As what would become The Great Recession took shape in 2008, Robert Laraia and his partner Brandon Marinelli took a close look at their then eight-year-old wealth management company, NorthStar Planning Group.
There was a lot to like but their years of experience — 27 for Laraia and 13 for Marinelli — told them their industry was in for big changes. So they decided to get ahead of the curve.
They examined what they liked and disliked about wealth management styles, then chose to create an independent practice featuring a high level of service. They rebranded to NorthStar Wealth Partners LLC. With the lease expiring on their Newington space, they made a leap of faith and took a graduated lease for larger offices in West Hartford Center. At the time, it was the two of them with one staff person and one advisor.
They haven’t looked back since.
Laraia was Marinelli’s mentor in the early days, but they are now equal partners and joined at the hip. “We complement each other,” Laraia says. “We have different strengths.”
As the financial collapse was shaking itself out, Laraia and Marinelli knew a lot of advisors would be on the move. They thought some might come to join them if they could make a case that their firm was different. They were right.
Many advisors caught in downsizing left an old firm only to be reacquired by that firm in a merger a few months down the road. “How do you explain to your clients that all the reasons you gave to switch from your old company are no longer valid,” asks Laraia. “You’ve been reacquired. We offered a soft landing for those advisors.”
But that soft landing came with a twist.
“At NorthStar, we are independent,” explains Marinelli. “We aren’t bound to sell an affiliate’s products.”
He says NorthStar advisors develop a comprehensive package for each client, working as much or as little as needed, with the unique ability to keep the client’s previous longtime advisor and still have NorthStar on the job.
“This is not a standard package with a few modifications,” offers Marinelli. “A NorthStar advisor starts from scratch and builds an individual plan for each client that fits like a glove.”
“That means working in the best interest of the client when we give advice or offer services. With no affinity, we are unbiased. We pick and choose, then tailor make our support for each client,” he says.
Advisors leave a lot of their compensation to be in a firm, Laraia explains. If they opt to go independent, they get four or five times the money, but must deal with headaches like set-up, office space, staff, brochures, PR, marketing, management, IT, logo etc.
“We take a smaller fee than an affiliate would, and handle all the peripherals,” says Laraia. “An advisor makes three instead of five times the money with none of the hassles. We make it very attractive. That’s why they join us.”
NorthStar’s staffing philosophy is simple, Laraia says: “Like great chefs, companies are not always great at business management so we have staffing consultants, a marketing person for PR, and a practice management specialist, all of whom know what they are doing.”
Marinelli sees another difference.
“Bob and I are head of the firm, and advisors, fighting the same fight on a daily basis,” adds Marinelli. “We go into the firm’s meetings, not as disconnected bosses, but as colleagues.”
Marinelli, the techie in the group, is always ready with the newest technologies and innovations. “I’ve implemented real-time access at the computers and a phone system that connects across the nation to wherever an advisor may be, so it’s as if he were in his office.”
“That’s it,” notes Laraia. “Independence, comprehensive service and a soft landing.”
Everybody at NorthStar Wealth Planning works hard and plays hard, the partners say. That’s the nature of the business. Everyone knows everyone so they make time for activities out of the office — socializing at The Bushnell, dinner at nearby Fleming’s or drinks at the Elbow Room.
The results have been impressive. The firm has opened additional offices in North Haven and Middletown, with a fourth location east of the river slated for later this year; they have just hired one new advisor with expectations of hiring three more; and three members of the team — Laraia, Marinelli and Ken Savino — have made the Hartford Business Journal’s ‘40 Under 40’ list.
“In this next year, we are looking for controlled growth: quality, not quantity,” says Marinelli. “We’ll make money, but we want to be the premier wealth management group, a small tight network of advisors with a personal touch. We see the firm growing to 50 -65 advisors strong in the next decade.”
