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Turnkey solutions are specifically geared to accountants who want to provide financial planning services.
Many financial planning business models are being utilized. Some accountants create registered investment advisor (RIA) firms, others bring in an outside financial planner, and many connect with a broker/dealer and others that work extensively with CPAs. Practical Accountant asked a number of these companies for a description of their turnkey programs and due diligence best practices advice that a CPA should follow when considering such a relationship.
1st Global
1stGlobal.com
CPAs can affiliate as registered representatives of 1st Global Capital Corp, which requires them to become Series 7 and 66 licensed. According to Bill Stevens, vice president of marketing, it is up to individual advisors to determine if they wish to offer services via fees or commissions or a combination of both. Firms can also affiliate as independent advisors, where the CPA or tax professional gains the technical knowledge and internalizes all factors of production. They can also own the wealth management practice and outsource many of the required capabilities, hiring a dedicated financial advisor to offer wealth management services to the firm's clients. There is also a partnering model with outside financial advisors.
Support is available through a number of specialized wealth management services teams: investment management solutions, financial consulting group, advanced case design group, annuity and insurance planning group, and the fixed income desk. Operations, marketing, and compliance support is also provided and educational opportunities exist through a Wealth Management Academy. There are workshops for advisors new to financial services, and an advanced solutions program for experienced advisors.
Genworth Financial Investment Services
genworthfinancialsecurities.com
Genworth Financial Investment Services views the advisors they work with as wealth managers, and, typically, according to Mike Gandet, vice president for strategic growth and initiatives, a Series 6 or 7 and 63 is needed to become a registered representative and a Series 65 to become an independent advisor representative to offer fee-based planning. Most are structured as wealth management practices, offering a full suite of services and products to complement a tax and accounting practice.
A consultative approach, working one-on-one with advisors, is utilized. Marketing support includes Web-to-print marketing and communications solutions. Learning and training is in the form of representatives' meetings, teleconferences,...