RIAs

Vanguard says assets in its Personal Advisor Services start up, still in the pilot phase with no paid advertising support, rose from $755 million in 2013 to $10.1 billion at the end of last year.

Only a third of advisors surveyed by IMCA feel safe enough to say that robos pose "no threat" to their business. A skills upgrade is one line of defense, the group advises.

CFPs cite real estate downturn, outside business failures as triggers for financial troubles.

The standard practice of beta testing in the software industry clashes hard against banking culture, says one PFM software development veteran, where executives fear that a wonky app could mean customer attrition.

The "freemium" model that transformed Rovio from a game developer into a $200 million entertainment company is what firms like FutureAdvisor are relying on to disrupt the traditional fee-driven model of wealth management.

CEO Jon Stein remembers when nobody listened to his message that automated investing was going to catch on with investors. He's not hurting for money anymore -- and he wants to take your business.

“We were worried [advisors] would be at a competitive disadvantage," says Bernie Clark, Schwab Advisor Services' executive vice president.

If regulators can't tell the cultural differences between wirehouses and independent RIAs, Bob Veres has put together a few survey questions they can use.

Investigators will remain focused on RIAs, the commission's enforcement chief told lawmakers in his appeal for funds to add staffers.

For several years regional banks have been furiously trying to boost fee income by beefing up in wealth management. But the cost of acquiring talent has made it hard for them to gain traction in this all-but saturated market.