A father-son duo has left registered investment advisor Steward Partners to launch their own shop on the Dynasty Financial Partners platform.
Chairman Randy Price and son and CEO Matt Price have started Houston-based Clear Trail Advisors, which has $850 million in assets and a self-proclaimed focus on “the millionaire next door” or those in need of portfolios that can generate retirement income and leverage tax strategies.
The Prices are leaving their Steward practice, which was called The Price Group, along with Clear Trail co-founder Matthew Kerns and four other staff members, two of whom were recently hired, according to Randy Price.
“This has been an 18-month process,” Randy Price said. “We wanted to own our future, we wanted to own the client experience, and we wanted to own the ability to take care of the client because at the end of the day, that is what makes the world go round.”
Randy Price was an executive managing director at Steward, an employee-owned hybrid partnership of independent advisory firms, for over seven years. Before that, he had an over 18-year run as a financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management.
But he goes back to earlier in his career, when he was doing financial planning for executives at companies such as ConocoPhillips, General Motors, and Shell, as shaping the planning-first mentality of Clear Trail.
“Everybody today in our team that is client-facing has to have their CFP,” Randy Price said. “We don’t do investments before we do comprehensive planning.”
Randy Price said he had considered moving to Dynasty years ago, but it wasn’t yet the right fit. Now, he said the team is ready to work within their model and focus areas, which include every client having a “family index number” that guides their financial plan.
They will leverage Dynasty for back-office support such as planning tools, compliance, accounting and investment platforms. Randy Price also liked the peer group he would join at Dynasty, which has over 55 network firms and more than 500 Dynasty network advisors.
“When you look at the people who have joined them, it’s a who’s who of Phi Beta Kappa in the industry,” he said. “To be in that group is a distinct honor.”
In 2022, Dynasty sold minority stakes to Charles Schwab and private equity firm Abry Partners. In 2024, it announced a minority capital raise from BlackRock, JP Morgan Asset Management and Schwab.
Clear Trail is looking to hire a director of financial planning and an in-house tax specialist. Randy Price said it also plans to hire more advisors interested in its model.
“There are a lot of like-minded advisors out there that own their own practice and don’t want to go sell their business and give their clients away, if you will, to somebody they don’t really know, and they want a nice landing point for their career as well,” he said. “We’re building our new office with that in mind.”
Randy Price said he sees himself working for at least seven to 10 more years, but expects his son and Kerns to continue what he expects to be a larger RIA by the time he retires.
“As I look back, I feel like I’ve been somewhat of a franchisee over a number of years,” Randy Price said. “More and more people are leaving the wirehouses. … the votes are that this is a much better space, a much better arena, a much better opportunity to do what we were called to do without the overhang of corporate influences.”
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