Where Strategy Meets Perspective.
Markets move fast. Good decisions don’t have to. This is where Ritz Stevens gathers its research, writing, and market thinking in one place: a growing library of articles, white papers, and investment philosophy covering RIA industry consolidation trends, financial advisor succession planning statistics, and the future of independent RIAs — built for investors and advisors who want more than headlines. Whether you’re weighing a succession decision or simply want to think more clearly about your money, start here.
The Library
What you’ll find here
Blog Articles
Timely takes on markets, practice management, and the advisor-client relationship — including RIA succession planning checklists and financial advisor exit strategy options — written for readers who want substance over sound bites.
White Papers
Deeper research on succession structures, RIA valuation, earn-out structures, and the mechanics of a well-built handoff, for advisors and investors who want to see the thinking behind the strategy.
Investment Philosophy
The principles that guide every advisor in the Ritz Stevens network: fiduciary duty first, long-term thinking over market timing, and portfolios built around a client’s life rather than a news cycle.
FROM THE LIBRARY
Latest from the Library
- Is the 60/40 Dead, or Just Misunderstood?Executive Summary The story everyone tells about 2022 is that it killed the 60/40 portfolio. Stocks and bonds fell together instead of… Read more: Is the 60/40 Dead, or Just Misunderstood?
- Should Your First Hire Be An Admin, A Paraplanner, Or An Advisor?Executive Summary The standard advice for a growing solo firm is to hire an advisor. Bring on a junior, hand them the… Read more: Should Your First Hire Be An Admin, A Paraplanner, Or An Advisor?
- How To Choose A Custodian For Your RIAThe standard advice is to pick the biggest custodian and stop thinking about it. Here is how to actually choose one for a small RIA: minimums, the real cost of free custody, service, and when a second custodian is worth it.
- How To Merge Your RIA With Another FirmValuation ratios, client consent under the Advisers Act, Form ADV succession and governance. What it actually takes to merge your RIA with another firm.
- How To Bring On Another Advisor In A Solo RIA1099 or W-2, when equity should move, what the Form ADV needs, and who owns the client. The mechanics of adding a second advisor to a solo RIA.
- Does AI Really Save Advisors Ten Hours a Week?Adoption has more than doubled and most firms still aren’t getting the hours back. Where AI actually returns time to a small advisory firm, the one tool that works on its own, and the compliance bill that comes with the rest.
- The RMD Planning Window Most Solo RIAs Never OpenExecutive Summary Ask an advisor about required minimum distributions and most describe a task that runs itself. The custodian’s system flags the… Read more: The RMD Planning Window Most Solo RIAs Never Open
- Account Opening: Not as Easy as You May ThinkExecutive Summary Most advisors think of account opening as the easy part. The planning is the hard work, the allocation decision is… Read more: Account Opening: Not as Easy as You May Think
- How To Stop Wire Fraud Before It Hits Your ClientsExecutive Summary Most advisors think of wire fraud as a bank problem, something that happens to a client’s checking account and has… Read more: How To Stop Wire Fraud Before It Hits Your Clients
- Are You Paying for Software Your Team Never Opens?Executive Summary New RIAs are told to build the full stack early. A CRM, a financial planning tool, a portfolio management and… Read more: Are You Paying for Software Your Team Never Opens?
- ‘Just Do Good Work’ Isn’t a Referral StrategyExecutive Summary Ask most advisors how they get new clients and the answer is some version of the same sentence. Do good… Read more: ‘Just Do Good Work’ Isn’t a Referral Strategy
- Is a Large-Cap Equity Portfolio Enough? What Your Clients Aren’t GettingExecutive Summary Ask most RIAs why a client account is built around a large-cap U.S. equity core and you’ll get roughly the… Read more: Is a Large-Cap Equity Portfolio Enough? What Your Clients Aren’t Getting
- Are You Overpaying to Run Your RIA? A Line-by-Line Expense CheckExecutive Summary The standard advice for a growing advisory firm is to focus on the top line. Bring in more households, raise… Read more: Are You Overpaying to Run Your RIA? A Line-by-Line Expense Check
- Do You Still Need an Office? The Post-2020 Answer for RIAsExecutive Summary Most RIA owners never actually decided to lease an office. The firm grew, a lease felt like what a real… Read more: Do You Still Need an Office? The Post-2020 Answer for RIAs
- What to Charge: The Fee Structure Question Every RIA FacesMost fee schedules were inherited, not chosen. A look at the four structures, breakpoint arithmetic, minimum fees, legacy client increases, and the discounting habit nobody tracks.
