Designed for financial professionals, Advisor Perspectives’ new premium membership service lets subscribers browse, white-label and share content from a robust library of articles, commentaries, market summaries and more created by leading industry experts. Members also have the ability to hand-pick their favorite articles from Advisor Perspectives and curate their own personal libraries.
RIA Independence
This Year’s Top-Ranked Software Products
Here is the just released our 2022 T3/Inside Information Software Survey. It ranks, by market share, the leading software solutions in advisory-firm tech stacks in 35 different categories.
SEC Staff to Investment Advisors: Fiduciary is “Extraneous”
The SEC staff has issued a statement saying to investment advisers that their fiduciary status is “extraneous.”
NewsLetter - Vol 15, No. 1 - March 2022
The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes(Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), Harald’s initials.
Ask Brad: Why You Shouldn’t Take an Upfront Bonus Check for Changing Firms
Consider the upfront bonus checks often paid to advisors leaving one broker/dealer to join another. That “bonus” is not a bonus at all.
The Price Advisors Will Pay for Ignoring Flat Fees
I’ll take an order of flat fees (otherwise known as retainers) with a side of financial planning. Customers are lining up out the door for this.
Ask Brad: Are Broker/Dealers Dead?
Why do we still refer to so many firms in the advisory profession as broker/dealers?
Deciding Whether to Build an RIA or Join One
As a financial advisor looking to jump to independence as an RIA, you have two doors from which to choose.
SEC Charts New Strategy for a Best Interest Standard
On March 1, two unrelated Securities & Exchange Commission actions set out the state of its thinking on enforcing the “best interest” and “fiduciary” standards.
How Much Should I Pay My Staff?
I am interested in any guidelines on paying and compensating my assistants.
The Post-COVID Challenges Facing the Planning Profession
New data on consumer preferences and behaviors during COVID shows that the advisory firms face daunting challenges with respect to staffing, differentiation and – if they are private-equity backed – financing and maintaining profitability.
How to Choose a Broker-Dealer
Selecting a broker-dealer and an advisory firm is one of the most consequential decisions a financial professional faces. The wrong choice will lead to poor technology, unresponsive compliance departments and insufficient investment choices, which combine to prevent financial professionals from enabling their clients to reach their financial goals. The right broker-dealer will serve the financial professional and be in perfect alignment with their long-term strategy and goals.
Three advisors share why they chose their firm and the factors that have been critical to their operations including:
The Economics of Independence
The Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model is an opportunity to build your own brand and put your clients first – but how do the economics work? Is the transition to independence worth the cost? Does the earning potential compare to wirehouse and independent broker-dealer models?
In Schwab Advisor Services’ latest white paper, The Economics of Independence, we evaluate key areas related to the financial success of a firm. By comparing revenue potential, cost control, and business equity, you can have a better idea of how the economics of independence stack up against those of your current practice.
Download this white paper to explore the rewards of independence.
Five Ways the Right Partner Helps You Master Efficiency in Independence
Here are five ways the right partner can help you become more efficient in independence.
FINRA’s “Olympic” Disgrace: Its Reg BI Report
Here’s rough justice: FINRA’s February 9 disgraceful report on broker-dealer breaches of Reg BI came out just as the Winter Olympics was tarnished by the politics of the IOC.
Why Critics of Bucketing Strategies are Wrong
Advisors who reject bucketing strategies because they won’t invest as many as five years of assets in low-yielding securities are exposing clients to risks that threaten their standard of living in retirement.
Ask Brad: When is the Wirehouse Model Better than an RIA?
Some observers assume I tell everyone that they should go down the RIA path. That is not the case.
Which Region Will Get The Gold In 2022?
The near-10% correction in the S&P 500 Index and even larger drawdown in the Nasdaq have gotten a lot of attention this year.
Ask Brad: What Should RIAs Outsource?
If you transition your practice to the RIA model, it is not a matter of whether you will outsource, but how much.
