John Anderson

One Year at Diversified: Living Our Values and Looking Ahead

One of the best things about LinkedIn is the reminders. It nudges you to look back at where you were, and in this case, a year ago to reflect on what’s changed, and appreciate your journey.

It was about this time last year that I wrote my first blog as part of the Diversified team—“From the Office to the Couch and Back“—where I shared why I made the move to Head of Advisor Growth and Engagement. I talked about how I had known the partners for years, admired their vision, and was drawn to the culture they had built. Now, after one full year, I can say with absolute certainty: that joining Diversified was the right move.

More Than Just Numbers

Sure, the numbers are impressive. $2+ billion in AUM, 1,715 households served, six offices in five states (plus a tax office)1. Growth like that doesn’t happen by accident. But numbers alone don’t define a firm. Culture does.

To me, the real reason Diversified stands out is because of its core values:

  • Accountability – Own your role. Do what you say you’ll do.
  • A Caring Culture – Support one another. Look out for clients and teammates alike.
  • Clients Are Everything – Every decision we make is with them in mind.
  • Unwilling to Accept the Status Quo – Growth and improvement are non-negotiable.
  • Have Fun & Get Stuff Done – Work hard, enjoy the ride, and make a difference.

Do You Know Your Firm’s Core Values?

In my 30+ years in the industry, I’ve worked with countless advisory firms, from solo practices to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. One thing is clear—the best firms know exactly what they stand for.

If I walked into your office today and asked every team member to recite your firm’s core values, could they? Would they know why your firm does what it does—beyond just growing AUM?

Maybe it’s time to sit down as a team and have those conversations. Not just about what you do, but who you are. What do you stand for? What won’t you compromise on? What makes your firm different?

At Diversified, I saw those values in action this year when we walked away from potential acquisitions. On paper, they might have looked good. But culture fit matters, and if the values don’t align, the deal doesn’t happen.

Recognized for a Reason

The commitment to culture and values isn’t just something we talk about internally, it’s been recognized industry-wide. In 2024 alone, Diversified was named:

🏆 Top RIA – Financial Advisor Magazine2
🏆 Best RIA to Work for Financial Advisors – Financial Planning3
🏆 Best Places to Work – Philadelphia Business Journal4
🏆 Best Financial Firm – USA Today5

These awards don’t just reflect growth, they reflect culture. They tell us we’re doing something right.

The Best Is Yet to Come

Looking back on this first year, I couldn’t be more excited about where we’re headed. The momentum is strong, the team is incredible, and the vision for the future is clearer than ever.

For those of you who are building your own firms, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your own core values. Are you living them every day? Are they guiding your decisions? If not, it’s never too late to realign and redefine what your firm stands for.

As for Diversified? The best is yet to come.

Let’s make 2025 a year of purpose, growth, and impact—together.

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  1. Figures as of January 2025. ↩︎
  2. Diversified was named a top RIA by Financial Advisor Magazine in July 2024, August, 2023, July 2022, putting Diversified in the top 1.5% of RIAs in the United States. This ranking may be viewed here. 
    Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2024, 2023 and 2022 RIA Survey & Ranking report is an annual survey that ranks firms based on their total discretionary and nondiscretionary assets reported on their Form ADV and the percentage growth in assets. Diversified did not pay to be included in these results. View full disclosure here and below.
    Investment News recognition is based on years in business and numbers of employees, is independently surveyed, and does not imply skill. View disclosure below.  Criteria can be found here.
    Financial Advisor Magazine’s 2024, 2023, 2022, RIA Survey & Ranking report is an annual survey that ranks firms based on their total discretionary and nondiscretionary assets reported on their Form ADV and the percentage growth in assets. View full disclosure here.  ↩︎
  3. Diversified was named as a best RIA to work for by Financial Planning in 2024, results here. Financialplanning.com ranked this list using Best Companies, and surveyed the companies directly regarding firms’ leadership, culture, pay and benefits, training, work environment, engagement, communications and other factors. Separately, Best Companies evaluated each firm’s workplace policies, practices, benefit programs, philosophy, systems and demographics. They then combined measurements from the survey and evaluation to calculate an overall score for each firm. Diversified did not pay a fee to be included in this ranking. ↩︎
  4. Diversified is also named as a Best Place to Work in Philadelphia per the Philadelphia Business Journal in July, 2024 and 2023 for the period covering the prior year. Diversified did pay a registration fee to be included in this award to cover the cost of the employee surveys and this award was based upon employee surveys of local Philadelphia area employees. Results may be found here. ↩︎
  5. USA Today has listed Diversified as a Best Financial Advisory Firm. Diversified is ranked 19th on the list of 500, and contributing factors to the ranking include assets under management, growth and recommendations from clients and peers. Diversified was also ranked 7th in the AUM category for assets between 1-5 billion. USA Today 2024 Best Financial Advisory Firms report is an annual survey that ranks companies based on AUM (assets under management), growth and recommendations from clients and peers. Data is obtained via Statista. Diversified did not pay a fee to be included. This ranking was released on April 24, 2024 and covers the time period of April 2023-2024. The award provider is USA Today based on data from Statista. Criteria for the award includes RIA, US based, AUM growth and client/peer recommendations.
    Use of Third Party Rankings
    Neither rankings and/or recognition by unaffiliated rating services, publications, or other organizations, nor the achievement of any designation or certification, should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if the Registrant is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Rankings published by magazines, and others, generally base their selections exclusively on information prepared and/or submitted by the recognized adviser. Rankings are generally limited to participating advisers. No ranking or recognition should be construed as a current or past endorsement of the Registrant by any of its clients. The Registrant did not pay a fee to disseminate this information, although these publications have a financial incentive (paid subscriptions) to publish such information, and the Registrant may pay a fee to subscribe to such publications. The Registrant’s Chief Compliance Officer, David Levy, remains available to address any questions regarding rankings and/or recognitions, including providing the criteria used for any reflected ranking. ↩︎

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