by Scott Martin

As the COVID year winds down, the wealth management landscape has split into firms that broke down and those that were built to handle the challenge of operating under quarantine.

Dynamic Advisor Solutions is in that latter group. The Phoenix-based TAMP was created in the wake of the 2009 crash to be resilient, using modern technological architecture.

It was born in the computing cloud. And that means that when the world pivoted into the cloud in order to give grounded advisors a lifeline, Dynamic didn’t feel the disruption. They were already home, founder Jim Cannon tells me.

“Nothing changed day to day,” he says. The platform held up flawlessly. There was no awkward transitional period because Dynamic affiliates were already interacting with 3,600 clients in a robust and secure environment.

That’s what Dynamic does. The proposition has always been to use top-tier technology to deliver some of the best people power in the industry. While the tools are essential, it’s really just data until the people on the other end of the screen bring it all together.

Yes, the network supports plenty of sophisticated model portfolios that range from vanilla equity to liquid alternatives. And yes, the platform will take over aspects of the office (back to front) that you aren’t interested in supporting on your own.

But the real power here is in the people who learn from your account flows and take a consultative approach to help you unlock your unique productivity. Whatever you love about the business, they’ll find ways to help you do more and better.

It’s really all about coaching and business development. And if you know Jim Cannon, the word “independence” is never far from the conversation. In a lot of ways, Dynamic is the natural successor to the original independent advisor networks created to help solo practitioners and small teams share resources and expertise.

The biggest difference is that the technology that supports the processes has evolved. And now Dynamic can legitimately claim practically perfect retention over the past decade.

A few advisors have left for various reasons. Some simply quit the industry. Others ultimately came back.

Meanwhile, the onboarding team has been busy as pre-COVID prospects accelerate their career paths to keep up with the virus. They’ve got that part down to a science too.