At Northwestern mutual, when Repp Lambert joined the company some 28 years ago, he was more of an insurance person and occasionally ventured into the investment world. But as time went on his position changed considerably.
He joined the planning-based, multi-generational, registered investment advisor as a co-founder at the beginning of this year, with within its assets under management of 260 million of client funds custodied by Charles Schwab.
The experience of launching the Virginia Beach, Va.-based Altura Wealth had a number of key decisions. Offers to join broker/dealer and RIA aggregators were made to Lambert and his partner, B.J. Crook, in between. At some point, they determined that their practice that was developing was more suited to the independent RIA model.
The insurances revenue was a smaller percentage of the business as the assets under management expanded at a high rate. At 55, Lambert and Crook (35) started thinking anew about their long-term vision. The question they put to themselves was what kind of structure would promote growth and inter-generational sustainability.
From Insurance Roots to Advisory Growth
In case of Lambert, it took decades to develop a breakaway mentality. He had developed a successful career in Northwestern mutual balancing insurance and advisory services. Eventually, he increased his staff, took over books of business and moved assets under management well beyond the 200 million mark.
One of the turning points was after he employed Crook as an intern. What was initially supposed to be an administrative support turned out to be a strategic alliance. In 2009, Crook became a full-time employee and began to pay more attention to the investment strategy and financial planning.
In 2014, Crook became a CFP and went on to attain more Altura wealth management qualifications provided by the American College of Financial Services. His experience enhanced the planning of the firm. Collectively, they laid more stress on holistic financial consulting than product sales.
The company also acquired book of business of Northwestern mutual advisors who had no succession plans. One of the advisors was an expert to military customers and another one was to the medical service. These shifts increased the customer base and advisory roles of the firm.
Expanding Planning and Portfolio Strategy
 At all times, Lambert and Crook headed the relationships with clients with financial planning. They moved a large number of brokerage accounts to advisory relationships by providing detailed plans. This approach enabled them to acquire additional assets and also build trust in their long-term clients.
Originally, the team used turnkey signature portfolios of Northwestern Mutual. Nevertheless, Altura Wealth became more direct when it comes to investing as the needs of their clients became more complicated. To have more control over the decisions that the portfolio requires, the firm embarked on adopting the signature choice program.
This change enabled them to hone their tax policies and portfolio development. Instead of falling to the standardized models, they made allocations more considerate. They gradually moved a good number of the accounts to the more flexible structure.
With the addition of the sixth member to the team, the partners reevaluated their course. They also continued to enjoy the perquisites of compliance, technology and marketing support but were less dependent on centralized investment research. Meanwhile, the targets of the insurance production were related to compensation.
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Embracing the Fiduciary RIA Model
 The growing emphasis on advisory services sharpened their fiduciary focus. Crook noted that clients were paying for time, expertise and advice rather than proprietary products. Fee-for-service planning became a larger share of the revenue mix.
Ultimately, that philosophical shift proved decisive. The partners wanted a structure fully aligned with objective advice and long-term growth. Moving to the RIA model allowed them to formalize the planning-first approach they had already built.
