Registered Investment Advisor - RIA

Categories: Banking, Regulations

An investment adviser registered with the SEC and the state where he or she works.

Why both? Well, people travel to different states all the time, but we all (Americans, ahem) live in the same Republic. So laws need to both be local and national...hence the need for this kind of "double" registration.

Depending on the types of investments you'll opine upon, you'll need different kinds of registrations. Will you also be managing money, trading stocks, or just advising clients to buy index funds and play golf? Lots of room for corruption here, so the regulations have to be pretty tight.

See: Hiding Written Complaints. You don't want these.

See: FINRA. And check out our myriad Series Exams, as you'll start with the SIE.

See: The Investment Company Act of 1940.

Related or Semi-related Video

Finance: What is an Investment Adviser, ...4 Views

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Finance allah shmoop what is an investment advisor or registered

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investment adviser All right well an investment advisor with no

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other special nomenclature is the guy in your left at

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the craps table screaming in your ear play the past

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line play the past line he's just advising you as

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to where you're going to quote invest unquote your slippery

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five bucks But when an investment advisor actually gets serious

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they have to register generally in the state or states

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in which they're doing business and we mean geographic states

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not like euphoria and depression Structurally they have to know

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how the markets work all kinds of ethical and fiduciary

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obligations that they'll hold for clients they have to understand

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the mathematics of brokers and brokerages and the basics of

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risk Most registered investment advisors have at least a serious

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sixty five exam behind them not a whole lot more

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like the series seven a bunch of others mainly because

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investments never goes smoothly and someone always ends up getting

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sued for bad advice So when firms hire registered investment

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advisors they at least want the protection of being able

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to point to an exam that the broker past that

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Presented basic competence in their understanding of what they were

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at least supposed to have done The key The limiter

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here between the craps table guy in the registered investment

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adviser is compensation Largely The craps table guy offers his

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opinion for free The aria charges money or at least

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wants to and as soon as cash changes hands and

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formal manner while the rules and responsibilities and whole set

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of fiduciary obligations get a whole lot less you know 00:01:46.149 --> [endTime] dicey

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