Lisa Shider

Sometimes the most obvious solution is the one that has been staring everyone in the face for a long time. If you are licensed as a registered representative then, that and only that goes on your business card. If you are licensed as an investment adviser representative, then that and only that goes on your business card. No hybrids. If you are a registered rep, then you cannot be an investment adviser rep. Period. Point blank. End of story. This would allow consumers to know the difference. Simple.

Michael Kitces picks his moment to demand the SEC close two giant faux-RIA loopholes -- the hat-switching  'hybrid' advisor and the wirehouse 'financial advisor'

Securities and Exchange Commission

Ron Rhoades

Tim Welsh

Barbara Roper

Michael Kitces

Adherents of the hybrid RIA model seem to understand the world in the same terms as Puritan dissenters, now known as Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Unitarians and Congregationalists. The members of those offshoots avoided the fate of the Puritans who believed a little too ardently that grace could not be earned, only bestowed by God. The Puritans are now extinct. More inclusive splinter sects that accommodate striving sinners, on the other hand, have gone on to survive and prosper. Hybrid RIAs espouse a new world order of accountable advice that errs on the side of inclusion of brokers despite their propensity for sin inherent in their inevitable conflicts of interest. RIA purists see this more-the-merrier mindset as too much fiduciary disharmony to throw at clients and an unsettling bifurcation when building a successful, long-haul business. RIA hybrid enthusiasts say the success of this model – and it is the fastest growing in the advisory world -- speaks for itself and that such firms house the best of the transactional brokerage business and the fee business under one roof. Moreover, these evangelists see the hybrid model as a means of bridging the gap between a whole generation financial advisors by leading captive wirehouse brokers to a model that offers more objective, open- architecture advice. Whatever side a reader falls on this dynamic topic certainly deserves a reader section for itself and we are proud to present it.

Hybrid RIA

The past two years have been some of the most momentous in the relatively short history of the RIA profession. Legislators and regulators have been gradually embracing the fiduciary standard, though whether it will fully apply to everyone calling themselves advisors remains to be seen.

The Department of Labor’s crusade to lower costs and increase transparency in retirement plans means a spate of new regulations affecting advisors and brokers in that market. Dodd-Frank Financial Reform, meanwhile, continues to unroll across the profession, with the biggest change being a shift to state oversight of RIAs with less than $100 million AUM. In this section, you’ll find continually updated RIABiz.com coverage on all these topics.

RIA Compliance

The XPYN founder wants the SEC to honor its 'Merrill Lynch Rule' promise from 15 years ago, demanding the most fundamental truth in advertising.

Michael Kitces picks his moment to demand the SEC close two giant faux-RIA loopholes -- the hat-switching 'hybrid' advisor and the wirehouse 'financial advisor'

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