IFG’ s Mission: Serving A Community Of Independent Elite Advisors
NDEPENDENT FINANCIAL GROUP( IFG) NOW RANKS AS THE SECONDlargest privately held independent broker-dealer by gross revenue in the Financial Advisor Magazine broker-dealer ranking, but the firm is not content to rest on its laurels. IFG plans to continue to grow strategically over the next few years to reach the $ 1 billion mark while maintaining the unique culture that has defined the firm.
But that growth will not be for just anyone. San Diego-based IFG has more than 650 independent advisors in more than 400 locations nationwide and remains intentional about the advisors it brings into the firm. IFG is focused on attracting elite, growth-minded advisors who share its commitment to exceptional client service and are drawn to what the firm calls its three E’ s: Exclusive Experience, Elite Advisors and Elevated Independence.
At the center of IFG’ s growth are Founder & CEO Scott Heising and Co- Founder & CMO David Fischer, who have built the firm with a shared vision for a more elevated independent advisor experience. Coming off a strong first half of recruiting, Fischer sat down with Financial Advisor Magazine to discuss what’ s driving that momentum, why accomplished advisors are choosing IFG and how the firm plans to build on that success in its next phase of growth.
David Fischer, Co-Founder & CMO( L) & Scott Heising, Founder & CEO( R)
Financial Advisor( FA): What has changed about IFG’ s recruiting process recently?
Fischer: We stopped waiting for growth to find us. We’ ve always been selective about how we grow, but this year we made a real investment in becoming much more proactive about finding the caliber of advisor we know thrives at IFG.
We added four regional recruiters across the country and two internal recruiters focused on larger opportunities. That’ s given us a much stronger presence in the marketplace and helped us get the IFG story in front of successful advisors who may not have known much about us before.
And we’ re seeing that investment pay off. What excites me isn’ t just the growth, it’ s who we’ re attracting. These are established, growth-minded advisors who have already built successful businesses and are thinking carefully about what’ s next and what they need from the right partner to get there.
We also grew our onboarding team from three people to eight because we treat the decision to join IFG as the start of our responsibility to that advisor, not the finish line. Moving a successful practice is a big decision with a lot of operational detail involved, and we want every advisor to feel supported throughout that transition.
Recruiting has never been about volume for us. It’ s about finding the right advisors and making sure the experience we promise is the experience they receive from the moment they choose IFG.
FA: What does IFG offer to advisors that is so attractive and convinces them to join the platform?
Fischer: Independence without the trade-off. That’ s really at the heart of what we’ ve built. Successful advisors shouldn’ t have to choose between running their business their way and having exceptional support behind them. At IFG, we don’ t think that should be a choice.
That’ s what we mean by Elevated Independence. We support advisors in structuring their businesses in a way that best serves their clients, and we don’ t push proprietary products / platforms or limit their choices. We want advisors choosing solutions because they make sense for their clients, not because they make sense for IFG.
Independence by itself isn’ t enough, though. Our Exclusive Experience means personalized support, real access to leadership and people who actually know our advisors and understand their businesses. We back that with a compensation structure that’ s transparent and highly competitive, and that rewards advisors as their businesses grow.
Then there’ s our Elite Advisors, the community itself. We’ ve built a familyfocused culture from the beginning. We want to know our advisors beyond their production numbers. We create opportunities for spouses and families to be part of our events, and for advisors to build genuine relationships with one another and with our team. That’ s something you can really feel when you spend time with IFG.
Independence, experience and community. When you bring those three things together, you create something pretty special, and I think that’ s really resonating with the advisors we’ re talking to. FA: What type of advisors is IFG looking for? Fischer: We’ re looking for advisors who have already built something strong and know there’ s another level ahead of them with the right partner and the right people around them.
We’ re generally targeting advisors generating at least $ 600,000 in annual revenue, but the number is only part of the equation. What we’ re really looking at is how they run their business, the level of service they provide their clients, whether they’ re motivated to grow and whether they value the kind of culture we’ ve built.
We’ re selective on purpose. IFG has one of the highest average production levels per advisor in the industry, with our average advisor producing approximately $ 650,000 annually. We were also ranked among the Top 10 for Highest Assets Increase Overall, another reflection of the caliber and growth of the advisors we support.
We’ ve built a boutique, high-end broker-dealer around accomplished advisors who expect a high level of individualized, white-glove support, and we want to continue raising that bar.
But being selective doesn’ t mean losing the family-oriented culture that has always been important to us. You can see that in the engagement across
26 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2026 WWW. FA-MAG. COM