Partner Perspectives 2022 Annual Outlook
Join our on-demand panel discussions with portfolio managers from all five of our affiliates exploring inflation and monetary policy, lessons from the supply chain breakdown, themes and opportunities in sustainable investing, opportunities in international investing, what’s next in growth vs. value, and what structural changes are here to stay.
Ask Brad: If College Football Was Run by a Broker/Dealer
Imagine if universities started crafting their coach’s compensation plans the way broker/dealers draft plans for their advisors.
Four Mega-Trends Shaping the 2022 Outlook and Beyond
The global macro environment is ripe for EM assets outperformance as a combination of stronger growth in China, the end of exceptionalism in the US and less uncertainty on US interest rates, lead to a strong backdrop for EM assets.
Fearless Forecasts for 2022
I predicted that 2021 would be a transitional year for managing an advisory business, and I expect this transition to accelerate and become fully formed in 2022. These are the changes that I envision for the coming year and beyond.
Advisor Perspectives Launches Subscription-Based Communication Solution for Financial Professionals
Designed for financial professionals, Advisor Perspectives’ new premium membership service lets subscribers browse, white-label and share content from a robust library of articles, commentaries, market summaries and more created by leading industry experts. Members also have the ability to hand-pick their favorite articles from Advisor Perspectives and curate their own personal libraries.
Unicorn Growth Blurs the Lines Between Private and Public Markets
Private capital will continue to be the financing source of choice for tech-driven unicorns for the foreseeable future.
An Overview of Defined-Outcome ETFs
As we head towards the close of 2021, advisors are faced with the challenge of managing client expectations amid record-high equity markets, dismal interest rates, and heightened threats of inflation. In addition to market headwinds, the gap in future return expectations between advisors and clients is at all-time highs.
The States Strike Back Against Reg BI
Last week’s off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey, Buffalo and Minneapolis bodes big trouble for the Biden administration. But overlooked was a report from state securities administrators stating, frankly, the opposite. The “states” supported administration efforts to strengthen the regulation of broker-dealers.
China’s new development strategy: greener, less unequal, more sustainable
The country’s leadership has designed a new development model, based on a ‘common prosperity’ philosophy, aimed at modernising the economy by improving the country’s future demographic profile via lowering inequality and promoting sustainable, even if slower, GDP growth which is both less dependent on financial leverage and in harmony with nature.
The SEC Has Abandoned Consumers
The SEC has totally abandoned its consumer protection mission, which is clearly spelled out in the law, and has been for at least the past 81 years.
Is Custody Free? The New Generation of Custodial Options for Advisors
There’s a fallacy among advisors that selecting a platform partner is an either/or proposition: a TAMP or an open-architecture solution. There is a middle ground. Some describe it as a “full-service portfolio management platform.” The team at SEI calls it a TechstodianSM.
Reducing the Compliance Burden for Advisors
With a history spanning nearly 40 years and a mission to cultivate meaningful relationships, Grove Point Financial, a boutique broker-dealer and RIA solution with large firm resources, serves over 500 financial professionals across the country and prides itself on its nimble, visionary, and forward-thinking approach to client service. It is a partnership of professionals who share the passion and strength to grow independent businesses that serve the clients and the communities in which they operate. Its highly engaged leadership listens to advisors and evolves to serve them better.
Client Retention Checklist for Breakaway Advisors
You’ve put time and effort into cultivating great relationships with your clients. As you prepare to leave the wirehouse for independence, learn how to mitigate risk, announce your departure, and create a seamless transition process for your assets.
The SEC Takes on Climate-Risk Disclosure
The SEC has launched a monumental rule-making effort to enact mandatory climate-risk disclosure; the goal is “consistency, comparability and reliability,” according to Chairman Gary Gensler. Let’s hope it succeeds and the same principles are applied to disclosing the roles and purposes of broker-dealers and investment advisors.
Ask Brad: What is a “Hybrid” RIA?
Ask 10 people in the advisory profession what a “hybrid” is and you will get 10 different answers.
Let’s Bury the Term “TAMP”
For almost three decades the acronym TAMP, for turnkey asset management program, has stuck. It’s time to kill it.
