The Pull of Pure Independence: A Former FiNet Advisor’s Journey to Building a $1.7B Fully Independent Firm

A conversation with Steve Dimitriou, Managing Partner, Mayflower Advisors

It’s interesting how a tough job market can divert the path one may envision as they graduate college. But as the guest on this episode shares, it can result in an incredibly successful journey.

And it reminds us of an important lesson: The only thing that’s constant in life is change.

Steve Dimitriou left college with a degree in honors physics and economics. Yet the job market was tight, so he ended up selling insurance at New York Life. While there, the investment management and planning side of the business intrigued him—and it was a path he continued on, building his knowledge and book in firms like MFS, Alex.Brown and later AdVest.

Yet it was in 2005 that Steve and his team heeded the call of independence and transitioned to FiNet.

It was an extraordinary move that resulted in growing the team from 5 to 30 over the course of 15 years—and assets under management to $1.3B from a client base that was transitioning from mass affluent to high net worth.

And the wealth management world had grown dramatically over that time period as well, motivating them to consider an even more independent path than they had at FiNet. One where they had access to the full universe of products and the freedom to build their business without limitation.

So in 2020, Steve and his team chose to leave the FiNet umbrella and build their own RIA – from scratch – Mayflower Advisors in Boston, Massachusetts. Today, the firm manages over $1.7B with Steve at the helm as CEO.

In this episode, Steve discusses his journey with Louis Diamond, including:

• The motivations behind his moves over the years—and the valuable business lessons he learned along the way.
• The desire to be more independent—and how independence with FiNet differed from launching a fully independent RIA.
• The choice to build an RIA from scratch rather than opt for a platform provider—and what key factors influenced that decision.
• The impact of his own personal transition from advisor to CEO—and how “staying involved” helps him to be a better leader.

Steve’s story is an instructive one that demonstrates how a business – and the individuals who build it – grow and evolve over time motivated by shifting client needs. It also punctuates the positive impact that changing firms and models can have, opening up new doors of opportunities for clients and expanding the ability to grow organically and inorganically. It’s an episode that has valuable lessons for employee advisors and business owners alike.

Related Resources

How to Optimize Your Business for Growth and Success: 8 Questions Advisors Need to Ask Themselves - Rising above the day-to-day tasks of your “job” to invest time in thoughtful strategizing and planning can be the gamechanger you’ve been looking for. Read->

Aligning Your Inward and Outward Pointing Compass: A Process for Advisors Considering Change - Balancing the needs of all stakeholders offers a clearer and more congruent path towards your ultimate destination. Read->

Why Advisors in “Growth Mode” Are Sacrificing Momentum to Change Firms or Models - It seems to be counter-intuitive for an advisor or team who may be riding the wave of their “best year ever” to change jerseys or break for independence. Yet it’s happening in record numbers. Read->

Finding Independence in a Big Firm: Top UBS Team on Their Shift to Wells Fargo Advisors - A conversation with Vincent Finney, Managing Director – Investments and Joseph P. Panfil, Managing Director – Investments, Bibler, Finney, Panfil Private Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors. Listen->

You can also listen to the full episode on our website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify