Sanctuary's plan to win the talent war

More wirehouse advisors are seeking Sanctuary. Sanctuary Wealth that is.  

And CEO Adam Malamed would not have it any other way. 

Over the past year and change, Malamed’s hybrid RIA has welcomed more than 16 new partner firms representing more than $10 billion in client assets. The Sanctuary Wealth network now includes over 125 partner firms in 32 states, with over $55 billion in assets on and in transition to their platform. 

This past summer, Sanctuary bagged highly sought-after Dial Square Private Wealth, which came over from UBS with $1.2 billion in client assets. Malamed attributes that victory – and others like it – to a leadership team that thoroughly understands the circumstances wirehouse breakaways are coming from and where they want to go. 

“Sanctuary’s management encompasses multiple former wirehouse executives and operational experts who understand the wirehouse and independent channels. And having helped to transition and grow over 120 partner firms, most of them from wirehouses, our record speaks for itself,” Malamed says.  

But Malamed stresses Sanctuary is not opening its doors to any old wirehouse team dreaming of a more independent future.  

“Our partner firms are the best of the best and want to work with people who share their commitment to excellence. There is no secret to our success beyond holding ourselves to the highest possible standards – which is what our partner firms expect,” Malamed says. 

Investing along side its advisors
 

Malamed believes it takes more than talk to cement a mutually beneficial relationship. It takes investment as well.  

Earlier this year, Sanctuary announced a minority investment in Alluvial Private Wealth, an Ohio-based existing partner firm. Alluvial was the first deal completed under Sanctuary’s Strategic Capital Partnership Program, which provides backing to help selected independent partners grow.  

In addition to allowing Sanctuary to invest alongside its partner firms, the program also enables firms interested in inorganic growth to secure capital to explore expansion through acquisition – regardless of where they are in their business life cycle. 

“This program, like all our capital and operational programs, is designed to enable our partner firms to build their businesses as they see fit. By formalizing our approach, we’ve enhanced our clients’ experience, which is central to our vision of continuous improvement of our platform,” Malamed says.  

“We stand right next to our partners, putting our capital side by side with theirs as they grow.”  

Into the breach
 

Malamed’s own experience in the wealth management business is another reason why Sanctuary has become such a popular place for wirehouse advisors who seek independence.  

Malamed took the top job in February 2023, replacing the previous CEO, Jim Dickson, who was suddenly and unexpectedly dismissed over an alleged conduct issue. At the time, Malamed was a member of the Sanctuary Wealth board of directors, as well as a 26-year veteran of the securities industry. He spent 2006 to 2020 as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Ladenburg Thalmann, which he built  into a network of 4,000 financial advisors at five broker-dealers by the time it was sold in 2020 to Advisor Group, right on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I took on the CEO role to help transition the firm from a startup mindset toward a sustainable growth trajectory, driven by the build-out of an ecosystem of support and solutions designed to help our partner firms accelerate their growth and success. We’ve invested significantly in the tools and services our partner firms want and need, and done so on a sophisticated basis, consistent with the expectations of the high-net-worth clients they serve,” Malamed says. 

When it comes to attracting the most elite wirehouse advisors to the Sanctuary platform, Malamed believes the answer is simple. The execution, however, is not.  

“The only way an ecosystem can be successful is if you understand what advisors want and need and then give it to them,” Malamed says. 

Of course, elite advisors seeking a new home have more options than ever, especially due to the flood of private equity money in the RIA space. Malamed admits the market for talent remains highly competitive; valuations have been bid up.  

“While there are still many opportunities, the smart money is focused on higher-quality firms and more sophisticated platforms. At the partner firm level, valuations are robust, but the highest valuations are increasingly reserved for firms that have well-established practices, combined with significant growth potential and clear continuity plans,” Malamed says. 

AI won't replace elite advisors
 

Contrary to many industry-watchers, Malamed does not see AI as a replacement for financial advisors. Instead, he views it as a tool for evolution. 

“In any profession, those who don’t evolve beyond commoditized services and lower-value clients will likely fail in the face of disruption. And by that same token, high-performing professionals who continuously move up the value chain in the clients they serve and align with the right enterprise platforms to capture the benefits of new technologies will continue to be irreplaceable,” Malamed says. 

In the near term, Malamed sees AI reducing administrative and operational burdens, enabling friction-free compliance with regulatory requirements and empowering the identification of patterns that drive a more personalized yet scalable service experience. 

As for how AI will make Malamed’s job easier, he says it’s all about providing a platform that supports “the best of the best.”  

“That means every Sanctuary employee across our ecosystem, including me, must be the best of the best. It’s not always easy, but it’s our commitment to excellence and our responsibility to those we serve,” Malamed says.