RIAs

It's not exactly cats and dogs living together, but a new white paper from Sanctuary Wealth Services surmises that independent advisors and wirehouse brokers could definitely learn a lot from each other when it comes to attracting and retaining clients and would do well to learn from each other's mistakes in the future.

Nelson Roberts Investment Advisors this week closed its first RIA acquisition, picking up San Francisco Bay Area-based Sylvan H. Kline Jr. Inc. to bring its total assets under management to more than $275 million.

Dynasty Financial has an ambitious plan to expand its advisor network to between 100 and 150 top-tier RIAs with total assets under management of around $50 billion over the next five years.

An increasing number of advisor teams are transitioning to the fully independent registered investment advisor model from independent broker dealers, according to a Charles Schwab Advisor Services survey, which found a 45% increase in 2010 compared to 2009.

Zachary Gronich, founder and chief executive of RIA in a Box, has seen his consulting company quickly grow bigger than he expected.

Several years ago, Grant Rawdin passed on the chance to become a charter shareholder in National Advisors Trust, a trust company owned by a registered investment adviser and designed to serve advisers nationwide.

New advisor growth increased by more than 60% from a year earlier.

More than half of RIAs are ‘bullish’; large caps and ETFs are top investment choices

Financial advisors are turning their backs on traditional wirehouses, bank brokerages and independent broker-dealers at rapid pace, according to a new report from Charles Schwab, opting instead for a hybrid model that allows them to serve as both an RIA and a registered rep and expand their pool of potential clients.

The company plans to increase payout for advisors with more than $50 million in assets under management.