Finding the Right Niche (and Serving It Well) — What Makes Panoramic Financial Tick
From a young age, Andrew McFadden was drawn to helping others manage their money responsibly.
In the 1990s, several members of his family received poor—and in some cases, unethical—financial advice. Frustrated by how easy it was for “advisors” to take advantage of their clients, he resolved to enter the RIA industry to help others avoid similar treatment. In 2014, after two years at a larger RIA, McFadden broke away and formed Panoramic Financial.
A speaking engagement at UCSF Fresno sparked McFadden’s interest in serving doctors and other clinicians. At first, he cast a wide client net, targeting medical professionals writ large. “I had some early hesitation about picking a lane,” he remembers. “But after hearing Michael Kitces talk about the importance of the niche, I went all in.” A year after launching, McFadden revamped his website and doubled down on his new target demographic: young physicians.
Narrowing his niche allowed McFadden to gain a deeper understanding of his client. Newly-minted attending physicians, for instance, had both significant student debt—on average, around $300K—and respectable six-figure salaries, which meant they needed help establishing a debt repayment plan, minimizing their tax burden, and responsibly investing their funds. With a few well-placed ads, several more speaking engagements, and word-of-mouth referrals, PF earned a reputation as a place where young physicians could access genuine, personalized, and impactful financial advice.
Saving Time (and Heartache) — Switching from Schwab to Altruist
In 2017, McFadden was custodying assets with TD Ameritrade.
This arrangement worked well for several years. When the transition to Schwab went smoothly, he felt confident in his new custody partner. Then, things started to fall apart. “Schwab’s promises went unfulfilled,” McFadden notes. “The tech stack was old. Everything was discombobulated—if a process should have taken two steps, Schwab made us do it in ten. I felt like I was going back in time.”
In 2021, McFadden hired two new associate advisors, and by 2023, the three of them decided to look for a new custodian. Altruist—with no AUM minimums or platform fees, a modern technology stack, and high-touch customer service—caught their eye. “If Altruist had shortcomings,” McFadden recalls, “it was clear they were working on them. Everything was so much better than Schwab—it was absolutely worth it to make the change.” First, the three advisors moved their own accounts. Then, they announced the switch to their clients, giving them two months to ask questions.
“The feedback on Altruist was so positive,” McFadden says. “Everyone likes the app, even our older clients. The platform makes everything so much easier, there’s a real community at Altruist—which we absolutely didn’t have before, at Schwab—and best of all is the time saved. At TDA, we spent ten hours a week on the phone with our custodian. With Schwab, it jumped to twenty. Now, with Altruist, it’s one hour. My wife keeps saying, ‘You never talk on the phone anymore.’ I think she likes it.”
Marketing-Led Growth — The Future With Altruist
This year marks Panoramic Financial’s ten-year anniversary.
By focusing on a niche clientele—and serving them exceptionally well—McFadden was able to grow to nearly $100M in assets under advisement. Now, at his firm’s ten-year anniversary, he’s looking at what the next ten years will bring. “To date, I’ve put most of my effort behind really understanding young physicians, and helping them grow their wealth. Now that I’ve found my niche, I want to really dial in my marketing motion, so we can take Panoramic to the next level.”
Today, McFadden is focused on determining the PF’s ideal client funnel, with tactics like content marketing, Google reviews, YouTube videos, speaking engagements at West Coast residency programs, and building relationships with local physician communities. By staying true to his vision of genuinely helping others manage their money, and doubling down on his niche, McFadden is on course for another strong ten years at the helm.
