Build, Grow & Transact: David Bahnsen on Building a $10.5B Business Worth Selling

David Bahnsen discusses building The Bahnsen Group from a 2015 Morgan Stanley breakaway with $600mm in client assets to $10.5B across 13 offices and 106 employees, with virtually all growth organic. He covers how content and thought leadership became a source of new business, why the firm reinvested in people and services, and why he sold the firm to longtime partner Hightower.

1. Bahnsen left Morgan Stanley in 2015 with eight people and $600mm in client assets, motivated by what he calls freedom.
2. The Bahnsen Group grew to $10.5B in assets, 106 employees and 13 offices, almost entirely through organic growth.
3. David's Dividend Cafe reaches roughly 35,000 subscribers organically, and the firm paired content with investment in people and services to deliver the client experience.
4. The sale to Hightower after more than a decade in its ecosystem gives resources for technology, HR, supervision and future inorganic growth while Bahnsen maintains control over the brand, P&L, strategy and client experience.