Episode summary
Scaling—and Sustaining—Growth
Summary
Mark Klene says Center Street Capital Advisors was built in 2021 from a blank-sheet conversation among him and two advisers, Gary Wayne and Andrew, and launched in May 2022 with a non-producing executive at the helm. He describes the firm’s origin as a bet on flexibility, ownership and autonomy, with Finet, also known as Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, handling much of the middle- and back-office burden so advisers could focus on clients.
Klene argues the main engine of growth has been people, not assets or revenue. He says the firm expanded from eight people to 62 people, helped by strong early attention around the transition and by a culture that compounds as good people refer other good people. He emphasizes that the firm is selective about fit, values ethics, morals and family, and tries to avoid hires that do not match the culture.
He also credits Finet and the broader Wells Fargo organization with providing transition support, recruiting help, deal structure, lending, relationship management, compliance and marketing. For advisers thinking about their own future, Klene argues that the platform’s flexibility matters: he says people should ask questions, hear the full story, and recognize that moving into one channel does not lock them in forever.
Key takeaways
- Mark Klene says Center Street Capital Advisors launched in May 2022 and grew from 8 people to 62 people in a little over four years.
- Klene argues that culture and fit matter more than revenue or assets when building a sustainable advisory business.
- He says Finet and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network provide transition, recruiting, compliance, marketing and back-office support that helps the firm scale.
- Klene says advisers should not be shy about exploring all platform options because the right channel depends on fit, not forcing a square peg into a round hole.
Notable quotes
“we developed what we felt would be the structure for what became Center Street Capital Advisors”
“it's the team, it's the people. Um those are the the most important factors”
“it's not revenue, it's not assets that matter most, it's the fit and the feel”
“there's no point in trying to force a square peg in a round hole”
How the episode opens
Hi everyone and welcome to this wealth management fast chat. I'm Shen Rossi, director of content solutions, and I am so excited to be joined today by Mark Klene, CEO of Center Street Capital Adviserss, and we're going to be talking about growth, independence, and what it takes to build and scale a successful advisory practice with the right platform behind you. Mark brings a great perspective on how Center Street Capital Advisors has grown, how Finet, also known as Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network has supported that journey and what advisers should think about as they map out the future of their own practice.
So, want to go ahead and dive in. Mark, welcome.
Hi, Shannon. Thanks. — Absolutely. And Mark, look, I always like to start with the story behind the business because every successful practice has a different path to where they got to today. So, if you wouldn't mind, set the stage for us. tell us a little bit about the origin story of your practice yourself and your partners.
Of course, appreciate the opportunity. Um, so it was uh it was early to mid 2021. I was a branch manager inside of Wells Fargo Advisors Warehouse.
I was running one of the the largest branches in the country at the time. And one of the adviserss in my office, Gary Wayne, who ran his own large team, came to me with the idea that him and his brother Andrew operated his own team in New York City, also at Wells, were going to come together and opt for a channel transfer going from the warehouse to finet. Gary and Andrew came to me with the idea that we could perhaps build something together.
I had different concerns. I had different uh risk profiles.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- practice growth
- scaling an advisory business
- maintaining growth trajectory
- independence in wealth management
- platform support for advisors
Companies and tickers mentioned
- WFC
- Center Street Capital Advisors
- Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network
- Finet
Watch the episode
Watch “Scaling—and Sustaining—Growth” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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