November 7, 2025 • 34 mins
You may have seen the headlines: the largest advisor group to ever exit Edward Jones — nine advisors, nearly $1 billion in AUM, and a bold move to independence.
This group embodies something we see again and again: when advisors succeed in a captive environment, they often thrive — wildly — in independence.
In this episode, host Shelby Nicholl sits down with Dylan Ripley and Todd Vincent, co-founders of Cedarwood Financial Partners, to talk about what happened after the breakaway. They share how they built a fast-growing $2 billion firm, how they thinking about scale, culture, and long-term durability — and a few raw lessons from their group’s newsworthy exit.
In this episode:
- What it takes to build a 100-year firm
- The cultural glue behind a thriving advisor team
- Lessons learned from rapid growth
- Why the real story begins after the breakaway
If you’re building, leading, or even imagining what your next chapter could be, this conversation is a powerful look at what’s possible in independence.
Learn more at MurielConsulting.com
www.murielconsulting.com
Produced by Shelby Nicholl.
Edited by Aaron Sherman.
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: EV5ON7Y3CSESDSEU
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:31):
If you've ever thoughtabout building a 100
year firm, somethingdurable, advisor owned,
principled, built to last.
This episode is for you.
Today I am talking withDylan Ripley and Todd Vincent
about their breakaway fromEdward Jones to Independence.
It was nine advisors andnearly a billion in AUM.
And since launching theirfirm, Cedarwood Financial
(00:52):
Partners, they've more thandoubled both their AUM and
their advisor headcount.
Their proof of something thatI see time and time again.
Successful advisors in captiveenvironments are often wildly
successful in independence.
I'm excited to heartheir story today.
Let's dive in.
(01:13):
So welcome Dylan and Todd.
Thank you.
Howdy.
Thanks for having us.
ThankSo, you know your team of, I
think it was nine exiting EdwardJones this week, or it's been
overshadowed this week by thismassive group exit coming outta
Merrill Lynch in in Atlanta.
I'm sure you've beenfollowing that story.
(01:33):
How's it feel tomaybe be displaced?
Yeah, I, um, I was actuallysharing with, with Todd and
a few of the others that, um,how bold of them right to $129
billion under management andthat size to, to all leave at
one time knowing what's on theother side is, is probably, uh.
Some legal issues and,and things like that,
(01:55):
but so convicted.
and I think that'swhere we can share.
we were so convicted to leavethat we, we knew we would
be the, the largest by size,size as far as head count,
but we were so convictedthat it was the right thing
for our clients and for ourbusinesses that we're here.
And I know tho those folksthere are feeling the same way
(02:15):
now.
Yeah, definitely.
They must have been convicted.
I mean, it was a ton ofadvisors, a ton of a UM.
Those Most people would say,oh, we're too big to go.
We can't do this.
And they gotcomfortable somehow.
So they definitely felt,to your point, that
really strong conviction.
one of the things I wantedto cover with you guys today
was just mostly I wannafocus on like what's happened
(02:36):
since your exit, but I alsoknow you have a few just.
Really great lessons learned.
As you went throughyour process.
What are kind of maybe the topone or two things each that you
would suggest that people thinkabout as they are preparing or,
you know, maybe the,the lessons learned in
your transition process.
Process.
one thing that we, we spenda lot of time preparing when
(02:58):
we probably over-prepared.
So I think when you have thatconviction in your stomach,
like, this is not the placeI want to be and I want to
be more on the independentspace, or even if you're
independent, you wanna move,like you need a physical
location, you probably needyour name, your logo, whatever
you think you're gonna be.
And then it's just how amI gonna talk to my clients?
(03:20):
Not try to think throughevery possible scenario that
could come at you and tryto prepare for it because,
It's gonna be what it is.
nail down those three thingsand just start moving on with
the next phase of your career.
Yeah, really well said, becauseso many people over prepare.
(03:41):
They get really worried andanxious about it, which I
completely understand, right?
You've taken your livelihoodinto your own hands at that
point, and so it can benatural to try to think of
every scenario and to totruly over prepare,
like you said.
Dylan, what would wouldyou say are a
couple good lessons?
given our move and, andeverything that we've learned
since, I, I think the, thequieter you can be about things,
(04:03):
the less you can communicate.
about things the better.
and some wise advice that,that I can give now is, you
know, whatever you send,whether it be an email or a
text message, just, just knowthat, potentially on the other
side of that, could be readin, in front of a courtroom.
And so make sure thatit's professional.
It's, it's to the point.
and, you know, try, try togo out as quiet as possible.
(04:25):
Would, would be the bestadvice that, that I can give.
Yeah.
And when you say as quietas possible, do you mean
in terms of Like documentedstatements, et cetera, or do
you mean like this Merrill team?
Right.
There was no doing that quietly.
Yeah.
And even your all's move, right?
Nine of you guys all atthe same time, that's
really hard to do quietly.
(04:46):
What What do you mean there?
yeah, the, the less peoplethat you can get involved
with this, the better,especially when you're
coming from a highly captiveenvironment, because that's
just, that's better for you.
That's better for the process.
then that, that limits any ofthat potential exposure of, of
those type of things happening.
but again, we're, we'rea unicorn scenario.
So are they, from asize, I hope not now.
(05:07):
Going forward.
maybe we, we started and,and now they're really
blazing the trail, that,that would be the hope.
One of the other lessons I'veheard you guys talk about is
a little bit on the LOI andtiming and, and maybe it's,
it kind of gets to your point,Todd, about the over preparing.
You guys kind of extendedyour timeline a little bit
through the process andmaybe maybe
moved and, and pushed out yourdate for, for making the move.
(05:30):
What's, what's yourthoughts on that?
that?
let's, let's just talk aboutlike, when you think timing,
like from a client's perspectiveof what time of year?
Is it, You have all thesevariables that, once
again you're overthinking.
so that's probably an areawhere we delayed the other area.
like we really did nottry to start out with, we're
gonna make this big group.
(05:51):
Everybody had theirown thoughts, their own
opinions of when, thingsthey were gonna, they were
striving to accomplish.
And so.
You back to Dylan's,those things.
Keep it quiet.
leave, just get thosefew things in place for
you to leave, leave.
Yeah.
Yeah, and it's been interesting'cause I've seen, I've seen
(06:13):
announcement videos wherepeople don't have an office yet.
They really haven't even fullyset up their organization yet.
Right.
They didn't wanna file anyRIA in this case paperwork
until after they had resigned.
I mean, they ran it completelyby the books in that sense.
I can see others that, youknow, have everything in
place and, and once thingsare approved, you know,
(06:34):
they, they, they drop right?
And they, they give,that's what we call it.
They drop or they break.
Right.
so it's, it definitely varies.
But to your point,there's a lot of.
of.
Things to get in line tomake sure that we have a
successful launch, and we candefinitely overwork those,
or you can definitely alsounder work them and have a
(06:54):
disastrous launch as well.
So we gotta find theright spot there.
At Launch.
You had, I think, ninepeople that exited.
Nine advisors,and around a billion
dollars in a UM, if I'mremembering correctly.
that was certainlynot a small beginning.
And then since then,you've been adding more
and more team members.
How many howadvisors do you guys support
today across the market andwhat's the big sort of long-term
(07:17):
goal or vision for cedarwood?
where we're at today is we,we service, uh, 18 advisors.
And, you know, in totalbetween advisor support
staff we're at, we're at 41.
So, um, we've more than doubled.
When we did leave, we werecloser to around eight 50 under
management simply because ofthe market at, at that time
we, but yeah, now, now, todaywe're, right at, you know, the
(07:38):
close to the $2 billion markand, and continuing to grow.
And the, the pipelineis, is full and.
I think we're in three,three different states
now with, with plans hereto, to add a, a handful of
those as as we continue.
