Jamie Hopkins, Carson Wealth’s former spokesperson and managing accomplice of wealth options, has been off the street and spending extra time along with his household and in his group since leaving Carson within the fall. He’s says he is even doing yoga most mornings.
In September, he joined Bryn Mawr Belief close to his residence in Pennsylvania. It had been acquired by WSFS, a regional financial institution out of Delaware, lower than two years earlier.
As CEO of Bryn Mawr Capital Administration, the corporate’s RIA, Hopkins is overseeing the combination and improvement of wealth administration capabilities from WSFS, Bryn Mawr and a crew acquired from Bell Rock Capital in Rehoboth Seaside, Del., into an RIA unit and household workplace below the BMT model.
After simply 4 months on the job, he mentioned he’s additionally working to supply outsourced, technology-enhanced company trustee providers to impartial RIAs.
“Expertise has allowed small corporations and huge corporations to compete very well and supply actually nice providers,” he instructed WealthManagement.com. “However once I go searching on the belief providers facet of the world, I don’t see that many nice corporations on the market.”
Earlier this week, Hopkins spoke with WealthManagement.com concerning the transition, his new position, assembly Richard Branson and the next-gen expertise incubator he created.
The next dialog has been edited for brevity and readability.
WealthManagement.com: Inform me concerning the transfer to Bryn Mawr Belief. How huge is the wealth administration enterprise there?
Jamie Hopkins: Now we have about 300 folks on the wealth administration crew. We’re at about $82 billion in property below advisement and $8 billion -$9 billion in conventional AUM on the price facet. And we’ve acquired about $1 billion in brokerage property with Commonwealth.
We shouldn’t have a hybrid RIA and dealer/seller, it’s all separate. Now we have a belief enterprise, we’ve got an RIA, after which we’ve got a brokerage division that’s not affiliated with the remainder of it.
WM: So the RIA isn’t new? I used to be below the impression you have been serving to launch a brand new RIA below Bryn Mawr.
JH: WSFS had some RIA capabilities that we’re combining with Bryn Mawr Belief, after which we acquired the property of an RIA in August earlier than I acquired right here. So, it’s sort of like a WSFS, a BMT and an out of doors agency sort of coming collectively as one RIA.
Proper now, it’s nonetheless a variety of pulling all people below one model, one mission and one shared imaginative and prescient as a result of, as you recognize, RIAs all have their very own taste once they exist on the market on this planet, and I believe we’re making an attempt to respect that.
My imaginative and prescient for the RIA is to construct applicable programs and processes and a shared imaginative and prescient, however I do suppose that completely different areas might need a special taste and persona. That’s simply the truth of the place issues are, so I need to permit a few of that persona to shine by means of.
WM: Have been you introduced in particularly to spearhead this mixture effort?
JH: That’s one of many causes I got here in. When WSFS purchased BMT, the president, the CEO after which the pinnacle of wealth all exited—two based on the deal construction after which one over time.
So, now Bryn Mawr Belief is the model that encompasses wealth administration and belief providers, and WSFS is the banking providers facet of the home. They wanted anyone to return in and lead the imaginative and prescient and technique over the personal wealth crew at Bryn Mawr Belief.
The RIA portion of their enterprise has been actually sturdy, and a part of my pitch was, ‘In order for you anyone that may construct that, I’m a superb individual. In order for you anyone from the standard banking facet of wealth, I’m not that individual.’
Being that they employed me, they appear to agree the RIA facet is the place the expansion alternative is.
However I’ve additionally been impressed by components of the belief enterprise, and I’ll most likely be extra targeted on taking that out as a service to the trade than I assumed I used to be going to be.
I believe there’s been a strategic convergence within the RIA world, so constructing out that facet might be not going to be groundbreaking in contrast with what anyone else is doing. Expertise has allowed small and huge corporations to compete and supply nice providers, so being an excellent tech, planning and funding agency is vital. However once I go searching on the belief providers facet of the world, I don’t see many nice corporations.
I believe we could be extra disruptive there than I assumed once I took the job. I am going round to a variety of conferences, and I believe the businesses on the market providing company trustee providers to advisory corporations are restricted in what they’re in a position to do. There’s a very nice alternative to push that enterprise ahead, sort of how the standard wealth enterprise has been during the last decade, into far more of a technology-oriented service providing.
WM: And the way would that work?
JH: A household workplace is available in and says, ‘Hey, we’ve got this $100 million shopper that works with us. We handle their investments. We don’t personal a belief firm, so we will’t be company trustee. And perhaps we do not need to be a trustee, or the legal professional should not be as a result of there is perhaps tax ramifications. We want Delaware Belief or Nevada, and so we need to accomplice with you—you be company trustee, however we’re nonetheless going to handle the property.’
