1. Guest Post: Robert Powell On The Spokesman For The Fiduciary Movement Who Is Now Accused Of Diverting Retirement Plan Assets To His Own Personal Accounts
(Matching tags: RIA compliance,regulation,RIAs,yen,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,FINRA,advisor industry people)

The U.S. Department of Labor, in a complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, alleges an advisor used more than $3.2 million of the retirement savings of workers from multiple employers for personal ...

2. FINRA's Estimate Of Cost Of Establishing And Maintaining An SRO For RIAs Challenged By Coalition Representing RIAs
(Matching tags: RIA compliance,RIAs,broker-dealers,registered investment advisors,compliance,CFP Board,NAPFA,Congress,Dodd-Frank,TD Ameritrade)

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) estimate of the cost to setup, operate and oversee a self-regulatory organization (SRO) for investment advisers (IA) underestimates overhead costs ...

3. RIAs Don’t Seem To Care Very Much About The Regulatory Debate; Reaction To Last Week’s FINRA-SRO News Was Muted
(Matching tags: RIA compliance,RIAs,SRO,NAPFA,Congress,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,FINRA,sec)

When news broke last Wednesday about the reintroduction of legislation that would make FINRA the regulator of RIAs, all of the advisor trade publications covered the story. Financial Planning even issued ...

4. Consolidation In The RIA Business Could Increase Competition For Smaller Firms
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,RIAs,M&A)

... they are also increasing competition for smaller RIAs.  ...

5. Erado, An Advisor Products Compliance Partner, Named To Gartner’s “Cool Vendor” List
(Matching tags: technology,security,RIA compliance,RIAs,privacy; security,compliance,Social Media)

You just don’t see vendors to advisors get named to Gartner Group’s list of “cool vendors.” Sorry, I know RIAs think they are really a big deal but in the enterprise world covered ...

6. It's Not A Merger; It's Not A Buy-Out; It's A Partnership For Growth
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,RIAs,M&A)

  A new partnership of RIAs has been formed to solve some of the biggest challenges facing independent RIAs today. The critical need for succession, offering ownership to a new generation of advisors, ...

7. Bill To Make FINRA The SRO For RIAs Reintroduced, Sparking Protest In Some Quarters And Approval In Others
(Matching tags: regulation,RIAs,SRO,FINRA)

The campaign to make FINRA the self-regulatory organization for Registered Investment Advisers was renewed today as House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus reintroduced legislation that would ...

8. The Number Of Asset Management Firms Buying Independent RIAs Is Rebounding
(Matching tags: Advisor businesses,RIAs)

The mergers and acquisitions action is heating up on the RIA front. Independent RIAs were swallowed up by asset management firms at a soaring rate during the first quarter. Seventeen firms merged or ...

9. From Roshomon to Rosebud: I'll Tell You My Story About Building A $500 Million AUM RIA; Please Tell Us Your Story
(Matching tags: ensemble firm,business strategy,Advisor businesses,management,RIAs,investment advisors,asset management,managing,business planning,advisor industry people)

...  decisions. This is especially relevant since all RIAs face similar inflection points along their path. I'll do my best to avoid inflicting anyone with my opinions on practice management. After ...

10. AARP Joins Fiduciary Debate Alongside CFP Board, Financial Planning Association, And Other Consumer And Professonal Associations To Oppose Broker/Dealers And SIFMA
(Matching tags: investment fiduciaries,competitors,RIAs,broker-dealers,independent broker-dealers,compliance,CFP Board,Dodd-Frank,fiduciaries,FINRA,sec,SIFMA)

After years of positioning, the debate over establishing a single fiduciary standard for FINRA-licensed registered representatives and investment advisor representatives alike is finally coming down to ...

11. Guest Post: Yodlee Is Offering Free Account Aggregation With An Investor Dashboard For Controlling Advisor Access; Another Sign Of Fee-Compression Coming
(Matching tags: differentiation,competitors,value proposition,RIAs,financial planning,CFP Board,account aggregation)

Heads up: Yoddlee is offering free acount aggregation now that let’s investors share their aggregated data with their financial advisors.  It’s ingenious. An investor signs up and sends ...

12. Talent Exodus From Large Firms Continues In 2012
(Matching tags: breakaway brokers,broker-dealers,RIAs)

The trend for advisors leaving large financial institutions to create their own businesses is accelerating in 2012. Independent firms such as LPL and Vanguard are making concerted efforts to attract ...

13. For Advisors, Business Success Requires Recognizing An Opportunity, Seizing The Moment, And Taking A Risk; An Introduction Of Lisa Gray To A4A Readers
(Matching tags: leadership,Wealth Management,RIAs,managing,family offices,practice management,business owners,advisor industry people)

At dinner last night here at the FPA Business Solutions in San Francisco, an advisor who manages a successful practice told a story about how he came to buy his practice from its former owner. It’s ...

14. The Most Popular Professional Applications Used By RIAs; Advisors4Advisors Technology Survey
(Matching tags: practice management,Portfolio Management Software,Financial Planning Apps,CRM,RIAs)

Advisors4Advisors, a practice management website for investment advisors, recently released a series of reports on the most popular portfolio management, financial planning, and CRM applications used ...

15. FINRA Requests Comment On Ways To Increase Investor Use Of BrokerCheck: My Suggestion Is To Consolidate Advisor Licensing Databases And Open It To Search Engines
(Matching tags: RIAs,SRO,investment advisors,broker-dealers,compliance,Dodd-Frank,FINRA,sec)

FINRA is requesting comment on ways to boost investor use of BrokerCheck, the self-regulatory agency’s website where consumers can find a broker’s disciplinary and employment history.   ...

16. Tech Survey By A4A Shows Schwab PortfolioCenter Remains No. 1 Portfolio Reporting App But Field Of PMS Vendors Is Growing
(Matching tags: RIAs,investment advisors,practice management,Portfolio Management Software)

Based on data from 2,129 members of Advisors4Advisors, the most popular portfolio management software among independent financial advisors is Schwab PortfolioCenter, followed by Albridge, and Advent Axys. ...

17. An Advisor Affiliated With Retirement Income Industry Association And Its Retirement Management Analyst Designation Responds To My Post Saying Designation Proliferation Is A Disaster For Consumers
(Matching tags: profession,RIAs,investment advisors,financial planning,CPAs,CFP Board,NAPFA)

Dana Anspach, a fee-only financial planner and licensed Retirement Management Analyst, has responded graciously to my post yesterday with a personal letter addressed to me on her blog on About.com. My ...

18. FinFolio: A Portfolio Management Software Targeted To RIAs With $200 Million AUM And Up
(Matching tags: RIAs,asset management,family offices,Portfolio Management Software)

... years ago, has now launched in 20 RIAs and it’s a serious contender.  The slidecast tells the story in detail.   ...

19. That "Advisory Firm" John Bunch Of TD Ameritrade Went To? The Mutual Fund Store
(Matching tags: RIAs)

After a few days of speculation, the identity of the firm that grabbed the head of TD Amitrade's retail brokerage unit is clear.

20. Is Tom Bradley's Promotion To Run Retail Distribution At TD Ameritrade Good For RIAs?
(Matching tags: competitors,custodians,RIAs)

After running TD Ameritrade’s RIA custody business for over a decade, Tom Bradley is being promoted to run retail distribution at the giant discount brokerage, and that could be good news for RIAs.    ...