But yeah, we're, we've beenvery blessed from, from that
standpoint to, to more thandouble in size, both in,
in a UM and, and headcount.
(07:59):
I mean, that's tremendousgrowth, you guys.
Congratulations.
I mean, in that short time,I've been so impressed by
so many teams coming out ofEdward Jones and then becoming
the largest team you all wereprobably one of the largest
groups inside of Commonwealth.
Others that are the largestgroups inside of Raymond James.
I mean, you're justreally rocking.
That's incredible.
Thank you.
Todd, what's the vision?
(08:20):
So I think the vision is, um,specific, but it's also generic.
And what, here'swhat I mean by that.
if you have people thathave like a common or
core values maybe that youknow for life, that that
really means something.
Our vision is to say, wewanna bring in and welcome all
(08:42):
those people that maybe sharethose type of core values.
So we have the four Fs,we call it faith, family
freedom and fulfillment.
so a lot of people who arein a captive audience, they
obviously want that freedomto say, can I have a little
bit more choice in, in.
of my business, can I have thefreedom to pass it on who I want
(09:04):
to, to sell it if I want to?
You know, there's justso many, know, ways we
could go off freedom.
But the second part, whichJones did do well is, you
know, I'm an old timer.
So there was a time when itwas really more like a family.
So how do we, how do we havethat environment where it's
And for most of us here.
Faith is important.
We want all the people that comeon board with cedarwood to have,
(09:26):
a vision that there's somethinggreater than themselves,
something they're striving for.
It probably reflects alittle bit in where they
serve outside of work.
you get a, you getan idea of that.
So we really,truly believe that.
If you continue to surroundyourself with people who
put their faith in theirfamily first, and they strive
for utmost and freedom,you give it to 'em, and
(09:48):
at the end of the day, howcan they not be fulfilled?
Our, our clientswant the same thing.
That's, that's what'simportant to them.
Their family, a lot of liketheir, what they, they care
about what they wanna doand they want the freedom.
They want us as advisors tohelp them have that financial
freedom to do those things.
And, and that's typicallywhat someone might describe
(10:09):
as a fulfilled life.
So when we say, howbig could this be?
Hey, um.
big as it can be, aslittle as it can be.
Do we have thatsame common goal?
But here's what I think,what makes us different.
we truly believe that everybodyhas a seat at the table.
So, you know, as we grow,it's, it's always about, it's
(10:29):
sure still your business andyou have the freedom to leave.
And if you leave, we are stillfamily, whereas other firms,
hey, you have this much freedomand if you leave, you are no
longer family, your enemy.
Yeah.
soThat change over to enemy is a
really strong thing, isn't it?
I mean, we've all seen thatand, it's really shocking, I
(10:52):
think, to the system when itoccurs, and at least that's
with the advisors that I've,I've been working with.
It is a shock.
It's they come out andthey say, gosh, it's
not gonna be like that.
My, my area, myregion, whatever it is.
My group, my team is differentand it almost always is.
so, you know, we prepare for it,but it's a, it's a real shocker.
(11:13):
I love to say personality whenI'm doing, fitting an advisor
to a, to a firm, I talk a lotabout the personality fit.
That's I don't use the wordculture anymore.
Because you can't spellculture without using the
word cult, and so, so Iuse personality instead.
How are you all thinkingabout, you talked about faith
and family and the freedom,that's kind of the personality
(11:35):
aspects of your firm.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, one of our, I guess youcould, two of our taglines, you
know, one of it is go be you.
yeah.
then, you know, the, the otheris doing independence together.
And, and that's really,we, we want to protect
advisors independence.
like, like it deservesto be protected because
it is so sacred onceyou get on this side.
(11:56):
I, I can't explain the levelof fulfillment of just owning
every decision and everyoutcome of this business there.
There's nothing better.
and so we want to protect thatthere It is special and, and
it inspires advisors and so wedon't want to take that away
and say, you know, now they havea, a, a fall guy, if you will.
And, and cedarwood the firm.
It's like, no, you know, wewant you to own everything.
(12:16):
So it's, that's real, thatthat's the personality
that we're looking for.
(12:44):
Like Todd said, is somebody thatis all in on being independent
and wants that freedom to,to be who they are, but they
don't wanna do it alone.
They, they want to doit together with other
like-minded, partnersand, and be able to grow.
and who and who knowswhere this thing goes.
We, you know, we jokearound about being the
a hundred year firm.
you know, but we wannamake sure that whatever,
whatever the, the goal is,whatever the mission is,
(13:06):
that it's built on those four FsWell, I love that idea of the
a hundred year firm, right?
So, you know, as, as you guysknow, I was at the home office
for a long time and, I alwayswould say to people like, I
want this firm to last another ahundred years because my family.
Lives a long term timeand I wanted to benefit
from it from a long time.
Right.
(13:27):
So I think this idea of ahundred year firm, I love
that, that part of the goal.
I think that has suchconfidence in it and also
just like trust in peoplein order to carry it on.
I, when you all thinkabout that, what is, What do
what do you think about, I mean,I don't even know how to
picture a hundred year firm yet,but I want one.
(13:49):
Well, you know, I wanna bringup another little saying that
we have that maybe would help.
A hundred year version isone time I had a client say
to me a long time ago whenI was really young in the
business, and they were talkingabout people in general, and
they said, you know, there'stwo people in this world.
There's givers and there'stwo takeaway, and we want
to be a firm of givers.
(14:09):
When you have that personalityto use your your words, you.
You can create somethingthat is special because
it's not a selfish thing.
It's a, it's a giving thing.
It's always giving thing.
And as the leadership, we've,we've tried to, you know,
exhibit and demonstrate andlive it out the same way.
so the, the vision, thepersonality, as long as we
(14:33):
have like, Hey, you can be you.
This is your life's work.
How can we celebrateit with you together?
We want you to do it, andwe think we have the best
odd success to, to makesomething really special.
I've noticed even in just, youknow, preparing for today's
conversation, you all havea good focus on succession
planning and continuity.
(14:54):
For your team members as well.
Do you wanna talk just brieflyabout that and kind of why
that's so important to you?
I mean, it aligns reallynicely with this idea of
a hundred year old firm.
Yeah, I think it's, it's reallyimportant for every single one
of our advisors because fromwhere we came from and, and you
know, some of the ins and outsthere, like you didn't have
a strong continuity like it.
(15:14):
I had a good friend that wasin the business, at the same
firm, and he unfortunatelypassed away and, somebody steps
into his office, takes thatover and, you know, I the check
that his wife received for hislife's work and his business
at that time was, was abysmal.
And, and so I, I thinkit's, it's a huge disservice
to advisors if, if theydon't prioritize what
happens if they're nolonger able to, to do.
(15:36):
And that's both right.
If they're, if they'realive and, and can't do the
job, or if the good Lordcalls 'em home either way.
or if they simply retire, right?
I mean, they, they needto have full control over
what that looks like.
And so we, we have prioritizedthat, as a focus for us
to make sure that they do.
and so, you know, we, we stepup and say, you know, cedarwood
(15:57):
is your continuity plan,and we all have continuity
partners within the firm.
that will continue ourbusiness if, if we're
no longer able to do so.
and then we fairly value that,like we put it in writing, that
we are going to have a thirdparty value your business,
and that is going to be thedollar amount that your family
receives for that business.
so it's extremelyimportant there.
And then from thesuccession standpoint.
(16:18):
we wanna get well ahead of that.
So we're, we're really focusedon helping each of our branches
build out strong, capable teamsso that, that pass off, to the
next generation is so naturalthat clients can't even tell.
It's a pass off they've beenworking for, with Todd and,
and his team for so longthat it's, you know, that
the team and not just Todd.
(16:39):
and so we're, we're veryintentional on creating that.
As part of that successionplanning is helping each of
these advisors so much so thatyou know, we're even willing
to put up firm resourcesto help build that out.
