Advisors Are Piling Into the RIA Channel. That May Not Be a Good Thing

But for many of the financial advisors who fled, or are fleeing, the sprawling layers of management and bureaucracy prevalent in traditional brokerage houses, the biggest RIA complexes are now casting similar shadows. Ed Swenson, president of RFG Advisory, said as independent advisory firms continue to grow, there is a “second generation” of breakaway advisors.That’s also true in terms of growth rates over the past 10 years, with hybrid RIAs increasing assets at an annualized rate of 12.2%, more than indepe ...