Wirehouse Connections: Why a Next Gen Merrill Advisor Joined His $1B Breakaway Colleagues

Dylan O’Shea, Partner, Quorum Private Wealth

Overview:

Dylan O’Shea offers a unique perspective from a growing advisor with a long runway who could have easily opted for a transition check but instead chose independence. He discusses why he joined Quorum Private Wealth, the value of their shared vision, infrastructure, and more.

About thie episode...

The choice to leave the firm where you built your business often comes down to what we call the pushes and the pulls.

The pushes are typically those things that are limiting or frustrating you. The pulls are the desire to achieve something greater: A vision for a future that allows you to serve clients and grow the business with less friction and more potential.

It’s not uncommon to feel some pushes, but we find that advisors more frequently shared that they left their firm because they were pulled toward an option that offered “a better way.”

Dylan O’Shea is one such advisor who felt that pull.

For Dylan, it was an attraction that led him toward independence after 10 years of building a solo practice at Merrill—a tenure that included serving as a coach for the financial advisor training program and as Chair of Merrill’s NextGen Leadership Council, and ultimately generating $1mm in annual revenue.

Yet, over time, the nagging sense that Merrill was “no longer his tribe,” as Dylan put it, became stronger—and he wanted to achieve more than he felt was possible at the firm.

As a young and growing advisor, Dylan watched as others left Merrill to follow their dreams and build independent firms that offered them greater freedom and control—which was a prospect that Dylan found attractive.

After conducting due diligence, Dylan decided to join former Merrill senior colleagues Kelly Milligan and Mike Barry at Quorum Private Wealth in 2022.

Dylan shares his story with Mindy Diamond, including:

• The specific pushes and pulls that he experienced—and what pulls were the tipping point.
• The draw to join independent firm Quorum—and how he found a new tribe in the process.
• The decision between taking a transition deal from another firm vs. independence—and why tucking into an existing firm was the path he chose.
• The value of infrastructure—and why scale, support, and experience was a key factor in his decision.

It’s a narrative that offers a unique perspective of a young, growing advisor with a long runway who could have easily opted for a transition check but instead chose independence, why he opted to tuck into an existing firm rather than build his own, and much more.

Related Resources

Ex-Merrill ACTM Chair to Independent Business Owner: A Former Insider’s Point of View Kelly Milligan describes his journey at Merrill from zero to $1.5B in AUM, his role as Chair of the ACTM, the change in culture at the firm and how that motivated him and his team to launch independent firm Quorum Private Wealth.

Merrill Information Hub A curated list of top-of-mind content for Merrill Advisors

Diamond Consultants Advisor Transition Report 2024: Focus on Merrill This “firm-focused report” seeks to look under the hood at movement to and from Merrill from January to June of 2024.

Tuck-ins: Independence for Advisors Who Don’t Want to be That Independent Giving up some control to gain additional freedom and flexibility is just right for many advisors considering independence.

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