Looking for a vibe check on my pay and overall position, not confident I'd do well breaking away
I'm 32, have my CFP and ChFC designations, and I have been a W-2 employee at an independent RIA since 2022. It is currently just me and one other advisor (the owner) plus support staff.
I manage about $50m on my own, plus I share a book of $70m with my boss. Current pay structure is $100k salary plus 13% of AUM revenue (half of that for the clients I share with my boss) which translates to annual income of about $250k.
My wife is completely supportive of the idea of me going solo and thinks I'm in my own head too much, but the problem is that I feel like my career was handed to me in a way that won't happen twice. I have done seminars and educational events over the years, but I hate every minute of it. My book primarily came from another coworker who quit without notice to launch his own thing, and my boss was at capacity, so that left me to do damage control. I was able to save about 80% of those relationships, and here we are.
If I were to go off on my own, I have no idea how I'd meet anybody. I lean introvert and do not naturally hang out in places where I'm building my network and meeting qualified leads.
Is it crazy for me to be content as a servicing advisor? My wife thinks I'm not at my end game yet, I think I'd be nuts to walk away from $250k/yr with a wife who's a SAHM to two young kids.