Advisor Transition & Onboarding Associate

Company Description

Kovack Securities, Inc. (KSI) and Kovack Advisors, Inc. (KAI), subsidiaries of Kovack Financial, LLC, are dedicated to empowering entrepreneurial financial professionals in building independent and competitive practices. Since its founding, the firm has focused on delivering resources, services, and training to help financial professionals efficiently manage their businesses while meeting client needs. With a flexible approach through their open product architecture and innovative fee-based programs, advisors are equipped to create tailored investment strategies. Kovack Financial Network emphasizes partnership, professionalism, and providing financial advice of the highest quality. The firm is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL, with leading-edge support provided by reputable clearing firms such as National Financial Services (NFS) and BNY's Pershing.

Role Description

Kovack Financial Network is seeking a highly organized and detail-oriented Advisor Transition & Onboarding Associate to support the successful onboarding and transition of financial advisors joining the firm. This individual will work directly with advisors, operations teams, compliance personnel, technology staff, and custodial partners to facilitate a smooth and efficient affiliation process.

This is a hybrid position based in Fort Lauderdale, FL , requiring a combination of in-office and remote work. Candidates should be located within commuting distance of the Fort Lauderdale headquarters and able to work on-site Tuesday - Thursday to support onboarding, training, and advisor transition activities.

The ideal candidate has previous experience in the financial services industry and is familiar with advisor onboarding, account opening, registration processes, and custodial platforms. Experience working with Fidelity Pershing , and advisor technology ecosystems is strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Coordinate onboarding and transition activities for newly affiliating financial advisors and their staff.
• Serve as a primary point of contact during the advisor onboarding and transition process.
• Assist advisors with gathering and organizing registration, licensing, compliance, and business information.
• Track and manage transition milestones, timelines, and outstanding requirements.
• Coordinate with Compliance, Operations, Account Services, Technology, Advisory, and Trading departments to ensure a seamless onboarding experience.
• Facilitate onboarding calls, training sessions, and transition meetings with advisors and home office personnel.
• Support advisor account transition activities, including ACAT transfers, account opening workflows, and custodial paperwork.
• Assist in reviewing advisor business practices, technology usage, and operational workflows to ensure proper onboarding and support
• Maintain onboarding records, documentation, and status reporting within firm systems.
• Help identify process improvements to streamline advisor onboarding and transition experiences.
• Provide ongoing support to newly affiliated advisors during their first several months with the firm.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field.
• 3+ years of experience in the financial services industry.
• Experience working with Financial Advisors in a Broker-Dealer or RIA Environment.

Strong understanding of:

• New account and ACAT processing
• Brokerage and advisory account structures
• Advisor registration and onboarding workflows

• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple advisor transitions simultaneously.
• Strong attention to detail and follow-through.

Technology Experience Preferred

Experience with one or more of the following platforms is highly desirable:

• Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive)
• Docupace
• Envestnet
• Wealthbox CRM
• Redtail
• Fidelity Wealthscape
• Pershing NetX
• Financial planning and reporting platforms such as eMoney, MoneyGuidePro

Benefits:

• Competitive Salary
• Additional licenses are also supported and paid for by the company
• PTO
• Healthcare, Vision, and Dental Insurance
• Short-Term Disability