February 2024
Empowering you to thrive
Erinn Ford: Supporting and Serving You
Valued Partners,
February is the month where love and gratitude are at the forefront. And in the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank you for your business and your continued trust and feedback as we continue to build for the future—together.
Connection in action
In last month’s update, I shared that one of our key priorities is to ensure you feel a connection to your partners at all levels across Osaic who are accountable for serving you and empowering you to thrive. One of these partners is Michelle Page, SVP, Business Partner Relations, and her team, who are laser-focused on engaging with you, and intentionally connecting your feedback to the individuals at Osaic who are accountable for incorporating that feedback into our processes and plans. Our goal is to continuously improve your experiences.
Michelle and the entire Business Partner team have connected with many of you recently to learn about what’s going well, and where we have opportunities to improve. If you haven’t already had a conversation with a member of this team and you’d like to connect, we would love to hear from you. Please email the Advisor Engagement team at AdvisorEngagement@osaic.com.
Supporting you on your Journey to Osaic
Also last month, we announced that your transition to Osaic will occur in June 2024. There are numerous efforts in flight to ensure you and your staff feel as supported as possible in the days and weeks ahead, and there are a few recently completed and upcoming engagements that we want to make sure you have on your radar.
- Your Securities America Transition Portal is now live! This new destination will be your central resource for all news, events, and information related to your transition to Osaic. We’ve heard from advisors who’ve previously transitioned that their Transition Portal was one of the most vital resources, and I hope you’ll spend some time reviewing what’s here. Please also be sure to save it to your Favorites and refer to it often as information is added weekly.
- Our See the Future Webinar Series launched February 21, and is focused on providing you with a high-level understanding of what your day-to-day will look like at Osaic, including the digital tools that will be available to help you drive growth and efficiency within your business. All replays and future sessions can be accessed on the Webinars page of your Transition Portal.
- Regional Roadshows will begin in Q2 and provide an opportunity for members of our team to meet you and spend time talking about how we can help you be even more successful. More information is coming soon on this.
- The latest quarterly Enhanced Experience Dashboard was recently published to update you on the progress being made to deliver a frictionless experience. One notable callout is that we’ve expanded eQuipt functionality in preparation for your transition to Osaic in June. Also, effective March 4, some of the fees your clients pay to Pershing are being reduced or eliminated, which you can read more about here.
Cultivating communities
This month, I joined Advice and Wealth Management President Greg Cornick and RIA Solutions President Ed Swenson for a conversation on how we’re helping cultivate communities and helping you get the most out of the relationships in your Osaic ecosystem. Watch the video here!
Our Osaic advisory councils and boards have also kicked off their 2024 in-person meetings with the addition of several new members. Learn more about each council and board’s 2024 priorities and future in-person meetings.
I had the chance to catch up with our new National Advisory Board (NAB) Chair Chad Parmenter of Mirus Planning and Bellevue, WA, and here’s what he shared with me on his outlook for how the NAB is collaborating with Osaic to build a brighter future for all Financial Professionals.
“We believe Osaic is uniquely positioned to solve problems and enhance opportunities for advisors, their teams, and their clients due to the firm’s size and capabilities (economies of scale). Osaic employees have an opportunity to operate using two complementary frameworks that we believe can lead to a thriving organization and experience,” he said.
“First, getting things done in a way that delivers direction, clarity, and a sense of confidence for advisors, their teams, and their clients. Second, communicating with a spirit of hospitality so that we all feel seen, heard, cared for, and that we belong as part of the Osaic community. In operating with such intentional effort, service levels and relationships with advisors, their teams, and their clients can align with what is wanted, needed, and deserved.”
We couldn’t agree more, Chad! Thank you for your leadership!
Thank you
Thank you for all that you do on behalf of your clients, and for your business and your partnership. We are so energized by our mission to serve you and will continue to lean in on our commitment to helping you thrive.
Please always feel welcome to reach out at AdvisorEngagement@Osaic.com and a member of my team will get back to you promptly.
Best,
Erinn Ford
EVP, Advisor Engagement
Independent Channel Leader
Greg Cornick: Cultivating Communities – A conversation with Erinn Ford and Ed Swenson
Advice and Wealth Management President Greg Cornick is joined by Erinn Ford, EVP, Advisor Engagement, and Ed Swenson, EVP and President, RIA Solutions, for a conversation on how we’re cultivating communities across the Osaic network in support of you and your business.
Peer Connect
We’re delighted to welcome new members to two of Osaic’s key peer connections – advisory councils chaired and made up of your peers.
The National Advisor Board (NAB) was created to help ensure our strategy and ongoing decisions are based on the voices of our financial professionals. The group informs our technology, service and product roadmaps. Please welcome new members Annette Alexander, George Chuang, CFA, Laurie Martin, Pamela B. Pearson, Paul Provost and Rita Robbins. Connect with them on LinkedIn!
The National Operational Excellence Council (NOEC) was established in 2022 with a mission to enhance your ease of doing business, the NOEC is comprised of financial professionals, administrative staff, operational firm leaders, and Osaic leadership. Members help identify and prioritize operational challenges and opportunities and serve as a collaborative resource in the decision-making process as enhancements are evaluated. With the help of NOEC members, we've been able to remove 60 friction points for our Financial Professionals.
