Turning point brochure

FIRM OVERVIEW – 2014

Succession Planning And Successor Search You have worked hard to build a practice, but now you’re ready to slow down or transition out of the business over time.

Introduction

page 1

Core Values

page 3

Our Advantages

page 4

Our Search Process

page 6

Our Resources

page 7

Affiliations

page 7

Background

page 9

“Mitch was very helpful in assessing the market and in forwarding for our review only candidates he felt met our criteria (the establishment of which he assisted). He was effective at monitoring the verbal and in person interview process. Finally, he was very effective at helping to negotiate our finalist’s offer.

We would be pleased to work with Mitch again.”

James F. Peters, CEO Tactical Allocation Group, LLC

INTRODUCTION Turning Point, Inc. is a privately held consulting and executive search firm that was founded in 1994 to provide quality, independent recruiting, executive search and consulting services to the financial services industry.

Over the years our focus has been primarily in the independent broker dealer and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) space.

Over the past 20 years we have filled most of the key, mission-critical management positions in our focused markets and have placed hundreds of financial advisors with quality firms.

Some of our client companies would include Raymond James Financial Services, Cambridge Investment Research, Securities America, NFP Securities, Advisor Group, AIQ, Transamerica Financial Advisors, Jonathan Pond LLC, Kalos Financial, Hanson McClain, and Empire Asset Management.

In tandem with our affiliates and strategic alliances, Turning Point, Inc. has established a unique customer service model that brings solutions and results to our valued clients. Our associates and affiliates have many years

of experience in the executive search and financial services industries. In addition, we are a member of the Banking and Financial Services Career Network, a nationwide network of over 90 executive search firms focused specifically on the financial services industry.

Currently, we have an additional focus of working in the Succession Planning arena where we are working on a couple of different types of projects under the SuccessorSearch® label: • Helping older financial advisors to identify and hire successors for their firms and • Helping growing organizations offer succession, continuity and affiliation opportunities to advisors who may not have a succession plan in place.

Our role in this process is to help you identify, qualify and attract quality advisors. We, in turn, work with strategic alliances outside of our firm that can structure and finalize the details between the parties that we have brought together. We look forward to growing this part of our business to meet the substantial needs of the 60-70% of advisors who do not have a succession plan in place.

"Turning Point Inc. has played a major role in the growth we have experienced at Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. Mitch brought to us our Chief Operating Officer and other key members of our management team. We have had a great working relationship with Turning Point Inc. and value the contribution they have made to our success."

Eric Schwartz, CEO Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.

“Mitch delivered the highest caliber group of candidates for a strategic positioning one of our Florida firms. He certainly knows the market and is well connected.”

Elliot Holtz, EVP Marketing & Firm Operations National Financial Partners

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CORE VALUES SERVICE = COMMUNICATION + RESPONSIVENESS Our goal is to serve clients today in a manner that will earn us an invitation to serve them again tomorrow. We listen to our clients to understand their needs and problems before prescribing a solution.

We consistently and proactively keep our clients and candidates updated on the progress and status of each search and respond promptly to our clients’ and candidates’ communications.

COMPETENCE = EXPERIENCE + KNOWLEDGE We bring a high level of expertise to all client engagements - over 60 years of successful experience in executive search and the industry we serve. Additionally, we belong to two national networks of executive search firms that give us access to additional candidates, resources and expertise.

We regularly attend and participate in industry conferences, forums and educational events to stay current on news and developments in the marketplace.

VALUE = QUALITY + CHOICE + FLEXIBILITY + AFFORDABILITY We believe the candidates we identify, assess, and place have a significant impact on the success of our client companies. The results we deliver far surpass the investment the client has made. We deliver the hard-to-find talent that best meets our clients’ needs, not necessarily the talent that can be delivered the fastest. We offer our clients a variety of competitive pricing options and services. We stand behind our work by offering a replacement guarantee of up to 6 months..

INTEGRITY = TRUST +HONESTY + “KEEPING THE PROMISE” We believe that the Golden Rule is the only way by which to conduct business.

We only accept assignments that are within our areas of expertise that we can complete successfully. We practice full disclosure to both candidates and client companies. We don’t solicit employees from our client companies. And we tenaciously protect the confidentiality of both our clients and candidates.

"Securities Service Network used Turning Point Inc to fill a key management position. Mitch and his team are consultative in their approach, sharing invaluable insight in the process. Turning Point Inc. is responsive and easy to work with. They communicate on a regular basis during the search and have found us some outstanding candidates. I certainly would use Turning Point again."

