under management and continuously raking in high producing breakaways from major wirehouses, sees it as another act of service to the industry, falling in line with its business model and new slogan.
What’s more, it is intentionally adding gender and racial diversity to forefront. Aldrich admitted the firm is not leading in this effort. PAG set a goal that half of its 12-member internship class would be occupied by gender or racially diverse individuals, which it will foster by reaching out to colleges that cater to students of color.
Another area that PAG will focus on includes advisor education. Aldrich, who is leading the gender/diversity effort, said the firm will soon offer an MBA-level educational program for growth-oriented advisors. The class will review human resources matters, client loyalty and marketing best-practices. Once advisors have completed the class, they have the opportunity to continue their education through peer-learning with their classmates. That’s not unique and different, said Aldrich, but advisors love it.