Category: RIA Best Practices
27 posts categorized as "RIA Best Practices"
Industry Coverage of PFI Advisors’ Recent COO White Paper
January 9, 2019
In late October, we released our latest white paper, “Exploring the Benefits of Professional Management for RIAs: A Deeper Look into Chief Operating Officers,” the sixth installment in our industry series. Our goal was to uncover the benefits of professional management (namely Chief Operating Officers) and lay out the responsibilities of a successful COO, as…
PFI Advisors’ 2018 Top Blog Posts
December 26, 2018
As 2018 comes to a close, we pause to reflect on the past year we’ve had here at PFI Advisors. We added a new employee to our team in June and our Director of Transition Amusement started kindergarten in August! We have continued to focus our work of achieving operational efficiencies at RIAs and helping…
Introducing The COO Roundtable Podcast
December 11, 2018
I am thrilled to announce the launch of The COO Roundtable, Powered by PFI Advisors; our latest endeavor in championing the role of operations professionals within the RIA industry. This podcast series will feature panel discussions with Chief Operating Officers at some of the country’s leading independent firms. We plan to highlight operational best practices…
Are You Serious, Wall Street? A Response to the #MeToo ‘Advice’ of Men
December 5, 2018
This open letter is a response to a Bloomberg Article InvestmentNews ran Tuesday about some male Wall Street executives whose concerns about #MeToo accusations have led them to limit the ways in which they work with female colleagues, for example by refusing to have dinner with a woman or sit next to a woman on a plane…
Should Breakaway Advisors Leverage a Wrap-Fee Program?
December 4, 2018
As breakaway advisors consider their move from a wirehouse to their own RIA, the question of whether to provide a wrap fee program will undoubtedly arise. Before we get into the weeds, what is a wrap-fee program and what are its implications? According to the SEC, a wrap fee generally involves an investment account in…
PFI Advisors White Paper-Exploring the Benefits of Professional Management for RIAs: A Deeper Look into Chief Operating Officers
October 29, 2018
PFI Advisors (“Pure Financial Independence”) announced today the release of a new industry report (the sixth in its continuing educational series) on an often overlooked topic facing independent RIAs: how to leverage professional management – namely, a Chief Operating Officer – to manage the day-to-day business responsibilities. Our research details the importance of COOs to…
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…
The Age-Old Debate: Profit vs. Growth – What’s More Valuable?
September 25, 2018
At the Echelon Deal and Deal Makers conference in Newport Beach earlier this month, several sessions tackled the big question: If I’m looking to sell my firm, what is more important to a buyer – my growth rate, or my bottom line profits? From a deal makers’ perspective, I think the answer is probably both….
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…
