Business Development's 2026 Update on Covert Operations

Advisers New to CFD in 2026

Name	YTD Production
Joey Bates	$37,850.64
Michael Gray	$1,545.33
Wyatt Lalonde	$38,160.74
Mark Magruder	$32,754.77
Gary Oie	$69,735.59
Angel Sotomayor	$10,878.91
Brian Carlson	—
Bob Kretz	—

Feeling good about William Cannon.

Serving Advisers Since 1982

What's Happening in Maine?

Serving Advisers Since 1982

More Importantly, CFD is Growing in Maine

Jake Oliver joined CFD in 2023, producing $34,016.61
In 2025, Jake produced $89,495.32 — a 163% increase
YTD, Jake has produced $86,837.32, on pace for $173,674.64 — a 410.5% increase from year one
Damian Smith joined CFD in 2023 as a brand new adviser with $0 in historical production
In 2025, Damian produced $23,422.90
YTD, Damian has produced $23,397.39, on pace for $46,794.78

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Serving Advisers Since 1982

Competitive Landscape for Recruiting Independent Financial Advisers

Transition Incentive/Assistance War

Cetera 150bps on books 60%+ advisory on forgivable note
Big firms: Raymond James 100%+, LPL 100%+, AMPF 125%, Kestra 100%+, CIR 85-100%
2022: 30%, 2024: 50%, rising

Serving Advisers Since 1982

EVERYONE attempted to poach Commonwealth Advisers

For the advisers who did not accept their retention offer by LPL (most were just 30%–50%), the top three landing places were:

Raymond James — 33%
Kestra — 19%
Cambridge — 11%

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Major Announcements

LPL: Fees lowered, waived at $250M AUM
OSAIC: 4bps, waived at $500M AUM
Multiple payout options, increased payouts
Retention/Acquisition:
- Raymond James (affiliation/equity/notes)
- Kestra (Bluespring)
- Others (Cash+Salary)

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Putting CFD in a Position to Continue Growth

What Data Tells Us About Current Adviser Priorities

92% of advisers/execs would switch firms over bad technology; 44% already have
For most established advisers, transition assistance/cash is paramount — particularly the ability to buy them out and help with continuity to new adviser(s)
Culture, in particular relationships with compliance, remains a priority
Knowing the "partner" is an intangible

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Where CFD Already Wins

Excel at personal relationships, including with executive leadership and compliance
Concierge-level service via 3:1 adviser-to-staff ratio and in-house money management options
Compliance team that looks to be progressive and identify ways to help advisers achieve their end goals
Pay — Adviser money delivered as received*

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Reframing How We Deliver This Messaging

Advisers roll right through the fluff in digital ads and don't open messages with similar fluff
- Lose language like "not just a number" and similar language unless speaking to existing advisers
Number-driven people are pulled in by hard, clear value propositions
- Give real numbers and deliver in a way that makes us the pink unicorn in the crowd

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Example 1 — Support Line

0 minutes = Current Adviser Support Line hold time at CFD Companies.

That would seem to indicate a home office team that excels in speed and efficiency… or a phone tree that makes people give up.

The reality is much simpler. It's core to our philosophy to ensure enough humans employed to serve advisers so they don't spend time on hold. What would you do with extra time?

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Example 2 — Support Tickets

0 = Number of support tickets submitted by CFD advisers to the home office this quarter.

That's a little disingenuous. We don't have a support ticketing queue; we just have personal relationships with our financial advisers.

The average person will spend 1-5 years waiting in queue in lifetime (PR-agency consumer survey). Why should your broker/dealer and RIA take more of your life away? We would feel guilty doing that… for real.

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Example 3 — Compliance

Example A

Dear Finis Consilium, CFA

We have reviewed your request. You CANNOT do that.

Love, Team Compliance - Let's Work Together!

Example B

Dear Finis Consilium, CFA

We have finished an initial review of your request. We would like some additional clarity, particularly about what you are hoping to accomplish as an end goal. We have put a link below for you to schedule a call with us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to figuring this out with you.

