The Autonomy Myth

Advisors often leave big firms chasing independence. The dream is freedom—the ability to call your own shots, serve clients your way, and escape the bureaucracy.

But there’s a catch. Independence without infrastructure quickly turns into chaos. Compliance piles up. Tech doesn’t talk to each other. Billing becomes a nightmare. Suddenly, autonomy feels less like freedom and more like quicksand.

The Support System That Enables Growth

Jimmy Lee saw this struggle firsthand. That’s why he built The Wealth Consulting Group (WCG) to give advisors the best of both worlds: independence with scale.

At WCG, advisors keep their autonomy but gain the systems that make growth possible—integrated technology, back-office support, and compliance infrastructure. The kind of foundation that turns independence into sustainability.

Because true freedom isn’t doing everything yourself—it’s having the support to focus on what matters most: serving clients.

Freedom Comes With a Platform

The future of RIAs won’t be lone wolves. It’ll be networks of advisors empowered by platforms that handle the noise so they can focus on relationships.

Platforms that integrate tech. Platforms that reduce compliance headaches. Platforms that let advisors spend more time being personal CFOs for their clients and less time chasing signatures or reconciling accounts.

That’s how autonomy becomes scale. And that’s how firms move from surviving to thriving.

The Future Is Balance

RIAs don’t have to choose between freedom and scale. The winning firms will embrace both—independence for the advisor, and infrastructure that fuels growth.

That’s the balance Jimmy Lee is scaling at WCG. And it’s the model more advisors will need if they want to build firms that last.

These insights are inspired by the latest episode of Next Mile featuring Jimmy Lee, CEO of The Wealth Consulting Group. Hear how he’s scaling holistic wealth management and why the personal CFO model is the future. Listen to the full episode here and explore more articles in this series.