Ann Marsh

As RIA firms grow and attract larger customers, $2 million in client AUM is the cut-off above which pricing rises favorably for RIAs, according to a new study.

RIA firms of all sizes reported cautious optimism about their growth potential and the global economic environment, according to a new survey by Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services.

“Firms have to commit to planning," says Mike Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services. "The firms on a path to high performance are on a fast course to planning.”

In a potentially encouraging sign for all equity investors, the majority of investors with $5 million or more in net worth plan to invest in equities.

The acquisition increases Atlanta Capital’s AUM to $950 million

Tired of running his financial planning firm in Michigan, Jason Wenk made a radical change to his planning practice a couple of years ago. He sold a portion of it, moved his family and his company to Laguna Beach, Calif., and began to grow a practice entirely through blogging.

When it comes to designing system and workflow automation for your firm, keep it simple, a panel of experts said at the TD Ameritrade Institutional national conference in San Diego.

Many busy advisors find it tough to run their businesses and stay active across multiple social media channels. Here's some helpful strategies.

Hackers are creating new strategies to separate you, and your clients, from your money, but there are steps you can take to guard against these attacks, according to Bill Winterberg, a CFP and technology consultant, told a room of advisors at the TD National Conference in San Diego.

LPL Financial is pushing to expand services for high-net-worth clients. In the company's most recent move, its wholly owned Private Trust Co. subsidiary has announced strategic plans to build on its rapid growth of 25% over the last three years.

Wealth manager Peter J. Eichler Jr., once had more than $10 billion in assets under management. Following his RIA’s bankruptcy filing in November, however, the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Eichler and Aletheia Research and Management for alleged securities fraud and for allegedly violating fiduciary duties to clients and to the funds Aletheia managed.

A new generation of business students will soon be trained in investment and wealth management skills at a new Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab at the University of California at Irvine. The lab wilkl be the cornerstone of a new 78,000-square-foot building to be built within the University's Paul Merage School of Business.

Financial services compliance technology firm RegEd is offering clients a social media library containing pre-approved content, as well as a series of dictionaries, or lexicons, of words or phrases to support compliance.

The current economic recovery, while slow, is on track. Fiscal cliff fears have been grossly exaggerated, to the detriment of investors and planners. And sometimes there’s an upside to a modest recession.

The SEC has already missed its end-of-the-year deadline on laying down rules for so-called crowdfunding of new companies. But FINRA has jumped into the regulatory void, issuing a voluntary form for prospective funding portals.

Continuing its rapid expansion, CapTrust Financial Advisors, a large Raleigh, S.C. registered that serves private and institutional investors, acquired Freedom One Financial Group. Freedom One provides retirement plan and investment advisory services to companies in emerging markets.

Advisors continue to flock to the RIA business model, making it the fastest-growing corner of the financial services industry. However, even as they do, more than ever are hanging onto commission income, despite the risks it poses to acting as full fiduciaries.

For RIAs who want to ensure clients that their firm will endure to serve their children and grandchildren, a robust internal succession plan is critical. One way to do that is to eliminate outside ownership conflicts, argues the founder and CEO of one leading RIA firm.

In the most recent move by a large firm to help planners solve pressing succession issues, Cetera Advisor Networks is now offering its regional directors, s well as other small- to mid-sized broker dealers, the opportunity to sell their businesses to Cetera.

After a wild ride toward the fiscal cliff, many financial advisors now say the frenzy was worth it -- even if clients' worst fears failed to materialize.