Dennis Prout and Heidi Cartwright of Prout Financial Design will have something to tell their radio listeners in Traverse City, Mich., this week: their firm has joined the network of Boston-based Integrated Partners, a registered investment advisor and office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial.
Founder Prout, whose firm has amassed $331 million in assets under administration in 25 years, has left a network of advisors with Michigan-based CG Financial Services. He, Cartwright, and his son Nathan Prout joined Waltham, Mass-based Integrated to gain access to its investment management platform and receive succession planning support for “future growth and continuity,” according to an announcement.
“They’ve built a very nice business and have a great footprint and recognition in Northern Michigan,” said Rob Sandrew, Integrated Partners’ chief growth office. “There’s a question around succession planning with Dennis, a question around continuing to grow the business, but have it evolve in terms of working with higher-end opportunities and outsourcing some of the functions, including investment management … what they really connected with us on is our ability to help them through those issues.”
Prout and financial planner Cartwright run a weekly talk radio show on financial literacy on WTCM AM radio in Traverse City called “New Retirement Radio.” Recent episodes have covered topics like “Am I too Rich for a Roth IRA?” and “Healthcare Planning for Retirement.”
Now, Prout’s move looks to have set him up for his own retirement. He said in the announcement that Integrated “stood out as the ideal fit, especially given its focus on succession planning and commitment to helping firms scale with purpose.”
Integrated Partners has been steadily bringing on firms since its first full acquisition in early 2023 under the direction of Sandrew, who was brought in by CEO Paul Saganey in 2016. Those inorganic additions have helped ramp up the firm’s AUA to $21.3 billion, with $15.6 billion of that under management.
Sandrew said Prout, like the other RIAs with Integrated, will get marketing support and access to the firm’s Integrated CPA Alliance program, a potential feeder for higher-net-worth clients, along with the outsourcing of various functions, particularly investment management.
Sandrew said that, among Integrated’s roughly 230 advisors, the three-year compound annual growth rate is about 16% on average. For its largest 25 advisors, however, that three-year CAGR is more than 20%, exceptional, Sandrew said, as larger firms usually grow at slower rates.
He attributed that success in part to the CPA Alliance program. However, another big factor is Integrated Partners’ investment management offering, which is mostly done in-house but also allows advisors to use other third-party managers.
“Outsourcing to a third party allows them to focus on going out and deepening their relationships with their existing clients, and to go out and asset gather and build relationships with new clients,” Sandrew said. “If we can free an advisor and their team up to do what they do best, that typically leads to success.”
In January, Integrated brought on a $1 billion firm based in San Diego, Retirement DNA, to expand on the West Coast and in retirement planning expertise. Integrated has 16 offices throughout the U.S., with more deals in the pipeline for 2025, according to Sandrew.
