RIAs

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.

The country's seventh-largest, fee-only RIA has carved out an exclusive and extremely profitable niche providing full-service investment advice and services to the ultra rich.

The Boston-company attracted assets from 146 breakaway brokers last year as average assets per breakaway increased by nearly 50% from 2009.

The third largest broker-dealer by headcount and the fifth largest by revenue has grown into a powerhouse of a financial services company over the past decade. Its top executive said in an interview Thursday it plans to add at least 400 more this year.