Rob Sandrew of Integrated Partners on hitting the industry's constantly moving targets

Do you ever look out of your window and imagine being at the beach? Do you wish you could fast-forward through Wall Street's looming rainy season and get to something a little sunnier? 

Then allow Financial Planning to transport you back to the dog days of summer and directly into the heart of Surf City.

Our special look back at the Future Proof Festival continues through a series of interviews with insiders and newsmakers conducted by the Financial Planning editorial team.

In this clip, Wealthtech Reporter Justin L. Mack chats with Rob Sandrew, chief growth officer at Integrated Partners. The industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience first broke into the industry wholesaling and calling on the RIA market in the '90s. Now, he oversees recruiting initiatives for the Boston-based firm that has more than 200 advisors, 165 CPAs and 60 regional offices across the United States.

The fast-growing RIA bolstered those numbers at the end of February when it announced the acquisition of Laurel Wealth Advisors, a California-based independent advisory firm with 30 advisors and more than $2.25 billion in assets. 

Considering his role at Integrated, Sandrew is all about movement. Be it advisors looking for a new home or the overall direction of the industry, he is focused on hitting the mark.

At Future Proof 2022, Sandrew mentioned a slowdown in terms of advisor recruiting leading up to the event but said things were once again heating up as everyone was hitting the beach. He also gave Mack a preview of things to come when it comes to Integrated's M&A efforts.

"It's been a very exciting year. We actually have entered into the acquisition game, so we're excited to be announcing some things over the next handful of months," Sandrew said. He added that as they expand their footprint, finding advisory teams that align with what they're all about is much more than industry talk.

"I think that's the old adage of 'know who you are and who you're not.' … Ultimately, we want to make sure that there's a philosophical alignment and (that) our resources are aligned before we even talk about acquisition. Because at the end of the day, if they're not finding an appreciation for the value we're bringing … they may have a different business model. That doesn't make it wrong or right. But we may not be perfect partners."

As far as what was driving the uptick in movement to close out 2022, Sandrew said it is as simple as looking at the market itself. 

"I've been doing this a long time (and) I think it's not any different than before, in the sense of, when things are going well, people tend to endure a fair amount of pain. When things aren't going so well, that's when that trouble mode comes into play," he said. "The other thing is our business has evolved, and it's so exciting because I think we're still on the precipice of where we're going. Three years ago, even to now, the type of models that are out there, the capabilities that these firms like ours are able to roll out to have the advisors leverage to better support their client base, it's moving. It's a constant moving target, and the sophistication level continues to climb. It's really a fascinating time to be in the industry."

Check out the full interview below.

Future Proof, an event billed as the first wealth festival, attracted more than 2,200 people to Huntington Beach, California, last year. Financial Planning was a sponsor of the event. Dates for Future Proof 2023 have already been announced. The event is slated to return to the beach Sept. 10-13, 2023.