CP
Corey Pond
Advisor Transitions
Winthrop & Co Winthrop & Co
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How I help

Every advisor situation is different.

I work with advisors across every firm type, channel, and career stage. Here are the ten situations I see most often — and what working together actually looks like in each one.

The relationship

How Corey works with you. Before, during, and after.

This is not a transaction. Every advisor I work with gets the same level of attention — from the first conversation through the first 90 days at a new firm.

01
Before the decision
Understanding your real options
I help advisors understand what is actually available to them — real options, real economics, real deal structures. Most advisors are surprised by what they find out when they finally have an honest conversation.
02
During the transition
Managing every detail
From the moment a decision is made through execution — I manage the complexity, protect your client relationships, and make sure every detail is handled correctly. You focus on your clients. I handle the rest.
03
After the move
The first 90 days
My job is not done when you sign the paperwork. The first 90 days are critical — I stay closely involved to make sure the transition lands exactly as planned. But this is not a transaction. Long after the move is complete, I remain a resource. Markets shift, firms change, situations evolve. The advisors I work with know they can pick up the phone anytime.
Start the conversation
100% confidential · No pitch · No pressure
01
Wirehouse breakaway
Leaving a wirehouse — making the move the right way
This is the biggest move in the industry. Years of hard work, deep client relationships, and a platform that has started to feel more like a ceiling than a foundation. Breaking away the right way means protecting everything you have built.
Evaluating protocol vs. non-protocol considerations
Understanding your real transition package options
Managing client communication before, during, and after
Choosing the right destination — IBD, RIA, or your own firm
Let's talk
02
IBD to IBD
Moving from one independent broker-dealer to another
Already independent but the platform is not growing with you. Whether it is payout, technology, compliance culture, or a firm acquisition you did not sign up for — there are better options and the transition is more straightforward than most advisors think.
Platform comparison across the top IBDs
Transition package negotiation and deal structure
Forgivable loan and note analysis
Platform continuity — keeping your tools and workflows intact
Let's talk
03
RIA platform
Joining an RIA
Full independence without building everything from scratch. Joining an existing RIA gives you the payout and autonomy of independence with the compliance, technology, and operational infrastructure already in place. Finding the right platform for your specific practice is the work.
Evaluating RIA platforms by AUM size, client profile, and investment approach
Custodian relationships and continuity
Fee structure, payout, and economics analysis
Equity and partnership opportunities
Let's talk
04
Own RIA
Launching your own RIA — your name on the door
Maximum independence, maximum control, and maximum complexity. Launching your own RIA is the right answer for some advisors — and the wrong answer for others. I help you figure out which one you are, and if it is right, I help you build it correctly from the ground up.
ADV filing, compliance setup, and regulatory requirements
Custodian selection — Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, Goldman
Technology stack and infrastructure decisions
Whether to DIY or use a turnkey RIA support platform
Let's talk
05
Succession planning
Finding a successor and structuring the handoff
Your clients are your legacy and you want them in the right hands. Whether you have someone in mind or need to find the right person, structuring a succession plan that protects your clients, your employees, and your financial outcome takes real expertise and time.
Identifying and evaluating internal or external successors
Deal structure — earn-outs, revenue sharing, equity transfer
Client transition planning and communication strategy
Timeline management — most good successions take 3 to 5 years
Let's talk
06
Sell & monetize
Selling your practice and maximizing your exit
You have built something valuable. Getting the right number for it — and the right deal structure — requires going to market with proper preparation and real competitive pressure. External M&A offers consistently come in higher than internal succession offers. Most advisors are surprised by what their practice is worth.
Practice valuation and positioning for sale
Running a competitive M&A process to maximize your multiple
Sell-and-stay deal structures — get a check now, keep working
Tax-efficient deal structuring and exit planning
Let's talk
07
Technology & platform upgrade
Finding a firm that has what your current one does not
Sometimes the conversation starts with technology — direct indexing, alternatives access, better portfolio tools — but the real answer is that your current firm simply does not offer what you need. I can put the right firms in front of you that do, and help you evaluate whether a move makes sense based on your specific situation.
Identifying exactly what technology and platform capabilities you are missing
Matching those gaps to firms that actually have them — direct indexing, alternatives, AI tools, integrated planning
Evaluating whether the economics of a move make sense given what you would gain
Putting the right firms in front of you with the right introduction
Let's talk
08
Family office
Transitioning your practice to a family office model
Some advisors have outgrown the traditional advisory model entirely. Their clients are high-net-worth families who need more than portfolio management — they need comprehensive, integrated wealth services under one roof. Moving to a family office or multi-family office setting gives you the platform, the resources, and the infrastructure to serve those clients the way they actually deserve to be served.
Access to comprehensive services — integrated tax planning, estate planning, legal coordination, philanthropy, and alternative investments all under one umbrella
Multi-family office platforms that provide institutional-level resources without the cost of building your own — serving multiple high-net-worth families with a shared infrastructure
Concierge and lifestyle services that high-net-worth clients increasingly expect — bill pay, family governance, next-gen education, and family meeting facilitation
Alternative investment access — private equity, private credit, hedge funds, and direct deals that traditional IBD and wirehouse platforms simply cannot offer
Identifying the right family office platform or partner — whether that is joining an existing MFO, building under an RIA umbrella, or launching your own single-family or multi-family office structure
Let's talk
09
Firm acquisition
My firm was just acquired — now what?
Your firm was acquired and nobody asked you anything. Now you are being told to sit tight, stay patient, and trust the process — while quietly wondering whether the platform you are being moved to actually fits the practice you have spent years building. You do not have to wait and see.
Understanding your options before the transition is finalized — what you can do, what the window looks like, and how much time you have
Evaluating the acquiring platform honestly — payout, technology, culture, compliance, and whether your clients will feel the difference
Knowing what your transition package is actually worth versus what is available in the open market right now
Moving on your timeline — not theirs — with a clear plan that protects your clients and your economics
Using the acquisition as the catalyst to finally have the conversation you have been putting off
Let's talk
10
Insurance BD
Built your practice inside the insurance channel — ready for more?
You started in insurance, built a solid practice, and now you are bumping up against the ceiling of the chassis. The product shelf is limiting. The payout is not keeping up. And your clients are asking for things your current platform cannot deliver. There is a world outside the insurance BD model — and it is more accessible than most advisors in this channel realize.
Understanding what life looks like outside the insurance BD chassis — IBD, hybrid RIA, and full independence options built for advisors with your background
Evaluating what you can take with you and what the transition actually looks like operationally and legally
Accessing better technology, broader product shelves, and alternative investments the insurance BD model typically cannot support
Finding a platform that values what you have built — not one that treats you like a new recruit starting from scratch
Making the move without disrupting the client relationships that took years to build
Let's talk

Not sure which
situation is yours?

Most advisors are dealing with more than one of these at once. Start with a conversation — we will figure out together what the right path looks like for your specific situation.

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