Broker Dealer Change

What Broker Dealer Change does

Broker Dealer Change is a private, founder-owned boutique recruitment and consulting firm that matches financial advisors with independent, regional, and national broker dealers across the United States. Founded in 2011 by Derrick Friedman and headquartered in Atlanta with a secondary office in St Petersburg, FL, the company operates on a fee-paid model in which the broker dealer (not the advisor) compensates the firm upon successful placement. Core services include a Broker Dealer Search directory, personalized one-on-one consulting, in-depth vetting of broker dealers and RIA firms, end-to-end transition support, and Buy/Sell Arrangement intermediation for advisors seeking to monetize books of business. The firm's stated track record includes 230+ advisor placements and a 50+ testimonial base drawn from advisors in roughly a dozen U.S. states.

The company's underlying technology stack is modest: a proprietary Broker Dealer Search platform supports advisor-to-firm matching, while DocuSign is used to streamline account transition paperwork. The firm is explicitly positioned as a relationship-driven consultancy rather than a technology company, with the founder's 25+ years of financial services experience and personal relationships with broker dealer decision makers serving as the primary product. Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, leveraging content marketing (industry news, success-skills coaching content with partner Jim Rohrbach), earned media (e.g., ThinkAdvisor), referrals, and a nationwide outreach model that surfaces typically 5+ broker dealer candidates per advisor. Customers are predominantly financial advisors at independent firms, wirehouses seeking independence, or those selling practice books — spanning mid-market advisor practices with placements documented up to $230M AUM.

Revenue mechanics center on transaction fees paid by independent broker dealers upon successful placement, supplemented by professional services revenue from consulting engagements. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the firm runs multi-year contracts. The customer base is highly granular and distributed (individual advisor practices rather than institutional accounts), with the broker dealer side forming the payer universe across numerous independent, regional, and national firms. No external funding, acquisitions, or inorganic growth activities are recorded.

Name

Broker Dealer Change

Legal name

Broker Dealer Change

Website

https://independentbrokerdealers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Broker Dealer Change is a privately held, founder-owned recruitment and consulting firm that matches U.S. financial advisors with independent, regional, and national broker dealers on a fee-paid basis, with operations from Atlanta, GA and St Petersburg, FL.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Advisor Broker Dealer Placement Services

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Broker-Dealer / Registered Representative Networks (FSAEACAG)

Keywords

• Financial advisor recruitment
• Broker dealer placement
• RIA firm matching
• Advisor transitions
• Independent broker dealers

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fee-Based Placement Services: The company's fee is paid by the broker dealer firm, not the financial advisor. This is a placement/recruitment fee model where broker dealers compensate Broker Dealer Change for successful matches of financial advisors.
2. Consulting Services: Personalized consulting services for financial advisors considering broker dealer transitions. Services are fee paid by the independent broker dealers they represent.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Broker Dealer Change is a nationwide recruitment and consulting firm that helps financial advisors transition to new independent, regional, or national broker dealers and RIA firms. The firm represents the advisor as an agent, vets broker dealer options, negotiates favorable terms, and guides advisors through compliance, onboarding, and transition paperwork. Fees for placement services are paid by the broker dealer firms rather than by the financial advisors.

Product overview

Broker Dealer Change is a nationwide recruitment firm exclusively for financial advisors, offering a suite of consulting services to help advisors find the best Independent Broker Dealer fit. The core offering combines a Broker Dealer Search tool with Personalized Consulting and Broker Dealer & RIA Firm Vetting services. The company provides end-to-end Transition Support including compliance onboarding and negotiation assistance. Additional services include Buy/Sell Arrangement Services for matching buyers and sellers of financial advisor practices. The company represents regional and top independent broker dealers nationwide and creates 'market demand' for each financial advisor, sometimes bringing multiple Broker Dealer firms to the table.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Broker Dealer Search A search tool that helps financial advisors discover large and small independent broker dealers, enabling them to evaluate options and find compliant firms.
• Personalized Consulting A comprehensive consulting engagement designed to search for the best independent broker dealer to meet the needs of the advisor's practice, including analysis of options and questions involved in switching firms.
• Broker Dealer & RIA Firm Vetting In-depth profiles of leading RIA firms and broker dealers with side-by-side evaluation to help advisors make informed decisions.
• Transition Support Step-by-step guidance through firm information, scheduling calls and meetings, compliance onboarding, and providing advice on attractive offers during the transition process.
• Buy/Sell Arrangement Services Assistance in buy/sell arrangements for financial advisor practices, acting as middleman to match buyers and sellers of books of business.

