As independent advisors across the US contend with a growing array of technology and investment choices, Andree Mohr, president of Integrated Partners, is calling for a renewed focus on simplification and advisor-centric planning.
Mohr, who leads the registered investment advisor and office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial, spoke with InvestmentNews about the challenges and opportunities facing firms as they strive to balance flexibility with clarity for their advisors and clients.
Integrated Partners, which oversees more than $21 billion in assets under administration, convened its inaugural Ambassador Council this summer. The council, representing advisors of all stripes from across the firm, was created to help shape the company’s long-term strategy.
According to Mohr, the initiative reflects her firm's focus on “[creating] a forever company” by listening closely to the voices of both advisors and clients.
“We have always gathered feedback from our advisors, but we wanted to start doing it in a more structured way,” Mohr said. “We truly wanted to get the full voice of Integrated Partners.”
The council’s first meeting centered in part on the theme of simplification. Mohr noted that as the firm has grown, so too has the complexity of its technology stack and investment platform. This proliferation of options, while meant to provide flexibility, has introduced new challenges for advisors at every stage of their careers.
“Platform complexity leads to the need for more training, more follow-up, and more one-on-one understanding of how to take this item and implement it into their business,” Mohr explained.
Mohr described how the firm is working to identify and promote the “best and right solution” for specific advisor problems, rather than offering a multitude of overlapping tools.
As an example, she pointed to Jump, the AI-powered note-taking platform that the firm adopted early on. While advisors would sometimes request new tech options based on features touted elsewhere, Mohr said many do not realize that similar capabilities have already been bolted onto the firm’s existing systems.
“What we've been trying to do is to continue to educate our advisors about the enhancements that all of our partners are making because they get excited about the 'shiny new system,' ” she said. “Sometimes the systems we're already using actually have those pieces – it’s just they didn’t know about it.”
Beyond technology, Mohr said the investment landscape itself has become increasingly crowded, with new alternative products and direct investing options arriving at a torrid pace. While flexibility and choice remain core to Integrated Partners’ philosophy, the sheer volume of options can be overwhelming.
“There’s just so much coming at the advisor today, from new investments, alternative products, direct investing, all of these things,” Mohr said. “Sometimes for the advisor, it feels like this is too many options. How do you help me refine that? How do we cut through the noise?”
Read more: Advisors want simple, flexible alternative investment products, but the market is lagging
To help address this, Mohr emphasized the importance of tying investment solutions to each client’s unique planning objectives, rather than simply presenting an all-you-can-eat buffet of available products.
“Let’s help you better understand these options so that you can leverage them most effectively,” she said.
As Mohr tells it, Integrated Partners’ planning-first approach means there is no single product or wrapper that is universally emphasized. Instead, the firm aims to help advisors implement plans with the highest probability of success, drawing from a wide range of vehicles as appropriate.
“We really try to focus on how do we help our advisors and clients implement a plan that has the highest probability of success,” Mohr said.
On that note, she addressed the role of annuities in retirement planning, explaining that the firm takes a “bucket” approach to retirement distribution strategies. “We are ensuring that each bucket is protected and reaching the goal and objective [it was set up for],” she said.
Looking ahead, Mohr believes that RIAs, asset managers, and technology platforms must work together to highlight their unique differentiators and avoid the temptation to answer everyone's problems at once.
“You can’t be everything to everybody, but you can absolutely be the right thing for the right people,” she said.
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