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Fidelity Publishes Book to Help Registered Investment Advisors "Be Greater"
[October 30, 2014]

Fidelity Publishes Book to Help Registered Investment Advisors "Be Greater"


NEW YORK --(Business Wire)--

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services,® a leading custodian for registered investment advisors (RIAs), today announced the release of Be Greater: Why Being Good Enough is No Longer an Option, a book on becoming a high performing firm1 that chronicles the inspiring stories of more than 20 advisors who have taken their businesses from "good enough" to "great."

Fidelity's Be Greater: Why Being Good Enough is No Longer an Option (Photo: Business Wire)

Fidelity's Be Greater: Why Being Good Enough is No Longer an Option (Photo: Business Wire)

Since 2010, many RIA firms have increased their revenues, on average, 14.3 percent.2 For many, this growth has brought the challenge of evolving from a small practice to a fully developed business. Be Greater is both a book and an online resource, sharing wisdom from RIA leaders who have built great businesses, organized around five fundamental topics that can contribute to high performance:i exploring business models, committing to a plan, harnessing technology, engaging clients and building strong talent and teams. In Be Greater, readers will hear from:

  • Russ Hill of Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors in Long Beach, CA (News - Alert) on his secrets of a successful strategic plan - getting employees involved in shaping initiatives and taking ownership of goals.
  • Marty Bicknell on evolving Leawood, KS-based Mariner Wealth Advisors' business model to bring advice to the masses with FirstPoint Financial, creating a cost-effective way to deliver financial planning to clients of all asset levels.
  • John Augenblick of Rockwood Wealth Management in New Hope, PA on the strict rules he follows when it comes to the technology his firm uses and why integrated, "best of breed" capabilities are first on the list.
  • Jane Williams of Sand Hill Global Advisors in Palo Alto (News - Alert), CA on why in today's market, firms don't just want more clients - they want more of the right clients, a sentiment that led Sand Hill Global to form "ensembles" to specialize in specific groups of investors.
  • Fidelity's practice management experts on how to turn these insights into action, offering practical steps for firms of all shapes and sizes to consider.

"Be Greater is an example of how Fidelity is taking on the mission to be greater ourselvs, going beyond core custodial capabilities to provide RIAs with distinct points of view to help them move their businesses forward," said Michael R. Durbin, president, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services. "We know from working with thousands of advisors that they want to hear from one another on what is driving success, so we did the research for them and created a dynamic set of resources to help RIAs apply those learnings to their own practices."



In addition to sharing personal stories of challenges overcome and opportunities seized, Be Greater is designed to help RIAs drive transformation of their firms, with "Connecting the Dots" sections throughout the book, featuring key insights, questions to ask and actions to consider. The book also works in conjunction with a website, offering additional content, videos and considerations on the topics covered in each chapter. For a free copy of the book, available as an e-book or hard copy, advisors can visit BeGreater.com.

About the Authors


Be Greater was written by a team at Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services (IWS), a business unit of Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC that provides a comprehensive custody platform, brokerage services, trading capabilities and practice management and consulting services to registered investment advisors, including strategic acquirers and professional asset managers, as well as retirement recordkeepers. The people at IWS are dedicated to sharing their expertise to help clients meet their challenges - and exceed their goals - every day. This includes insights like the five points of view outlined in Be Greater, aimed at helping advisors stay ahead of the competition and potentially grow their businesses. The following RIAs contributed to Be Greater:

  • Steve Lockshin, AdvicePeriod, LLC in Los Angeles, CA
  • Jerry Luff and Doug Couden, BakerAvenue in San Francisco, CA
  • Peter Raimondi and Sherri Daniels, Banyan Partners, LLC in Palm Beach Gardens, FL
  • Bob DiQuollo, Brinton Eaton (News - Alert) Wealth Advisors in Madison, NJ
  • Adam Birenbaum, Buckingham Asset Management, LLC and BAM Advisor Services, LLC in St. Louis, MO
  • Russ Hill, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors, LLC in Long Beach, CA
  • Jordan Waxman, HSW Advisors, HighTower in New York, NY
  • Karen Keatley, Keatley Wealth Management, LLC in Charlotte, NC
  • Blain Lourd, LourdMurray in Beverly Hills, CA
  • Rick Buoncore, MAI Wealth Advisors, LLC in Cleveland, OH
  • Marty Bicknell, Mariner Wealth Advisors and FirstPoint Financial in Leawood, KS
  • Alan Harter, Pactolus Private Wealth Management LLC in McLean, VA
  • Richard Burridge, RMB Capital and Walt Melcher, RMB Retirement Plan Solutions in Chicago, IL
  • John Augenblick, Rockwood Wealth Management, LLC in New Hope, PA
  • Jane Williams and Brian Dombkowski, Sand Hill Global Advisors, LLC in Palo Alto, CA
  • Greg Erwin, Sapient Private Wealth Management Services, LLC in Eugene, OR
  • Michael Nathanson and Bob Glovsky, The Colony Group, LLC in Boston, MA
  • Kelly Trevethan, United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC in San Francisco, CA
  • John Waldron and Matt Helfrich, Waldron Wealth Management in Bridgeville, PA

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity's goal is to make financial expertise broadly accessible and effective in helping people live the lives they want. With assets under administration of $4.9 trillion, including managed assets of $2.0 trillion as of September 30, 2014, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping 23 million people investing their own life savings, 20,000 businesses to manage their employee benefit programs, as well as providing 10,000 advisors and brokers with technology solutions to invest their own clients' money. Privately held for nearly 70 years, Fidelity employs 41,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.

The content provided herein is general in nature and is for informational purposes only. This information is not individualized and is not intended to serve as the primary or sole basis for your decisions as there may be other factors you should consider.

The third party companies mentioned herein are independent companies, unaffiliated with Fidelity Investments.

The registered trademarks and service marks appearing herein are the property of FMR LLC.

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services provides brokerage products and services and is a division of Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC. 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210

702444.1.0

© 2014 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

1 Reference to the concept of "performance" or "performing" isn't intended to connote investment returns.

2 The 2014 Fidelity RIA Benchmarking Study; conducted May 6, 2014 - June 30, 2014; 411 firms participated in the study. Fidelity was identified as the study sponsor. The study was administered by an independent third-party research firm, unaffiliated with Fidelity Investments.


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