Thinking of starting your own independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Firm? Or maybe mulling a move from one of the big wirehouses to an RIA?

A few years back (circa 2019), the co-founders of Walkner Condon Financial Advisors – Nate Condon and Clint Walkner – sat down on Gimme Some Truth to discuss their journey from the Broker-Dealer world to the independent RIA space. Now, it's been 10 years since Nate and Clint first opened the doors to their financial planning firm. Plenty has happened in the last few years alone, much less the last 10.

In this bonus episode of GST, Nate and Clint circle back on that first conversation from a few years ago, discussing some of the more recent challenges faced as founding partners of an RIA. This conversation – one of several episodes to come over the next few months about starting an RIA – centers around the idea of staffing and firm culture. As Nate and Clint discuss, hiring the right staff and retaining them has continued to be a challenge throughout the life of Walkner Condon, particularly when it comes to support and administrative personnel. They discuss staffing as it relates to the adage, "It's not how much you can grow; it's how small can you stay," and being lean on staff on purpose.

They also dive into molding the firm's culture, including the now-trademarked phrase Comfortably Unique™, how the firm goes above and beyond just the name, and the challenges of having seven equity partners.

Questions about starting an RIA? Or ideas about other facets of this subject you'd like us to cover in future episodes of this mini-series? Let us know by using the link section below or by sending an email to [email protected].

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