Like motherhood, birthing an RIA is not for the faint of heart. From conception to delivery, you experience the highs and lows of carrying and nurturing the life and vision growing inside of you. You give your all into this creation, and for a blissful moment, you think the hardest part is over.
Then reality hits. Your offspring demands that you grow together, whether ready or not, at each life stage.
What's a resourceful RIA owner to do? Embrace this growth spurt as a rebirth, even if it means giving the RIA a new name.
RIA owner Natalie Taylor sensed her own growth spurt as the founder of Natalie Taylor Consulting Services LLC. “I felt a strong desire to create more opportunities for advisors and accepted that my role as a client-facing advisor had evolved,” reflected Taylor. Taylor took the rebranding leap and created a DBA under her LLC. By transitioning from her named firm, Taylor created space for her advisor team to stand out as valued contributors.
“Crafting a new name that resonated proved to be the most daunting task,” said Taylor. With so many RIAs using similar words for their firm names, she landed on The Goodland Group, reflecting an area in Santa Barbara, Calif., that, to Taylor, evokes the “good life” energy.
“Our clients are not trying to be wealthy at all costs,” Taylor affirmed. “They desire to live a good life that is meaningful to them.”
Taylor’s advice to fellow RIA owners when rebranding the name: Don’t get married to the first name you think of; bounce at least five names with your family and friends; and search for name similarity through the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website and FINRA Broker Check. Taylor also searched the US Trademark and Patent Office to avoid trademark infringement with Insurance and Financial Services firms under classification code 36.
Managing Partners Sefa Mawuli and Hui-chin Chen also paused to reflect on the essence of their RIA and its branding. With a shared passion for cross-border financial planning, the partners integrated more of their story into their new RIA’s name, Jade & Cowry, formerly Pavlov Financial Planning.
The renaming process, spearheaded by Mawuli, resulted in Hui-Chin embracing a Chinese character in her name, which means jade, and Sefa honoring her African heritage with the reverence of Cowry or cowrie shells.
“Jade & Cowry shells symbolize wealth and the coming together of people and cultures,” said Mawuli. “Our clients immediately embraced our new name, sharing stories of how these representations of wealth and value also reflect meaning in their lives.”
Unlike the client's seamless acceptance of the rebranding, the administrative name change with entities, including the IRS, banks and financial regulators, proved cumbersome.
“We decided to align the name change to coincide with the ADV renewal and partnership tax filing deadline to ease the administrative burden,” Mawuli remarked.
Although putting the work into that transition felt as demanding and rewarding as their first bleary-eyed nights as emerging entrepreneurs, their experience as CFP professionals made a huge difference. Both Taylor and Mawuli followed the financial planning process by setting a goal, consulting with experts, devising a plan and checklists and guiding its implementation and execution.
“We understand that a deep understanding of our clients' cultural heritage and family history enhances financial planning and increases the likelihood of successful financial outcomes,” shared Mawuli. “The same applies to RIA owners who remain true to their mission and core values.”
Lazetta Rainey Braxton is the founder/CEO of Lazetta & Associates and CEO & President of The Real Wealth Coterie.
