Insights

A lot has been said in recent years about fee compression and new fee models for investment advisors, but not every fee model works for every RIA firm and every client, according to the founders of three RIA firms who spoke Wednesday in an online “Discussion on RIA Fee Practices and Trends.” “I’ve always been a stickler on fees of all types,” including mutual fund fees, where some firms “charge way too much money for what they do,” said Rick Ferri, CEO and founder of Ferri Investment Solutions in Georgetown, Texas.

Advisors should try to focus on those parts of the business that they like the most and are the most skilled at, turning to other team members or outsourcing the parts of the job that they don’t like or know much about, industry executives said Friday during an online Riskalyze RIA Roundtable event. “Don’t be a lone ranger” or attempt to be a “Jack of all trades” who does everything on your own, said Marty Bicknell, CEO and president of Mariner Wealth Advisors, offering advice to those just starting out in the advisory business.

When I ask advisors how recent headlines are impacting their communications with clients, the typical response is, “My clients don’t care about Tesla or Bitcoin. They’re not focused on what people say on the Internet. They know we have a sound, long-term plan in place.” I asked that question in March, when most of us went into mandatory lockdowns because of COVID-19, and again, a few weeks ago, when a mob stormed Congress and sent Washington, D.C. into chaos. I asked again yesterday, when a Reddit subgroup called r/WallStreetBets drove up the price of GameStop, AMC and Blackberry by nearly 1,000%, collectively, and eviscerated hedge funds across Wall Street.