Category: Operations and Technology
13 posts categorized as "Operations and Technology"
A Different Kind of #GivingTuesday Campaign
November 12, 2018
PFI Advisors will be participating in this year’s #GivingTuesday in a very meaningful way. Any RIA that donates $10,000 or more to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles donation page of Layla Paige Sonnen will receive a free Operational Diagnostic*. This engagement includes a full analysis of an RIA’s back office technology suite; integrations between systems;…
Five Questions to Ask About Your Technology Infrastructure
October 12, 2018
RIAs regularly review their clients’ financial goals and portfolios. They should also service themselves with the same care and consistency with an internal review of their technology infrastructure and back office. This analysis should cover the following core systems: custodian interface, performance reporting/portfolio accounting, CRM, financial planning, trading and rebalancing, and client portal. As part…
Dual-Contract SMAs vs. Single-Contract SMAs – Which is Best for You and Your Clients?
September 14, 2018
The most common question we receive from breakaway advisors is, “If I start an RIA, how do I recreate the products and services I’ve always had available to me during my career in the wirehouse?” This line of thinking often leads to questions around Lending and Alternative Investments, and inevitably lands at Separately Managed Accounts….
Ops Team to the Rescue! Reducing Advisor Stress During a Breakaway Transition
September 5, 2018
A wirehouse team amidst a breakaway transition requires a fast learning curve in a short period of time during which the entire advisory team-turned-RIA needs to run full speed ahead. This period of conversion is defined by a lot of pressure and a lot of moving parts. Here at PFI Advisors, we constantly look for…
PFI Advisors and Laserfiche Join WealthManagement.com to Discuss “M&A Through the Operational Lens”
August 1, 2018
We have been long-time proponents of the notion that RIAs need top tier technology infrastructure to support growth through M&A. Many would-be Buyers mistakenly think, “If I’m the one writing the check, it is the Seller who needs to impress me.” What they often fail to realize is that the current M&A market for RIAs…
Don’t Let the Wirehouses Lie to You About Technology…
June 20, 2018
It has become widely acknowledged and accepted that the technologies available in the RIA channel are more sophisticated and up-to-date than the technologies offered by the large wirehouses. The RIA channel is known for its freedom to shop The Street for best-of-breed solutions, and work with a variety of industry experts to best leverage integrations…
Advisors Explain How They Made An Acquisition Work
April 11, 2018
Karen DeMasters of Financial Advisor Magazine detailed the strategies used by some of the most successful RIA acquirers in our industry. We were honored to cover these firms in our most recent white paper. See Karen’s full article here
3 Requirements for Successful Project Management
March 21, 2018
As an operations and technology consulting firm that works with both breakaway advisors and existing RIAs in growth mode, we have become adept at project management and the importance of maintaining a strict schedule with many moving parts. Building an RIA from scratch is typically a 10-month project that requires work over long nights and…
Mark Tibergien’s Latest Book Could Put RIA Consultants Out of Business
March 4, 2018
As a consultant to both breakaway advisors and RIAs, some may question my title to this article, and others may question my timing, as “The Enduring Advisory Firm: How to Serve Your Clients More Effectively and Operate More Efficiently” was released over a year ago. To the first point, any RIA struggling with profitability in…
Ready to Take Your Firm to the Next Level? Let Professional Management Lead the Way…
February 19, 2018
As RIAs grow, they continue to struggle with the optimization of their back office operations to achieve increased profitability as they gain clients and additional AUM. It’s no secret that there are inefficiencies that creep into RIAs’ processes over time, and it is our experience that at some point in the evolution of the firm,…
