How to Become Your Own Independent RIA

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Critical Information for Financial Planners and Investment Managers

Six pages on why you should consider firing your Broker Dealer and FINRA to become a Registered Investment Advisor is discussed in the Financial Planning eBook. You can read still read it by asking to in an e-mail. This is not Peter McPhee's e-mail address.

That covers why, now on to how.

Also, once you've paid Peter's fee 10% off everything and you can still get an additional 5% off by using PayPal. Yes, this applies even if you paid his fee over a decade ago. Just send us an e-mail saying you're a McPhee client.

Peter's phone number is at the bottom. We don't have anything to do with becoming an RIA. But once you are one, we have the best tools to do your jobs. Please tell Peter that you find him via our site.

 Introducing, Peter McPhee, RIA Setup Consulting Master!

I’m Peter McPhee and I’ve been preparing RIA applications since 1988. During that time I have helped over 5,000 clients become RIAs, probably more than all the other consultants combined. Why? Because I am:

Good, Fast, and Inexpensive

Good: Sure, that’s how I’ve done this for 20 years and helped over 5,000 clients. But, in addition, I was an RIA for 16 years and a CFP for 20 years (I was one of the first CFPs - 1981).

So, I am not a back office person; I’m one of you - with lots of experience. I am also a College of William & Mary graduate.

Fast: Unless you have to take the Series 65 exam, or set up a corporation or LLC, we can get started on the ADV within one to two days of your call to me.

Inexpensive: Have you compared prices yet? To the best of my knowledge, my competitors charge from $2,400 to $6,000 (for reasons I cannot understand, unless they hope you’ll believe expensive = better). Then they have additional fees they often tack on. With me, the entire fee is just $800. No kidding!

OK, what do you get for the $800? Four things:

1. If you’re thinking of hiring me, call me, ask all the questions you want, and if you like what you hear, we’ll set up a phone interview. It will last about an hour and you’ll pay for the call (and all calls, which is one way I can keep my fee so low).

During that time I’ll get all the information I need and will prepare Part II after the interview (which is on paper). Part 1 on the Internet, comes later. And, as you might guess, I know how to prepare ADVs. After the interview you’ll send me $800. I do not charge in advance.

 2. This is important! While we are talking, I’ll tell you HOW to be an RIA, because you probably don’t know how, since you’ve probably never been one before. I won’t tell you how to manage money, as you may know more than I do.

But I will tell you how to charge for it. And I’ll tell you about disclosure, conflicts of interest, custody, and give you lots of practical advice. And, once you become an RIA you can call me anytime (within normal business hours) if you have a question.

There is never a charge for advice. Many of my clients have called me after 15 years! I enjoy hearing from them.

 3. I’ll also e-mail you a sample client disclosure brochure (which you can edit on your computer to match your ADV) and you can give it to clients instead of the SEC ADV.

If you’re a fan of Plain English, you’ll love it. I will also attach a sample client contract (which you also edit to fit your ADV), a sample firm Code of Ethics, and an RIA checklist. These are all included in the $800.

4. I’ll get you through the whole mess. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but we'll then have Part I on the Internet, Part II on paper, and completed the appropriate forms for the states (that have widely varying RIA requirements and bureaucratic abilities).

It’s a real mess; but that’s what I do - get you through it all with a minimum of brain damage.

For RIA compliance matters, I recommend Walt Zebrowski at www.turbocompliance.com.

If this sounds good to you or if you just want to ask some questions, please give me a CALL. The Internet is a wonderful tool, but for a subject as complex as becoming an RIA, we need to TALK. My RIA consulting service is based on personal contact. E-mail is also not personal enough.

Also, I am a snowbird, that is, I spend summers (mid-April to mid-October) in the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho area and winters in the Daytona Beach, Florida area.

My Idaho phone number is (208) 773-5601 (Pacific time) and my Florida number is (386) 760-2116 (Eastern time). If both of these numbers are non-functional, that means that I'm physically driving from one place to the other. Please call back in a few days.

Thanks and I'm looking forward to a great long-term relationship with you!

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