The Colony Group looks to women and institutions to drive growth

The Colony Group isn't content to rely on inorganic growth, even though it has more than tripled assets to $5 billion since 2011 through acquisitions. The Boston-based wealth management firm with national ambitions is charting a course for organic growth, too. It recently hired a director of marketing and is focusing events and other efforts on attracting more female clients. “We all know the stats on the number of assets that will be controlled by women, and we recognize that it's a group we do really well with,” said Robert Glovsky, vice chairman and principal of The Colony Group. “Now we're trying to be systematic about it.” The firm also will be targeting institutional investors, he said. Thanks to its most recent acquisition of CapGroup Advisors earlier this month, The Colony Group already boasts $1 billion in institutional assets. The Colony Group, a Focus Financial Partners firm, has offices in Massachusetts, New York, Florida and now Virginia with the CapGroup acquisition. Last October, The Colony Group received an InvestmentNews Best Practices Award after being identified as one of the top performers among participants in the Financial Performance Study of Advisory Firms. Of the firms studied, The Colony Group ranked high in three-year revenue growth and revenue per professional. One thing that stands out about the company is its early recognition of the importance of executive level management. “Professional management really enables us to grow, so advisers can focus on advice and don't have to worry about running the firm part time,” Mr. Glovsky said. A steady eye on growth, The Colony Group gathers every four to six weeks for “Taking Care of Business” sessions, where teams of employees contemplate new ideas for how the firm can attract more assets. At one TCB meeting, a group suggested contacting all clients who were holding assets with other firms and devising reasons why these clients would do better if they rolled those assets into The Colony Group's overall advice. The clients were approached with these suggestions and, as a group, added about $10 million, Mr. Glovsky said. The meetings, which have produced plans to re-connect with certain prospects and reach out to clients who have provided referrals in the past, include people from all levels of the firm. “By participating they feel like part of the team and they feel valued,” Mr. Glovsky said. Mr. Glovsky joined The Colony Group in July 2012 after the firm he founded, Mintz Levin Financial Advisors, became part of The Colony Group. He was recently appointed by President Barack Obama to be a member of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans.