Richardson partners Financial Ltd. is marking its third anniversary this November with the close of its second break-even month and the promise of ongoing profitability. For a firm celebrating a shift in focus from building infrastructure to growing and managing $6 billion in client assets, there is a lot of icing on the cake — and there’s even a new CEO to cut the first slice.

“I came into the firm as chief operating officer, then president, then CEO. So, for me, it’s business as usual,” says Sue Dabarno, who was recently given her new title. “Nothing has changed other than the recognition that Richardson Financial Group, our holding company, is growing so rapidly that everyone is taking on more responsibility and getting very focused on what they need to do.”

Entering her fourth year with Richardson Partners, Dabarno will continue to make the day-to-day decisions, ensure business is executed according to strategy and organize the management team of the independent Winnipeg-based wealth-management firm, which specializes in the financial needs of high net-worth clients. (Sandy Riley, who has served as CEO since Mike Miller left the firm a year ago, remains as chairman of the board. His bailiwick is the holding company.)

“We have a lot more opportunities today because clients have trusted us with their assets,” Dabarno says. “Many suppliers who provide us with management or research or new product initiatives approach us. So, we have to make sure we continue to do due diligence in selecting the right client solutions.”

After the success of the firm’s private-equity offerings as well as its hedging strategy, Richardson is ready to reveal another product early in 2007.

“With the Richardson network, we have a quite a bit of access to some of these opportunities in the energy sector,” Dabarno says. “We hope to introduce some flow-through shares with our name on them in the first quarter.”

Also in the works are real estate products. Dabarno not sure when they’ll be ready to launch, but she’s prepared to wait for the right opportunity. Until then, Richardson will continue to build on one of its core areas: family wealth planning.

“From that core competency, we’re building more knowledge and understanding of philanthropic strategies,” says Dabarno. “It’s another service we need to provide to our clients. We’re taking that core family wealth planning and expanding it into specific areas for which we think there’s a demand.”

With a focus on growth, however, come growing pains. The firm has empty office space in Calgary and Montreal ready for use, and negotiations are underway for more space across the country. But finding the advisors to fill the space is no simple task, Dabarno says.

“Our challenge is always to acquire new investment advisors, to make sure they’re the right people and the right fit,” she says.

Richardson currently has 46 advisor teams across Canada, with the goal of increasing that number to 150 teams over time. In the past year, the company hasn’t brought on as many advisors as Dabarno had hoped. Finding them is not the problem, she says, but rather it is finding advisors at a time when it is right for them to move to the firm.

Richardson attracts seasoned advisors with $100 million in assets under management, who specialize in the needs of clients with more than $100,000 to invest. Richardson advisors own equity in their company and they play a big role in deciding the direction in which the firm is headed.

“Our advisors are in front of the client, so they really help us put the priorities together on the business side,” Dabarno says. “Our investment advisor partners are aligned with members of the management team, who initiate some projects. We have an investment advisor on our executive management committee. Two are on our board of directors. We do things differently than other firms.”

Although careful recruitment has ensured complete advisor retention, management has been less then static. Dabarno attributes the recent release of two branch managers to restructuring, saying that, as in any firm, jobs change when it’s not always possible to match the needs of the management team with the needs of the markets.

About those who chose to leave on their own accord — such as chief operating officer Bruce Ferman, who left for a post at Dundee Wealth Management Inc. — Dabarno says their departures were bittersweet for Richardson.

@page_break@“We hate to lose people who have been with us from the beginning. But, by the same token, it’s an indication of our success that people can move forward and build their own careers,” she says. “And sometimes it’s healthy to have new light shed on your firm. If you always have the same people, you may not see the areas that you could improve.”

Ben MacInnes is taking over the post of chief operating officer, which will allow Dabarno to spend more time with clients and in developing business opportunities.

But the fresh insight new managers can provide can come at a cost, says Mark Lyon, a former branch manager who left the firm to pursue opportunities at TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice. He sees stability as a challenge facing Richardson.

“There have been a lot of changes in senior management since the firm began — which can be expected and is a natural part of a firm’s evolution,” he says.

The challenge for anybody in a senior management position, he adds, “is to carry a consistent vision, and show stability and patience for those individuals who have already made the choice to be there.”

Although some have come and gone, Dabarno has been a permanent fixture at Richardson. She began her relationship as a consultant in 2002 after her departure from Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. , following the sale of its retail division to CIBC Wood Gundy. (Her six-year stint at Merrill began with Midland Walwyn Inc. , which was then acquired by Merrill in 1998). By the summer of 2003, she was Richardson’s first chief operating officer.

It has been a steady rise since then, both for the firm and for Dabarno.

Although the CEO post is probably the last position Dabarno will hold in her career — she worked in the banking industry for 23 years before she switched to the brokerage world — she says experience tells her Richardson will see many more Novembers.

“With any business plan I have ever built and any model I have ever looked at, I always look at what the assets are, what the return on assets is and what is a reasonable level of expenses. I really don’t worry about the detail in between, because there are lots of variables in the business,” says Dabarno, who dismisses the possibility that all goals may not be reached.

“I know in the year 2013 we will be able to say we are in line, but things change along the way,” she adds. “For example, we have seen better asset growth than we had in the model. We saw less movement in investment advisors than we hoped. But they offset one another.

“I always say that, at the end of the day, the proof is in the numbers. And the numbers are directly in line.” IE