A How-To Guide for Opening Your Own Wealth Management Firm

Since 2007, only one segment of the wealth management industry has boosted its market share every year: independent advisory firms. They’ve more than doubled their assets in that time, overseeing about $2.7 trillion as of 2014. And there’s room for growth. According to an estimate by Boston Consulting Group, a total of $46 trillion in private wealth is up for grabs in the U.S. We asked several independent investment advisers, many of them former brokers, about setting out on their own. Here’s their advice.

Don’t get sued.
When Hugh Anderson was plotting his exit from Merrill Lynch in 2012, he didn’t even tell his own children. He was trying to meticulously follow broker protocol rules, which govern how to leave a firm without getting sued. If you’re subject to them, don’t tell any clients about your new business until after you’ve resigned. (And when you do quit, there’s a limited amount of customer information you can take, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses.) Also, you can’t use company time to plan your departure, says Anderson, who’s now managing director of HighTower Las Vegas. So keep your weekends, early mornings, and evenings free.