Starting an RIA firm, need help with resources...

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nomorebillablehours

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I'm in the beginning stages of starting my own shop and am looking for help or recommendations with respect to custodial services, portfolio management (etc.) software, back office services, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any experience with the likes of Fidelity and/or Schwab?

Thanks!
 
Raymond James has a pretty good program...If you go to their website it has several options you can chose.

I'd love to know how it works out as I've always wanted to do something like that but don't have enough potential clients to leave institutional research.
 
Schwab Institutional can get you a pretty big selection of managers with $100k minimums and decent mgmt fees. I thing custodial services are included. Trading costs are like $7 per.
 
I worked with a firm that used TD Waterhouse (now TD Ameritrade), and I'm somewhat familiar with Schwab. Their service bundles are all very similar. All will assign a back-office team to you that will help with asset transfers, account openings and so forth.

Each also has a portfolio management software package -- Schwab has what used to be called Centerpiece and TD has an Advent product + their online trading tool called Veo. I don't know that there are real advantages one way or the other -- just a matter of what you get used to.

In terms of selection, I think the biggest differentiator will be how a firm will handle you as a start-up. How much will you have in assets initially? Smaller custody shops will be more likely than Schwab to be accomodating if you have less than $10-20mil to start.

If I had to start an RIA right now, I would call an institutional sales person from each of 3 or 4 firms and tell me why they are the right one.
 
nomorebillablehours Wrote:
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> I'm in the beginning stages of starting my own
> shop and am looking for help or recommendations
> with respect to custodial services, portfolio
> management (etc.) software, back office services,
> etc. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any
> experience with the likes of Fidelity and/or
> Schwab?
>
> Thanks!


I'm curious, what is your background and how do you expect to 1) gather AUM and 2) fund start-up costs?
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions and thoughts.

With respect to Gipper's questions: I am an estate planning and tax lawyer who worked primarily with very wealthy clients. After doing that for seven years, I figured out that I was having much more fun doing personal investing and was more interested in how my clients' FAs were managing their money than in anything else. So I quit, started down the CFA path, and we'll see what's next...

I expect to get client referrals primarily from the network of estate planners and accountants with whom I worked while practicing law. Start up capital will come from personal assets.
 
Getting Out Wrote:
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> where are you located?

Portland, OR.
 
I would check out Investment Advisor Mag's site www.ia-mag.com. There is a lot of information on custodians, B/Ds, technology, etc.
 
Some links you may find helpful:


http://www.advent.com/
http://www.schwabpt.com/products/portfoliocenter/
http://www.aboutschwabinstitutional.com/public/html/ria/practice/index.html
 
Hey nomore,

I'm down in Bend. I would also look at Wachovia's program, it seems pretty good and they give a lot of support. I think you would have to have a certain level of assets ready to go to start with them, however.
 
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