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Company Details
Parallel Advisors, founded in 2006, is a highly respected independent wealth management firm with over $8 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a team of 50+ experienced advisors. The firm emphasizes a client-first, fiduciary approach, providing customized solutions that align with individual goals and values. Parallel’s comprehensive offerings include private wealth management, investment advisory, financial planning, family office services, and access to private market opportunities typically unavailable to retail investors. Their commitment to excellence, integrity, and building trusted client relationships is evident in their tagline: “Plan better. Invest smarter. Your partner in parallel for life.”
For a wealth management firm considering joining Parallel, the firm’s well-rounded infrastructure and growth trajectory could provide substantial advantages. Parallel’s expertise in serving high-net-worth individuals, its access to institutional-grade investment opportunities, and its emphasis on holistic financial planning would allow a smaller firm to expand its service offerings and enhance client satisfaction. Additionally, Parallel’s established reputation and focus on long-term relationships suggest a stable and supportive environment for growth, making it a strong candidate for partnership or acquisition.
Parallel Advisors markets itself as a comprehensive wealth management firm that blends independence, fiduciary responsibility, and highly personalized service to meet the needs of diverse clients. They serve high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and institutional clients by delivering tailored financial solutions across asset management, retirement planning, tax optimization, and estate strategies. As an SEC-registered fiduciary, Parallel prioritizes client interests, offering transparent, unbiased advice and leveraging a holistic approach to achieve client goals.
Unique to Parallel Advisors is their robust expertise in specialized areas like divorce financial planning, family office services, and endowment management, which sets them apart in a crowded marketplace. Their services are structured to address not only financial needs but also life transitions and intergenerational wealth complexities. By integrating tax-efficient strategies, ESG/SRI investment options, and cutting-edge portfolio management tools, they appeal to clients seeking customized, values-driven, and results-oriented solutions. Their team-based approach and commitment to fostering lasting relationships position them as a trusted partner in navigating financial complexities.
Comprehensive Expertise Across Core Services
- Asset Management: Includes ESG/SRI investing, risk management, tax-efficient portfolios, and tools like performance reporting and stress testing to align with client objectives.
- Wealth Planning: Offers life, disability, and long-term care insurance, as well as incapacity and survivor planning, ensuring clients are protected through all life stages.
- Retirement Plan Services: Features custom plan design, fiduciary compliance, and employee engagement strategies, ensuring robust retirement solutions for businesses and organizations.
- Family Office Services: Caters to HNW families with liquidity planning, private investment access, and concierge services to manage complex wealth needs.
- Trust and Estate Services: Includes corporate trustee roles, asset titling, and philanthropic giving, with a focus on efficient wealth transfer.
- Divorce Financial Services: Offers pre- and post-divorce planning, settlement analysis, and new plan execution to simplify complex transitions.
Parallel Advisors’ commitment to transparency, fiduciary standards, and a client-first philosophy ensures their continued reputation as a leader in personalized financial planning and investment management. This makes them an appealing partner for discerning clients and firms looking to align with a trusted and innovative wealth management provider.
Parallel Advisors adopts a disciplined, client-focused investment philosophy that prioritizes long-term wealth creation through strategic asset allocation and diversification. Their approach emphasizes achieving consistent, risk-adjusted returns rather than relying on market timing or speculative strategies. This philosophy provides clients with a predictable framework to meet their financial goals across market cycles.
Core Principles of Investment Philosophy
- Strategic Asset Allocation:
- Parallel Advisors employs a long-term view, maintaining fully invested and diversified portfolios across asset classes.
- They leverage diversification to reduce volatility and enhance the likelihood of achieving client objectives.
- Tax Efficiency:
- Recognizing the importance of after-tax returns, their strategies are designed to minimize tax liabilities while maximizing portfolio performance.
- This focus ensures clients retain more of their investment gains.
- Balanced Management Style:
- Active Management: Used in inefficient or niche asset classes to capitalize on market opportunities.
- Passive Management: Applied to highly efficient asset classes where low-cost index strategies can deliver reliable results.
Investment Process
Parallel employs a decentralized and collaborative approach, working with multiple strategic partners for asset allocation and manager selection. This structure enables them to:
- Operate independently, ensuring unbiased decisions.
- Access the best thinking and opportunities across the financial industry.
- Tailor portfolios to the unique goals and risk profiles of each client.
Unique Differentiators
- Holistic Coordination:
- Serves as a “personal CFO” for clients, collaborating with other professional advisors such as CPAs and attorneys to align all aspects of a client’s financial life.