Quantifiable outcome

• Financial advisors typically receive multiple offers from broker dealers within days
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Linsco by LPL FinancialmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 October 2022Linsco is LPL Financial's employee advisor channel. Broker Dealer Change facilitated Chip Marcus's transition to Linsco, noting LPL's ability to bridge the gap between wirehouse environment and independence.
• LPL FinancialmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerLPL Financial is a major independent broker dealer to which Broker Dealer Change has facilitated advisor transitions. Notable case: Chip Marcus, a Merrill advisor managing $230M AUM, transitioned to LPL Financial's employee advisor channel, Linsco by LPL Financial.
• Kovack Financial CompaniescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerKovack Financial Companies is a broker dealer partner that works with Broker Dealer Change. Carlo A Bidone from Kovack Financial Companies has provided testimonial endorsement, noting they look for compatible business partners that bring unique value proposition to the branch development process.
• Success Skills Coach Jim RohrbachminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJim Rohrbach provides success skills coaching content published on Broker Dealer Change's website. His monthly coaching articles cover business development topics for financial advisors including goal planning, client acquisition, and professional growth.
• Regional and Independent Broker Dealers (General)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerBroker Dealer Change represents regional and top independent broker dealers nationwide. They have developed relationships with decision makers at these firms, bringing multiple broker dealer options to financial advisors they represent.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Commonwealth Financial Network: Large independent broker-dealer/RIA with extensive in-house transition and concierge services for incoming advisors. Operates as both a destination B/D and an indirect competitor in transition facilitation.
• LPL Financial: Largest independent broker-dealer in the U.S., including the Linsco employee channel. A primary destination firm Broker Dealer Change places advisors into, but also a potential disintermediator via its own advisor transition support teams.
• Advisor Group: Large network of independent broker-dealers (including Royal Alliance, SagePoint, FSC Securities, Woodbury Financial) with in-house transition and recruiting infrastructure. Comparable as a major destination B/D that competes with Broker Dealer Change's placement candidates.
• Kestra Financial: Independent broker-dealer platform with active advisor acquisition efforts, serving as both a destination for placements and an indirect competitor through direct recruiting outreach.
• Cetera Financial Group: Network of independent broker-dealers (including Cetera Advisors, Cetera Investors, First Allied, Summit Financial, Voya Financial Advisors) with active advisor recruitment programs and transition support.
• Raymond James Financial Services: Independent contractor channel within Raymond James focused on recruiting financial advisors, providing an alternative destination and operating its own transition support that competes with intermediaries.
• Cambridge Investment Research: Large independent broker-dealer with significant recruiting and advisor transition infrastructure; competes for the same pool of breakaway and transitioning advisors.
• Schwab Advisor Services: Custodian and RIA-support platform with extensive transition and conversion services for advisors moving to the RIA model — adjacent to Broker Dealer Change's RIA-matching services and a structural competitor for breakaway flow.

Direct peers

• Kiley Partners: A financial advisor recruiting firm that helps advisors evaluate and transition to independent broker-dealers and RIA platforms. Directly competes with Broker Dealer Change in the advisor-side transition placement market.
• Career Management Associates (CMA): Long-standing financial advisor transition and recruiting firm that matches advisors with broker-dealers and RIA firms. Directly competes with Broker Dealer Change as an advisor-side intermediary.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/broker-dealer-change

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Broker Dealer Change