That's great, and I thinkthat that's such an unmet
need in so many ways.
but so many advisors do nothave a continuity partner
or a succession plan, andthey really don't know how
(17:00):
to bring up that kind ofnext generation of advisors.
I do think that's somethingthat Edward Jones did
really, really well, was.
Training advisorskind of from scratch.
They're not doing it asmuch today as they did
back when, when you Dylanjoined and when I was there too.
they did it a lot moreback then than they do now,
but it's such a big need.
(17:20):
Yeah, and that.
from that standpoint, youknow, that, that instilled in
us, a passion for training.
We all, of us served in someleadership capacity at Jones,
because we were passionateabout bringing up that next
generation and, and we werepassionate about giving.
Todd mentioned likebeing a giver, so we
gave of our time there.
but it transpired over.
Here where we're at nowto say we've gotta put
(17:42):
a focus on training.
And so we've launched twotraining programs both for
staff and advisors that we, werun from, from headquarters.
but that's a service that, youknow, all of our branch teams
can tap into so that they're notthe ones having to train up that
next gen and take the time awayfrom growing their business.
We do that at, at the firmlevel, because we're, we're
really passionate about it.
(18:03):
That's great.
And I think that's somethingtoo, where you can have then
the real peer to peer learning,which is so important for
those new to the, to the.
New to it, the advising space.
talk a little bit more.
So you've got the trainingprograms we've got a
great culture personality.
as I prefer to say.
we've got options, Ithink also about maybe
how people affiliate.
(18:24):
So talk about how advisors joincedarwood when they're
joining, what does thatlook like for them?
And then what do yousee as the value and
who's a perfect advisorfor your all's group?
group?
obviously on, in theindependent world, if you
would go from captive to in.
the extreme there, that'sa big distance apart.
(18:44):
So how do we find somethingin the middle that says,
I want to be independent,but I don't want to be alone.
Yeah.
so where we, we really saidwe, we wanna use obviously,
economies of scale sothat everybody benefits,
create personality so youdon't feel like you're,
you're alone on an island.
but the other thing is we wantpeople who want to be a partner.
(19:09):
So we want them to bea partner and an equal
partner and everybodyhas a seat on the table.
So it's kind of blendinginto a little bit of
the other questions.
But, you know, if someone saidlike, I like all the things that
you guys stand for, and, I likethe idea of working together,
not being alone on an island.
And I like the idea of growingsomething beyond my own practice
(19:30):
And so can I be a partner?
And we, we really triedto structure our company
to say, well, Todd Vincentdoesn't own any more.
I might own more shares than Andthan you if you were
to join a Shelby.
But the point is, I have onesite and you have one site.
Hmm.
we made it veryclear of together.
We we're always doingeverything together.
(19:51):
It's like a Romanvote, you know?
Every everybody'sgonna be at the order.
Everybody's pullingthe same way.
so that would be maybe.
way to think about our company.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that a lot.
E everybody rowing the same way,but they all have the freedom
to sort of come and go, reallyyou know, from an affiliation
standpoint, you know, we, wedo have, both, you know, W2
(20:12):
advisors now, but then once youdo become a partner, now you're
on the, the K one structure.
and so you, you've got kind ofthe, both, both blends there,
but once, once you becomea partner, you're, you're
obviously a K one, 'cause Todd,Todd mentioned, you've, you've
got a seat at the table, you'vegot equity in the, in the
firm, and you're participatingin the profits of the firm too.
Yeah.
we think about the K onestructure, I mean, I think we
all saw that obviously fromour, our backgrounds as well.
(20:35):
what led you down to the theK one structure and how does.
How did you go about just themechanics of setting that up
and deciding those structures?
Because obviously that'ssomething that any team
is gonna go through asthey look at exiting,
and that's a lot of work.
That's a lot of conversation.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, when you think aboutbuilding an enterprise,
there's a lot that goesinto it from the, the legal
(20:58):
and, you know, the, thetaxation, the governance side.
And so we had toput in a lot of.
Work.
and a lot of that was afterwe launched, we, we didn't
start actually growing and,and bringing on new partners
until actually around thistime last year was, was our
first, because of all the otherstuff we had to get, you know,
operating agreement in place.
We had to getgovernance in place.
We had to get, you know, thetax side of things ironed out.
(21:21):
And so the, the how is youjust have to find really
smart people, and hire them.
And so that, that'swhat we've done.
one of our operatingprinciples is simple as
better, less is more.
and so now we, we cansimplify all of those things
down, because of their help.
So, I, I think that that wasthe key for us is not Todd
or I being wicked smart.
(21:42):
It's, it's us finding the,the wicked smart people
and, and hiring themto, to be our partners.
I did wanna add realquickly on we talked to
smart people and they.
Sometimes can't understand orwrap their head around like
what we're trying to accomplish.
'cause it's not the norm.
And so with this moment, whatgives us the most flexibility is
(22:04):
the K one side with partnership,meaning there's sometimes
there's tax arguments, otherways, but, when we have to
communicate over and over, likewe are not like anybody else.
We are built by advisorsfor advisors and it
kind of sometimes like.
We have to tell 'em threeor four times, like, this
is really important to us.
(22:26):
We're not throwing it out,so how do we work around it?
so it's been, it's been fun.
And then there have been times,and most recently when we were
dealing with another companyhere about our structure,
they're like, how long haveyou guys been doing this?
years.
And they're like, this islike with 10 year work.
Like.
Yeah.
But we.
(22:46):
We put our, we had to put a lotof, hours that, and they took
away from, from our personalbusinesses to get to this point.
But, but we were so convicted,again, going back to that
word, by the vision of whatwe wanted to create and how
we wanted to do independencetogether with other, advisors,
that it was worth it.
And, and yeah, we're,we're seeing the fruits
of some of that now.
(23:07):
And, and then, yeah, some ofthe, the compliments are, are
nice to receive, but this isending one of a long game.
So we're, we're excited.
one of the things I'm hearingfrom you is that it sounds
like you're very principle andand statement driven, right?
Like it.
Simple is best less is morebut you've got these operating
principles it sounds likeyou really built around.
(23:29):
Is that fair?
And what are acouple of the others?
Yeah, so we, we havethe ABCs to GSD.
So, it, you've gotthe A is always leave
your ego at the door.
B is BA giver.
is Ctrl what you can control.
The s and ABCs as simpleas better, less is more.
And then you, you getthose right Now it's
(23:50):
time to get stuff done.
So, we, we, those would beour operating principles on,
on top of our core values.
But we, we believein those things.
I know they're laughableas you think about it,
but that's what we wanted.
We wanted to, to simplify thosedown and, and make it, make
them easy to, to remember and,and then also to, to live by.
and so we prioritize everydecision that we make runs
(24:11):
through the gamut of both our,our values and our principles.
Oh, I love that.
And I think that that'ssomething that as people
are coming together in termsof forming partnerships,
that's something theycan point to, right?
What are gonna be ouroperating principles, what
are gonna be our values?
And then making surethat the rest of it.
Aligns to those.
At least it gives you a northstar in which to base things
(24:32):
around and maybe take someof the emotion out of those.
Tough to have conversationsaround partnership.
'cause that can get pretty,that can get pretty
hairy pretty quickly.
'cause you're talkingabout people's lifelong
incomes, you're talkingabout their equity stakes.
Like it can, it can, uh, geta little heavy real quick.
Yeah, I agree.
Lot of egoA lot of ego and I guess,
(24:52):
yeah, to the point ofdropping the ego at the door.
So, talk about maybe also youall have stretched outside.
You've got Texas, you had someadvisors at the beginning,
I think in New York as well.
you mentioned, you know,four or five states coming on
board potentially also, whenwhen think about stretching
outside of your homeareas, how are you making.
(25:14):
That shift?
'cause I just think leading,leading remote organizations
in general is different.