- Commitment to Client Success:
- The focus on consistent and predictable returns reflects their dedication to creating long-term financial security for clients.
- Avoids speculative tactics, emphasizing strategic planning and portfolio resilience.
- Flexibility and Independence:
- By leveraging independent research and partnerships, Parallel Advisors ensures access to best-in-class investment strategies without conflicts of interest.
Conclusion
Parallel Advisors’ investment philosophy centers on delivering steady, tax-efficient, and goal-aligned returns. Their balanced approach, combined with a commitment to independence and collaboration, positions them as a trusted partner for clients seeking comprehensive and reliable investment management.
Locations
Company Videos
Acquisition Model
Full Acquisition
Equity B-Units & Profit Interests
Yes
Max Cash: 100%
Max Equity: 25%
Parallel will include a retention period as part of their deal structure and is negotiated on a case by case basis
The owner’s compensation model will largely be set with the owner input around cash flow needs post-close. There is typically a minimum replacement cost level that will be assessed which is approximately 20% of revenue. Ongoing incentive compensation is determined as part of the broader deal structure. The two paths are a share of revenue or base plus bonus.
Mandatory Points of Alignment
Parallel wants all partners to take the Parallel brand on day one to support advisors with central marketing materials.
To scale the business effectively, Parallel asks all partners to adopt their technology and systems.
Partners have full autonomy over their calendars.
Parallel uses a segregated P&L model to manage the organization's financial performance. With collaboration, Parallel will work with its partners to build an annual budget.
Parallel has a defined process of onboarding clients and a way of articulating the value proposition. However, advisors are given the latitude to adopt the Parallel approach or continue using their historical methods.
Parallel recognizes practice management as a significant strength and asks all partners to adopt it.
Parallel has an established investment management platform they encourage partners to adopt for the purpose of freeing up time to focus on client-facing activities. However, if the partner should want to retain portfolio management in whole or part, Parallel is flexible to accommodate the partner preference.
Advisor Value Proposition
Parallel is committed to supporting all new advisors to be set up for success from the start. The company has a dedicated advisor onboarding team comprised of cross-functional members, led by an M&A Integration Director. This team provides support to new advisors during their transition, helping the advisor and their clients be set up for a successful future with Parallel. Incoming advisors are assigned an Advisor Liaison, a peer advisor who provides an additional point of contact for learning and sharing best practices. In addition, Advisor Peer Forums provide a platform for advisors to share knowledge and best practices, and to learn from one another. Parallel also supports the growth of aspiring wealth advisors through its Wealth Strategy Associate Program, which allows them to learn from seasoned professionals. To help advisors have access to training and development opportunities, Parallel has a centralized People & Culture Team that establishes policies, processes, and programs to support knowledge sharing, formal and informal training, and internal mobility.
Parallel has an internal planning team of three individuals who support advisors with data entry and plan iteration for clients. While not required to use, advisors are encouraged to leverage this central resource to create capacity to devote elsewhere. Additionally, Parallel provides Money-Guide Pro (preferred tool) training to all incoming advisors.
Parallel takes a proactive approach to alleviating the burden of back-office functions from partners, enabling them to dedicate more attention to client-facing activities. This comprehensive support includes the management of accounting, payroll, HR, billing, and compliance tasks.
In addition to the core services of financial planning and portfolio management, Parallel expands partners’ capabilities to clients with the following: 1) Family office services, which include bill pay, bookkeeping, custom reporting, access to the financial planning team, tax team, alternatives team, trust administration team, and core data team. 2) Tax preparation. The Parallel tax team consists of seven individuals. In 2022, Parallel completed 335 tax returns on behalf of their clients. 3) Corporate trust services
Parallel is one of only ~80 RIA firms nationwide approved on the Fidelity WAS lead generation and referral platform, with an average annual business growth of $100M in AUM. Advisors have the opportunity to sign up and receive leads based on their target demographic and geography concentration. In addition to the WAS platform, Parallel’s client referral incentive program and high-touch service are powerful engines of inbound referrals from satisfied clients and centers of influence.
Parallel implements practice management through the leadership team. Team members of the leadership visit the local office at least four times each year to connect with partners and help improve operational efficiencies. For partners who recently joined the Parallel team, Stacee Blalock, the Director of M&A, helps partners get staff into the right seat and define roles and responsibilities. One of the key strengths of Parallel lies in its proactive approach to encouraging partner adoption of its highly effective practice management system.
AUM Growth
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