Common Myths About RIA‘s
It’s no secret that more and more advisors are transitioning to RIAs every year, however many other advisors are afraid to take the leap. While there are certainly pros and cons to starting your own RIA, your decision should be based in knowledge and facts.
There’s a lot of misinformation out there that might sway you, but you shouldn’t let these common myths keep you from making the transition:
Myth #1: Staying Compliant is a Headache – It is, of course, important to make sure your practice is in compliance at all times—but, that doesn’t mean that you have to take on the headache of navigating complex rules and regulations on your own. Finding a compliance professional upfront to guide you through the process can help ease your mind. At Atlantis, compliance support is just one of many services we offer advisors in transition.
Myth #2: The Start-Up Costs Are Too High – It takes money to make money: this is true for all areas of life. However, you don’t have to become saddled with debt to start an RIA. Not only are there many avenues for funding, but it might not take as much as you think to start your business. At Atlantis, we not only guarantee that an Advisor will experience an increase in enterprise value in the first three years, but have also already invested in the costly infrastructure investment typically required to successfully transition. Having access to our technology solutions, trading software, operational and compliance staff could mean Advisors transitioning to Atlantis can do so with little to no start-up costs.
Myth #3: I Won’t Have Access to Firm Technology - With many industry professionals believing that RIA’s are the way of the future, companies have been shifting their offerings to provide support for them. From Turn-Key Asset Management Programs (TAMP) to providers such as Orion, there are more FinTech solutions than ever for RIA’s.
Myth #4: There’s Less Financial Stability – While the financial profile of going independent vs. being a captive employee is different, you will likely experience greater stability as an Independent Advisor. Independence typically results in greater revenue and greater control over expenses. In our experience Advisor making the transition almost always experience an increase in “take home pay”, or a metric we analyze call Earning Before Owner Compensation (EBOC). During the Atlantis recruiting process we help Advisors analyze their current and future financial profile very closely so that they understand which levers impact their financial future the most.
Myth #5: I Won’t Have Support During the Transition – You actually don’t have to go it alone on the road to being an independent advisor. As with most things in life, it helps to have a someone to lean on who has been through the process. We highly encourage you to find a trusted partner to go through the journey with you. You can schedule a free, no-strings-attached consultation with one of our RIA experts here.