It does take a little,special skillset.
How do you keep thatpersonality intact?
So, yeah, you hit, you hitone of the topics we talk
about in leadership all thetime, and what we've learned.
so number one, justsourcing people who
(25:36):
are interested, right?
through networking.
LinkedIn and Dylan,Dylan could explain.
He does a lot of that for us.
You know, the wayswe've met people, even
within Commonwealth.
the next phase of that iswe need to spend more time
together, face-to-face, spouseslike we committed to say, well,
(25:56):
either, first of all, Dylanand I will make face-to-face
visits, and then at some point,me and my wife, or Dylan and his
wife, we will spend time with.
The advisor and theirsignificant other to really
begin to say, outside this,let's spend more time.
So we get a better idea ofthat personality you were
(26:17):
talking about in theirgenuineness, because yeah, on
paper we are an outstandingoption, there's no doubt.
we don't wanna growfor the sake of growth.
If, if somebodydoesn't, they don't.
You know, aspire to, to giveback, to grow this together,
(26:37):
to treat everybody like family.
Family doesn't, we always sayfamily doesn't mean you like
everybody all the time, right.
But you're still family.
So, that's, that's a challengethat, that you're hitting
on that we know we need tomake sure is always, that
we're keeping right inthe forefront of our mind.
Well, and it's a funnybalance to balance somebody
(26:57):
being independent but alsostill part of the family and
doing that over distance.
So, we are getting close to theend of our time together, but
I wanna ask you guys lookingbackwards first over this last
18 months, a little bit morethan that of independence.
What are you most proud ofin your journey since you.
(27:18):
moved to the independentside of the world?
Man.
Yeah.
I, Yeah.
a lot, that's why I say,man, I, I think most of
all it's the resilience.
You know, we, we dealt withthe, the finra and, and
that went on longer thanany of us signed up for.
We.
We knew that that was coming,but we did not expect it
to last as long as it did.
(27:39):
the merger, you know, Iknow we haven't talked a
lot about that we can on,on a future episode when we
know more, about what LPLCommonwealth's gonna look like.
But, you know, getting throughthat and, and the due diligence
process, we had to ramp backup, you know, a year and
a half after already doing it.
I'm just so proud of theresilience of, of not only the,
the founding partners and, andstaff, but all the partners that
(28:01):
have come on because they've,they've bought into that.
I mean, we, we had severalthat we were down the path
with and we, we became famousin the news and they still
said, Hey, I'm, I'm coming.
I'm, I'm all in.
You, you guys.
Have got somethinggoing here and I wanna
help be a part of it.
so that, that's probablywhat I'm most proud of
is, is just the resilienceof, of every single person
(28:23):
that's a part of cedarwoodand, and, their ability to
continue to show up and bringtheir best every single day.
And that's what fires me upto bring my best is, is being
surrounded by people thatare doing that same thing.
Yeah, Ted, on top of what Dylanwas saying, like every person
that has come on since dayone, they're, they're all in,
(28:43):
they're, they're participating.
How can I help?
they're also busy people.
the other ones kept from meis kind of corny, is, when
I'm out at a concert and Isee somebody wearing a, a or a
hat with our logo on it, and Ihave no idea who that person is
they're not my client,but I'm not even in town.
(29:05):
I'm in a strange place andthere's our logo and I'm,
and I think to myself like,oh my gosh.
how it's starting.
It's the tree, theseas got planted.
We started planting themand they're, they're
starting to grow.
And someday I'm gonna beon a plane and I'll be in
a totally different stateand I'm gonna see the logo
go by me, so that's cool.
That's super cool.
(29:25):
You should be soexcited about that.
I mean, that's like, that isjust like high praise, high.
Praise from a client somewherethat probably got that hat
or a colleague or contactsomewhere and loved it enough
and loved the firm and whatit stands for to wear it.
That is super, super cool.
you Alright, so let's do aquick kind of fire round.
No, no.
(29:47):
Too hard of thinking, right?
These are meant to be likekind of quick, what is a
go-to question when you'refacing a tough decision or a
challenge in your leadership?
Yeah, I I know you have one.
Yeah, I think we'll bothprobably answer the same because
we, we, I'm, I'm from the ToddVincent Wisdom Tree, but we
also develop these together.
We, we run it throughthose four core values and
operational principles.
(30:07):
Everything we, we do, we,we try to make sure that,
that it honors those things.
So I know that's notone go-to, but we, we Yeah.
through, a gamut ofquestions that that lines
with, with the values andthe principles of what we
stand for.
Yeah.
So have those principlesand values then run your
decision making through 'em.
I think that's, that's fair.
Yeah.
If an advisor told you thatthey were on the fence about
(30:28):
maybe breaking away, what'sthe first thing you'd ask them?
Yeah.
start with, why?
And I would do four more why's.
So I'm gonna give 'em thefive why's to make sure
their thinking is evenstraight, because not everybody
needs to be independent.
There are some people thatdon't, so I would really wanna
know their story in theirheart, so gimme their good Why?
(30:49):
Yeah, that's great.
great.
Dylan, anything fromyou on that one?
I would, I would just simplysay if, if you had to put
on a sheet of paper whatyour perfect practice would
look like, can you buildthat where you're at now?
And if the answer is no,then that, that should be
the answer you need rightthere to, to be looking
at what your options are.
I think that's areally good point.
And I would say too, they,before you build that perfect
(31:10):
practice, go do a littlebit of research so you
know, what kinds of thingscould even be on that list,
Yeah, depending on where you're,you know, you may not
even be aware of all thethings you could be doing.
Yeah.
Alright.
What is a favorite leadershipor business book that
you've recently read?
Fans.
First by Jesse Cole, e Cole.
(31:31):
Ooh.
Okay.
I haven't read that one yet.
Me, I've reread,essentialism in the Bible.
Both obviously very good books.
Yes.
And then Dylan, I knowyou're a tequila drinker.
I don't know about you, Todd.
what is a, favoritedrink recipe?
Oh, Izzy too.
Okay.
So what's either a favoritetequila or a favorite
tequila drink recipe?
(31:52):
it's a Paloma, it'snot even close.
And, I try to make 'emhere, but I don't make 'em
as good as they do, overthe, over in, in Mexico.
So, but yeah, Paloma for me.
Okay.
Mine's pretty easy.
It's been passedon for generations.
Take one limeade you'regonna put it in a blender.
go three quarters of itwith, your tequila choice.
(32:14):
The better quality, the better.
Silver or white bemy first choice.
Second, you're gonna do,your triple sec, same amount.
Blend all the juices together.
Put that blender, putthat picture aside.
Fill up the otherpicture with ice.
Pour that picture in.
pour, top it off with alittle, sham board, just a
(32:35):
little bit, A little purple.
Raspberry in the middle.
Oh man.
Oh my gosh.
That sounds so good.
I definitely wannacome to your house.
Alright.
was so wonderful.
My very last question I askto every guest is, what is
a one way that you're livingan off script life today?
Dylan, why don't you go first?
(32:56):
off script.
I guess I live off script everyday 'cause I just, I choose
to find the uncomfortable.
I, I, I think that'swhere our growth happens
and, you know, sometimesthat's offensive to me.
You, you know, when I find the,the uncomfortable situations.
But I, I do think I, youknow, through every situation
of specifically the oneswhere I'm uncomfortable,
that's where I grow the most.
So, for me that would behow I'm living off script
(33:18):
is just finding thoseuncomfortable moments and, and.
Living through'em.
Oh, that's great.
Todd, how about you?
you know, I try to live everyday with, it's a gift not
promised tomorrow, so I tryto cherish every relationship
conversation that I have.
It might not be, Fruitfulalways, but it could be my lap.
so we have a ranch in my house.
(33:39):
And the, the purpose of thewhole ranch, even though it's
high fenced, I tell everybodythe reason the fence is
there is to keep the animalsin, not the people out.