And that’s completely different from a variety of the earlier choices on the market. They don’t need to bifurcate the 2 and infrequently attempt to hold them collectively. We do a variety of that enterprise right this moment with household workplaces and high-net-worth shoppers, the place we’ll step again and be company trustee.
It’s one thing we do very well. However traditionally, most of that has gone to ultra-high-net-worth shoppers. It hasn’t trickled down, particularly within the RIA world. There have been individuals who’ve tried to do that, and there are some companions on the market. However there aren’t rather a lot that supply company trustee providers at scale. I do suppose there’s a giant alternative to take what Bryn Mawr Belief does out to that group and accomplice extra deeply with them.
Having been at Carson, trying round at belief suppliers once we added folks, there’s rather a lot to be desired. And having been a shopper of that service, I can perceive what individuals are searching for, which goes to be useful.
WM: How do you see your position right here? The place else is your expertise going to return into play?
JH: Lengthy-term, I’d love for it to shift somewhat bit, however this 12 months I’m targeted totally on two issues. One helps to arrange a strategic imaginative and prescient for the agency; I’ve already sort of mapped out for the crew the place we’re going from right here by means of 2026.
The opposite is constructing our model. Bryn Mawr Belief has been round a very long time, and we’ve got an excellent model within the space. However increasing that may be a huge a part of my position.
Then ultimately, my position will shift to recruiting. Implementing the strategic plan this 12 months and subsequent 12 months might be going to take a while.
Long run, nice corporations want nice expertise, and I believe CEOs and leaders ought to spend extra of their time specializing in that. To be completely sincere, recruitment and improvement is the place I’d prefer to spend all my time in some unspecified time in the future. However for the following 12 months, there’s a variety of know-how, a variety of branding and a variety of organizational strategic issues that have to get carried out first.
WM: How will this be organized between the outsourced belief, the in-house wealth unit and the bigger ecosystem? How do you see all these items working collectively?
JH: It’s not an enormous deviation from the place we’re right this moment, however aligning extra below the Bryn Mawr Belief model. I’ve been public on that. The crew is aware of it, and we’re making some adjustments there. We’ve began revamping our web site and advertising supplies, which most likely will not be carried out till the third quarter.
The way in which I view it, Bryn Mawr Belief has been round 100-plus years. Now we have nice longevity there, however we’re a belief firm at our core, and we provide completely different providers. And that’s how we’ll be extra organized.
Proper now, should you have a look at our web site, we’re very entity-based. Should you click on on investments, it offers you three completely different entities you might make investments with, and that’s the flawed technique to strategy it. We should be service-based out to the world. Should you come to us and need delegated or directed belief providers, you’ll be capable of have interaction on that facet. In order for you personal banking providers, which I additionally suppose there’s a chance to take out to the monetary world, you possibly can come have interaction us on that. And should you’re a person, you may also have interaction us both on banking or on wealth administration.
So, will probably be organized as a high model with providers beneath it.
WM: You talked about the significance of expertise. Who’re you going to be going after? What’s it you’re searching for?
JH: One distinction for us is that we’re regional. I need us to be the main belief and wealth enterprise in our footprint by the top of 2026, which I believe can occur. We’re in Delaware; we’re in southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey for the foreseeable future; and we’re going to remain in our space. We’re a group financial institution with WSFS on the core, and out of the ten largest banks in our space, we’re the one one which’s domestically headquartered, and that issues to a variety of our shoppers.
There’s an enchantment within the native marketplace for anyone who’s there, and to work with individuals who grew up in the identical space and care about it and provides again to the area people. In order that’s the place we’ll be concentrating on however, extra particularly, we provide a broad association by way of service capabilities—we will do company trustee, we do tax submitting, we do tax prep, property administration, guardianship, particular wants trusts, personal banking, banking, funding administration and right through. So we need to discover advisors seeking to be in a spot that’s extra of that one-stop store. For some folks, it could be an excessive amount of, or perhaps they aren’t taken with having that each one below the identical roof.
WM: Have you ever formally outlined a goal clientele?
JH: I’m nonetheless engaged on that half. One is clearly the folks inside our footprint. From a banking standpoint, we will work with virtually anyone—our shoppers vary from people who find themselves establishing their very first faculty checking account to folks with a number of billions below our household workplace.
