Arbor Point Advisors LLC, a new SEC registered investment advisory firm,
intends to fill the gap for advisors seeking the freedom of the
independent advisory model and a choice of custodians without the need
to form their own registered investment advisory firm.
Securities America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann
Financial Services Inc. (NYSE MKT: LTS), and NorthStar Financial
Services Group, LLC recently formed Arbor Point as a joint venture.
Arbor Point’s fully integrated platform allows hybrid advisory firms to
better serve fee-based clients directly with major custodians such as TD
Ameritrade, Schwab and Fidelity Institutional, while retaining the
ability to seamlessly service their commission-based accounts.
“The challenge advisors face in running their own RIA is the significant
time spent on compliance, technology and administration – time they
aren’t spending with clients,” said Jim Nagengast, CEO and president of
Securities America. “We saw a need in the market for a turnkey RIA with
a custodian-agnostic platform, and we partnered with another Omaha-based
industry leader, NorthStar, to create an innovative and compelling
solution.”
According to industry research firm Cerulli Associates, RIAs collective
market share of client assets will hit 14 percent in 2013. Over the past
decade, several large RIA firms have combined to leverage overhead. Most
of these firms target RIAs with $1 billion or more in assets – leaving a
large portion of the independent RIA market struggling to compete on
infrastructure. Advisors with $50 million to $250 million in assets who
want to custody at one of the major firms is where Arbor Point expects
to make its mark, according to its president, Curtis Reed, CFP®.
“For every advisor with $1 billion in assets looking to form or join an
RIA, there are hundreds of firms with $100 million who need the same
support to serve their clients,” Reed said. “We’re not an RIA
consolidator. We’re a support platform – an RIA ‘easy button,’ so to
speak – for independent advisors who want the freedom to choose a
custodial firm and serve their clients the way they want.”
Having operated his own RIA, Windy City Wealth Management LLC, Reed
understands the frustrations of advisors who walk that path and the
challenges they have seen in recent years.
“Many of the companies that service RIAs have moved their focus upstream
to larger firms,” he said. “In addition, the volatile markets and
uncertain regulatory environment have heightened the challenges and
complexity of delivering financial advisory services. The traditional
advisor office is feeling less valued and a little lost. There is a
strong need for focused practice management and business growth support.
Advisors are finding they have to make choices about where to spend
their time, and realizing they want to spend more of it with clients.”
Though most advisors considering an RIA have embraced the fee-based
model, many have legacy commission business they want to maintain with
their clients. As a result, Arbor Point uses NorthStar subsidiary Orion
Advisor Services, LLC to support its advisors’ fee-based advisory
business with new account processing, fee billing, performance reporting
and technology. Securities America provides commission-based business
processing and overall compliance and supervision, as well as
industry-leading programs in practice management and retirement income
distribution.
“We’re not telling advisors which business model to use,” Reed said.
“We’re giving them the solutions they need for the business model they
choose. Partnering with Arbor Point allows independent advisors to
devote their time and attention to serving clients first, relying on our
professional staff to shoulder the compliance and operational duties.”
About Arbor Point Advisors
Arbor Point is an SEC
registered investment advisory firm headquartered in La Vista, Neb.
Arbor Point’s mission is to provide an all-inclusive advisory platform
with world-class technology, compliance and business growth support,
giving advisors the resources and support necessary to lead a
client-centric practice.
About NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC
NorthStar
is the parent company for several financial service companies with a
common mission to empower investment advisors. NorthStar's subsidiary
companies administer over $140 billion. NorthStar subsidiary Orion
Advisor Services, LLC is the nation’s largest privately held portfolio
accounting service bureau for registered investment advisor firms.
Orion's mission is to liberate advisors from their back offices so they
can enjoy their business again. Additional information is available at www.nstar-financial.com.
About Securities America
Headquartered in La Vista,
Neb., Securities America, Inc. is a national top 10 independent
broker-dealer (as ranked by Financial Planning magazine). For more than
25 years, Securities America’s mission has been to foster the success of
financial professionals so they can provide quality, objective counsel
and services to their clients. Advisors benefit from the firm’s
industry-leading programs in practice management, advisory services and
retirement income distribution, supported by state-of-the-art
technology. Founded in 1993, Securities America Advisors Inc. is an
SEC-Registered Investment Advisory firm that offers investment
management, financial advice and financial planning through a national
network of independent financial advisors. Securities America Financial
Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial
Services Inc. (NYSE MKT: LTS). Securities America received the inaugural
Thought Leadership Award from the Retirement
Income Industry Association in March 2011 and the inaugural Bank
Insurance & Securities Association (BISA) Technology Innovation
Award in March 2013. Additional information is available at www.securitiesamerica.com.
Advisory services offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, an SEC
Registered Investment Advisory Firm. Securities offered through
Securities America, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.
Securities America, Inc. and Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, are affiliated
entities.
Copyright Business Wire 2013