And the idea is to how can weminister them, just by being.
I love that.
I love that, andI love the idea of
the animals in notthe people out.
I think that sort ofwelcoming space is
(34:01):
really fantastic, and it'scertainly what you guys are
building over at Cedarwood.
Super excited.
Thank you both so much forbeing on the podcast today.
Thanks.
All right.
and do the listeners.
Remember, this isn'tjust a podcast.
This is a playbook for buildinga life that goes off script.
Until next time,
If you've ever thoughtabout building a 100
year firm, somethingdurable, advisor owned,
principled, built to last.
This episode is for you.
Today I am talking withDylan Ripley and Todd Vincent
about their breakaway fromEdward Jones to Independence.
It was nine advisors andnearly a billion in AUM.
And since launching theirfirm, Cedarwood Financial
(00:52):
Partners, they've more thandoubled both their AUM and
their advisor headcount.
Their proof of something thatI see time and time again.
Successful advisors in captiveenvironments are often wildly
successful in independence.
I'm excited to heartheir story today.
Let's dive in.
(01:13):
So welcome Dylan and Todd.
Thank you.
Howdy.
Thanks for having us.
ThankSo, you know your team of, I
think it was nine exiting EdwardJones this week, or it's been
overshadowed this week by thismassive group exit coming outta
Merrill Lynch in in Atlanta.
I'm sure you've beenfollowing that story.
(01:33):
How's it feel tomaybe be displaced?
Yeah, I, um, I was actuallysharing with, with Todd and
a few of the others that, um,how bold of them right to $129
billion under management andthat size to, to all leave at
one time knowing what's on theother side is, is probably, uh.
Some legal issues and,and things like that,
(01:55):
but so convicted.
and I think that'swhere we can share.
we were so convicted to leavethat we, we knew we would
be the, the largest by size,size as far as head count,
but we were so convictedthat it was the right thing
for our clients and for ourbusinesses that we're here.
And I know tho those folksthere are feeling the same way
(02:15):
now.
Yeah, definitely.
They must have been convicted.
I mean, it was a ton ofadvisors, a ton of a UM.
Those Most people would say,oh, we're too big to go.
We can't do this.
And they gotcomfortable somehow.
So they definitely felt,to your point, that
really strong conviction.
one of the things I wantedto cover with you guys today
was just mostly I wannafocus on like what's happened
(02:36):
since your exit, but I alsoknow you have a few just.
Really great lessons learned.
As you went throughyour process.
What are kind of maybe the topone or two things each that you
would suggest that people thinkabout as they are preparing or,
you know, maybe the,the lessons learned in
your transition process.
Process.
one thing that we, we spenda lot of time preparing when
(02:58):
we probably over-prepared.
So I think when you have thatconviction in your stomach,
like, this is not the placeI want to be and I want to
be more on the independentspace, or even if you're
independent, you wanna move,like you need a physical
location, you probably needyour name, your logo, whatever
you think you're gonna be.
And then it's just how amI gonna talk to my clients?
(03:20):
Not try to think throughevery possible scenario that
could come at you and tryto prepare for it because,
It's gonna be what it is.
nail down those three thingsand just start moving on with
the next phase of your career.
Yeah, really well said, becauseso many people over prepare.
(03:41):
They get really worried andanxious about it, which I
completely understand, right?
You've taken your livelihoodinto your own hands at that
point, and so it can benatural to try to think of
every scenario and to totruly over prepare,
like you said.
Dylan, what would wouldyou say are a
couple good lessons?
given our move and, andeverything that we've learned
since, I, I think the, thequieter you can be about things,
(04:03):
the less you can communicate.
about things the better.
and some wise advice that,that I can give now is, you
know, whatever you send,whether it be an email or a
text message, just, just knowthat, potentially on the other
side of that, could be readin, in front of a courtroom.
And so make sure thatit's professional.
It's, it's to the point.
and, you know, try, try togo out as quiet as possible.
(04:25):
Would, would be the bestadvice that, that I can give.
Yeah.
And when you say as quietas possible, do you mean
in terms of Like documentedstatements, et cetera, or do
you mean like this Merrill team?
Right.
There was no doing that quietly.
Yeah.
And even your all's move, right?
Nine of you guys all atthe same time, that's
really hard to do quietly.
(04:46):
What What do you mean there?
yeah, the, the less peoplethat you can get involved
with this, the better,especially when you're
coming from a highly captiveenvironment, because that's
just, that's better for you.
That's better for the process.
then that, that limits any ofthat potential exposure of, of
those type of things happening.
but again, we're, we'rea unicorn scenario.
So are they, from asize, I hope not now.
(05:07):
Going forward.
maybe we, we started and,and now they're really
blazing the trail, that,that would be the hope.
One of the other lessons I'veheard you guys talk about is
a little bit on the LOI andtiming and, and maybe it's,
it kind of gets to your point,Todd, about the over preparing.
You guys kind of extendedyour timeline a little bit
through the process andmaybe maybe
moved and, and pushed out yourdate for, for making the move.
(05:30):
What's, what's yourthoughts on that?
that?
let's, let's just talk aboutlike, when you think timing,
like from a client's perspectiveof what time of year?
Is it, You have all thesevariables that, once
again you're overthinking.
so that's probably an areawhere we delayed the other area.
like we really did nottry to start out with, we're
gonna make this big group.
(05:51):
Everybody had theirown thoughts, their own
opinions of when, thingsthey were gonna, they were
striving to accomplish.
And so.
You back to Dylan's,those things.
Keep it quiet.
leave, just get thosefew things in place for
you to leave, leave.
Yeah.
Yeah, and it's been interesting'cause I've seen, I've seen
(06:13):
announcement videos wherepeople don't have an office yet.
They really haven't even fullyset up their organization yet.
Right.
They didn't wanna file anyRIA in this case paperwork
until after they had resigned.
I mean, they ran it completelyby the books in that sense.
I can see others that, youknow, have everything in
place and, and once thingsare approved, you know,
(06:34):
they, they, they drop right?
And they, they give,that's what we call it.
They drop or they break.
Right.
so it's, it definitely varies.
But to your point,there's a lot of.
of.
Things to get in line tomake sure that we have a
successful launch, and we candefinitely overwork those,
or you can definitely alsounder work them and have a
(06:54):
disastrous launch as well.
So we gotta find theright spot there.
At Launch.
You had, I think, ninepeople that exited.
Nine advisors,and around a billion
dollars in a UM, if I'mremembering correctly.
that was certainlynot a small beginning.
And then since then,you've been adding more
and more team members.
How many howadvisors do you guys support
today across the market andwhat's the big sort of long-term
(07:17):
goal or vision for cedarwood?
where we're at today is we,we service, uh, 18 advisors.
And, you know, in totalbetween advisor support
staff we're at, we're at 41.
So, um, we've more than doubled.
When we did leave, we werecloser to around eight 50 under
management simply because ofthe market at, at that time
we, but yeah, now, now, todaywe're, right at, you know, the
(07:38):
close to the $2 billion markand, and continuing to grow.
And the, the pipelineis, is full and.
I think we're in three,three different states
now with, with plans hereto, to add a, a handful of
those as as we continue.
But yeah, we're, we've beenvery blessed from, from that
standpoint to, to more thandouble in size, both in,
in a UM and, and headcount.
(07:59):
I mean, that's tremendousgrowth, you guys.
Congratulations.
I mean, in that short time,I've been so impressed by
so many teams coming out ofEdward Jones and then becoming
the largest team you all wereprobably one of the largest
groups inside of Commonwealth.
Others that are the largestgroups inside of Raymond James.
I mean, you're justreally rocking.
That's incredible.
Thank you.
Todd, what's the vision?
(08:20):
So I think the vision is, um,specific, but it's also generic.