From a retail standpoint, we’ve got one thing that hits most individuals in our footprint. Throughout the advisor group, I is usually a little bit extra focused. I do nonetheless suppose higher-net-worth and impartial advisory corporations usually tend to want company trustees. So, there are teams of corporations which are extra prone to want such a service than others, however that’s nonetheless somewhat bit to be decided. As soon as we take it out to market this 12 months, we’ll see who it resonates with higher after which refine it from there.
WM: You talked about 2026 earlier. What’s your sport plan appear like between from time to time?
JH: Model simplification and attracting some expertise to the group are each actually vital and getting a refined model of our know-how stack or expertise on the market. That one is already in play. We’ve acquired a variety of know-how items we’ll roll out all through the course of the 12 months that ought to improve each our trust-as-a-service providing and our end-client tech expertise.
That’s simply the place the world is right this moment. Expertise is permitting us to ship a greater product and repair on the market to finish shoppers than it ever has earlier than. I’ve paid shut consideration to that area during the last seven years, and I believe there’s a chance for this group to undertake a few of that, get it out and improve that have. If I can do all three of these issues over the following 9 months, I’ll be fairly glad.
WM: What was it like for you coming to an older banking establishment from Carson Wealth, which is thought for being fairly innovative about its know-how?
JH: [Carson is] positively at the vanguard of know-how. What it gave me is the expertise of seeing what we checked out and what we selected to go on, and there are some issues we would have chosen to go on throughout my time there that I believe are literally nice additions right here. It is a completely different market and a special providing.
Hopefully once we’re speaking in two years, Bryn Mawr Belief may have that sort of know-how status within the belief world. That world is behind from a tech standpoint; I don’t suppose anyone questions that it’s not maintaining with the RIA and custodial tech worlds, however we will catch up shortly with a few of the proper adoption methods. Carson constructed some proprietary stuff, however that’s one thing I’ve little or no urge for food for. I need to combine the nice tech that is on the market, and I’m impressed by what’s coming down the pipeline.
WM: I noticed a latest picture of you and Richard Branson on LinkedIn. Inform me about that assembly.
JH: Quick reply, it was one of the best journey I’ve ever been on. It was a beautiful factor.
It was a gaggle of entrepreneur dads in monetary providers and different professions. My small group had a producer, a house builder and an information tech individual. I acquired invited by anyone to this gathering on Necker Island, which is the place Richard Branson lives, however you may also simply ebook this resort and go there.
The entire first day was about being a dad, a complete day speaking about what it’s prefer to be a dad and issues that work for the household, the way to speak to youngsters about emotions and reward issues and a few video games folks play with their youngsters. My spouse and I’ve even put into place three of the issues I discovered from different dads.
Then the different two days have been extra conventional, entrepreneurship conversations about expertise and know-how. It was good to listen to the views exterior of our trade as a result of I really feel like all I ever hear is about RIA corporations’ know-how, versus a producing firm within the U.S. and the way they’re competing in tech. So, I actually loved that.
Branson was actually solely supposed to return for 90 minutes, however he ended up spending 4 days with us—and he likes the group. He’s joined our textual content chat, and we textual content with him. Very surreal expertise.
To be sincere, it’s cool assembly Branson, however the dad stuff was the actually impactful half for me. If I’d left after that day, I might nonetheless say it was probably the greatest makes use of of time I’ve taken within the final couple of years.
WM: I do know you’ve continued to function president of FinServ Basis, which supplies scholarship and internship alternatives together with teaching and mentorship for younger professionals within the discipline. How is that going?
JH: Now we have over 500 college students now at 34 universities collaborating. Kate Healy and Danny Harvey joined the board, so we’ve got two extra nice folks.
I will probably be on the Fearless Investing Summit with Nitrogen, as a result of they partnered with us, and take 35-40 college students on the market. The mentorship a part of that’s been actually spectacular—Nabia [Jenkins-Johnston] does that, and he or she loves it.
It’s simply been great to see that up and launched and all these college students transferring by means of it. And now we’ve got a bunch of individuals within the first cohort which are two years into their careers now. They’re now speaking to different folks, and individuals are asking them for recommendation. That’s fairly superb. We at all times want mentors.
I do suppose we want extra corporations to reinvest again in long-term targets or long-term visions for next-gen expertise improvement. Everyone desires advisors with 3-5 years of expertise, and a variety of locations haven’t got nice improvement applications as soon as younger folks get employed there. That is one factor I wish to see sooner or later.
However FinServ is an excellent program, and if folks need to become involved or meet up on the conferences and meet the scholars or interview them, we’re glad to assist facilitate that.
