RIAs

SEC examiners frequently cite firms for insufficient disclosures, an SEC official says. Here are some of the most common conflicts that advisors fail to disclose adequately to their clients.

Cybersecurity is an area of growing SEC concern and examiners will increasingly be expecting RIAs of all sizes to have in place more robust policies and procedures to deal with the growing threats to their information systems.

Advisors and clients are gravitating toward the RIA model -- a trend that experts expect to continue.

The commission is committed to moving forward on a uniform fiduciary standard for advisors and broker-dealers and also expects to finalize money market reforms by the end of the year.

LPL Financial says the pace of new advisors affiliating with the firm has slowed from the levels of late 2013 "in part due to disruptive weather."

In particular, the commission is looking for cases when advisors trade on behalf of clients without written disclosure and consent, or fail to process a trade on the most favorable terms for their clients, says an enforcement division co-chief.

The advisor groups advocating for SEC vs. FINRA oversight of the RIA sector are turning their lobbying efforts away from the House.

The focus on dual registrants grows out of concern that the different compensation structures of the two business lines can create conflicts of interest and potentially harm investors, according to an SEC director.

'The average deal was a $1 billion or more RIA buying a mid- or smaller-size firm, a classic tuck-in,' says Jonathan Beatty of Schwab Advisor Services.

Bank executives expect to boost revenue from their wealth management practices 25% or more in the next five years, with some anticipating a 35% contribution to total bank revenue.