Ritz Stevens Insights · Practice Management
RIA Practice Management.
Everything that runs your practice, besides the clients.
Staffing, pricing, growth, and the succession clock that’s running in the background whether you look at it or not. Ritz Stevens writes about the operating side of an advisory firm, and talks through yours directly when you’re ready.
What We Write About
Practice management topics advisors actually deal with
Staffing and Hiring
When to bring on an admin, a paraplanner, or a junior advisor, and what each one actually costs you in year one.
Compensation and Retention
Structuring pay, equity, and PTO so the people who make your firm work stick around.
Growth and Capacity
Reading AUM growth correctly, and knowing when more clients means less firm.
Pricing and Fee Models
What to charge, and why the number matters less than the model behind it.
Risk and Accountability
CFP Board standards, liability exposure, and the operational risk that doesn’t show up on a P&L.
Succession Timing
When the clock actually starts, and what changes if you wait.
Why Advisors Talk to Us
We’ve run the business side of a practice ourselves.
Ritz Stevens is run by former Schwab employees who’ve built and staffed advisory firms themselves. Staffing up, pricing your services for the first time, or five years out from stepping back all connect to the same question, what happens to this firm without you. That’s the conversation Next Destination℠ and Launch℠ are built around.
From the Library
Recent practice management posts
- 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… 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… 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 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.
- 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… 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… Read more: How To Stop Wire Fraud Before It Hits Your Clients
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How many clients is too many for one advisor to serve well?
Past a certain point service quality drops before anyone notices, usually somewhere between 75 and 125 households depending on complexity and how much of the servicing is delegated. The number matters less than whether you’ve actually measured it.
When should a solo RIA hire its first employee?
Most solo advisors wait too long, usually until they’re already turning down new business. The first hire is usually administrative, not another advisor, because it frees up the hours that actually grow the firm.
What should an advisory firm actually charge?
Less about hitting a market average and more about whether the fee model matches how the work actually gets delivered. A flat fee firm and an AUM firm are pricing two different businesses.
How does practice management connect to succession planning?
Every operating decision, staffing, pricing, systems, either builds a firm that runs without its founder or builds one that can’t survive them leaving. Succession planning is just the moment that question gets asked out loud.
Does Ritz Stevens consult on practice management directly, or is this just content?
This page collects what we publish on the topic. If you want to talk through your firm specifically, that happens through Next Destination℠ or Launch℠, not as a standalone consulting service.
Have a Practice Management Question We Haven’t Written About Yet?
Tell us what you’re working through. We’ll point you to what we’ve got, or just answer it directly.
General information for financial advisors. Not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Disclosures.