Dan Wagner had a sharp vision when he left one of the largest banks in the Carolinas to form his own wealth management business.
Don’t get too big.
Wagner Wealth Management is committed to growing responsibly and helping individual clients, business clients, and the community to do the same, Wagner says.
“We decided to not be everything to everybody. We decided to be everything to a smaller group of clients,” he says.
It’s a path Wagner chose after leaving his position as Senior Vice President and financial advisor at Carolina First Bank and founding Wagner Wealth Management in 2007.
Today, the 10-person company has offices in Greenville, Anderson and Seneca. Wagner is CEO. His business partner, Jennifer Osgood, is President. She has been part of the firm since leaving Carolina First to help start the company.
“We’ve stayed relatively small on purpose. Most of our clients are business owners. We’ve also got a good following of families who came with us from the bank,” Wagner says.
“We focused on the business-owner demographic because they have the most complex needs: taxes, estate planning, corporate structure, succession planning. They’ve got complex needs when they set up their businesses or pass them on.”
Each person at Wagner Wealth Management has expertise in a specific area, Wagner says. Team members might specialize in profit sharing, trusts and estates, or insurance. The team works together to determine and fill the needs of high-income clients and established businesses, he says.
“We’re unique that way. Most places with 10 people … eight are running around trying to bring in clients. That’s not how we do things.”
Wagner knows all about growing too fast – and how plans can go awry.
He played football when he started college in New York, but a back injury sidelined him in his sophomore year. He ditched his sports career, transferred to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and worked at American Express Financial Advisors while earning degrees in finance and accounting.
A newlywed in 1998, Wagner was hired by Carolina First to relocate to Greenville and help start a wealth, investment, trust and insurance division.
In nine years, the bank grew to $15 billion in investments from $1.5 billion.
But Wagner says he was concerned about some of the bank’s acquisitions. “I watched how they grew, buying other banks that I thought weren’t good investments,” he says.
“When I left Carolina First, I had a pretty good idea that the bank was about to get hit hard. But I don’t think anyone could have predicted the full scope of damage in 2008 to the banking sector nationwide.”
Carolina First, part of a bank holding company called South Financial Group, was acquired by TD Bank Financial Group in 2010.
“It’s been an interesting ride to get to where I am now,” Wagner says.
While still at Carolina First, he was recognized as one of the Top 25 Bank Investment Advisors in the nation by Bank Investment Consultant magazine.
The honor prompted job offers from big companies in big markets. But after heart-to-hearts with his wife, Jill – the couple had one young child and another on the way – Wagner struck out on his own.
“Learning all of that in the corporate world … learning what to do … what not to do … made it easy for me to start a better firm with a smaller group of people. That training and experience was priceless,” he says.
Wagner Wealth Management now advises on more than $2.5 billion in client assets. The company is fee-based; it doesn’t earn commissions from investment products.
“The investment piece is something that we do. We do it at a high level. A fee-for-service arrangement allows us to sit on the same side of the table as our clients when we invest money. We work as a trusted advisor to our clients, like an attorney or an accountant,” Wagner says.
“We manage money across all spectrums, but we’re really good at helping business owners manage their cash. Some of our clients are the biggest infrastructure companies in the South. We manage hundreds of millions of dollars in that space alone.”
When counseling any type of business, Wagner Wealth Management might suggest that owners put money aside for their retirement, purchase life insurance to protect their families, establish 401Ks for employees, or maximize a return on their cash with tax strategies or higher-yield products.
“We might meet a business owner who’s sold hydraulic hoses for 40 years. He doesn’t want to mess with a 401K or tax planning. We come in and handle everything,” Wagner says.
The industry isn’t without problems; Wagner says he is frustrated because “there isn’t much restriction on how you can use the term ‘wealth management.’”
The industry has more regulations and requires more paperwork than when Wagner entered the field almost 30 years ago. “And the consumer continues to be confused,” he says.
A “wealth manager” might specialize in only insurance or only investments, Wagner says.
“We take the words literally: People have a level of wealth they need to manage. That includes businesses, real estate investments, insurance, taxes. True wealth management,” he says.
“Regulations allow you to get an investment license, hang a shingle downtown and call it XYZ Wealth Management. That’s perfectly legal – and it’s totally confusing to the consumer. People need to do their due diligence and make sure they really understand the firm they work with.”
But Wagner’s focus goes beyond his clients and his industry. Most, if not all, of the employees serve on the board of directors of one or more nonprofit organizations.
After the recent hurricanes, the firm donated $10,000 to the American Red Cross. This fall, it sponsored a scholarship at a golf tournament and a concert to benefit Front Porch Housing.
In January, the firm will be 18 years old.
“We love being in the Upstate,” Wagner says. “We’re serious about providing the best advice we can for people in this community. Greenville and the Upstate are growing, and we’re trying to help it grow in the best way possible.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Wealth Management Firm Stays Small To Provide Clients With Big Service
