RIAs

According to the survey, 70% of RIAs cited market volatility as the top concern among their clients, while 99% said it was among clients’ top three concerns. Only 6% of RIAs said wealth accumulation was a top client concern.

Trust and customer service are the most important reasons why clients opt to work with registered investment advisors, according to TD Ameritrade’s latest RIA survey.

Schwab Advisor Services is launching a multi-million dollar marketing and education campaign aimed at promoting the registered investment advisor (RIA) sector in an effort to differentiate the channel from other, more traditional models in the eyes of affluent investors.

Last week’s deal between The Colony Group and Focus Financial Partners is just the latest in what’s turned out to be a very busy merger and acquisition period for registered independent advisor firms. Here's a look at this year's five-largest deals:

While it’s still unclear as to whether The Colony Group and Focus Financial Partners union announced last week is the largest merger by assets under management completed in the RIA space so far this year, one thing is certain: the deal is sophisticated and accomplishes strategic and financial goals for both firms at the same time.

Orion Advisor Services unveiled the latest release for it Advisor Desktop portfolio management suite for RIAs on Monday with new features designed to make it easier for advisors using the primary database management tool to rebalance their clients’ portfolios and create tax efficient strategies at the household level.

Schwab's Advisor Services division has developed a suite of new resources to help financial advisors navigate the legal and regulatory issues that arise when making the transition to an independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) practice.

Charles Schwab Advisor Services announced a new business, Schwab Intelligent Technologies, marking a milestone in the company’s initiative to deliver integration solutions for registered investment advisors.

While many asset managers continue to fail to connect meaningfully with registered investment advisors, many are turning to such digital media as micro websites, social media and mobile applications, according to a new report from Financial Research Corp., “Winning Strategies for Marketing and Distributing to the RIA.”

Last year was a good one for registered investment advisors, according to the 2011 RIA Benchmarking Study from Charles Schwab, the largest focused solely on RIAs.