We only do wealth management. That is the whole business.
RIA and Wealth Management
Recruiters.
Starting a search costs nothing. You pay 25% of your hire's first-year pay, and only when they accept. The median search takes 45 days from kickoff to accepted offer.
Firms That Trust The Well.
161+ wealth management firms served, from independent RIAs to insurance-based practices.
Recent Placements
Roles We've Filled.
Recent individual placements that filled in under 50 days, not an average. Our median search runs under eight weeks from kickoff to accepted offer.
Wisconsin, 9 days
Chief Compliance Officer
Placed at an RIA. Kickoff to accepted offer: 9 days.
✓ PlacedFlorida, 28 days
Wealth Advisor
Placed at an advisory firm. Kickoff to accepted offer: 28 days.
✓ PlacedRemote, 44 days
Associate Advisor
Placed at an advisory firm. Kickoff to accepted offer: 44 days.
✓ PlacedMore roles recently filled
Advisors and Planners
Lead and service advisors, CFP professionals, paraplanners and business development.
Firm Leadership
CEO, COO, CIO and chief compliance officer.
Operations and Support
From client service associates to IT, marketing and HR.
Why Firms Hire Us
Wealth Management Is All We Do.
Small independent RIA or $200B+ national firm, you get the same team and the same attention. See what we do for firms.
The People You Want Aren't Looking
Most of the advisors we place are doing fine where they are. In the first half of 2026, 78% of the ones we placed weren't looking when we first reached them. A job post only reaches the people who are already looking, so we go find everyone else.
You See Every Candidate on Video First
Every candidate does a recorded video interview with us first, and you get the video along with a written brief. By the time you sit down with someone, you already know why they fit.
One Person Owns Your Search
You get one specialist who learns your firm, with the whole team searching behind them. You shouldn't have to chase us for an update.
We Only Do Wealth Management
Our leadership has more than 82 combined years in the industry, so we know what your candidates are thinking when they take the call.
How a Search Works
Five Steps, Kickoff to Start Date.
Every search is managed by one dedicated specialist with the full team behind them. No account managers and no hand-offs.
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01
Deep Discovery
Before we contact a single candidate, your search specialist spends one to two hours with your leadership team. We diagnose before we prescribe.
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02
Sourcing
We start with The Vault, our network of pre-screened wealth management professionals, and The Brain, our AI sourcing engine. Together they reach people who are not on any job board.
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03
Video-First Screening
Before your calendar is touched, your specialist pre-screens every candidate on video, including whether the person is genuinely ready to move.
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04
Curated Introductions
You meet only the candidates who cleared every screen, each with a written brief on who they are, why they fit and what it takes to close them. There is no candidate quota.
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05
Offer Through Transition
We prepare candidates for the counter-offer, coach them through resigning and stay in touch until the first day. A 90-day replacement provision backs the hire, with terms in your service agreement.
How Fast
How Fast We Fill a Search.
The median search takes 45 days from kickoff to accepted offer. The median time from kickoff to meeting the person you end up hiring is 16 days. After that it depends on how fast your team interviews and decides, and we stay on your calendar the whole way.
45 days
Median Search, Kickoff to Accepted Offer
The clock starts when we open your search and stops when your candidate accepts. That's a median, not a promise. Senior seats, tight geographies and pay below market take longer, and we'll say so before you sign.
16 days
To Meet the Person You Hire
This is the median time from kickoff to the introduction of the candidate who was ultimately hired. The rest belongs to your interviews and your decision.
6,445
People Across 49 States
Our own first-party talent database, as of the first half of 2026. The method behind our research is published in The RIA Talent Report.
What We Won't Do
We Say No to Searches We Can't Fill.
We place W-2 employees who are going to build their careers at your firm. We don't do M&A advisory, we don't move advisors from one firm to another along with their clients, and we don't place career changers or recent graduates. If that's what you need, we'll tell you on the first call.
We would rather turn a search down than carry one we can't fill. We earn nothing unless you hire someone we introduced, so a search we can't fill costs us, not you.
The Founder
Steve Perry spent 17 years at New York Life. He started as an advisor in 2006, built a team of 40 in five years, and later ran a firm of 125 as Managing Partner.
“I started The Well in November 2023 because I've sat in your chair and I knew what was missing.”
He has interviewed thousands of people and hired hundreds. In 2021 he wrote The Capacity Model.
Meet Steve PerryThe Team Behind Every Search
A Team That Came Up Inside the Industry.
Every search has one specialist who knows your firm, and nearly 20 people working behind them. With Steve Perry, our leadership has 82+ combined years across the industry.
