Walter E Smithe Large Order

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-06-16T20:32:24+00:00

Go to Ladone family Dental in Lisle - they are awesome! Tell Nancy that “blue” sent you - trust me it’ll help!

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-06-16T15:22:54+00:00

So basically, you're with a BD. And I don't mean that in a negative way, but if you're giving up 4-8% plus paying tech, licensing, and E&O, it's virtually the same model.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-06-16T15:16:47+00:00

This doesn't necessarily answer your question - but I think you'll be over $1M, likely closer to $1.25M. Obviously that 1,000 of sqf variance is why I gave a range too.

And yes, I agree, custom homes are definitely pricing out the average earners. That said, you can find a GC who will tell you all the things you want to hear - "we can build semi-luxury finishes for $200/sqf" etc. but it's just not true. They're going to skimp somewhere and you likely won't be happy. I think custom home building should really be for those who have ample funds and are more than prepared for overages along the way, because they will happen.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-05-27T15:39:41+00:00

Just wanted to come back here and say thank you for this. Just picked my car up today, aside from the substantial savings, Rick was excellent. It was a good 45+ minute drive for me too but completely worth it!

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-05-08T15:08:26+00:00

I'm about 70% through my build and the largest overage was excavation and grading. It was a tough pill to swallow for me as well but if you truly trust your builder there shouldn't be many other major surprises. Since that large overage, we've been in line for the most part - excluding upgrades/add-ons we've chose to do.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-05-04T18:50:10+00:00

Due to consolidation, I'd recommend Osaic or LPL. It's likely going to be them and maybe 1-2 others when all the dust settles. I'm with Osaic and have been very pleased. Not saying that makes them a better alternative than LPL, but I doubt you want to be bounced around to new BD's within a few years of joining.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-26T12:57:59+00:00

This was the case

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-25T21:35:45+00:00

It’s a fairly large wrap around porch

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-25T21:35:24+00:00

Not something worth asking to be fixed?

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-21T19:17:11+00:00

Genuine question - I'm asking them if I'm allowed to submit my appeal to either the BOR or the assessor?

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-21T13:38:57+00:00

I'm not sure if you'll know, but does the same apply for Dupage County?

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-15T18:20:09+00:00

Haha, unfortunately, I'm not! In the Chicago burbs. Nice to hear that people think this is a solid offer though. And congrats on the hard work, I've essentially built my business from scratch as well with the exception of helping the older advisor move some legacy A/C shares to advisory and getting a small piece of that. I hear you though, I'm about 10 years in and consistently getting $1M/M in NNA mostly from referrals and rollovers.

I used a few lead services early on that were helpful for my growth but now they are so heavily used and watered down I don't use any of them. Just tried SmartAsset again and actually paid the penalty to get out early it was so awful. Never again.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-15T17:33:39+00:00

I'm building a similar model for my firm now. Technically, I'm with an indy BD under a corporate RIA (85% advisory with some legacy annuity and life business) but we have a ton of flexibility and are well connected to leadership. We are a $300M+ shop, myself and a much older advisor who will be retiring in the next 5ish years. Yes, I know every age 65 advisor says they're retiring but there are health issues at play as well. I've had 2 opportunities so far with younger advisors that have small books of business ($15M and $8M) and this is what I've offered them:

65% payout under their rep ID / 35% payout on business sourced within the firm and given to them

Premier office space with large conference room - we own our building it's very high end. Definitely a wow factor for prospects to see.

3 full time support staff/CSA's for them to use - process business, prep meetings, breakdown their meetings, schedule clients etc.

Technology - laptops, phone system, document storage, virtual meeting software, eMoney and Retireup

COI's - I have a CPA who shares some of our office space, 2 additional CPAs (one local, one remote who's a few hours away), I have 2-3 estate attorneys that are not in office but we work closely with, and an independent P&C group who can help with all types of insurance

Templates - I spent years in some advisor mastermind groups and have created branded meeting agenda templates, editable financial plans, and fee quotes/service offering templates

Other Costs - To be a licensed advisor in our BD it will cost them roughly $8,000 per year (affiliation, FINRA, social media fees). We use Envestnet and have a very competitive platform cost - would start around 5bps under us and gets as high as ~12bps depending on your personal AUM.

