Arlington Financial Advisors, a new group of entrepreneurs, didn't need to burst onto the scene in Santa Barbara when they opened for business a couple weeks ago.
That's because they're largely doing the same work as they did mere days before, and for largely the same client base.
The difference?
The close-knit team at Arlington Financial Advisors has taken its tried-and-true methodology out from under the purview of finance giant Merrill Lynch, and begun practice as an independent firm.
Arlington wants to provide the same top-notch service, looking out for its clients' financial well-being, but ultimately wanted more stability for its client base than working directly for a major national firm allowed.
"We want to be proud of where we work, not read a headline and get 15 phone calls about some person out of my control buying [an extravagant] trashcan," said Dianne Duva, a Certified Financial Planner and one of the five founding partners of Arlington.
The comment was a callback to Merrill Lynch's former CEO John Thain, who famously spent $1 million on renovating his office, including $1,200 on a wastebasket, during one of the most tumultuous economic periods of the modern era.
Duva says that she, along with partners Wells Hughes, John Lorenz, Arthur Swalley, and Joseph Weiland, started kicking around the idea of jumping ship as early as 2008.
The financial markets were experiencing instability, and decisions by higher-ups—even non-trashcan related—weren't doing the team any favors when it came to reassuring clients through difficult economic times.
The fact that the team was subjected to a new upper-level manager about every 18 months also didn't promote consistency.
For the team that would form Arlington, it became a matter of what they could do to provide more stability for clients.
The team's own staffing continuity was certainly there; Duva, the newest member of the team, has been on board for more than 10 years.
The team explored several options, such as joining with another of the major players.
"It would have been more of the same thing, with upper-level management potentially making bad decisions that would make our clients nervous," said Duva. "So we went the independent route."
Thus Arlington Financial Advisors was born.
"We are an independent, boutique firm that helps individuals and families oversee their financial lives," explained Duva.
She describes the business as "a full service model" that puts a spotlight on a different aspect of a client's financial stability every quarter, from assets and investment portfolios to insurance and tax planning.
They help ensure nothing fall through the cracks as they aim to help clients achieve financial goals, even advising on what those goals should be.
With the products and services part of the business down pat, the challenge for this team is to exist as an independent entity, and all that entails. They've tackled important obstacles, including finding a bank to clear through (they went with Wells Fargo) and securing office space; they're still hashing out some of the day-to-day items.
Swalley, Arlington's director of investments, said that his only fear in in leaving Merrill was the potential loss of operational efficiency when it came to covering overhead and getting deals on basic business items.
"I was worried that things wouldn’t be as efficient, that they would cost a lot more on our own," Swalley shared. "But there's great support in the area for local business. Turns out it's even better in Santa Barbara for local business than I expected."
Arlington's office, at 100 E. De La Guerra, is certainly a professional space, but also has certain eclectic, homey qualities.
The design of the space—mostly modest-sized rooms; a circuitous layout; a rather quaint kitchen; an interesting chandelier in the conference room—certainly speak more to State Street than Wall Street.
The comforting, at-home feel of the space is in line with how Duva describes the firm's client base.
"We target nice people that we want to work with. We have a philosophy that since we spend more time at work than we do at home, we want to love the people that we work with ... and really our clients become part of our family."
Duva says that the firm's hands-on approach makes a real difference, and is both key to the loyalty of clients that have made the transition and the word of mouth that encourages new business.
"We have that service model that most financial planning and investment firms do not have," she explained, saying that Arlington's concerns go beyond the portfolio, adding that "we're trying to make sure that your life is taken care of."
So now the challenge, along with the logistics of doing business as an independent entity, is to enhance client experience.
"How do we take an already great platform and make it better? What will we do to make the client experience better? Because, really, our clients are what matter."
Keeping that priority from the get-go seems to have worked in Arlington's favor.
Duva says that nearly all of the clients that the new firm has been in touch with have decided to make the switch from Merrill along with them.
"That's the fear, that you make this move and that the clients don't come with you," she said. "If we had known how overwhelmingly positive our clients' reactions would have been, we probably have done it sooner."
"Honestly, it's been affirming, and a wonderful experience," she emphasized. "We couldn’t be happier."
Source: The Daily Sound
http://www.thedailysound.com
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