In the financial advisory world, is there something beyond enterprise? Surely there must be something, but what will it look like? Is it possible that we can learn from the experience of other, more mature service industries? If so, then perhaps we can postulate that the few true enterprises currently in the independent financial advisory industry will eventually become many and that, in turn, some of those enterprises will grow into global organizations with widely held ownership and the broadest possible capabilities along the lines of today’s largest accounting and law firms. The future will tell us, as will those pioneering financial advisory companies who seek to discover what is beyond enterprise.
Dawn Doebler, MBA, CPA, CFP, CDFA, is a principal and senior wealth advisor at The Colony Group. Michael J. Nathanson, JD, LLM, is chairman and chief executive officer of The Colony Group.