"You know, kid, I don't think you're going to last six months."

That’s what one of the co-founders of a then $600 million RIA said to Jeff Dekko when he arrived at the firm in 2003.

Today, Dekko is CEO of that firm and presides over the fast-growing RIA, Wealth Enhancement Group, with about $6 billion in assets under management (AUM).

How do you build and manage a fast-growing billion-dollar RIA like that? What is the role of the CEO in this type of company?

As the financial advice industry continues to evolve at a rapidly increasing pace, the role of the CEO becomes even more critical. Yet, as a business coach, I often see advisory firms struggle with making the shift from being an advisor-led firm to one run by professional management.

Over the past few years, I’ve worked with and had dozens of conversations with leading advisors and CEOs of some of the industry’s fastest-growing and best run companies. While the group is diverse, I discovered seven common threads in terms of how they built and run their businesses.

Managing The 10-Figure RIA

For my coaching clients who want to grow to a billion or more in AUM, I often remind them that they need to stop working like a financial advisor and start acting like a CEO. And the simplest way to do that is to ask yourself on a frequent basis, “Is this what a CEO would do?”

Most financial advisors entered the business because they enjoy meeting with clients and helping them reach their financial goals. But if you want to reach a billion and beyond, you’ll need to dramatically reduce the time you spend working on the “plumbing” of the business and ramp up the time you spend on the “poetry” of the business, as James March wrote in his book, On Leadership.

In other words, you’ll need to act “CEOial.”

Okay, I made up that word, but just like the president of the United States has to act “presidential,” a CEO has to act “CEOial.” The moment our president gets sworn in, they have to switch from being a senator, or governor or a reality TV clown to being presidential. This means they have to think, act and perform the duties that are specific and unique to the person who occupies that position.

As an advisor, if you ever hope to make the jump from several hundred million in AUM to a billion or more, either you or a hired CEO have to step in and become—in title and in practice—the CEO.

If it’s you as the advisor, then you’re no longer an advisor. You need to become a professional manager.

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