RIAs

"We provide all the tools a broker needs to thrive," said Russell Gebhard, president of Sovereign Investment Group in Houston."If the advisor is successful, it's more than likely the clients will be, too."

A survey from the Oechsli Institute reveals that advisors are underusing the personal aspects of social media to build client rapport.

CFO4LIFE, a Coppell, Texax, financial planning firm with more than $450 million in assets, announced Thursday it is departing from LPL Financial to become an RIA.

"A lot of advisors say they have a team," said Jeff Fishman, who heads JSF Financial in Los Angeles. "When you talk to them, you find out they have a bunch of people who came from wirehouses. We have a real team: people from different backgrounds who play different roles."

The agency is targeting Summit Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor, and Angelo Alleca, who is charged with defrauding investors in what the SEC describes as a scheme that sought to conceal losses from trades that went bad through the creation of new private funds that were used to repay the original investors.

Savvy financial advisors are using social sites to differentiate themselves from the competition and to build trust and credibility. Perhaps the biggest reason for financial advisors to get involved in social marketing can be summed up in four words: Your customers are there.

Omyen, which is based in Westwood, Mass., specializes in developing technologies for comprehensive financial planning and client education. The technology will be added to the FPA Practitioner Resource Guide, which is a directory of solutions and benefits to help FPA members build their business.

The three practices, which have a combined $673 million in assets under management, are now among the more than 540 practices nationally with the independent brokerage arm of Wells Fargo & Co.

Lawson/Wincester Wealth Management is an independent firm in Chattanooga, Tenn., led by Matt Lawson and William F. Winchester, The team also is acquiring the existing practice of Raymond James Financial Services advisor John Goodson in Wincester, Tenn.

A new "Going Independent" solution package, introduced this week, combines compliance and practice aid to help advisors who want to own their own wealth management shop.