For decades, "going independent" meant one thing: leaving the wirehouse to build your own business.
You gained ownership of your practice, control over how you served clients, and the freedom to make decisions without the constraints of a bank. But you also inherited everything the bank used to handle for you, from technology and compliance to operations, trading, marketing, and investment infrastructure.
For many advisors, it was still worth it.
Today, though, independence means something different.
The choice is no longer between working for a wirehouse or building an RIA entirely on your own. Advisors can now own their practice while gaining access to institutional-grade infrastructure that was once only available inside the largest firms. That shift is changing what independence looks like and why more advisors are reconsidering it.
Why advisors are leaving the wirehouses
The reasons advisors leave are rarely about compensation alone. Increasingly, they're looking for more control over how they run their business and how they serve clients.
Many wirehouse advisors find themselves navigating production grids, referral requirements, proprietary product expectations, and internal growth metrics that don't always align with what's best for clients.
"I got tired of someone constantly pressuring me because I wouldn't push products I didn't believe in."
Ryan Mallow, Principal, Wealth Advisor
Others point to technology. While client expectations have evolved dramatically, many advisors still work across disconnected planning, CRM, portfolio management, reporting, and trading systems. The result is not just inefficiency for advisors. It creates a fragmented client experience that feels increasingly out of step with the seamless digital experiences people expect in every other part of their lives.
Perhaps most importantly, advisors spend years building relationships, only to realize they don't truly own the business they've built. For many, independence becomes the logical next step.
Why building your own RIA isn't the whole answer
Going independent solves many of the challenges of the wirehouse model. It also creates new ones.
Launching your own RIA means becoming responsible for every operational function that once lived inside the firm, including compliance, technology selection, vendor management, cybersecurity, marketing, recruiting, and investment operations. Many advisors discover they're spending far less time advising clients than they expected. Instead of running an advisory business, they're running an operations business.
The economics may improve, but the complexity often increases right alongside them. That is the gap many advisors still face today.
Independence shouldn't mean doing everything yourself
This is where the definition of independence has changed.
Today, advisors no longer have to choose between autonomy and infrastructure. Farther was built around that idea.
Advisors own their practice, their client relationships, and the way they serve clients, while gaining access to the technology, operations, investment platform, compliance support, and transition expertise typically associated with much larger institutions.
Rather than stitching together multiple vendors, advisors work on a unified platform that brings together financial planning, portfolio management, trading, reporting, CRM, and the client experience in one place. That means less time managing systems and more time focused on clients.
In fact, Farther advisors report spending 90% of their time on client-facing work, and advisors on the platform have grown their businesses 3x faster than the industry average.
Institutional capabilities without institutional constraints
Independence should not require sacrificing investment capabilities.
Farther combines advisor autonomy with institutional resources, including dedicated investment research, manager due diligence, portfolio construction support, and access to private markets opportunities that many advisors could not easily offer on their own.
Just as importantly, there are no proprietary products or distribution incentives shaping recommendations. Advisors remain free to build portfolios around what is right for each client, not what is best for the firm.
The biggest question: Will my clients come with me?
For many advisors, this is the question that delays a move.
Transitioning clients is understandably daunting, especially after spending years building those relationships. Farther's transition team manages the operational complexity, from account transfers and restricted securities to deferred compensation planning and multi-advisor team transitions, so advisors can stay focused on client conversations.
Advisors who formally commit to the transition through Farther retain 98% of client assets during the move.
With more than $15B in AUM, $23B in recruited assets, backing from leading investors including General Atlantic, CapitalG, and Khosla Ventures, and recognition as Inc.'s fastest-growing financial services company, advisors can point to an institution that is built for long-term growth.
What independence means today
The old definition of independence asked advisors to trade institutional support for autonomy.
That trade no longer has to exist.
Today, independence means owning your practice, controlling how you serve clients, and having the infrastructure to grow without spending your time running an operations company. It means having the freedom to build your business your way, backed by the technology, support, and investment capabilities to keep growing.
Because independence was never supposed to mean doing it alone.
Ready to explore what independence could look like for your practice? Start the conversation with Farther: https://www.farther.com/for-advisors
