Gary Carrai draws on his previous experiences as a financial advisor to recognize what sorts of technical advances are most likely to be useful to LPL advisors and clients — and how much change they can tolerate at once.

Median sale prices for RIAs have long been ticking upward. But some valuation experts argue that impending retirements could lead to an oversupply of firms on the market — and lower price tags.

Raising firm fees — whether under a flat-fee or AUM model — is essential to maintaining a profitable RIA. Wealth advisors shared how they were able to increase prices and revenue with little client turnover.

Innocent client missteps can retroactively zero out balances in the alternatives-rich, held-away retirement accounts, with the advisor none the wiser.

With the clock ticking toward the Social Security fund's projected insolvency, advisors might take different approaches depending on clients' ages and levels of wealth.

Clients have many reasons for not divulging details on the assets they have at, including embarrassment. Advisors say it's still important to understand their total financial picture and, above all, not be judgmental.

A note by Morningstar DBRS analysts warned of the risks working against big RIA aggregators' success in consolidating a fragmented channel of the industry so rapidly.