And what, here'swhat I mean by that.
if you have people thathave like a common or
core values maybe that youknow for life, that that
really means something.
Our vision is to say, wewanna bring in and welcome all
(08:42):
those people that maybe sharethose type of core values.
So we have the four Fs,we call it faith, family
freedom and fulfillment.
so a lot of people who arein a captive audience, they
obviously want that freedomto say, can I have a little
bit more choice in, in.
of my business, can I have thefreedom to pass it on who I want
(09:04):
to, to sell it if I want to?
You know, there's justso many, know, ways we
could go off freedom.
But the second part, whichJones did do well is, you
know, I'm an old timer.
So there was a time when itwas really more like a family.
So how do we, how do we havethat environment where it's
And for most of us here.
Faith is important.
We want all the people that comeon board with cedarwood to have,
(09:26):
a vision that there's somethinggreater than themselves,
something they're striving for.
It probably reflects alittle bit in where they
serve outside of work.
you get a, you getan idea of that.
So we really,truly believe that.
If you continue to surroundyourself with people who
put their faith in theirfamily first, and they strive
for utmost and freedom,you give it to 'em, and
(09:48):
at the end of the day, howcan they not be fulfilled?
Our, our clientswant the same thing.
That's, that's what'simportant to them.
Their family, a lot of liketheir, what they, they care
about what they wanna doand they want the freedom.
They want us as advisors tohelp them have that financial
freedom to do those things.
And, and that's typicallywhat someone might describe
(10:09):
as a fulfilled life.
So when we say, howbig could this be?
Hey, um.
big as it can be, aslittle as it can be.
Do we have thatsame common goal?
But here's what I think,what makes us different.
we truly believe that everybodyhas a seat at the table.
So, you know, as we grow,it's, it's always about, it's
(10:29):
sure still your business andyou have the freedom to leave.
And if you leave, we are stillfamily, whereas other firms,
hey, you have this much freedomand if you leave, you are no
longer family, your enemy.
Yeah.
soThat change over to enemy is a
really strong thing, isn't it?
I mean, we've all seen thatand, it's really shocking, I
(10:52):
think, to the system when itoccurs, and at least that's
with the advisors that I've,I've been working with.
It is a shock.
It's they come out andthey say, gosh, it's
not gonna be like that.
My, my area, myregion, whatever it is.
My group, my team is differentand it almost always is.
so, you know, we prepare for it,but it's a, it's a real shocker.
(11:13):
I love to say personality whenI'm doing, fitting an advisor
to a, to a firm, I talk a lotabout the personality fit.
That's I don't use the wordculture anymore.
Because you can't spellculture without using the
word cult, and so, so Iuse personality instead.
How are you all thinkingabout, you talked about faith
and family and the freedom,that's kind of the personality
(11:35):
aspects of your firm.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, one of our, I guess youcould, two of our taglines, you
know, one of it is go be you.
yeah.
then, you know, the, the otheris doing independence together.
And, and that's really,we, we want to protect
advisors independence.
like, like it deservesto be protected because
it is so sacred onceyou get on this side.
(11:56):
I, I can't explain the levelof fulfillment of just owning
every decision and everyoutcome of this business there.
There's nothing better.
and so we want to protect thatthere It is special and, and
it inspires advisors and so wedon't want to take that away
and say, you know, now they havea, a, a fall guy, if you will.
And, and cedarwood the firm.
It's like, no, you know, wewant you to own everything.
(12:16):
So it's, that's real, thatthat's the personality
that we're looking for.
(12:44):
Like Todd said, is somebody thatis all in on being independent
and wants that freedom to,to be who they are, but they
don't wanna do it alone.
They, they want to doit together with other
like-minded, partnersand, and be able to grow.
and who and who knowswhere this thing goes.
We, you know, we jokearound about being the
a hundred year firm.
you know, but we wannamake sure that whatever,
whatever the, the goal is,whatever the mission is,
(13:06):
that it's built on those four FsWell, I love that idea of the
a hundred year firm, right?
So, you know, as, as you guysknow, I was at the home office
for a long time and, I alwayswould say to people like, I
want this firm to last another ahundred years because my family.
Lives a long term timeand I wanted to benefit
from it from a long time.
Right.
(13:27):
So I think this idea of ahundred year firm, I love
that, that part of the goal.
I think that has suchconfidence in it and also
just like trust in peoplein order to carry it on.
I, when you all thinkabout that, what is, What do
what do you think about, I mean,I don't even know how to
picture a hundred year firm yet,but I want one.
(13:49):
Well, you know, I wanna bringup another little saying that
we have that maybe would help.
A hundred year version isone time I had a client say
to me a long time ago whenI was really young in the
business, and they were talkingabout people in general, and
they said, you know, there'stwo people in this world.
There's givers and there'stwo takeaway, and we want
to be a firm of givers.
(14:09):
When you have that personalityto use your your words, you.
You can create somethingthat is special because
it's not a selfish thing.
It's a, it's a giving thing.
It's always giving thing.
And as the leadership, we've,we've tried to, you know,
exhibit and demonstrate andlive it out the same way.
so the, the vision, thepersonality, as long as we
(14:33):
have like, Hey, you can be you.
This is your life's work.
How can we celebrateit with you together?
We want you to do it, andwe think we have the best
odd success to, to makesomething really special.
I've noticed even in just, youknow, preparing for today's
conversation, you all havea good focus on succession
planning and continuity.
(14:54):
For your team members as well.
Do you wanna talk just brieflyabout that and kind of why
that's so important to you?
I mean, it aligns reallynicely with this idea of
a hundred year old firm.
Yeah, I think it's, it's reallyimportant for every single one
of our advisors because fromwhere we came from and, and you
know, some of the ins and outsthere, like you didn't have
a strong continuity like it.
(15:14):
I had a good friend that wasin the business, at the same
firm, and he unfortunatelypassed away and, somebody steps
into his office, takes thatover and, you know, I the check
that his wife received for hislife's work and his business
at that time was, was abysmal.
And, and so I, I thinkit's, it's a huge disservice
to advisors if, if theydon't prioritize what
happens if they're nolonger able to, to do.
(15:36):
And that's both right.
If they're, if they'realive and, and can't do the
job, or if the good Lordcalls 'em home either way.
or if they simply retire, right?
I mean, they, they needto have full control over
what that looks like.
And so we, we have prioritizedthat, as a focus for us
to make sure that they do.
and so, you know, we, we stepup and say, you know, cedarwood
(15:57):
is your continuity plan,and we all have continuity
partners within the firm.
that will continue ourbusiness if, if we're
no longer able to do so.
and then we fairly value that,like we put it in writing, that
we are going to have a thirdparty value your business,
and that is going to be thedollar amount that your family
receives for that business.
so it's extremelyimportant there.
And then from thesuccession standpoint.
(16:18):
we wanna get well ahead of that.
So we're, we're really focusedon helping each of our branches
build out strong, capable teamsso that, that pass off, to the
next generation is so naturalthat clients can't even tell.
It's a pass off they've beenworking for, with Todd and,
and his team for so longthat it's, you know, that
the team and not just Todd.
(16:39):
and so we're, we're veryintentional on creating that.
As part of that successionplanning is helping each of
these advisors so much so thatyou know, we're even willing
to put up firm resourcesto help build that out.
That's great, and I thinkthat that's such an unmet
need in so many ways.
but so many advisors do nothave a continuity partner
or a succession plan, andthey really don't know how
(17:00):
to bring up that kind ofnext generation of advisors.
I do think that's somethingthat Edward Jones did
really, really well, was.
Training advisorskind of from scratch.
They're not doing it asmuch today as they did
back when, when you Dylanjoined and when I was there too.
they did it a lot moreback then than they do now,
but it's such a big need.
(17:20):
Yeah, and that.
from that standpoint, youknow, that, that instilled in
us, a passion for training.
We all, of us served in someleadership capacity at Jones,
because we were passionateabout bringing up that next
generation and, and we werepassionate about giving.
Todd mentioned likebeing a giver, so we
gave of our time there.
but it transpired over.
Here where we're at nowto say we've gotta put
(17:42):
a focus on training.
And so we've launched twotraining programs both for
staff and advisors that we, werun from, from headquarters.
but that's a service that, youknow, all of our branch teams
can tap into so that they're notthe ones having to train up that
next gen and take the time awayfrom growing their business.
We do that at, at the firmlevel, because we're, we're
really passionate about it.
(18:03):
That's great.
And I think that's somethingtoo, where you can have then
the real peer to peer learning,which is so important for
those new to the, to the.
New to it, the advising space.
talk a little bit more.
So you've got the trainingprograms we've got a
great culture personality.
as I prefer to say.
we've got options, Ithink also about maybe
how people affiliate.
(18:24):
So talk about how advisors joincedarwood when they're
joining, what does thatlook like for them?
And then what do yousee as the value and
who's a perfect advisorfor your all's group?
group?
obviously on, in theindependent world, if you
would go from captive to in.
the extreme there, that'sa big distance apart.
(18:44):
So how do we find somethingin the middle that says,
I want to be independent,but I don't want to be alone.
Yeah.
so where we, we really saidwe, we wanna use obviously,
economies of scale sothat everybody benefits,
create personality so youdon't feel like you're,
you're alone on an island.
but the other thing is we wantpeople who want to be a partner.
(19:09):
So we want them to bea partner and an equal
partner and everybodyhas a seat on the table.
So it's kind of blendinginto a little bit of
the other questions.
But, you know, if someone saidlike, I like all the things that
you guys stand for, and, I likethe idea of working together,
not being alone on an island.
And I like the idea of growingsomething beyond my own practice
(19:30):
And so can I be a partner?
And we, we really triedto structure our company
to say, well, Todd Vincentdoesn't own any more.
I might own more shares than Andthan you if you were
to join a Shelby.
But the point is, I have onesite and you have one site.
Hmm.
we made it veryclear of together.
We we're always doingeverything together.
(19:51):
It's like a Romanvote, you know?
Every everybody'sgonna be at the order.
Everybody's pullingthe same way.
so that would be maybe.
way to think about our company.
Yeah, I like that.
I like that a lot.
E everybody rowing the same way,but they all have the freedom
to sort of come and go, reallyyou know, from an affiliation
standpoint, you know, we, wedo have, both, you know, W2
(20:12):
advisors now, but then once youdo become a partner, now you're
on the, the K one structure.
and so you, you've got kind ofthe, both, both blends there,
but once, once you becomea partner, you're, you're
obviously a K one, 'cause Todd,Todd mentioned, you've, you've
got a seat at the table, you'vegot equity in the, in the
firm, and you're participatingin the profits of the firm too.
Yeah.
we think about the K onestructure, I mean, I think we
all saw that obviously fromour, our backgrounds as well.
(20:35):
what led you down to the theK one structure and how does.
How did you go about just themechanics of setting that up
and deciding those structures?
Because obviously that'ssomething that any team
is gonna go through asthey look at exiting,
and that's a lot of work.
That's a lot of conversation.
Yeah, it is.
I mean, when you think aboutbuilding an enterprise,
there's a lot that goesinto it from the, the legal
(20:58):
and, you know, the, thetaxation, the governance side.
And so we had toput in a lot of.
Work.
and a lot of that was afterwe launched, we, we didn't
start actually growing and,and bringing on new partners
until actually around thistime last year was, was our
first, because of all the otherstuff we had to get, you know,
operating agreement in place.
We had to getgovernance in place.
We had to get, you know, thetax side of things ironed out.
(21:21):
And so the, the how is youjust have to find really
smart people, and hire them.
And so that, that'swhat we've done.
one of our operatingprinciples is simple as
better, less is more.
and so now we, we cansimplify all of those things
down, because of their help.
So, I, I think that that wasthe key for us is not Todd
or I being wicked smart.
(21:42):
It's, it's us finding the,the wicked smart people
and, and hiring themto, to be our partners.
I did wanna add realquickly on we talked to
smart people and they.
Sometimes can't understand orwrap their head around like
what we're trying to accomplish.
'cause it's not the norm.
And so with this moment, whatgives us the most flexibility is
(22:04):
the K one side with partnership,meaning there's sometimes
there's tax arguments, otherways, but, when we have to
communicate over and over, likewe are not like anybody else.
We are built by advisorsfor advisors and it
kind of sometimes like.
We have to tell 'em threeor four times, like, this
is really important to us.
(22:26):
We're not throwing it out,so how do we work around it?
so it's been, it's been fun.
And then there have been times,and most recently when we were
dealing with another companyhere about our structure,
they're like, how long haveyou guys been doing this?
years.
And they're like, this islike with 10 year work.
Like.
Yeah.
But we.
(22:46):
We put our, we had to put a lotof, hours that, and they took
away from, from our personalbusinesses to get to this point.
But, but we were so convicted,again, going back to that
word, by the vision of whatwe wanted to create and how
we wanted to do independencetogether with other, advisors,
that it was worth it.
And, and yeah, we're,we're seeing the fruits
of some of that now.
(23:07):
And, and then, yeah, some ofthe, the compliments are, are
nice to receive, but this isending one of a long game.
So we're, we're excited.
one of the things I'm hearingfrom you is that it sounds
like you're very principle andand statement driven, right?
Like it.
Simple is best less is morebut you've got these operating
principles it sounds likeyou really built around.
(23:29):
Is that fair?
And what are acouple of the others?
Yeah, so we, we havethe ABCs to GSD.
So, it, you've gotthe A is always leave
your ego at the door.
B is BA giver.
is Ctrl what you can control.
The s and ABCs as simpleas better, less is more.
And then you, you getthose right Now it's
(23:50):
time to get stuff done.
So, we, we, those would beour operating principles on,
on top of our core values.
But we, we believein those things.
I know they're laughableas you think about it,
but that's what we wanted.
We wanted to, to simplify thosedown and, and make it, make
them easy to, to remember and,and then also to, to live by.
and so we prioritize everydecision that we make runs
(24:11):
through the gamut of both our,our values and our principles.
Oh, I love that.
And I think that that'ssomething that as people
are coming together in termsof forming partnerships,
that's something theycan point to, right?
What are gonna be ouroperating principles, what
are gonna be our values?
And then making surethat the rest of it.
Aligns to those.
At least it gives you a northstar in which to base things
(24:32):
around and maybe take someof the emotion out of those.
Tough to have conversationsaround partnership.
'cause that can get pretty,that can get pretty
hairy pretty quickly.
'cause you're talkingabout people's lifelong
incomes, you're talkingabout their equity stakes.
Like it can, it can, uh, geta little heavy real quick.
Yeah, I agree.
Lot of egoA lot of ego and I guess,
(24:52):
yeah, to the point ofdropping the ego at the door.
So, talk about maybe also youall have stretched outside.
You've got Texas, you had someadvisors at the beginning,
I think in New York as well.
you mentioned, you know,four or five states coming on
board potentially also, whenwhen think about stretching
outside of your homeareas, how are you making.
(25:14):
That shift?
'cause I just think leading,leading remote organizations
in general is different.
It does take a little,special skillset.
How do you keep thatpersonality intact?
So, yeah, you hit, you hitone of the topics we talk
about in leadership all thetime, and what we've learned.
so number one, justsourcing people who
(25:36):
are interested, right?
through networking.
LinkedIn and Dylan,Dylan could explain.
He does a lot of that for us.
You know, the wayswe've met people, even
within Commonwealth.
the next phase of that iswe need to spend more time
together, face-to-face, spouseslike we committed to say, well,
(25:56):
either, first of all, Dylanand I will make face-to-face
visits, and then at some point,me and my wife, or Dylan and his
wife, we will spend time with.
The advisor and theirsignificant other to really
begin to say, outside this,let's spend more time.
So we get a better idea ofthat personality you were
(26:17):
talking about in theirgenuineness, because yeah, on
paper we are an outstandingoption, there's no doubt.
we don't wanna growfor the sake of growth.
If, if somebodydoesn't, they don't.
You know, aspire to, to giveback, to grow this together,
(26:37):
to treat everybody like family.
Family doesn't, we always sayfamily doesn't mean you like
everybody all the time, right.
But you're still family.
So, that's, that's a challengethat, that you're hitting
on that we know we need tomake sure is always, that
we're keeping right inthe forefront of our mind.
Well, and it's a funnybalance to balance somebody
(26:57):
being independent but alsostill part of the family and
doing that over distance.
So, we are getting close to theend of our time together, but
I wanna ask you guys lookingbackwards first over this last
18 months, a little bit morethan that of independence.
What are you most proud ofin your journey since you.
(27:18):
moved to the independentside of the world?
Man.
Yeah.
I, Yeah.
a lot, that's why I say,man, I, I think most of
all it's the resilience.
You know, we, we dealt withthe, the finra and, and
that went on longer thanany of us signed up for.
We.
We knew that that was coming,but we did not expect it
to last as long as it did.
(27:39):
the merger, you know, Iknow we haven't talked a
lot about that we can on,on a future episode when we
know more, about what LPLCommonwealth's gonna look like.
But, you know, getting throughthat and, and the due diligence
process, we had to ramp backup, you know, a year and
a half after already doing it.
I'm just so proud of theresilience of, of not only the,
the founding partners and, andstaff, but all the partners that
(28:01):
have come on because they've,they've bought into that.
I mean, we, we had severalthat we were down the path
with and we, we became famousin the news and they still
said, Hey, I'm, I'm coming.
I'm, I'm all in.
You, you guys.
Have got somethinggoing here and I wanna
help be a part of it.
so that, that's probablywhat I'm most proud of
is, is just the resilienceof, of every single person
(28:23):
that's a part of cedarwoodand, and, their ability to
continue to show up and bringtheir best every single day.
And that's what fires me upto bring my best is, is being
surrounded by people thatare doing that same thing.
Yeah, Ted, on top of what Dylanwas saying, like every person
that has come on since dayone, they're, they're all in,
(28:43):
they're, they're participating.
How can I help?
they're also busy people.
the other ones kept from meis kind of corny, is, when
I'm out at a concert and Isee somebody wearing a, a or a
hat with our logo on it, and Ihave no idea who that person is
they're not my client,but I'm not even in town.
(29:05):
I'm in a strange place andthere's our logo and I'm,
and I think to myself like,oh my gosh.
how it's starting.
It's the tree, theseas got planted.
We started planting themand they're, they're
starting to grow.
And someday I'm gonna beon a plane and I'll be in
a totally different stateand I'm gonna see the logo
go by me, so that's cool.
That's super cool.
(29:25):
You should be soexcited about that.
I mean, that's like, that isjust like high praise, high.
Praise from a client somewherethat probably got that hat
or a colleague or contactsomewhere and loved it enough
and loved the firm and whatit stands for to wear it.
That is super, super cool.
you Alright, so let's do aquick kind of fire round.
No, no.
(29:47):
Too hard of thinking, right?
These are meant to be likekind of quick, what is a
go-to question when you'refacing a tough decision or a
challenge in your leadership?
Yeah, I I know you have one.
Yeah, I think we'll bothprobably answer the same because
we, we, I'm, I'm from the ToddVincent Wisdom Tree, but we
also develop these together.
We, we run it throughthose four core values and
operational principles.
(30:07):
Everything we, we do, we,we try to make sure that,
that it honors those things.
So I know that's notone go-to, but we, we Yeah.
through, a gamut ofquestions that that lines
with, with the values andthe principles of what we
stand for.
Yeah.
So have those principlesand values then run your
decision making through 'em.
I think that's, that's fair.
Yeah.
If an advisor told you thatthey were on the fence about
(30:28):
maybe breaking away, what'sthe first thing you'd ask them?
Yeah.
start with, why?
And I would do four more why's.
So I'm gonna give 'em thefive why's to make sure
their thinking is evenstraight, because not everybody
needs to be independent.
There are some people thatdon't, so I would really wanna
know their story in theirheart, so gimme their good Why?
(30:49):
Yeah, that's great.
great.
Dylan, anything fromyou on that one?
I would, I would just simplysay if, if you had to put
on a sheet of paper whatyour perfect practice would
look like, can you buildthat where you're at now?
And if the answer is no,then that, that should be
the answer you need rightthere to, to be looking
at what your options are.
I think that's areally good point.
And I would say too, they,before you build that perfect
(31:10):
practice, go do a littlebit of research so you
know, what kinds of thingscould even be on that list,
Yeah, depending on where you're,you know, you may not
even be aware of all thethings you could be doing.
Yeah.
Alright.
What is a favorite leadershipor business book that
you've recently read?
Fans.
First by Jesse Cole, e Cole.
(31:31):
Ooh.
Okay.
I haven't read that one yet.
Me, I've reread,essentialism in the Bible.
Both obviously very good books.
Yes.
And then Dylan, I knowyou're a tequila drinker.
I don't know about you, Todd.
what is a, favoritedrink recipe?
Oh, Izzy too.
Okay.
So what's either a favoritetequila or a favorite
tequila drink recipe?
(31:52):
it's a Paloma, it'snot even close.
And, I try to make 'emhere, but I don't make 'em
as good as they do, overthe, over in, in Mexico.
So, but yeah, Paloma for me.
Okay.
Mine's pretty easy.
It's been passedon for generations.
Take one limeade you'regonna put it in a blender.
go three quarters of itwith, your tequila choice.
(32:14):
The better quality, the better.
Silver or white bemy first choice.
Second, you're gonna do,your triple sec, same amount.
Blend all the juices together.
Put that blender, putthat picture aside.
Fill up the otherpicture with ice.
Pour that picture in.
pour, top it off with alittle, sham board, just a
(32:35):
little bit, A little purple.
Raspberry in the middle.
Oh man.
Oh my gosh.
That sounds so good.
I definitely wannacome to your house.
Alright.
was so wonderful.
My very last question I askto every guest is, what is
a one way that you're livingan off script life today?
Dylan, why don't you go first?
(32:56):
off script.
I guess I live off script everyday 'cause I just, I choose
to find the uncomfortable.
I, I, I think that'swhere our growth happens
and, you know, sometimesthat's offensive to me.
You, you know, when I find the,the uncomfortable situations.
But I, I do think I, youknow, through every situation
of specifically the oneswhere I'm uncomfortable,
that's where I grow the most.
So, for me that would behow I'm living off script
(33:18):
is just finding thoseuncomfortable moments and, and.
Living through'em.
Oh, that's great.
Todd, how about you?
you know, I try to live everyday with, it's a gift not
promised tomorrow, so I tryto cherish every relationship
conversation that I have.
It might not be, Fruitfulalways, but it could be my lap.
so we have a ranch in my house.
(33:39):
And the, the purpose of thewhole ranch, even though it's
high fenced, I tell everybodythe reason the fence is
there is to keep the animalsin, not the people out.
And the idea is to how can weminister them, just by being.
I love that.
I love that, andI love the idea of
the animals in notthe people out.
I think that sort ofwelcoming space is
(34:01):
really fantastic, and it'scertainly what you guys are
building over at Cedarwood.
Super excited.
Thank you both so much forbeing on the podcast today.
Thanks.
All right.
and do the listeners.
Remember, this isn'tjust a podcast.
This is a playbook for buildinga life that goes off script.
Until next time,
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