Eavesdropping: Ron Carson gets an electric reception at his PEAK event, and calms the waters surrounding his new RIA

Brooke’s Note: I wasn’t able to make the trip from San Francisco to the PEAK Advisor Alliance Excell Meeting in Arizona but fortunately, John Furey, principal of Advisor Growth Strategies, sent this report covering the event’s first day. He drove from there his home in Phoenix and wrote up a brief report — he says he’s attending to hear the latest in how to help advisors grow their practices organically. It’s an interesting conference but especially in the wake of the announcement this week by LPL’s top advisor that he’s starting an independent RIA. See: LPL’s biggest rep, Ron Carson, will convert his firm to an independent RIA Here is what John observed.

Given Carson Wealth Management’s announcement this week, there was a noticeable buzz with the conference’s 300-plus advisors. As the show began at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa, a PEAK advisor hit the stage wailing on an electric guitar, a fitting entrance for one of the industry stars – Ron Carson. PEAK Advisor Alliance is the coaching and training program for several hundred financial advisors owned by LPL’s top financial advisor. See: The top LPL producer has a second RIA-related company that could eclipse the stature of the first one

Right out of the gate, Ron addressed his upcoming transition at the Chandler, Ariz., venue. This was a savvy play given there are existing LPL Financial advisors at the conference and Carson Wealth Management co-manages investments for some of the attendees.

Full acquisition mode

Ron also made sure the group knew he plans to continue the LPL relationship and be an advocate for them. Evolution of his advisory firm was the key message. Ron also made it clear that Carson is in full acquisition mode, a subtle sales pitch to a group of raving fans. See: Why exactly is Ron Carson forming an RIA and why is it happening now?.

Most of the first day was focused on the importance of building a network. In fact, the PEAK team positioned their organization as an alliance to help advisors grow their practice. In the next session, Ron did a “real play” where he coached the entire conference about how he builds credibility through a sales process that aligns his interest with the clients. This was unique – I have never quite seen a session like this. Powerful.

The final session brought a couple of star PEAK advisors to the stage. Advisors shared how PEAK helped them double or triple their production in three years. One advisor deadpanned “Ron, I stole all your ideas and became the great implementer”.

I spoke to two advisors in the exhibit hall with similar experiences. I was expecting a group of smaller producers from the IBD channel, but in fact the conference brochure had dozens of million dollar producers.

Some pain

Walking out of the conference, I wanted to find some holes to poke but really couldn’t (outside of the near painfully long sales pitches from product sponsors). PEAK is off is a rousing start.

Final Note: John Furey’s Phoenix, Ariz.-based company, Advisor Growth Strategies, specializes in helping advisors to break away to independence. See: Deal killers for almost-breakaway brokers for another of his contributions to RIABiz.