In an emotional tribute to Envestnet Inc. founder Jud Bergman, his business partner, William Crager, spoke Wednesday at the MarketCounsel Summit in Miami Beach about Mr. Bergman's
sudden death in October, their decades of friendship and the importance of businesses, including registered investment advisers, to have a plan in place for the unexpected passing of a firm's founder.
"We are promised in life that there will be suffering and there will be tragedy," said Mr. Crager. "It will occur. To prepare for it is essential."
[Recommended video: Remembering Jud Bergman
]
Mr. Bergman and his wife, Mary Miller,
died on Oct. 3 in a car crash in San Francisco. Mr. Crager said that Envestnet and its executive team were preparing for Mr. Bergman to step aside as CEO next year, with Mr. Crager taking over that position, before the tragedy occurred.
"Fortunately, we had moved in this direction, and it was a natural one because we were such great partners," Mr. Crager said. "As a businessperson, [you must] really contemplate how there are deep risks that you cannot imagine. How do you protect your business? How do you protect all the people who work for you in a way that business continues the next day and after that?"
The goal of a succession plan is not just to be ready to endure the tragedy of a founding partner's death, but to keep the business flourishing and thriving, Mr. Crager said. "I may be the 2019 poster child for succession," he said. "But it is essential, no matter how big or how small your business is, to make sure you are thinking about the risks that are lurking within your business."
Long-term business continuity plans are fundamental for founders and owners of RIAs, said Brian Hamburger, CEO of MarketCounsel. The goal for those financial advisers who don't have such a plan in place is just to get started, he said.
"It doesn't have to be the best plan or the most comprehensive plan," said Mr. Hamburger.
Mr. Crager reminisced about Mr. Bergman and the ups and downs of launching Envestnet 20 years ago. A wealth management technology and investing platform popular with financial advisers, it is today a publicly listed company with a market capitalization of $3.7 billion.
The remembrance was moving.
"The tragedy of October is something that to me is unimaginable," Mr. Crager said. "It's like life got overthrown. Over the years, we got knocked down over and over again and we got back up. I got that phone call, and Jud wasn't going to get back up."