Please welcome new members Christian Bratton, CFP® - Singletrack LLC, Nick Burns, CFP® - Financial Achievement Services Inc., Amber Carrick - Keystone Financial Management, Alissa Couchman- Iron Point Financial Advisors, Inc., Nick Hanley, CFP® - Acorn Financial Services, Inc., Ryan H. - Steward Wealth Strategies, Kurt D. Jonson, CLU, ChFC, CFP - Advisory Resource Group LLC, Barbara Marshall - ITP Partners, Rob Schultz, CFP®, CDFA® - NWF Advisory Group. Connect with them on LinkedIn!
Got an idea for improvement? Email the NOEC at feedback@osaic.com.
Building Tomorrow
Growth happens faster when obstacles are removed. For your advisory business, we’ve heard this in terms of requested support for client communications and technology improvements on the Wealth Management Platform. Join your peers who’ve already started leveraging the new resources and enhancements to accelerate the growth of advisory services in their businesses and move assets onto WMP for the benefit of their clients’ portfolios.
Download these resources for you & your clients:
- Why Advisory (for clients)
- Why Advisory (for advisors)
- Why Advisory (for advisors: prepping yourself to address client questions)
Understanding Why WMP: Highlights from our subject matter experts.
Get to Know Your New Community Members
A new year means exciting new partnerships, and we are grateful that financial advisor Ray Godleski trusted us to help better serve his clients. Ray was attracted to Osaic because of the abundant independent financial solutions we offer advisors. We cannot wait to serve Ray and his clients in 2024 and beyond.
For the veteran team of advisors at The Platinum Wealth Group, making the move to Osaic and The AmeriFlex Group® came down to two things: organizational vision and growth opportunities. We look forward to helping the Platinum Wealth team take the next step in their business and we congratulate The Ameriflex Group on their continued success.
Next, we welcomed Wisconsin-based advisor Coltin Brehm to #TeamOsaic. Wanting to take his business to the next level, this husband and father of two decided it was in his best interest to partner with Osaic. We are thrilled to be Coltin’s partner in independence, and we look forward to delivering exceptional experiences to his clients.
From Altoona, Wisconsin to Dallas, Texas, financial advisors Taylor Manning and Guy Charles joined Osaic for the independence, technology and support. We are proud to provide the duo with the support and resources they need so they can focus on their clients. Welcome, Taylor and Guy!
At Osaic, we pride ourselves in providing our financial professionals with frictionless back-office support so they can run their businesses smoothly, and this support is what enticed financial advisor Jason Kramar to make the move to Osaic. We welcome Jason and look forward to helping him run his business his way.
Last, but certainly not least, we closed out January by welcoming New York advisors Chris Spencer and Steve Castrello to #TeamOsaic. Chris and Steve both started their careers on Wall Street, and we are grateful that they have chosen to benefit from Osaic’s scale and robust suite of resources as they step into the next phase of their businesses.
Osaic transition: See the Future webinar series underway & Transition Portal now live
We are so excited to welcome you to Osaic in June of 2024! While there’s no immediate action required on your part, we're already rolling out a comprehensive plan to keep you fully informed about everything you need to know leading up to your transition to Osaic.
As part of that plan, we invite you to join us for our See the Future webinar series. Here's a glimpse of what you’ll gain from these sessions:
- A high-level overview of the digital platforms and solutions you’ll have access to once you transition to Osaic.
- Insight into how your experience will change as you transition to Osaic, so you can more effectively prepare for your transition.
- Expert insight into new tools and platforms that will help you grow your business and serve your clients, your way.
We encourage you to join us live so you can ask questions, but all recordings will also be available on demand.
In addition to the See the Future webinar series, we have prepared a suite of additional resources to ensure you feel well supported throughout your journey to Osaic:
Transition Portal
Available here, or by clicking on the link in Business Center, this portal provides you with access to webinars and recordings, branding assets, client support materials, FAQs, and more. We’ll add additional content, including our recent What to Expect webinar recording, over time, so be sure to check back frequently.
Frequently asked questions
Using your feedback, we will continually update our comprehensive list of FAQs, which are available here or by visiting Transition Portal.
Question submission form
If your questions are not answered within our FAQs, we encourage you to submit questions regarding your transition through our online question submission form.
Additional resources will be provided as your transition nears. We look forward to partnering with you throughout this journey and to our exciting future together.
Recent home office phone number extension changes
Securities America upgraded to a new phone platform to allow for future service enhancements. Your phone options will stay the same, but extensions for our home office employees changed to 5 digits on February 16.
In support of this change, the 'dial by extension' message on the SAI main menu has been updated to assist you if you wish to dial by extension. The 'dial by name' feature will not be impacted. Until the 4-digit extensions are removed, you will hear instructions for both 4-digit and 5-digit dialing. Once the 4-digit extensions are removed at end of February, the SAI main menu message will be updated to provide only 5-digit extension dialing guidance.
If you have any questions, please contact your Support team.
Enhanced experience dashboard updated with 15 new improvements
Our Enhanced Experience Program Dashboard highlights the continual upgrades we’re implementing to make it easier for you to do business with us. Launched in 2022 to track the progress of our National Operational Excellence Council (NOEC) and other firm efforts, the dashboard is updated quarterly and now features over 80 ways we’ve worked to improve your experience.
If you have ideas for ways we could make it easier for you to do business with us, we invite you to send us your feedback.