Gupta broke away from Merrill Lynch to join UBS in 2008, when he had around $308 million in assets under management.
“At the time, I was encouraged by my wealthy clients who had made money in banking to have a plan B,” Gupta says. “My plan B was to go independent.”
In 2013, as the largest UBS affiliate in San Diego, managing around $540 million in client assets in almost 120 accounts, Gupta once more considered his options.
“In 2010, I started buying real estate. I thought it was a good idea because I was buying it substantially below cost. I was also interested in Dimensional Fund Advisors strategies, but I was blocked from making purchases on the UBS platform. I started to think more about how I could build responsible portfolios with the funds I had access to, but it was very difficult.”
As his frustration mounted, Gupta brought on Englewood, N.J.-based MarketCounsel to help guide the transition to independence. “I felt it was the right decision at the time,” he says.
Gupta was nervous about breaking away, unsure of how his clients would react.
“My biggest concern was going to be that I resign and nobody follows,” Gupta says. “That I put up my own office, my own location on a long-term lease, and no clients follow.”
One of the first clients he spoke with was Tony Robbins.
“I called him to explain what was happening; it was supposed to be a five-minute conversation,” Gupta says. “That conversation ended up lasting three and a half hours. He really wanted to understand as much about suitability and the fiduciary standard as possible and to be walked through the hidden fees. At the end, he not only stayed with me, he also asked me to be his primary advisor.”
In the end, all of his clients followed his breakaway, Gupta says.