Love, CFD Compliance

p.s. We have included a picture of your compliance team, just in case you miss us as much as we miss you.

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Branding, Growth and Recruiting Strategy Refresh

Multiple Channel Approach

Third-party marketing
Grow voices of CFD — Brent and recruiters
- 4-week LinkedIn Sprint for Brent voice launched this week
Performance PR

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Three Parallel Channels

Performance PR Overview

Track 1A: Major Media Performance PR — Articles in WealthManagement, Forbes, Bloomberg, placed via affiliate networks (Impact, AWIN, Sovrn Commerce). Pay only when articles generate leads.
Track 1B: CPA Networks — MaxBounty & Perform[cb]. Free to join. Thousands of affiliates actively promoting. Pay per lead.
Track 2: Creator Sponsorships — Newsletters, podcasts, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok. Pay flat-fee per placement. Reach advisor audiences.

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Track 1A: Major Media

The play: Partner via affiliate networks — Impact, AWIN, Sovrn Commerce — to place content in outlets like WealthManagement, Forbes, and Bloomberg. We only pay when content drives an actual lead.
Why it works: A story in Forbes has institutional weight. Pre-written, compliance-approved, zero work for the publication.

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Track 1B: CPA Networks

The play: Free to join. Networks promote our offer to their entire affiliate base — managed affiliate armies working on a performance basis. We only pay when they deliver.
MaxBounty: 30,000+ affiliates, financial services focus
Perform[cb]: Flexible payout models (CPL, CPA, CPS)

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Track 2: Creator Sponsorships

The play: Creators reach audiences major media can't. We buy reach to people already following finance/business creators, at a flat fee per placement.
Channels: Newsletters, Podcasts, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok

Serving Advisers Since 1982

The Goal

"We measure everything. We scale what works. We kill what doesn't."

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Transition Improvements

Continue to iterate on the workflows
Information access and dissemination greatly improved already
Evaluate other options
Demo

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Concluding Inflection Points

Agile Evolution

BizDev as an example
Value proposition is real but so is the competitive disadvantage
As we continue to deliver, we must also begin to identify ways in which we can become more competitive in:
- Transition Assistance — Additional Rev / Reallocated Rev / Creative Financing
- Fee Compression at Scale — Our biggest threat to retention and a major hurdle in recruiting
- Unified/Cohesive Technology — On adviser AND client side - discussions need to be happening

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Revisiting SuperFans

Our biggest wins consistently involve referrals - adviser, vendor, personal network
We need to find more ways to trigger emotional connection with our advisers - cards/social call outs/intentional thank yous/apparel - similar to KA
Everyone hunt for stories that we put on blast - adviser stories / vendor stories / staff stories
Check Ins - either leverage Team CFD or a cycle for executive leadership

Serving Advisers Since 1982

Challenge the Status Quo and Continue to be Progressive

Must Remain Tech Forward

78% of advisers* state failing to adopt AI within 3-5 years puts them at a competitive disadvantage (InspereX)
82% of advisers* plan to use AI specifically for middle- and back-office processes (eMoney Advisor)
70% of all advisers* actively use AI, rising to 84%* among those managing over $351M (InspereX)
63% of independent advisers* currently use AI, primarily in early experimentation phases (Charles Schwab)

The Marketing Advantage

70% of financial services marketers* are actively increasing their budgets for social media advertising and digital display (Innovid / Mediaocean 2026 Outlook)
89% of financial firms are increasing investments in influencer marketing to humanize their digital presence (Innovid / Mediaocean 2026 Outlook)
83% of consumers prioritize reading online reviews and evaluating an adviser's digital reputation when choosing a professional (Wealthtender Study)

Serving Advisers Since 1982

"Businesses will fall into two categories - those who are great at AI and those who went out of business because they didn't understand AI"

~ Mark Cuban on the Good Investor Podcast

Thank You

and you're welcome