With CEO Jason Andrews, & COO Ross Bauer, Founders of Merritt Point Wealth Advisors

Overview

The “affiliation channel slide” has become a common path for many employee advisors seeking independence. Jason Andrews and Ross Bauer of Merritt Point Wealth Advisors share a story demonstrating how their transition from Wells Fargo PCG to FiNet resulted in tremendous growth opportunities.

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NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation.

Almost every advisor we host on this series shares the desire for greater independence.

The good news is that there are plenty of options available in the ever-evolving industry landscape for advisors to find just what they’re looking for—including firms with multi-channel affiliations.

These give employee advisors an opportunity to slide to an independent model and become true business owners with far less hassle than they might have dealt with had they gone to another platform provider or built an independent business themselves.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network or FiNet as it’s commonly known, the independent broker dealer arm of Wells Fargo Advisors, is a popular home for advisors looking to go independent without the heavy lift of setting up their own firm from scratch.

And that’s especially true for Wells advisors, particularly this episode’s guests, Jason Andrews and Ross Bauer.

As employee advisors at Wells Fargo’s Private Client Group or PCG, they built the business to $280mm in assets under management and decided that it was time to build their own firm based on their vision.

After conducting due diligence, the notion of a transition to independence without actually “leaving” Wells was of tremendous appeal to them. So in 2019 they made the leap and launched Merritt Point Wealth Advisors with FiNet.

And today, just five years later, they are managing nearly $1.7B in assets.

Jason and Ross share their story with Louis Diamond, including:

• 
  
• What actually drove such incredible growth in such a short time.
  
• What specifically made changing channels within Wells more attractive than other options.
  
• How their business lives differ from their time as employees of Wells to C-level leaders of their own firm.
  
• And key learnings other advisors can glean from their extraordinary growth story.
  

It’s an incredible story that shows how vision, planning, and determination can create extraordinary results, so be sure to listen in.

Want to learn more about where, why, and how advisors like you are moving? Click to contact us or call 908-879-1002.

Top Tips for Setting Your Business Up for Success Years Before a Move

We have compiled the most salient tips collected from over two decades of helping our advisor-clients through successful transitions.

Wells Fargo’s Barry Sommers on Transforming the Wealth Management Experience

Rare access to one of the top-of-the-food-chain leaders who discusses the direction of Wells, how it compares to its peers, the value to HNW and UHNW clients, a perspective on recruiting and the ideal advisor type, the future of the industry, and much more.

Sustainable and Scalable Growth: A Leading Coach’s Advice on How to Achieve it

Duncan MacPherson from Pareto Systems offers actionable advice for financial advisors looking to unlock greater value in all that they do to build their business. It’s like having a free session on growth with one of the best coaches in the business.

Ross Bauer

Founder, COO

In his role as COO, Ross is responsible for overseeing client, advisor and employee success. Ross’s focus is on initiatives that are advisor-led and client centric, offering a high level of flexibility, service, and technology.

Passionate about business, economics and educating others, Ross began his career at Merrill Lynch in the Global Wealth Management Division. Ross then moved on to work at a tax firm in London that serviced multinational individuals. In 2014, Ross joined Wells Fargo Advisors where he focused on developing and implementing custom-tailored investment strategies for the firm’s wealth management clients. In 2019 Ross co-founded Merritt Point Wealth Advisors where he served as Managing Partner before taking on his current role of COO. Ross has been a guest lecturer at NYU Stern School of Business, where he educated MBA students on investment strategies and risk management.

Jason Andrews, CRPC®

Founder, CEO

Jason is Founder and CEO of Merritt Point Wealth Advisors. He is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and a Senior Fundamental Choice Portfolio Manager.

Today, Jason also focuses on empowering other advisors to help them build, grow, and own their own practices by achieving independence through Merritt Point Wealth Advisors.

Prior to founding Merritt Point Wealth Advisors, Jason co-founded Cutler and Andrews Financial Group, which began at UBS in 2003 and moved to Wells Fargo Advisors in 2008. Jason was Senior Vice President – Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors, where he spent ten years and Vice President – Investment at UBS Financial Services, where he developed a proprietary Self-employed 401(k) platform to service Local Real Estate firms.

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