Managing Director, RIA Partnerships
Jay Robinson
Jay has spent 30 years in financial services, more than 20 of them working only with RIAs, at Charles Schwab Advisor Services and Mercer Advisors.
Managing Director, Wealth Management Partnerships
Clay Eschrich
Clay brings more than 35 years across insurance, annuities and advisor development, including 17 years as a Regional Vice President at Allianz Life and more than a decade at Prudential Financial.
Everyone on the team has a bio, a photo and a LinkedIn profile you can look at before you talk to us.
What It Costs
What It Costs, and How You Pay.
You never pay to start a search. You pay when your hire accepts the offer. Our standard fee is 25% of your hire's first-year pay, which is base salary plus the target bonus in the offer letter. On a $180,000 offer, the fee is $45,000.
Direct Hire Search
For firms hiring one to three people this year. No fee to start. The standard 25% placement fee is due when the candidate you hire accepts the offer.
ScaleWell
For firms hiring four or more people a year. It's one ongoing partnership instead of a new search every time, with a hiring roadmap built around your growth plan and pricing locked for the contract year.
Retained Executive Search
For C-suite and senior seats we do a retained search. We map the market before we contact anyone, a senior partner stays on it, and the fee and replacement terms are in your agreement before we start. Retained and executive searches are priced to the engagement.
A recruiting firm that won't tell you what it charges is telling you something.
What Our Clients Say
Clients, in Their Words.
Rated on 182 Google reviews, as of November 2026. Read them on Google
In the Trade Press
Cited and Interviewed.
Covered the RIA Talent Report in August 2026 (“A Lot of What We Know About Talent Search Is Wrong,” by Diana Britton) and quoted Steve Perry on how rarely advisor offers land inside the posted pay range.
Covered The RIA Talent Report on August 5, 2026 (“RIA job requirements often an 'illusion', recruiting agency finds,” by Faye Kilburn).
Season 2, episode 8: “The Highest-ROI Hire in Wealth Management Isn't an Advisor,” with Steve Perry.
Episode 87, “Building Your Financial Advisory Team with Top Talent,” hosted by Bill Cates with Steve Perry.
More than 15,500 people follow The Well on LinkedIn.
Before You Call
Questions Firms Ask Before Hiring a Financial Advisor Recruiter.
How long does it take to hire a financial advisor through The Well?
The median search takes 45 days from kickoff to accepted offer. The median to meeting the person you hire is 16 days, and the rest is your interviews and your decision. Senior seats, tight geographies and pay below market take longer, and we'll say so before you sign.
What does a wealth management recruiter cost?
Nothing to start a Direct Hire Search. Our standard fee is 25% of your hire's first-year pay, due when your hire accepts. ScaleWell and retained and executive searches are priced to the engagement. It's all on our pricing page.
Which firms do you recruit for?
Independent RIAs, hybrid firms, insurance-based advisory firms and broker-dealers, from small practices to a $200B+ national firm. Every firm gets the same team.
Which roles do you fill?
Advisors and planners, including lead and service advisors, CFP professionals, paraplanners and business development. Firm leadership, including CEO, COO, CIO and chief compliance officer. And operations and support, from client service associates to IT, marketing and HR.
What won't you do?
We place W-2 employees. No M&A advisory, no moving advisors with their clients, no breakaway deals, and no career changers or recent graduates. If that's what you need, we'll say so on the first call.
How do you keep a search confidential?
We never list candidates or make them searchable. We only share a candidate's name with their explicit permission, and we only introduce candidates to firms that have signed with us.
Why does The Well work only in wealth management?
Because depth beats breadth. Firms that recruit across every industry spread themselves thin, and when they call a candidate about an advisory role they are explaining what an RIA is. Our team lives inside wealth management every day. We know the custodians, the comp structures, and what actually motivates a senior advisor to make a move.
How do you source candidates?
Most candidates who end up in a successful placement are not actively looking. That is the foundation of The Vault, our network of wealth management professionals built through years of relationship-building. We also use The Brain, our proprietary AI technology, to find more passive candidates who match your firm.
What happens after an offer is made?
We stay in the room. Counter-offer preparation, transition planning, resignation coaching, and coordination right up to the first day. The riskiest stretch of any search is the gap between a verbal yes and a hire who actually shows up.
What an empty advisor seat costs your firm.
The average advisor produces $625,000 a year, about $52,000 a month (Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study). Tell us about the seat and we reply within one business day.
Reviewed by Steve Perry, Founder and CEO. Updated November 2026.