- Real Growth Metrics: Why AUM Growth Is Lying to YouAssets up fourteen percent in a market that rose sixteen means the firm shrank. How to separate organic growth from market drift, and the five numbers worth watching monthly.
- Cash Is King: An Answer To RiaBiz’s Most Recent ArticleSchwab is moving sweep cash out of FDIC insured banks and under SIPC between September 8 and December 7. The coverage change is the smallest part of it. The yield has been 0.01% the whole time, and that is the conversation to have with clients.
- Schwab vs. Fidelity vs. the Upstarts: Who Wins for Small RIAs?The story going around the industry is that Schwab’s grip on RIA custody is slipping. Schwab just raised the asset minimum for… Read more: Schwab vs. Fidelity vs. the Upstarts: Who Wins for Small RIAs?
- How Many Clients Are Too Many? The Capacity Math Every Advisor AvoidsMost advisors treat every new client the same way. A referral comes in, the prospect is a reasonable fit, and the answer… Read more: How Many Clients Are Too Many? The Capacity Math Every Advisor Avoids
- Are You an Owner or an Advisor? Why You Can’t Be Both ForeverMost independent advisors took on a second job without deciding to. A time audit, the tells of a founder bottleneck, and why the market prices an income stream and an asset very differently.
- How Much Of Your Sale Price Actually Depends On Whether Your Clients StayThe multiple is the headline. What you take home is decided by how much of the price is contingent on your clients staying, and by how the price gets split for tax purposes. Here is what a seller is actually being offered.
- The Safe Withdrawal Rate Number Is Solving The Wrong ProblemExecutive Summary Every year, the retirement planning industry waits for an updated safe withdrawal rate. Morningstar puts this year’s number at 3.9… Read more: The Safe Withdrawal Rate Number Is Solving The Wrong Problem
- What Actually Breaks When You Start Succession Planning LateEvery guide to advisor succession says start ten years out. Only 42% of RIA firms have a written plan, the lowest on record. Which parts of a ten year plan actually degrade under compression, and which parts are fine.
- The Social Security Claiming Advice Clients Already Know And Still IgnoreExecutive Summary For two decades the standard advisor playbook on Social Security has been the same. Show the client the math, delaying… Read more: The Social Security Claiming Advice Clients Already Know And Still Ignore
- Should You Hire an Administrator? The Break-Even Every Owner Should RunExecutive Summary The standard advice on a firm’s first hire is to wait until you can’t stand it anymore, then bring on… Read more: Should You Hire an Administrator? The Break-Even Every Owner Should Run
- AI for RIAs: You Need to Be Using It. Here’s Where to Start.Skip the debate about whether AI replaces advisors. The useful question is which parts of your week you no longer have to do by hand, and which uses carry real compliance risk.
- Succession Planning: When to Start (Hint: 10 Years Before You Think)Most advisors start thinking about succession about two years out. Here’s what the real ten-year runway looks like, stage by stage, and how to compress it if you’re already inside the window.
- How To Value A Financial Advisory Practice When Buyers Have Moved UpmarketAUM isn’t the number that matters most. A practical framework for understanding what actually drives an RIA’s valuation, from recurring revenue and client concentration to transferability and deal structure.
- Where RIA Firms Overspend: A Practice Overhead ChecklistCustodial fees, fund expenses, an overgrown tech stack — most advisory firms are quietly overpaying somewhere. Here’s a walk through where it usually hides.
- Four Paths to RIA Succession (And Why Most Solo Advisors Only Know One)Outright sale, internal succession, phased external succession, or merger — most RIA owners only hear about one path before they start planning. Here’s a look at all four.
- The RIA Succession Planning Checklist: What to Do Before You List Your PracticeMost retiring RIA owners wait too long to start planning. Here’s a practical, step-by-step checklist for getting ahead of a succession — from timeline to valuation to what happens to your clients.
New insights are added regularly.
Check back often, or reach out to our team directly with a topic you’d like us to cover.