Navigating Financial Currents with Strategic Wealth

From Newport Beach to Wall Street

Ocean currents and financial markets are notoriously unpredictable. Sudden changes can occur without warning, causing turbulent conditions that are difficult to navigate without the diligence and expertise of a trained professional.

“Today we’re in a market where the tide is out and the rip currents are pretty tumultuous. That’s a very difficult thing to deal with,” notes Ken South, founder of Tower 68 Financial Advisors. During times like these, investors need steadfast guidance to help keep them on course, and Ken and his team help to navigate these financial currents.

Ken grew up in Newport Beach, California, across the road from lifeguard tower 68, and became an ocean lifeguard at the age of 16. For over 36 years, he applied that same sense of duty and vigilance to his career as a wirehouse advisor.

In 2021, Ken approached his colleague and friend, Steve Arcos, about starting an independent firm. Steve had also been in the wirehouse space for over 30 years, serving in senior leadership roles. “Ken has always been on the sales side as a portfolio manager, and my background is more in operations, compliance, and branch management. We thought working together would be a good partnership,” said Steve.

Uniting the Past with the Present

With Steve on board to be Ken’s Chief Operating Officer, plans for their new firm began to take shape. As they pondered potential names for their new enterprise, Ken and Steve kept coming back to Tower 68 Financial Advisors. “Tower 68 is where it all started,” explained Ken. “It reminds me that instead of keeping beachgoers out of harm’s way, now my mission is to help my clients stay out of harm’s way and thrive financially.”

Next, the two began searching for a wealth management firm that would allow them to create and own the practice of their dreams. To bring their vision to life, they looked for a firm that combined independence with hands-on business services and support. That’s when they discovered LPL Financial’s Strategic Wealth model.

Once Ken and Steve found the ideal property for their new practice, Strategic Wealth took care of the lease negotiation, build-out, furniture, IT setup, and infrastructure. With everything now in place, the team provided hands-on transition support to get Tower 68 up and running as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

“We opened more new accounts and brought in more assets faster than any other team that has come on at this level to LPL, which is a testament to our internal team as well as our Strategic Wealth onboarding group,” noted Ken. “It was very rewarding to see $400 million come over in five to six weeks! When you have any doubts in the back of your mind about how clients will respond to the transition, that result was pretty darn good.” 

Continuing South

Ken’s transition to LPL also allowed him to think about the growth of his business. And someone was waiting in the wings to jump in with her expertise: his daughter, Spencer South, who serves as Executive Director of Business Development. “The collaboration with Strategic Wealth has been amazing, “said Spencer. “They’ve helped expedite my transition into this industry, helped me understand how to set up accounts, compliance, and how we can bring our ideas to life.”

Spencer is not the only one on the team who feels that the firm’s ultimate success is tied to the Strategic Wealth offering. “If only we had known sooner how functional things could be away from the wirehouse,” said Steve. “After a few months, we got a lot of things on autopilot and started moving into the business-as-usual part of things. It keeps getting better and easier to function. You can’t manage the back end and the front end all at the same time, it’s just not humanly possible. We couldn’t do it without Strategic Wealth.”

A Relationship Business

Today, the Tower 68 Financial Advisors team is thriving — even in the midst of historic market volatility. What’s the secret to their success? Relationships. “You develop relationships with the Strategic Wealth team,” said Steve. “We have a payroll coordinator, an HR generalist, a benefits coordinator, a 401(k) person, marketing and compliance support, and I have relationships with all of them now. The fact that they make themselves available to us is always appreciated.”

“The Strategic Wealth leadership has carefully selected people that are really good at what they do, that are there to support us, and have a wealth of knowledge that we really wouldn’t have access to in a traditional W-2 channel,” recounted Ken.

As for other wirehouse advisors looking to break away, Ken offered one piece of advice. “Every morning when I unlock the door to our office, I think, ‘We did this. We own this.’ At LPL, particularly through Strategic Wealth, you’re able take your practice to levels you didn’t think existed before. I can’t understand why everyone’s not considering it.”