In a moment, I’ll share with you twelve critical questions to ask your new, prospective firm. Whether you are thinking of changing your independent broker-dealer, IMO/FMO, RIA, or TAMP platform, these questions go far beyond what many advisors normally ask.
The typical advisor questions include the “obvious” items:
- Culture. While it may be difficult to discern what the “culture” is like at the company by just asking a few questions, you can usually identify this by talking with other affiliated advisors and/or visiting the firm before making the decision. If the home office culture is one that fits you, that’s a great first start.
- Length of tenure for team members. If employees stick around for a while, then it’s likely that the employer treats their people well. This can also be reassuring that you aren’t working with people with limited experience and knowledge in the firm.
- Regulatory history. This one is simple. Ask about their regulatory history (you can also do the homework yourself these days). Don’t forget that when you saddle up with a broker/dealer or RIA, you’ll likely feel the same regulatory “bumps in the road” that they do. Just ask any rep whose firm caught negative press over the past 5-10 years. Or worse yet, if the firm all of a sudden went out of business.
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