When your independent broker-dealer sells, it can change everything about how you serve clients and run your business.
In this episode, Daren Blonski and Carmine Corino break down what happens when your firm sells or changes direction and what you can do about it. From evaluating alignment and fiduciary responsibility to exploring independence, they share hard truths about how these transitions impact advisors and their clients.
They discuss:
How advisors should assess whether to stay with a sold firm, move to another, or go independent
Why private equity ownership often creates misalignment between advisors, clients, and shareholders
How the concept of fiduciary duty gets distorted within broker-dealers
The consequences of compliance and “selling away” rules that protect firms, not clients
Why true independence may be the only way to gain long-term alignment and control
Growth as an advisor begins with growth as a person.
In this episode, Carmine Corino and Daren Blonski discuss how self-development, health, and discipline directly impact your capacity to lead and grow your business. They share how tracking a personal development budget, joining masterminds, and committing to daily habits have transformed their lives and leadership.
Key takeaways:
How Carmine and Daren allocate 10% of their annual budgets to personal development
The link between physical discipline and business growth
How a personal development (PD) budget fuels leadership capacity
The importance of asking, “Who do you need to become to achieve your vision?”
Why breaking barriers in health and mindset makes business challenges easier to overcome
Many advisors excel at client service yet struggle with the demands of running and scaling a business.
In this episode, Carmine Corino and Daren Blonski break down the three key identities that every advisor must recognize: advisor, business owner, and entrepreneur. They discuss how to align your time and energy with the role that drives you most, the hidden costs of “going independent,” and how AI and firm dynamics are reshaping the advisor landscape.
Key Takeaways:
The three roles every advisor plays: advisor, business owner, and entrepreneur, and why clarity between them is vital
How to identify which role gives you energy and align your work accordingly
The real cost of independence versus tucking into an established firm
Why AI and technology shifts will redefine advisory roles and firm relationships
How mid-sized “sweet spot” firms empower advisors through flexibility and support
Choosing the right firm isn’t just about payout numbers.
It’s about alignment, vision, and transparency.
In this episode of The Broken Dealer, hosts Carmine Corino and Daren Blonski unpack the crucial questions advisors must ask before joining a new firm. From ownership incentives to fee structures and long-term vision, they reveal how to “peel the onion” and see what’s really driving a firm.
Their stories and examples show the hidden costs of quick checks and the transformative power of working in an aligned environment.
Key Points:
Why ownership incentives shape firm behavior and advisor experience
The pitfalls of upfront money and hidden product requirements
How misaligned visions trap advisors in short-term decisions
A case study where alignment led to tripling assets under management
The difference between growth cultures and environments focused only on product sales
Many advisors dream of independence, but is it truly freedom or simply a new set of challenges?
In this episode, Carmine Corino and Daren Blonski reveal what happens behind the scenes when advisors leave large firms. From retention rates to hidden costs, they share candid stories and practical insights.
Their honest conversation exposes the myths and realities of independence, helping advisors make informed choices for themselves and their clients.
Carmine and Daren discuss:
How high retention rates can be achieved when transitioning clients
The hidden costs behind “big checks” offered by firms, and how firms recoup those incentives
The importance of clients “rehiring” their advisor during a transition and how loyalty often rests with the individual, not the firm
How attorneys, CPAs, and clients perceive independence, and why personal relationships outweigh firm affiliations
The idea of going independent might sound appealing, but what’s the real cost behind the curtain?
In this episode, Daren Blonski and Carmine Corino speak with Jennifer Goldman, founder of My Virtual COO, who brings decades of operational wisdom from both sides of the advisory table.
Jennifer shares candid truths about the trade-offs, team focus, and operational challenges that can make or break a financial advisory practice. From shedding clients to embracing AI, this conversation pulls no punches on what it truly takes to run and sustain an independent business.
Jennifer discusses:
Why caring more about clients than your team might be a red flag for going independent
How one advisor offboarded 70% of their clients and ended up growing stronger than ever
The importance of evaluating staffing, financials, and personal capacity before deciding to start your own firm
How AI is slowly integrating into advisory operations, from real-time coaching to proprietary data training
The hidden costs of independence, including the reality that running a business can consume far more than just 30% of your time
Jen brings 30 years of experience transforming over 1,000+ service businesses to thrive. Her mission is to increase the health of businesses so they can provide knowledge and choices to more employees and consumers.
Jen accelerates the rise of leaders to C-Suite roles, cohesive and effective operations among teams, and more frictionless customer experience through self-created methods: IDEOS™, Aspirations, and Business Plan Visualization, Design Thinking, and Productive Collaboration. She utilizes these methods, acceleration tools, network, intuition, and empathy to boost People, Productivity, Profitability, and Growth to businesses seeking improvements.
Jen has taught her methods at national conferences and been published in Inc Magazine, Tech Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice, Liberated CEO, and trade publications.
Jen’s transformation work started in her teens at a John Deere Servicing Company, M&T Bank’s Quality Control Division, and SUNY Geneseo’s Campus Auxiliary Services. She expanded her skills in business finance through Boston College MBA classes, Boston University CFP Program, and Northeastern University’s Enrolled Agent Program. She topped off her W2 work scaling up US’s largest multi-family office in the 90’s, a 45 person Tax Firm, and 125 Insurance Firm before starting MyVirtualCOO™ in 2007.
Jen’s humanitarian path includes Good Citizen and Humanitarian Awards in pre-college years, Brighton YMCA Development Advisory Committee Member, Five-Year Brighton Soup Pantry Volunteer, North Andover Town Finance Committee Member, MA League of Women Voters Board Member, Community Garden Volunteer, Founder of 2,000+ member group advocating for funding Public School Improvements, and active giver to Feed America and Under the Bridge Homeless.
Jen’s personal path is her two teenagers, a very understanding husband and pup Sparky, reading HBR Stoics Sinek Brown Grant Osloff, watching psychological thriller movies, vegetable gardening, and a light workout to maintain mind and body resilience.
