Advisory Services Network, an Atlanta-based platform supporting small, independent registered investment advisors, recently added a $250 million advisory firm as it nears $10 billion in total client assets, according to company leaders.
Harris Wealth Management, based in Springdale, Ark., is one of about a dozen RIAs that have joined ASN in 2025, adding to about $650 million in asset gains through the first quarter. Trey Prescott, the firm’s director of business development, said four more firms are in the pipeline to join. Meanwhile, his annual conversation tracker is running at an all-time high.
“I’ve spoken to almost 230 groups already this year,” Prescott said, noting that at this time last year, he had spoken to about 195. “I’m taking calls between 6:30 am and 8 pm.”
The interest is coming from advisors at broker/dealers and wirehouses who are considering a breakaway to start their own RIA, as well as those at RIAs who are either facing a sale, or fear one due partly to private equity pushing into the space, said ASN co-founder and managing member Tom Prescott, who is Trey’s father.
“Firms are concerned about their books when private equity comes in,” Tom Prescott said. “Advisors want to protect their clients.”
ASN’s most recent RIA to join, Harris Wealth, is a father, son and daughter team that broke away from Cornerstone Advisors, another Arkansas-based RIA.
Tom Prescott said the stories of why advisors choose to leave to start their own RIA with ASN are “as varied as you can imagine.” However, the key drivers continue to be long-term industry trends, such as an aging advisor workforce looking for transition strategies, concerns of consolidation impacting independence and small firms looking for operational support to grow.
“We’re not here to dictate that you have to grow by 40% a year,” Tom Prescott said. “We want you to be a good fiduciary to your clients.”
ASN’s platform includes elements such as compliance and risk management, investments, operations, technology, marketing and transition planning. It also offers custodian services from Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, BNY Pershing and Goldman Sachs—though Tom Prescott noted no RIAs in the network have yet to use Goldman.
ASN competes in an RIA market with numerous players offering independence and growth support, whether aggregators backed by large pools of capital, platform providers or non-controlling minority investors.
Trey Prescott said registered representatives he speaks with want to follow an “entrepreneurial spirit” and have it be honored by their partner.
“They want to be serviced well, be able to reach the owner whenever they need it and not feel like they are on a hamster on a wheel,” he said.
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