Wade Wilkinson, President & CEO Securities Service Network, Inc.

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TURNING POINT - OUR ADVANTAGES As our name implies we believe that every successful professional that we place at your firm can result in a TURNING POINT for YOU in terms of efficiency, revenue generation, profitability and long term success.

We have worked with many companies in the industry and have a good grasp of the cultural differences that they represent.

The CEO of our firm owned a retail RIA and spent over 10 years on the retail side of the industry before entering into corporate management. He has “been there and done that.” This street level knowledge of the industry makes a big difference.

Working in major financial services firms such as Raymond James, Prudential and The Travelers has enabled our associates to have an intimate understanding of the inner workings of a financial services firm.

We have worked directly in the industry with the people whose positions we fill.

We belong to several industry organizations in both the executive search as well as financial services industries and keep current on the latest trends and issues that affect our clients.

While small and high-touch by design, through our affiliations with two national recruiting networks, we are able to expand our reach and resources on a national level.

The people you meet from our firm are the same ones who will conduct your search. We don’t hand off your search to a junior associate.

Our unique and customized Candidate Questionnaire Process gives you the documented insights you need on each finalist candidate.

We are able to source from a wide variety of companies because, unlike many large public search firms, we are not blocked by numerous client conflicts.

We offer you a 180 day guarantee on all retained searches.

As a retained search firm our fee structure is flexible and competitive.

We will work with you on a % of compensation or a negotiated flat fee basis depending on the nature of the project. And the payment terms of our fees put the onus on us to perform.

Our services are also available on an unbundled consulting basis for firms who prefer to complete part of the search process themselves.

TURNING POINT - OUR SERVICES • R etained executive search for mission-critical positions • S uccessorSearch® • T argeted financial advisor recruiting projects • T argeted practice acquisition projects • C ontract Staffing Services • S elected consulting projects on recruiting and staffing initiatives Selected speaking engagements Sample Search Assignments The TPI team has deep experience in conducting senior and executive level search assignments for a variety

of clients ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 500. On behalf of these clients, the TPI team has successfully completed searches spanning the full spectrum of functional disciplines. A sampling of these completed searches includes such diverse assignments as: • Chief Operations Officer • President/CEO • Chief Operating Officer/COO • Chief Compliance Officer/ Compliance Director • VP/SVP - Operations • VP/SVP - Sales and Public Relations • Vice President Business Development • Vice President Marketing Communications • District Sales Director • CFO/Controller Additional assignments would include: • Chief Marketing Officer • Regional Sales Director • Wholesaler • Branch Office Manager • Financial Consultant/Advisor • COO/Operations Manager • Branch Manager • National Sales Manager

“We have used Turning Point Inc. on many occasions to fill key positions at Advisor Group.

Mitch and his team filled positions in our regional management, marketing and compliance departments--each one with a high-quality candidate. Turning Point is always responsive and easy to work with. They communicate on a regular basis during the search, and do a terrific job at matching candidates to the position and the corporate culture here at Advisor Group.

I certainly would use Turning Point again, and I can recommend their services.”

R. Lawrence Roth, CEO formerly with the Advisor Group

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• National Recruiting Manager • Recruiter/Business Development • Relationship Manager TURNING POINT – OUR SEARCH PROCESS We strive to get a clear understanding of your culture, current business issues being faced, and strategic plan, and how our search efforts and the candidates hired will integrate with this plan. Here are the steps in a typical retained executive search: • We help you to develop a detailed job description or performance profile for the position in question. We believe that it is very important to define superior performance and the expectations and desired deliverables for each position.

• In sourcing candidates for the target position we conduct extensive fresh research to identify potential candidates from both passive and active candidate data pools.

• While recruiting, we develop a sense of the validity of the compensation offered for the target position. This information, along with any other market intelligence we obtain, is provided to you throughout the search assignment.

• After interviewing a wide variety of candidates, we narrow the field down to 3-5 semi-finalists and the candidates are issued a “homework assignment” to complete. They each complete a questionnaire specifically crafted for this particular search. Here they answer some in-depth questions regarding their ability to perform the key deliverables required for this position and they, in effect, describe in detail why they believe they are uniquely qualified for the position.

• We present written profiles of viable candidates to you in accordance with the agreed timelines. Profiles will include: * Resume * Interview Summary including compensation history * Custom Candidate Questionnaire * Summary of candidate’s needs in a new position and company • We perform behavioral testing as requested.

