Is the grass really greener for RIAs? According to a recent article in Financial Advisor magazine, the answer is a resounding “Yes”, according to brokers. [1]
The article sites a survey by TD Ameritrade Institutional saying that 44% of “potential breakaways” plan to do so in the next 12 months.
Brokers are fed up with their current institutions. Their top complaint is the regulatory environment and their firm’s inability to adapt.. Clients are demanding fiduciaries 100% of the time and their conflicted firms can’t provide that platform. Brokers are increasingly drawn to the RIA channel to solve that problem.
Other top concerns from brokers were firm culture, leadership and compensation.
So, brokers want to move to a 100% fiduciary platform (RIA) with a better culture, leadership and compensation model. What’s stopping them?
The aforementioned survey lays out three primary stumbling blocks:
It appears that the perception of those fears are greater than the reality. A survey of brokers who made the move to the RIA channel said that the grass is greener:
As the author of The End of Stress writes, “…97% of what you worry over is not much more than a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misperceptions.” [2]
So, what is holding you back from making the move?
[2] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/85-of-what-we-worry-about_b_8028368