Daily Upside founder launches Briardale Wealth with Mercer advisor

Patrick Trousdale, founder of The Daily Upside, launched Briardale Wealth, an RIA, with John Freemire, a wealth advisor at Mercer, targeting clients with $1 million to $7 million in investable assets, WealthManagement.com reported.

Freemire joins as managing director and founding advisor after a stretch as a wealth advisor at Mercer and an earlier stint at The Motley Fool, which owns a stake in The Daily Upside. Trousdale began his career as an investment banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Guggenheim Securities and has never worked as an advisor. He stepped down as CEO of The Daily Upside in July, handing the role to Chief Operating Officer McKay Murphy while becoming president.

For advisors, Briardale is a live comparison on acquisition spend. Trousdale said the firm will invest in content marketing, including newsletters and campaigns on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, and that he does not believe in client acquisition databases or referral software. "It's going to come down to the campaign you are running and the way you are communicating to the customer," he said. A principal setting a marketing budget can watch whether newsletters and campaigns on those platforms produce a book at the $1 million to $7 million level, against the lead databases Briardale is skipping.

Mercer, the firm Freemire leaves, has been announcing deals: Private Wealth Daily's Deal Tracker shows two Mercer deals in the past 12 months, both as buyer, the latest on Nov. 5. Moves Wire records seven Mercer moves in the same period, most recently Cynthia Loh joining Mercer Advisors as chief platform officer on Nov. 3.

Freemire said Briardale's client communications will follow a structured planning calendar, with portfolio reviews early in the year.