LionShare

Independent registered investment advisors (RIAs), and IARs need marketing capabilities to grow in today’s competitive financial industry. Whether it is creating compelling client collaterals, communicating value effectively, or handling day to day operations. The relevance of strong marketing knowledge and expertise can go a long way in attracting and retaining clients.

This is where LionShare—owned by Regal Investment Advisors—comes in.

Founded by John A. Kailunas II and partners 24 years ago, Regal Investment was born out of a search for an alternative to traditional career distribution systems. RIA-BD have a combined 3B + AUM/AUA Regal Investment’s expansion saw the demand for Lionshare, a distribution wing that serves 170 plus affiliated advisors nationwide. It now explores sub-advisory agreements with smaller RIAs.

Regal Investment provides solutions to its affiliated advisors through LionShare’s SMA and UMA platform, which is designed to address compliance and marketing concerns. Independent advisors often lack the expertise to create marketing collateral. By using LionShare’s pre-vetted materials, advisors can easily white label them, saving time and reducing their learning curve. These materials can be further tailored to meet their compliance requirements, providing a significant advantage in representing products accurately. LionShare’s training is cradle to grave and creates confidence and a level of expertise that separates them from their competitors.

“Smaller RIA’s can easily access these tools and leverage the scale of LionShare to facilitate their growth and business development by entering into a sub-advisory agreement with us,” says Kailunas II, Founder and CEO of Regal Investment Advisors.

A typical advisor leveraging LionShare holds a professional designation and manages assets of $150 million or less. Robust practice management and development support is available through Catalyst for Growth, LionShare’s consulting company.

LionShare’s approach centers on client education and creating customized educational materials for each advisor. It has a track record of helping smaller advisors with assets under management (AUM) from $10 million to grow to $150 million. For instance, a novice advisor in Southern California received guidance to revamp his approach.

Within three years, he went from zero to managing $30 million and expanded his team by hiring a junior advisor. In another case, an advisor in Indiana with $17 million AUM received mentoring and support over eight years and is now managing over $130 million.

LionShare’s success stems from duplicating effective processes that boost the bottom line and drive growth.

Money managers—both in-house and external ones with whom it has marketing agreements for distribution—play an important role in LionShare’s effectiveness. It ensures that these managers have direct access to advisors. This connection allows advisors to learn straight from portfolio managers, eliminating the need for intermediaries, websites, or wholesalers.

It also provides Advisor Advocates, like concierges, who are well-versed in the Regal and LionShare universe. They simplify the process for individual advisors, making it easier to access specific resources or solutions, such as client segmentation. In its sub-advisory agreements, LionShare believes in offering extensive support. It shares its wealth of practice management experience to help these relationships thrive. LionShare has also hired external wholesalers, referred to as Practice Management Directors (PMDs). These professionals function as wholesalers but go beyond by creating new opportunities for the organization. PMDs become silent partners and build deep relationships with advisors to help them grow and learn the art and science of the financial service industry.

The team at LionShare is well-versed in the RIA space. Kevin Berwald CFP,ChFC,CLU,CASL, is the National Sales Director, brings an extensive network, and knowledge from his prior role at Pacific Life. He’s crucial in leading due diligence trips, where practice management strategies for RIA expansion are discussed.

The affiliate advisors frequently praise LionShare’s direct communication approach. It has a deep understanding of marketing and a keen eye for spotting opportunities in the market, particularly in acquiring and retaining clients. It particularly takes pride in its practice management, which is reflected in a recent recognition by wealthmanagement.com. It has secured the top spot for practice management among companies with 1000 or fewer employees. These accolades underscore its ability to make a real impact on clients’ businesses and help them thrive.

For Independent advisors seeking growth, LionShare is ready to light their path to success.