• We assist in scheduling candidate/ client interviews and provide candidate feedback to our client throughout the interview process.

• We conduct formal reference checks, if requested, and present a written summary. We can also do background checks to include credit, criminal, and education.

• We facilitate/negotiate the employment offer with the selected candidate.

• Our Fee Structure is Flexible, Competitive, and Tailored to the Individual Assignment.

TURNING POINT – OUR RESOURCES • Our own proprietary database of over 25,000 industry contacts which we developed over the last 20 years. This includes corporate officers, centers of influence, advisors and candidates whose resumes we have stored.

• Other databases to which we subscribe that contain over 30,000 RIAs, 500,000 licensed advisors, and 5,000 broker dealers.

• The databases and other recruitment resources of two national recruiter networks: the Career Banking and Financial Services Network and Top Echelon Network.

• Several thousand 1st level connections on LinkedIn providing access to the names of millions of contacts

• Affiliation and association with numerous other industry consultants, wholesalers and centers of influence.

We Are Proud To Be Associated or Affiliated With the Following Professional Organizations • BFSCN is the oldest and largest association of independently owned search firms that have worked extensively in the Banking and Financial Services marketplace.

• Top Echelon Network is the nation’s leading network of multi-industry search firms.

• Tiburon Strategic Advisors is a boutique management consulting firm offering market research, strategy consulting and other related services to financial services firms.

• Since 1970, Kennedy Information has been the leading information source on professional services including management and IT consulting, executive recruiting and investor relations.

The primary aim of the Financial Planning Association is to be the community that fosters the value of financial planning and advances the financial planning profession.

“It’s all in whom you know isn’t it?

Mitch has been a friend for over 15 years. However, I had never used his services. We’d seen each other at conferences and meetings and he was always aware, connected and concerned that my firm was doing well.

I needed to bring in a Director of Operations to run my business so I could focus on what I love doing best - working with my clients. I called Mitch and within a few weeks he had given me three qualified candidates -one of whom, we hired. He made my hiring process painless.

Try Mitch at Turning Point, Inc. You’ll like him!”

Linda Lubitz, CEO The Lubitz Financial Group

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BACKGROUND Mitch Vigeveno - President & CEO Mitch Vigeveno is the founder of Turning Point, Inc. and has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Mitch has been a regional vice president for a company providing support services and products to broker-dealers. Prior to founding Turning Point, Inc. he was vice president of branch development for a division of Raymond James Financial.

Mitch received his BA degree from Brown University and holds the professional designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC). Mitch has been active as an officer, director, and member of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) since 1984. Mitch has been frequently interviewed and quoted in a variety of industry periodicals such as Registered Representative, On Wall Street, Investment Advisor & Investment News.

Mitch has completed executive search assignments for virtually every kind of an executive position in the brokerdealer and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) arena and, additionally, has helped hundreds of financial advisors to find a broker dealer or RIA that met their needs and those of their clients. Recently, Mitch

has helped a number of senior financial advisors find younger associates to take over their businesses as they exit.

Frank DiCicco - Recruiting Consultant Frank Dicicco has been in the financial services business for over 30 years. He has been a financial advisor, a branch manager, a wholesaler in the mutual fund arena, a director of branch development, and a regional director of recruitment for a number of independent broker dealers. Frank has worked on a variety of specialized projects at Turning Point finding specific financial advisors for unique opportunities. Frank completed studies toward his BA in Education at New York University and has held the Series 7, 63, 3, 5 15, and 8 securities licenses.

For further information contact: Mitch Vigeveno, CEO Turning Point Inc 23110 State Rd 54 #262 Lutz, FL 33549-6933 813-475-5525 Mitch@TPISearch.com www.tpisearch.com www.wealthmanagementjobs.com www.SuccessorSearch.com

“We have turned to the Turning Point team to fill Managing Principal positions here at Lincoln Financial Advisors, in multiple markets across the country.

We have found them to be the utmost professionals, consistently responsive, easy to work with, and most importantly we have been pleased with the quality of candidates we have received.

They communicate diligently during the search process and the candidates we’ve hired through them have proven to be excellent hires. I would not hesitate to use Steve and Turning Point again to fill any of our key hiring needs.”

Edwin R. Kerley, CFP, CLU, ChFC Managing Director

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Turning Point Inc 23110 State Rd 54 #262 Lutz, FL 33549-6933