Rick Bookstaber on the Risk of a Leverage Liquidity Cascade
Rick Bookstaber warns that investors face the risk of a “leverage liquidity cascade,” where margin calls would trigger forced selling across asset classes.
China Stocks Meltdown – The Truth Be Told
Although the recent crash or meltdown of prominent China stocks was for the most part political in nature, valuation also played a role.
So, You Want to Break Away from Your Wirehouse—Now What?
Breaking away from your wirehouse is a life-changing decision. If you know it’s the best move for you and your clients, you’ve taken the first big step. We can help you with what comes next. Download our guide to learn about picking an affiliation model, choosing the right firm to partner with, and starting a new business.
Ask Brad: You’ve Been Calculating Your Payout Wrong
A common question I am asked by advisors who want to learn more about the RIA model is how do the payouts work? Is it really 100%?
What if …. We Tell Investors the Truth (Part Three)
Form CRS is under greater SEC scrutiny by the Biden administration. How advisors and broker-dealer representatives are compared matters. A review of a few major firms’ CRS is illustrative.
How to Start an RIA Without Eating Cat Food
The financial stress from starting a new advisory firm is no joke, and it sets up outcomes that are potentially disastrous for everyone involved. Here are six ideas for how to start an RIA firm today without living in poverty and having to eat cat food.
Become a Rock Star in Your Community
Here are several ways you can make yourself a household name in your area, and they don’t involve throwing thousands of dollars at an advertising budget.
Opportunities In Local Currency Assets After The Sharp Dollar Move
The Fed meeting last week led to higher asset price volatility across asset classes.
What if …. We Tell Investors the Truth – Part Two
The SEC has a unique opportunity to redo form CRS to help investors and investment professionals better understand how broker-dealers and investment advisers differ.
Minisode - The Future of the Retirement Income Industry
New York Life Insurance recently celebrated its 175th anniversary. It is the largest mutual life insurance company in the U.S., with approximately $605 billion in assets under management. It is very committed to helping advisors deliver innovative solutions to help their clients achieve financial security in their retirement. Here today to talk about some of those solutions and the ways in which New York Life educates advisors is Dylan Huang.
The Hidden Costs of Maintaining Registered Rep Licenses
Keeping that broker-dealer license comes with costs, both financial and emotional, in the form of two sets of compliance obligations.
Ten Questions to Evaluate a CRM System
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself as you assess the CRMs available in the Golden Age of FinTech.
Building a Brand Identity: A Checklist for Breakaway Advisors
Leaving your wirehouse for the independent channel means you have an exciting opportunity to redefine yourself, what you do, and who you serve. Let our checklist help you create a strong brand identity that resonates with your ideal clients and sets you apart from the competition.
Leadership Roles for Women in Financial Services
Very few financial service firms are led by women. That is especially true among broker dealer firms. Although there are a handful of female leaders gaining attention for big roles, most top leadership positions in this industry remain in the hands of men. My guest today, Michelle Barry, is the exception. She is the president of Grove Point Financial, a $6 billion broker dealer/RIA, and she is here to talk about her career path and how she came to lead that firm.
What if …. We Tell Investors the Truth?
Should investors know that brokers are not advisors to customers?
Breaking Away to Break Through
Thinking about leaving the wirehouse? Starting your own firm isn't for everyone, but it can be a rewarding journey for you and your clients. Read this case study to learn about two former wirehouse advisors who made the leap to independence, the challenges they faced, and the success they found.
Radical Views on Advisor Compensation
The advisory profession is set up to encourage selfishness and greed. For that to change, compensation must change. These thoughts are radical, so take a seat before you read.
Weekly Market Guide
Review the latest portfolio strategy commentary from Mike Gibbs, managing director of Equity Portfolio & Technical Strategy.
Is “Sales” a Dirty Word for Fiduciaries?
