Dynasty branches out to the insurance side

Dynasty Financial Partners LLC has launched a new service, Dynasty Insurance Services, to support its network of 18 firms in writing fixed-life-insurance, annuity, disability and long-term-care contracts. With advisers leaving wirehouses and going independent, “what a lot of them are doing is maintaining … a hybrid model, so they have the ability to do insurance [on] a commission basis,” said Austin Philbin, director of Dynasty Insurance Services. “Part of what we're looking to do is to provide them an avenue to continue that type of business model” by providing access to multiple carriers through two insurance-brokerage partners, Ash Brokerage Corp., and PKS Financial Services Inc., an affiliate of Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, he said. Mr. Philbin said Dynasty's RIAs have wealthy clients who've been pitched insurance many times, but don't always get a clear answer as to the best solution. Peter Katt, founder of Katt & Co., a fee-based insurance adviser, said Dynasty's offering didn't seem unusual. “How are they different?” he wondered. Dynasty executives want to provide a turnkey solution for its adviser network. Mr. Philbin stressed the need for clients to get easy-to-understand explanations for their unique insurance needs. “What we're trying to do is provide them with clear, distinct options [that] fit within a client's entire plan,” he said. Advisers on the Dynasty platform who handle insurance do a lot of traditional term products and fixed life policies, as well as lesser amounts of disability and long-term-care insurance, he said. “Income replacement and creating a legacy” are what clients are looking for, Mr. Philbin added. Dynasty said its adviser network also will be able to use its own experts, along with consultants at Ash Brokerage and Barnum Financial Group, an office of MetLife Inc., to assist with complex cases. A service platform for independent advisers, Dynasty supports 50 advisers at 18 firms, which manage a total of $17 billion.