Case Study · Breakaway Advisors
Record-Setting Enterprise Wirehouse Breakaway: Transitioning Over $5 Billion in Client Assets
When one of the country's highest-performing advisory teams decided to leave a global wirehouse, the challenge wasn't simply moving assets — it was recreating an institutional-level client experience from day one. Managing more than $5 billion in assets required coordinating complex lending arrangements, sophisticated trust structures, customized custody solutions, and an operational infrastructure capable of supporting some of the industry's most demanding client relationships. Within five weeks, the team successfully transitioned the overwhelming majority of client assets — setting a record for realized assets under management during the transition.
Client Profile
Firm Type
UBS
Assets
Over $5 Billion
Advisors
2
Support Staff
9
Custodian
Pershing Advisor Custody Solutions
Technology
Addepar · Addepar Trading · eMoney
The Challenge
This was not a traditional advisor transition.
The client base included sophisticated trust structures, LLC registrations, portfolio margin requirements, securities-based lending relationships, structured notes, and single-account margin release requirements. Every one of these items introduced operational complexity.
- →Sophisticated trust structures
- →LLC registrations
- →Portfolio margin requirements
- →Securities-based lending relationships
- →Structured notes
- →Single-account margin release requirements
The expectation was simple: the independent firm had to feel every bit as sophisticated as the global institution they were leaving — on Day One.
Fusion's Role
Fusion coordinated the transition strategy across every major provider.
Key Responsibilities
- →Working directly with Pershing to customize custody capabilities
- →Negotiating lending solutions that matched — or improved upon — the team's existing arrangements
- →Coordinating vendors across custody, technology, and operations
- →Creating a detailed transition plan for complex household registrations
- →Managing account-opening workflows to eliminate unnecessary delays
- →Overseeing execution from planning through launch
Results
- ✓Record-setting realized AUM transitioned within five weeks
- ✓Complex registrations processed efficiently
- ✓Lending solutions maintained without disruption
- ✓Client disruption minimized throughout the transition
- ✓Institutional-quality service delivered from day one
Mike's Perspective
"The largest wirehouse teams considering independence need to realize they are no longer trailblazers. Ten or fifteen years ago, perhaps they were. Today, the RIA marketplace has matured. Firms larger, more complex, and operationally challenging have successfully made the transition. If independence is the right decision for your team and your clients, the infrastructure now exists to support it at the highest level."
— Mike Papedis
Lessons from the Launch
Large transitions are rarely limited by client willingness. They're limited by planning.
The difference between a stressful launch and a successful one is having experienced leadership coordinating dozens of vendors, solving problems before they become client issues, and ensuring every operational detail is addressed long before launch day.
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