Advisors, particularly those with a fiduciary mindset, want nothing to do with sales. That is understandable, as sales in the world of retail financial advice has caused a lot of harm. We need to look no further than the almost daily accounts of Ponzi schemes and fraudulent tactics that have deprived too many Americans of their life savings. But growth requires business development, marketing, promotion and ... yes ... sales. Here to talk about sales, why it has been labeled a dirty word, and how to redefine sales and make it work in a fiduciary context is Shauna Mace of Inspire Growth.
Ask Brad: Stop Asking If You Need A Haircut
Ask someone a question in which the respondent has a vested interest in how it is answered, and you know what the answer is before asking it. I see this when I am talking to advisors about the RIA model.
Seven Policy Proposals to Meet the Paris Agreement Objectives
The 2015 Paris Agreement introduced the legally binding goal of maintaining the average global temperature below the pre-industrial revolution average plus 2o Celsius in order to avoid severe stress on natural and socioeconomic systems.
The Results of the Veres/T3 Annual Software Survey
Joel Bruckenstein of T3 and I just released the 2021 T3/Inside Information Advisor Software Survey, which includes user ratings and market share statistics (and year-on-year changes to both) for more than 400 different software products and services in 32 different categories.
Ask Brad: The Math Problem Brokers Can't Solve
I want to share a math formula I often discuss with advisors. This is for anyone considering transitioning their practice to the RIA model or is already working through those steps but is struggling to reach the finish line.
Quarterly Market Outlook: Different Speeds
Economic growth is picking up and the stock market is trending higher, but in a choppy fashion that lately resembles a “bunny” market more than a bull market.
Retail Investors Are Long Confidence And Short Experience
In a “market mania,” retail investors are generally “long confidence” and “short experience” as the bubble inflates. While we often believe each “time” is different, it rarely is. It is only the outcomes that are inevitably the same.
Easing Advisors' Transition to Independence
A solution for the challenge of moving wirehouse clients with active securities-based loans.
Municipal Bond Outlook: Recovering at Different Speeds
Political change, continued fiscal support will drive municipal markets in 2021, although outcomes are likely to vary.
Don’t Let Your Clients’ Kids be the Next Reddit Victims
There are times when you are called to advocacy. As a profession, this is one of them. Advisors are the stewards, the informed, the protectors, and if there is a force that stands between the next generation of investors and financial devastation, it is you.
EM Is No Longer a Commodity Play
The Emerging Markets (EM) asset class is often labelled a commodity play for investment purposes. The argument is simple and directional; EM countries export commodities, so rising commodity prices are good for the asset class, whereas falling commodity prices hurt EM countries.
4 Ways to Tell if You’re Ready to Launch Your Own RIA
Knowing if you’re ready to launch your own RIA is a big decision. For me, these four factors guided me to realize I was ready to break out on my own.
Are Bigger Firms Attracting Wealthier Clients?
Let’s look at the correlation between size of independent advisory firms and the average wealth of the clients they serve.
Distressed Debt – A Compelling, and Timely, Opportunity
The COVID-19 pandemic has expanded the universe of companies in financial distress, creating a buyer’s market for distressed debt funds.
SEC Holiday Cheer for Investors
A year-end SEC order and statement by its staff on Reg BI exams are a positive signal for investors in need of fiduciary protection.
Things Are Looking Up for Commercial Airlines
Airline stocks are on track to record their third straight month of gains on hopes that the coronavirus vaccine will help normalize commercial air travel sooner rather than later. Investors are also betting that U.S. carriers may be in line to receive additional relief in the stimulus package currently being negotiated in Congress.
Why the Breakaway Broker Exodus Hasn’t Happened
This mass exodus of breakaway brokers hasn’t happened, much to the chagrin of us prognosticators, and I know why.
LPL Research Outlook 2021: Powering Forward December 2020
More than most years, it’s hard to look ahead to the next year, to 2021, without looking back at 2020. A global pandemic, a massive economic collapse, a bear market, a surprisingly sharp reversal, a hotly contested election where passions ran high, the impact of lockdowns—it was an unusual year of extraordinary challenges.
How Important is FINRA When Launching a New RIA?
When we explore the specifics of an advisor’s business, there are commonly asked questions around the nuances between the SEC and FINRA.
