Trisha’s from Minnesota and grew up starting a small business in her neighborhood. A few of her favorites were a photography studio, door-to-door popcorn sales, and a flower arrangement service. She enjoyed finding different ways to provide value to the people in her life and the hobbies she created for herself set the tone for how she would evolve professionally. She has always been an entrepreneur and loves working with other small business owners. She is proud to support close to 100 independent financial professionals across the country through Affiliated Advisors.

Now based in Minneapolis with her husband, Benjamin, and dog, Biscuit, she’s active logging long hours on city running trails and completing her first marathon. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, quilting, and traveling.

As a large enterprise, the transition from Royal Alliance to Osaic, for Trisha Qualy and her colleagues leading Affiliated Advisors meant a coordinated communications effort that leveraged the Osaic Transition Portal and a solid bit of good luck with the timing of their annual advisor retreat.

Trisha’s Affiliated Advisor team brought together a large group of their advisors for their annual retreat just days after the formal announcement of the rebrand to Osaic. The power of an in-person meeting helped them listen to their advisors and share key messages.

“We certainly heard the obvious chatter about the Osaic name sounding like a pharmaceutical name, but we listened to them and shared our excitement as leaders and partners to Osaic. I personally like the name—it’s different, fresh, and gives a new start for us all,” she said. “If you’re in a leadership position, taking the lead in a positive way helps everyone else around you feel comfortable and at ease, and I genuinely continue to see more upside to this change.”

Leading up to and throughout their Journey to One,Affiliated Advisors did multiple check-in points with the financial professionals in their group. At one point, Trisha wondered if they were over-communicating. They were also monitoring their advisors’ correspondence with their clients.

“70% of our advisors sent out the templated client announcements Osaic provided on the Transition Portal. The other 30% didn’t communicate it all because they felt Osaic covered it in the letter they were required to send to clients.”

If financial professionals—or their clients—had questions, Trisha knew she could rely on Osaic leaders and relationships for answers.

“Some of our financial professionals wondered how the $250 marketing reimbursement amount was decided on. I felt very supported in our firm team with Dmitry Goldin and Tomika King that if we ever had a financial issue, we could bring that to them for resolution. We never needed to,” she said.

Exploring what’s unique about a change can help paint a picture for both advisors and clients, according to Trisha. She combined her positive outlook with a curiosity on the branding work completed by Sullivan in New York City.

“When I watched the announcement video, the thing that struck me most was the Sullivan Creative Director’s comments on the special 31-degree angle inside the name design. Rebranding a company is a significant investment in time and money, and the purpose behind those unique elements helps shape the story to all of us,” she said.

For those who are preparing to transition to Osaic, Trisha encourages you to rely on the various support mechanisms Osaic has put into place—especially the people across the firm who are knowledgeable, trained, and eager to help.

“You can really assure people when you show up, and Osaic did that for us, which allowed us to show up for our advisors,” she said.

In addition to his role at Granite Bridge, Brian founded a business networking group that focuses on helping business owners grow their respective companies while also supporting non-profit organizations within our community with their time, professional skills, and monetary contributions.

He enjoys family time outdoors with his wife, son, and daughter, bicycle riding or relaxing on the beach, and is an avid runner and occasional golfer. An active volunteer, Brian was chairman of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation Young Professionals Group from 2016-2020.