The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 16 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 1 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Oros: Unlimited custody choice for advisors does not necessarily create value
“Having unlimited choice of where you custody assets doesn't necessarily create value.”
Oros: Hightower always legally enforces restrictive covenants against departing advisors
“We have the occasional advisor who departs and tests those things. And we always protect them because we need to protect the business.”
Oros: Private equity institutionalized RIA cottage industry to clients' benefit
“I actually think for the industry, private equity has been overall very good, because it forced an industry that was very cottage, very subscale to run in a much more rigorous way, which I, for one, think is good long-term for clients, because if you're runnin…”
Oros: Majority of RIAs grow via market lift, not new clients
“The majority of advisors really grow when the market goes up. They struggle to generate net new client growth.”
Oros: Acquirers cannot turn a non-growing RIA into a grower
“No, because we know if there's growth, we can improve it. But what we don't try to do is convince ourselves we can take someone who's not growing and turn them into a grower.”
Oros: Hightower acquired NEPC to centralize investment operations
“We also just made an acquisition of a business called NEPC, one of the largest institutional consultants in the U.S. And we made that acquisition and wanted to have NEPC part of Hightower specifically so we could start to centralize more of the investment oper…”
Oros: Hightower private market allocation will reach 12% to 15% in five years
“We think that number is going to be 12 to 15% over the next three to five years.”
Oros: Advisors outsourcing investment management slower than industry expected
“Advisors are increasingly Showing a desire to let go of the investment side of it. Probably a little slower than the industry expected, but it is happening.”
Oros: Asset managers should pitch Hightower corporate office, not 1,000 advisors
“I would tell you come to the center, meaning come to the corporate teams, the home office, as opposed to trying to go out to a thousand advisors individually, which we still have managers trying to do that. That's just a hard road.”
Oros: Large RIA platforms will merge to reach $200B-$300B scale
“You're going to see more meaningful consolidation, including big firms that come together. Because think about if you're a 20,000,000,030 billion dollar AUM RIA, That's a big RIA, but you're still a long ways from a 200,000,000,300 billion dollar firm with rea…”
Oros: High-profile manager blowups would severely hinder retail private market adoption
“The big gotcha will be if we have some really visible blowup of a manager that we've put a broader set of retail investors into, that could create a pretty significant headwind.”
Hightower rejects RIA sellers wanting to immediately exit
“One, it starts with advisors who still want to continue to work in their business. We're not the place to come. If you just want to sell and go, there are others who would be okay with that. We want you to continue to run your office in most cases.”
Hightower buys 100% of RIA assets but flexes retained economics
“Where we can be quite bespoke is the way we structure the deal from an economic standpoint, meaning we do typically asset purchases. So we're buying a hundred percent of the assets, which in these businesses are mainly the client relationships. Where we can be…”
Oros: Hightower expects client loss after acquired founder steps down
“So the ending hasn't been written yet, Ted, on this one, but it did force us into some rapid planning, which rarely is good, and we certainly will expect we'll have some client loss as a result, because the individual departing is such a visible part of the te…”