Firm Goes from “Lifestyle” to Turbo in Four Years
With financial advisors challenged by evolving consumer expectations and the sheer weight of demographics, it’s not surprising wealth management software maker eMoney Advisor would put the spotlight on a financial advisor who has used its technology to boost his annual growth rate sevenfold in four years.
In a new case study, eMoney tells how advisor David Edwards took his New York-based RIA Heron Wealth from $65 million under management six years ago to $285 million now. By another measure, Heron Wealth went from a yearly growth rate of 5% to nearly 35%.
Edwards achieved this mainly by upping his technology game and turning his attention downstream to capture high-earning-not-rich-yet individuals — a.k.a. “henrys.”
In this light, says Drew DiMarino, head of sales for Radnor, Pa.-based eMoney, Edwards “is the exact example of what advisors should be doing in 2017.”
But as you might expect, there’s more to Heron Wealth’s recent growth than a technology upgrade and a new business plan.
The truth is, Edwards had been keeping his firm on a slow-growth path on purpose. From its founding in 1996 until about five years ago, he ran it as solo “lifestyle” practice so that he could be available to his kids as they grew up. “School plays, practices, I didn’t miss single thing in 18 years,” he tells FA-IQ.