Advisor Perspectives Ranked as Top Newsletter for Financial Advisors
For the second consecutive year, Advisor Perspectives has been ranked as the electronic newsletter that is most-read by financial advisors.
If Inflation Is the Trick, Gold Is the Treat
Want to hear something really scary? Inflation, the scourge of the modern economy, may be running much faster than we’re led to believe.
The Future for Thematic ETFs
Founded in 2018, Defiance ETFs is an ETF sponsor and registered investment advisor focused on thematic investing. Its suite of rules-based ETFs allows retail and institutional investors to express a targeted view on dynamic sub-sectors that are leading the way in disruptive innovations.
Cyberattacks Soar During the Pandemic - How Regulators Responded
As financial firms rely more on online and out-of-office platforms and services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the likelihood increases that proprietary and confidential, nonpublic customer information is stolen, deleted or ransomed.
An Investor’s Worst Enemy
If beating the market was as easy as becoming a top tennis player, there would be a lot more Serena Williams and Roger Federers. The lessons of acquiring skill in tennis are crucial for investors to heed.
The Three Biggest Mistakes Advisors Make with Referrals
I have much to say about referrals. For this article, let’s focus in on three of the biggest mistakes I have seen advisors make with referrals.
US Elections and EM
Noise levels are likely to remain elevated in the run-up to – and possibly in the immediate aftermath of the upcoming US presidential election, but the post-election outlook should prove positive for EM assets by ushering in a period of more positive risk-sentiment, a long period of low US rates and a lower Dollar.
Fiduciary Advice: Where Do We Go From Here?
An historic realignment of fiduciary advice has snuffed out 40 Act principles. The SEC, the coming DOL Rule, and CFP Board standards have rejected them. The realignment reveals a path of destruction – to the law, language and logic.
Thoughts on Regulatory and Other Reforms in 2020 and Beyond
The following remarks were delivered by Ron Rhoades upon receiving the Frankel Fiduciary Prize from the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard on September 29, 2020.
The Case for EM Investment Grade USD Bonds
Overall, EM IG bonds represent a great opportunity for investors seeking to monetise the EM risk premium with moderate volatility in a world, where higher yielding IG-rated securities are increasingly difficult to come by.
Munis in Focus: 2020 Municipal Market Update
In a challenging year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the municipal market is recovering on the strength of unprecedented federal support.
Mourning the Passing of the 40 Act
The 40 Act has been effectively repealed. But its passing has gone unnoticed. In the long shadow of the market crash and severe depression, the 40 Act was the equivalent of investors’ civil rights legislation.
Tamar Frankel – The Regulators Do Not Understand Conflicts
Tamar Frankel may well be the godmother of fiduciary law. In this interview, she says that the regulators do not understand conflicts of interest.
How the Esports Industry Continues to Evolve
Esports has taken hold around the world as more people are turning to interactive gaming as a form of entertainment, resulting in ballooning cash prizes and front-page news coverage.
January 2008 NewsLetter
I realized that it’s been so long since I started my NewsLetter, most of you won’t know its origins. To bring you up to date, here’s the intro to the first one.
The Powerful Evolution in Fee Structures
Recently, I released a comprehensive fee survey that was designed to test what, exactly, is going on in the advisor marketplace – to assess whether firms are, indeed, migrating from the AUM revenue model to something that more closely matches time and internal costs with fees charged.
The EM Fixed Income Universe
Welcome to the 9th annual review of the Emerging Markets (EM) fixed income asset class. Using new data from the Bank of International Settlements and other sources, we establish that the EM bond market has expanded by 12% in Dollar terms in the past twelve months to a size of USD 29.6trn, or 25% of the global fixed income universe as of the end of 2019.
China’s Economic Growth: Stronger Exports Support Recovery
Understand where China’s economy is in its growth cycle with these two key charts.
Ivanhoe Mines and Franco-Nevada Look Favorable Ahead of Earnings
Two companies in the metals and mining space I’m looking forward to hearing from are Ivanhoe Mines and Franco-Nevada. Both are scheduled to report next week.