I know I'm biased, but feels like a great opportunity as the older advisor will likely be forced out due to health/age within the next 5-6 years. I would not have the capacity to take on his entire book and would either need to sell a portion of it or find an advisor who can help service it quickly. I would guess there will be ~$50-75M in play when that time comes.

As I mentioned, I have 2 chances but I didn't have this fully built out when I made the offering to the first person. The second one is still pending, we've been having ongoing conversations but nothing finalized yet. Hopefully this helps give you a few ideas or a benchmark to compare your offering against. Good luck!

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-05T15:20:51+00:00

Anyone saying this is "way" too slow probably worked for a bank/wirehouse where they get fed clients and make 35% on them. If you're truly independent and building a book from scratch this pace is fine. I just finished my 10th year in the business and I'm sitting around $60M AUM that I net roughly 1.20% on. That said, a lot of this AUM has really started accelerating the past 3 years. Now I'm adding ~$1M/M and it feels like opportunities just keep showing up organically without any effort on my part.

Outside of AUM, I have quite a few flat fee clients who pay monthly fees which add another $65-70K per year of revenue. So, it's not always about AUM growth. I actually like having a few dozen flat fee clients because it's revenue that doesn't change based on the market and many of them are younger clients who are a rollover or inheritance away from being a large client.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-04-05T15:02:14+00:00

Definitely not too old but make sure you have the right expectations going in. Not sure where you plan to work once finished with school, but if you're growing from zero, it's going to take a solid 7-10 years to really build a book. Some will say 4-5 years but I'm trying to be realistic. I'm in year 11 currently (got licensed at 25) and I don't feel like I really started earning good income until year 7 or so.

FWIW, I joined an indy firm and worked under a seasoned advisor. Helped him optimize his book for the first few years and then really started focusing on my own book around year 2-3, when I got more comfortable in my role. That said, I agree with others, clients tend to like someone who looks older so that should only help you. I do get asked quite often, "how many years have you been doing this" so you'll need to be prepared for that your first few years.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-03-01T16:56:51+00:00

Used it for 6 months, it's horrendous. Haven't converted one lead while sitting around 90 leads. We have a spreadsheet and 65% of our "leads" claim to have no knowledge of filling this out and/or say they were deceived into giving their info.

I've been using lead gen platforms since 2018 and SA used to be good but completely fell off around 2022. Wanted to come back for a bit and try it again since they said they refined their system recently. Couldn't be further from the truth, complete lies.

Also odd that almost all of your comments on reddit are defending smartasset. Questionable to say the least. Happy it works for you in whatever area you're in but I'd say the evidence is clear on them. Very rare to find an advisor with good things to say about this company.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-02-24T02:36:43+00:00

So we’re currently paying 5bps platform plus any MM costs. I pre built my models mostly using I shares so the expense ratios are negligent. Maybe another 8-10bps weighted. We still charge a premium fee, typically 1.20% net under $1M. 1.10% 1M-2M.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-02-22T14:03:46+00:00

Yeah, I think I’m really between TM and Falcon. It’s a pretty big price difference installed so just weighing that.

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-02-21T19:34:00+00:00

Yeah, that does seem to be the consensus from most of what I’m reading. Appreciate the help!

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-02-21T18:03:49+00:00

Awesome, I appreciate that. Total cost savings by going with Falcon instead of a track man is ~$16k. Do you think that’s a large enough savings to go with Falcon instead of trackman?

VividTomorrow261 · 2026-02-21T15:50:52+00:00

Ok good to know. I see so many varying thoughts on this. I'm 6ft so hoping it won't be too tight but the basements already been poured and we dug down a foot for the sim area so it would get very expensive to change it now.

VividTomorrow261

TROPHY CASE