Dan Richards’ April 1 exit from Dundee Wealth Management Inc. was no joke. The former CEO of Cartier Partners Financial Group Inc. says his job with the firm is complete. Richards is now in the process of putting together an independent research and marketing consultancy firm, which will operate under the name Strategic Imperatives.

“I feel quite good about what I was able to achieve at Cartier over the past two years,” says Richards, who led the firm through its integration with Dundee. “I think that ultimately we were successful helping the original investors in Cartier Partners recover their investment.” Richards’ departure from the firm is entirely amicable. “We have found in Dundee an excellent partner.”

Prior to joining Cartier, Richards ran his former consultancy firm, Marketing Solutions, for thirteen years. That firm was acquired by Rogers Media in 2001. He thinks the time is right to jump back into the market.

“I really think that the industry is at an inflection point right now,” he says. “Some of the traditional approaches to doing business are not working as well as they once did, and that’s true for both advisors and fund companies.”

Through Strategic Imperatives, Richards looks forward to helping industry players define a new landscape. “There are very big opportunities right now for anyone who is able to provide clear insight and leadership; to help advisors and firms figure out how they are going to deal with some of the challenges that have evolved over the last couple of years, in terms of finding some new rules of the game to play by.”

For the interim, Richards is operating Strategic Imperatives out of his existing office at Dundee. He expects to move into a new space some time in the months ahead.

The April 1 announcement will not be Richards’ last. “We’re looking at a number of opportunities right now,” he says. “My expectation is that in the next six months we’ll be more clearly defining some of the initiatives we will be pursuing.”