Two years after selling Fortigent to LPL, the company's founder has a new gig.
High-profile entrepreneur Andy Putterman, whose high-end turnkey asset management outsourcer had $65 billion on its platform at the time of its sale, is hanging out a shingle as a wealth management consultant, Financial Planning has learned.
Putterman, who also was president of Lydian Wealth Management (now Convergent Wealth Advisors) for 10 years before the $8 billion RIA was sold to City National Bank in 2007, is positioning his new company as a long-term strategic advisor to chief executives and boards of wealth management and asset management companies.
"It's very lonely to be a CEO," Putterman says, who stepped down as Fortigent chief executive late last year but remains chairman emeritus. "I've helped build two high-value companies and made 20,000 mistakes. I can share all my war stories and bridge the gap between the CEO and the executive team and help guide companies who want to grow."
The new firm, 1812 Park, is based in Bethesda, Md., and will focus on developing long-term strategies for wealth management companies, Putterman says.
"We don't do projects," he says. "I'm not a consultant you should call for a succession plan. I want to work with companies for an extended period of time and be part of the process to set them up for long-term success."
RETAINER & EQUITY
As a result, Putterman says he is charging clients an annual retainer, and "often" will take a small equity stake in the firm and either take a seat on the board or be part of the executive team. "It's an alignment of everybody's interests and sets the framework for the relationship," he says.
One of Putterman's first clients is his former business partner: Steve Lockshin, the chairman of Convergent Wealth Advisors, who also has an ownership interest in the online advisory firm Betterment.
BETTERMENT ADVISOR STRATEGY
Putterman says he will be helping Lockshin develop a strategy for Betterment's efforts to develop an institutional business working with advisory firms and banks. "It's an opportunity to meet the needs of a new generation and reach people in a different way," he says.
Working with Betterment will also better inform his engagements with advisors, Putterman believes. "Firms have to be thinking five years ahead and [the online firms] are driving fees lower and helping to commoditize the investment side of the business," he says. "It's essential that [advisors] become engaged."
Putterman's experience and "natural inquisitiveness" bode well for his new job, says Michael Bilotta, managing director of Gladstone Associates, the Philadelphia-based investment banking and valuation firm.
"I've seen first-hand where Andy can work out a problem by asking the right questions," says Bilotta, who invited Putterman to speak at Gladstone's annual advisor conference earlier this month. "He intuitively understands a company's situation and has the ability to simplify a complex situation with practical advice."
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