Lakeview managed $380 million and housed three owners plus seven staff members (all of whom were retained). The firm was attracted to Private Ocean’s resources, such as its robust investment committee and marketing expertise. Moreover, the people at Private Ocean were “eager to collaborate, with a universal expectation that we would become greater together than we would as separate companies,” says Lakeview co-founder Kelly Keydel.
The Seattle office has already tapped the broader and deeper expertise that comes with being part of a larger organization. The Lakeview staff can now access firm-wide knowledge in executive compensation, business sales and private foundation creation. “Although we could help clients with specific aspects of these planning situations before,” Keydel says, “we may not have been able to advise in as comprehensive a manner as we are able to now.”
Partnering would also benefit staff, she knew. “A larger firm can offer career opportunities beyond what we could. As a smaller firm, our employees were wearing many hats. We have seen some of them move into more defined and challenging roles with opportunities to contribute in more rewarding ways.”
Such opportunities offer a clearer career trajectory to younger talent, for which there is fierce competition.
The former Lakeview team is now hoping to raise its profile in the Puget Sound area this year in its quest for new clients.
Threading Cultures Together
Friedman has worked to foster a culture of collaboration. “Any issue we’re addressing, we approach it by saying, ‘Who needs to be involved? Whose voice do we need to make sure is included?’ The way we wrote it in our guiding principles is everyone has an important contribution.”
Team members actively assist co-workers. “To a person and almost to a fault, they will lean in and say, ‘You’ve got a lot on your plate. What can I do to help you?’” Friedman says.
One challenge is that Private Ocean is now a multi-office firm, making it vital to ensure no one feels like they’re staffing an outpost. To that end, twice-yearly companywide meetings bring everyone together. In between assemblies, employees visit other offices for days at a stretch to work alongside their new colleagues. A recently launched internal company newsletter further bridges the geographical divide.
“Keeping people happy, keeping clients in their seat through a transition—there’s no question it’s tricky,” Friedman says. But helping to smooth the sailing a little is the fact that the firms all had similar clients, with Lakeview serving a higher percentage of clients with smaller asset bases.